Turiya

The Unseen Ground of Consciousness

Turiya, often described as the fourth state of consciousness, stands beyond waking, dreaming, and deep dreamless sleep. What does it feel like to exist within this state? The experience itself cannot be fully captured by language, for Turiya transcends the usual boundaries of perception. It is not merely a state that one “enters” and “leaves”; rather, it is the ground upon which all other states rest.

There’s a subtle, yet profound, recognition that one is not the individual witness, but the infinite awareness in which all phenomena arise and dissolve. In Turiya, the experience is not of observing the states of waking, dreaming, and deep dreamless sleep separately, but of witnessing them as simultaneous expressions of a unified field of consciousness. Here, distinctions lose their meaning—what was once experienced as separate now collapses into a seamless continuum.

This state has often been referred to as the first stage of enlightenment. Yet, even such descriptions fall short. The essence of Turiya is not something “attained” through effort. Instead, it is revealed through the dissolution of identity, a quiet remembrance of one’s true nature.

Imagine an eternal presence where time does not move, where forms arise and fall like waves on the surface of an ocean, yet the ocean itself remains unshaken. Divinity, in this context, is not something external or far-off—it is what you are. The divine becomes aware of itself, witnessing all, yet remaining untouched by the movements within itself. It is existence contemplating its own essence, eternal and ever-present.

The beauty of Turiya is in its simplicity. It does not need complex metaphors to explain itself. It is felt as a continuous hum of being, beyond concepts, thoughts, and emotions—a recognition that everything, including the experiencer, is merely a reflection of the same undivided consciousness.

To experience Turiya is to see the eternal play of life from the perspective of the timeless. It is to understand that the very states we once believed to be separate—waking, dreaming, deep dreamless sleep—are all mere movements within the One.

Morgan O. Smith

Yinnergy Meditation, Spiritual Life Coaching & My Book, Bodhi in the Brain…Available Now!

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