Sitting through the emptiness.
The Journal of analytical psychology April 1, 2021 Alexander H Smith
Experiences of an 'empty ego' stemming from early relational trauma involve a dualistic consciousness that splits non-dual subjectivity from its objects. In contrast, 'healing void states' of non-dualistic consciousness allow individuals to dis-identify from traumatizing self- and other-representations. These states arise in the ego-Self relationship, bridging chronic subject/object splits with unified consciousness. The healing void is always incipiently present and can aid stalled treatment. The article explores integrations with non-dual models from Vedantic and Kashmir Shaivism, proposing a combined Vedantic-Jungian framework as a transcendent bridge for treating emptiness.