Tag: absolute monism

Ego Death Is Not a Metaphor

Ego death is often spoken about casually, yet nothing about it is casual. It is not a poetic phrase, nor a dramatic exaggeration. Something very specific occurs—precise, unmistakable, and irreversible at the level of insight.

This is not a biological event. The body remains alive. The brain continues to function. Memory does not disappear. Consciousness does not black out. What vanishes is the internal reference point that says, this is me. The structure that once organized experience around a personal center dissolves, and with it goes the assumption of separation.

No negotiation happens here. No partial surrender. No internal debate. Doubt does not survive the moment. The mind does not ask whether this is real. Verification becomes unnecessary because the one who would seek confirmation is no longer present.

Psychological death may sound abstract until it happens. When it does, the body reacts as though an actual death is occurring. Survival instincts flare. Meaning collapses. Familiar orientation fails. Yet awareness remains clear—perhaps clearer than it has ever been. This clarity is what distinguishes ego death from unconsciousness. Awareness does not dim. It expands beyond the need for identity.

Enlightenment does not occur after ego death. Enlightenment is what is revealed when the ego can no longer interfere. The ego cannot be refined into truth. It cannot be educated into realization. It must fall away entirely, because it is structurally incapable of holding what is uncovered.

At the causal level of realization, identity no longer rests in form, personality, history, or narrative. Cause and effect are no longer observed from the outside. They are known as oneself. Everything that arises is recognized as both originating from and resolving into the same source. Nothing stands apart. Nothing is accidental. Agency is no longer personal, yet responsibility is absolute.

Deeper still, even causality dissolves. Distinctions between origin and outcome lose meaning. What remains is not many things connected, but a single indivisible reality. This is what Advaita Vedanta names Absolute Monism; not a belief, not a concept, but a lived recognition.

Time no longer appears linear. Past, present, and future are not sequential events but simultaneous expressions. Every occurrence, across all scales and dimensions, is apprehended as one movement without edges. Beginning and ending collapse into the same point. Eternity ceases to be a duration and reveals itself as immediacy.

The ego cannot survive this recognition. It was never meant to. The ego exists to navigate relativity, not to comprehend totality. Asking it to grasp nonduality is like asking a shadow to contain light. The moment the ego loosens its grip, what remains is not annihilation, but the recognition that life and death were never opposites.

Ego death feels final because it ends the search forever. Nothing remains to achieve. Nothing remains to defend. What is discovered was never acquired. It was always present, waiting for the interference to stop.

This is why enlightenment is never uncertain. Anyone still asking whether it happened is still standing outside the threshold. When it occurs, the questioner disappears, and only knowing remains; silent, complete, and beyond reversal.

Morgan O. Smith

AI for Wellness and Spirituality Summit

February 9 & 10, 2026

https://aiforwellnessandspirituality.com/mosm

The Disappearance of the Seeker

Meditation isn’t merely a technique; it is the gradual erasure of illusion. Every breath, every moment of stillness, dissolves another layer of pretense until what remains is not a person meditating, but consciousness aware of itself. Liberation is not gained; it is revealed when the striving ends. The self that once sought enlightenment discovers it was never apart from what it pursued.

The unfolding of awareness moves through countless thresholds. There are moments of clarity where boundaries soften, and the familiar sense of “I” loosens its grip. Some call these glimpses samādhi, nirvāṇa, or turiya. Beyond even these is turiyatīta, the unnameable state where all distinctions vanish. Subject and object collapse into one reality. The opposites that define existence, light and dark, life and death, God and creation, are seen as expressions of a single, seamless truth.

This realization does not occur through effort alone. For some, it arrives after years of disciplined practice. For others, it erupts without warning, as if eternity could no longer hide behind time. Yet whether noticed or not, this state is always present. Every being already lives as the infinite, experiencing the play of separation as though it were real.

To awaken is to stop pretending. To drop the mask of becoming and recognize the silent presence that has never moved. Once seen, life cannot return to its previous rhythm. Even the simplest act becomes sacred; a reflection of the whole living through itself. The journey ends where it began: in the undeniable truth that there was never a seeker, only the seeing itself.

Morgan O. Smith

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The Subtle Distinctions of Oneness, Nonduality, and the Sacred

To speak of oneness is to point to a direct perception where boundaries dissolve and all things merge into a singular whole. It is an overwhelming intimacy with existence itself—nothing stands apart, no subject or object remains. The experience carries a profound sense of union, yet it still acknowledges a felt “all” that has become “one.”

Nonduality, by contrast, is not the merging of things into one but the recognition that no separation ever truly existed to begin with. The very categories of “one” and “many” collapse. There is no subject perceiving unity, no object being unified—just the unbroken reality that precedes both. Here, the language of experience falters because even the notion of “an experience” implies duality between experiencer and what is experienced.

To call all things divine or sacred is yet another register. This perception imbues life with reverence, not only as one undivided whole but as shimmering expressions of the holy. Every moment, every being, every breath radiates significance. It is not merely that things are nondual, but that the nondual reality is inherently worthy of devotion. The sacred quality does not rest on belief; it is revealed when perception is refined enough to sense the luminous depth at the heart of being.

The distinctions are subtle, yet they matter. Oneness offers belonging. Nonduality uproots the illusion of separation. The sacred awakens awe and reverence for what is. Together, they sketch the contours of realization, each layer illuminating a different face of truth.

When all three—oneness, nonduality, and the sacred—merge seamlessly, a higher recognition dawns: absolute monism. Here, the whole of existence is seen as a single reality that is simultaneously one, beyond duality, and inherently divine. Nothing is outside of it, nothing is other than it, nothing is less than it. The boundaries of philosophy, devotion, and direct experience collapse into the same source. This is not a synthesis of perspectives but the revelation that they have always been expressions of the same truth. Absolute monism discloses the indivisible essence where belonging, emptiness, and holiness are not separate qualities but different ways of perceiving what is eternally and already the case.

Morgan O. Smith

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Beyond Nonduality?

The Illusion of Going Further

Some spiritual teachers claim they have gone “beyond” nonduality, as if it were a stepping stone toward something greater. Yet the very notion of “beyond” creates an opposite, “before” or “within,” and the moment opposites arise, duality has returned.

Absolute monism allows for no such division. The singularity of reality does not exist as a point to be crossed or a boundary to be passed. It is not somewhere else, waiting on the other side of an imagined line. If you think you have travelled beyond it, you are still standing in the arena of conceptual thought, where the mind measures one thing against another.

In truth, the Absolute is not a destination, and it is not a stage in an unfolding ladder. It does not sit opposite to multiplicity; it holds multiplicity and its absence equally. It neither favours unity nor rejects separation. Both “beyond” and “before,” both “within” and “without,” dissolve in the same undivided field.

What remains is not something that can be claimed, owned, or transcended. It is self-evident Being, the source and container of every movement, stillness, and paradox. You cannot reach it, because you never left it.

Morgan O. Smith

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Once Enlightened… Your Problems Have Just Begun

The illusion is that awakening is the end of the road. That the moment the self dissolves, suffering bows out, and the curtain falls. But what if that moment is not an arrival, but a beginning?

Before awakening, the ego fights battles it believes are personal. After awakening, the battlefield is not smaller—it’s vaster, quieter, and infinitely more subtle. The old problems—desire, fear, control—don’t disappear. They shape-shift. They clothe themselves in spiritual garments and reintroduce themselves as paradoxes: “Should I speak, or is silence more aligned?” “Is this surrender or passivity?” “Am I still pretending there’s a me who can do or not do?”

No one warns you that after the clouds part, the sun may burn.

Liberation is not the end of pain. It’s the end of avoidance. One no longer flinches. One no longer hides. You feel fully raw, exposed, without anesthesia. And still, you sit. Still, you breathe. Still, you bow.

You now see with clarity what others can’t. You watch the mechanisms of ego turning behind the eyes of those you love, and the weight of compassion grows heavier, not lighter. You begin to weep for the world—not out of despair, but from a reverence so deep it bends your knees.

Once you’ve seen through the illusion of self, the world becomes impossibly intimate. Every leaf becomes your body. Every scream, your own. Every cruelty, a mirror reflecting the exact frequency of your forgotten selves. There is no refuge. There is only recognition.

You don’t get to leave the world. You return to it—with your skin ripped open, your boundaries gone, and your heart unarmored. Enlightenment doesn’t make you untouchable. It makes you unable to turn away.

There are no medals for realization. No applause for dissolving. No reward for merging with the absolute. What you get, instead, is a silence that never leaves you. A love so vast it terrifies the small mind. A clarity that strips you of every comfortable lie.

And you carry it.

Not as a badge.
As a burden.
As a blessing.
As a vow.

You walk through the world invisible, but more alive than ever. And your problems—they don’t vanish. They deepen. They purify. They sanctify.

Not because you are broken.

But now, you are whole.

Morgan O. Smith

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The Absence of Dimension

A Contemplation on Absolute Monism

What dimension is the experience of absolute monism?

That very question quietly collapses under its own weight.

To ask “how many” is to divide the indivisible. To quantify is to measure a mystery that can only be met in its own silence. Within the direct realization of Turiyatita—that which lies beyond even Turiya—there is no vantage point from which to count, compare, or classify. The moment dimensionality is assigned, we have already slipped back into the architecture of mind, where form assumes primacy over essence.

Still, the mind hungers for some orientation. So let’s turn the prism slowly, exploring this from a few distinct angles—not as answers, but as offerings.

1. Relative Lens: The Architecture of Experience

Certain esoteric traditions offer a gradient of consciousness: from the dense contours of the material (3D), to subtle inner time-space (4D), toward integrative fields of unity (5D and above). These serve as helpful metaphors, allowing seekers to understand how consciousness may expand or refine. Yet even the loftiest of these is still part of the dream—within the cosmic play of form.

From this lens, the direct encounter with nonduality might appear multi-dimensional, even interdimensional, because it defies the logic of linearity. It feels vast, borderless, paradoxical. But it is still being interpreted by a relative mind, even if only for a moment.

2. Transcendental Lens: The Priorness of the Real

Absolute monism is not located anywhere because it is not a location.

Dimensionality implies structure. It assumes contrast. But the Absolute is prior to all arising. It is not 1D, 5D, or 12D—it is the generative zero-point. The stillness that allows all movement. The background that isn’t separate from the foreground but holds all images without ever becoming one.

It is not empty like a void; it is empty like ungraspable fullness. The kind of emptiness that births stars and dissolves gods. Not confined to being or non-being, but transcending both.

3. Direct Realization: The Collapse of All Coordinates

No map leads here.

Direct realization is immediate and unmediated. Not because you reached a peak, but because the climber vanished. There is no experiencer—only experiencing. No mind reflecting on awareness—only awareness aware of itself.

Here, space has not been born. Time has not begun ticking. Even the concept of unity dissolves, for there is nothing to be unified. What remains is suchness—pure presence prior to presence. A silent explosion of is-ness so complete it leaves no trace.

Not a Dimension. Not Even a State.

So what do we call it?

Nothing.

And everything.

To speak of “the dimension of absolute monism” is to subtly betray it. Better to say: it is the absence of dimension in which all dimensions arise and dissolve. Not a high place, but the place before place. Not a peak, but the disappearance of altitude itself.

A Final Whisper

Absolute monism is not the highest dimension.
It is the absence of dimension,
where even “one” dissolves.
Here, all becomes what it has always been—
indivisible, unbounded, unspoken.

Morgan O. Smith

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God Is the Real Imaginary

Absolute Monism and the Paradox of Reality

A peculiar clarity arises once the mind exhausts its chase for permanence. Once the striving quiets, what remains is not a revelation in the ordinary sense—it is the revelation of revelation itself. God. Not as something other, but as the very condition of knowing, being, and non-being.

God is not a person, nor a power among powers. God is context itself. Not just the backdrop, but the totality—the undivided field in which all division appears. It is what Hindus call Para Brahman: the Absolute of the Absolute. The final substratum, beyond form, formlessness, and even beyond the duality of beyond and not-beyond.

Yet the paradox defies all rational anchoring: God is also imagination.

Not a figment. Not illusion in the dismissive sense. But the supreme imagining—consciousness dreaming within itself. The universe, with all its matter and mind, all its chaos and beauty, is that imagining. And because God is not apart from its imagining, God too is that imagining.

Which means this: both God and the universe are imaginary.

And also utterly real.

What we call “real” and what we call “imaginary” collapse into a single gesture when seen from God’s standpoint—which is no standpoint at all. From this viewless view, there is no separation between the dreamer and the dream, the Absolute and its expression, the Formless and the formed.

Yet the beauty of this is not that everything dissolves into sameness. The beauty is that everything becomes itself without needing to stand apart.

God and the universe are one and the same. And because they are one and the same, they are also not the same. The distinction is not contradiction. It is the very nature of what is. Distinctness does not negate unity. It reveals it.

This is not spiritual poetry. This is ontological exactness. If anything is to be absolute, it must include even the capacity to contradict itself. That is the very mark of its absoluteness.

So, what is this that appears as a tree, a thought, a thunderclap, a kiss, a death, a silence?

It is God.
It is the universe.
It is imagination.
It is reality.

One singularity. Absolute Monism.

To see it is not to figure it out. To see it is to disappear into what cannot not be.

Morgan O. Smith

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When I Say Full Awakening…

This Is What I Mean

Many speak of awakening, yet far fewer comprehend its fullness. I’ve encountered every kind—emotional, spiritual, philosophical, mystical. Each unveils a layer, each reveals a depth. But what I call full awakening—what I live as full awakening—is something few ever point toward, and fewer still embody.

It is not about personal clarity. Not about peace of mind, a better life, or even union with a divine presence. Those are steps, glimpses, fragments. Full awakening is not a state within experience. It is the collapse of all distinction between state and experiencer.

This isn’t about finding your place in the cosmos—it’s about the disappearance of place, cosmos, and self as separate notions. When I say full awakening, I am referring to the direct knowing that everything—absolutely everything—is a singularity.

Existence and nonexistence. Subject and object. The smallest subatomic flicker and the sweep of galactic spirals. Civilizations long past and unborn futures. Every religion, every philosophy. All thoughts. All acts. Every realm, every reality, every god.

The seen and the unseen. The formed and the formless. That which is birthed, that which dies, and that which never entered the cycle. All technologies. All intelligences. All contradictions and confirmations. All questions and every possible answer.

Not merely connected. Not even interdependent.

Indistinct. Inseparable. One.

That realization is not metaphorical. It is not poetic. It is not conceptual. It is total. It devours every duality and even the idea of devouring. It consumes the witness, the process of witnessing, and that which is witnessed—leaving no remainder.

So when another speaks of full awakening, I listen with care. Because unless it includes everything I’ve said—and also what they say—it’s not the same thing. The paradox, of course, is that what I’m pointing to also includes that divergence. It embraces even what appears to deny it.

Full awakening is not a peak. It is not an event. It is the vanishing of all altitude and time. It is not even a realization. It is what remains when all realizations dissolve.

One. Not a oneness made of parts. Not a whole made of pieces. Not harmony, not unity. Just One.

And that One is not separate from what you are.

Morgan O. Smith

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The Quantum Dance of Consciousness

Bridging Absolute Monism and Superposition

In the vast expanse of human experience and scientific inquiry, there are moments when disparate realms converge, revealing profound insights into the nature of reality. One such convergence is the spiritually enlightened peak experience of absolute monism and the quantum phenomenon of superposition. This intersection invites us to explore a deeper, more integrated understanding of existence.

The Experience of Absolute Monism

Imagine a moment of profound stillness, where the boundaries that define you dissolve, and the illusion of separation fades away. In this state, you experience a boundless unity, a seamless oneness with all that is. This is the essence of absolute monism—a direct, transformative experience that reveals the interconnectedness of all existence. It is a realization that transcends intellectual understanding, touching the core of being and altering one’s perception of reality.

Superposition in Quantum Physics

Quantum physics, the realm of the very small, offers a striking parallel to this mystical experience. Superposition is a principle where a quantum system exists in multiple states simultaneously until it is observed. This phenomenon challenges our classical notions of a fixed, definite reality, suggesting instead a universe that is inherently probabilistic and interconnected. The act of observation plays a crucial role in collapsing these multiple possibilities into a single, observable state.

Bridging the Spiritual and the Scientific

At first glance, the realms of spiritual enlightenment and quantum physics might seem worlds apart. Yet, they both point toward a deeper, underlying unity. In absolute monism, the dissolution of duality reveals an undivided reality. Similarly, in quantum physics, superposition reflects a state of potentiality where all possibilities coexist.

The Role of Observation

In the spiritual journey, the realization of absolute monism often emerges through deep meditation or transformative experiences. This form of “observation” collapses the illusion of separateness, unveiling the unity of existence. In quantum mechanics, it is the act of measurement that collapses a superposition into a definite state. Both suggest that consciousness or awareness plays a pivotal role in shaping reality.

Indeterminacy and Unity

The indeterminate nature of superposition aligns with the spiritual insight that ultimate reality transcends fixed forms and definitions. Both perspectives invite us to embrace a more fluid and interconnected understanding of existence. They challenge us to move beyond rigid, binary thinking and to appreciate the complexity and beauty of a reality that is both unified and diverse.

Transformation of Perception

Experiencing absolute monism can profoundly transform how we perceive ourselves and the world. It fosters a sense of unity, compassion, and interconnectedness. Similarly, understanding superposition can expand our perception of the physical world, challenging classical assumptions and inviting us to explore the mysteries of the quantum realm.

Conclusion

The convergence of absolute monism and superposition offers a rich, thought-provoking perspective on the nature of reality. It reminds us that the boundaries between science and spirituality are not as rigid as they seem. Both realms, in their own ways, point toward a deeper truth—a universe where unity, interconnectedness, and the role of consciousness are fundamental. By exploring these intersections, we embark on a journey that not only broadens our understanding but also deepens our appreciation for the profound mysteries of existence.

Morgan O. Smith

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

https://linktr.ee/morganosmith

The Journey from Singularity to Advaita

A Deep Dive into Absolute Monism

In the realm of spiritual exploration, the concepts of Nirguna Brahman and Saguna Brahman offer profound insights into the nature of existence and the essence of reality. At the heart of this journey is understanding absolute monism and its manifestations through various dimensions of being.

Absolute Monism: The Unchanging Reality

Absolute Monism posits that there is a singular, omnipresent source from which everything emanates. This source, often called Nirguna Brahman, lacks qualities or attributes. It transcends all forms and distinctions beyond the dualities of hot and cold, good and evil, or masculine and feminine. This state has no concept of time, space, or location. It is the purest form of potentiality, embodying existence and nonexistence, and serves as the ground of all being.

Nirguna Brahman: The Formless Absolute

Nirguna Brahman is the ultimate reality without form or qualities. It represents the infinite potentiality that precedes all manifestations. In this state, distinctions such as up or down, north, west, east, south, inside or outside, and time or space dissolve into a singular, undifferentiated whole. This formless absolute is the source from which all probable and improbable possibilities arise.

Saguna Brahman: The Manifestation of Qualities

From the infinite potentiality of Nirguna Brahman emerges Saguna Brahman, the aspect of the divine with qualities. This is where evolution, shape, and form come into play. It encompasses all persons, places, and things, embodying the diverse polarities that characterize the physical and metaphysical realms. Through Saguna Brahman, the infinite takes on finite forms, giving rise to the rich diversity of existence.


The Path to Advaita: Non-Dual Awareness

The journey from Nirguna to Saguna Brahman is a transition from the formless to the form. However, the ultimate realization in this journey is Advaita, the recognition of non-duality. Advaita reveals the underlying oneness of all existence, where distinctions between self and other, subject and object, dissolve. It is an awareness that transcends the dualities of Saguna Brahman, bringing one back to the infinite potentiality of Nirguna Brahman.

Exploring Other Realms and Frequencies

In the context of Advaita, other realms and frequencies are understood as different expressions of the same underlying reality. Matter and consciousness are seen as different frequencies of the same essence. This holistic perspective invites us to explore the interconnectedness of all things, recognizing the unity within the diversity.


Para Brahman: Beyond the Beyond

Beyond both Nirguna and Saguna Brahman lies Para Brahman, the supreme reality that encompasses and transcends all. It is the ultimate source of all that is and does not exist beyond all concepts and categories. Para Brahman is the final frontier of spiritual exploration, inviting us to surrender to the mystery of the absolute.

Morgan O. Smith

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

https://linktr.ee/morganosmith