Finding Peace and Joy In The ‘No-thingness’

Like Neo in the movie The Matrix (1999) our minds occasionally slip into luminous moments of complete stillness and clarity — tiny mental pauses where all thinking stops just long enough for us to glimpse the truth of all existence.

In these fleeting spaces between our thoughts, it becomes clear that the comings and goings of life are just that… temporary ‘blips’ of experience that arise and pass through our awareness.

I have come to know these moments as realizations of ‘no-thingness.’

In these brief pauses, something quietly opens up within us. We notice the obvious — what has always been there — hidden behind the busy waking mind and its constant commentary. Our awareness shifts from being consumed by temporary events to seeing what’s always there: the background, the container, the eternal.

These silent mental breaks reveal something much deeper and greater than our own existence and awareness.

There’s a word for this in ancient Sanskrit: svabhāva. It means one’s true nature — the essence of who we are beneath the roles, stories, and conditioning. The term is used in many yogic and Vedantic texts to describe the innate reality or unconditioned self beyond our human ego and thoughts.

Our true authentic self is not something we become. It’s something we remember. When we glimpse the silence between thoughts, we’re not discovering something new — we’re reconnecting with our original divine self. Not the self that reacts and worries, but the self that simply is. Svabhāva is the part of us that doesn’t come and go. It’s the constant presence behind every changing moment. It is the essence of living a truly conscious life.

One of my spiritual mentors, Adyashanti, had a remarkable gift for pointing others back to their inner truth. He called it the “no-thingness that is full” — so full that it feels like everything. With little effort, he was able to guide others to recognize the divine spark within that has always been there.

Let your mind wander in the pure and simple. Be one with the infinite. Let all things take their course ~ Chuang Tzu

I studied with Adyashanti for six years in San Jose, California. I lived just down the street from him and often saw him during his free time. What struck me most was how deeply he lived his teachings — he really walked his talk.

Rooted in the Zen tradition, Adya’s own spiritual awakening opened him to the unity of all experience, to the vast wholeness that exists beyond thought. He could see through the illusion (maya) of the mental narratives we carry. As I sat with him in the “no-thingness,” the stories of my own life began to unravel. With stillness and presence I could see them for what they truly were: sometimes absurd, almost comical, like watching a melodrama through a microscope.

Adya taught me how turning our attention to what’s usually overlooked — that silent, empty space between our thoughts, the eternal background of no-thingness — we discover something profound and life-altering. The unchanging presence that underlies all life begins to feel more alive, more accessible, more real to us. It grows in size, and we begin to rest in it.

You might be thinking, “This sounds boring. Why should I even care about the so-called no-thingness?”

Try this simple experiment. Ask yourself, Who is reading this right now? You might answer, I am. But where is this “I” that is answering? You might point at yourself and say, Right here. But with deeper, honest reflection, you may begin to question this “I” you are pointing to. You may just find the ego self begins to dissolve. You may begin to realize that what you’re pointing to is merely a lifetime of thoughts, memories and conditioning. If you look more closely, you may discover that you are not who you always thought you were.

When we turn inward and observe the one who is aware of thoughts, feelings, and sensations, what we find is pure awareness itself. It’s like watching a movie — the scenes of life playing out on the screen with no real anchor in the drama. Who or what is watching? Who or what is seeing?

Heaven and earth and I are of the same root, The ten-thousand things and I are of one substance ~ Seng-Chao

Looking through the eyes of everyday awareness, everything just is. We take our daily reality for granted. Things come, things go. And as we practice this simple act of observing without judgment, we begin to build a new muscle — the muscle of awareness. And what often follows is a deep sense of peace and surrender. Life, in all its ordinary moments, begins to feel magical and precious – imbued with quiet beauty and sacred divinity.

What about all the pain, suffering and adversity? What about the difficult moments in life? When we become familiar with witnessing the truth of our divine existence  — when we rest in the space of no-thingness — a deeper sense of peace and acceptance begins to emerge. A reverence. We still laugh, cry, feel heartbreak and joy, but with a sense of spaciousness, of okay-ness. Everything is allowed. Nothing is rejected.

Author Tara Brach explores this transformative power of embracing true selves and our life experiences without resistance in her book Radical Acceptance (2004). Radical acceptance is about breaking free from the trance of unworthiness—the false belief that we are fundamentally flawed or somehow not enough. Brach encourages readers to cultivate self-compassion over self-criticism, let go of the illusion of control, and embrace imperfection.

Author Byron Katie describes in her book Loving What Is (2003) how the simple act of becoming aware of awareness can change everything. It may sound far-fetched at first, but what if there’s a gift in that? What if this awareness is something you’ve been searching for all along? According to Katie suffering comes not from external events but from our interpretations of them. By questioning our thoughts we can free ourselves from unnecessary pain and find peace. She also emphasizes that accepting reality as it is — rather than resisting or wishing it were different — leads to clarity, emotional freedom, and a deeper sense of well-being.

When we come to rest in full awareness and presence of the no-thingness, we unlock the door to our authentic self, to the truth of our divine being, to svabhāva. And once we embrace and love ourselves for who we truly are, and radically accept everyone and everything for what it is, we discover a miraculous sense of joy, peace, gratitude, and contentment that exists beyond our everyday reality.