Is this fourth state aligned with Rudolph Otto’s (1923) numinous or with Carl Jung’s cavernous domain of the unconscious? Perhaps we don’t want to admit that some things escape not only our comprehension but also our capacity to even acknowledge that they exist. We assign the content of this fourth state to the condition of nothingness—and we wonder how big this fourth state might be. It is like living in Flatland and wondering what it would be like to live with (or perhaps even within) a third dimension—and then we scurry away from any vision of a world with something unimaginable and profound, namely, depth.
Appreciation
The ultimate challenge might be to not just acknowledge and seek somehow to comprehend that which exists in the fourth state of the unknown—that which we have cast into the abyss of nothingness. We might, somehow, come to appreciate that which is unknown to us. We appreciate the nothingness of the abyss we experience when standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon. Like Brugh Joy, we gain a sense of ecstasy when viewing sunrise while standing on the Great Pyramid. We feel a sense of great warmth and even relief when we anticipate a state of true freedom in our society (Bergquist, Weitz and Pomerantz, 2026).
Is it possible to simply sit back so that we might appreciate and even honor an amazing world that we do not yet comprehend. This would be the Hebrew Yahweh that offers us abundant surprises, gifts and challenges which come “from out of the blue.” This also is the Christian God who provides us with Grace, when we don’t deserve it. And this is the Mandala of Ancient Asian origins that provides us with a balance and integration that resides beyond our consciousness.
Perhaps we can find a guide who can help us fully appreciate the void. Like Dante found in Virgil and Carl Jung found in Philemon, our guide can lead us to large spaces of emptiness, be it the Grand Canyon or open vistas around the Great Pyramid that are being illuminated by a rising sun. These expansive visas can be sources not just of ecstasy and inspiration; they can also, somehow, provide access to a unifying, even if invisible, sense of a spiritual being. From nonbeing to being . . . Nothingness is truly amazing!
We may find an indication of this realm of nothingness in the description offered by Brugh Joy. Amidst his second re-birth, Joy discovered something about a world that is swirling with contradictions. While Joy was inspired in viewing the intense light of the sun emerging from the horizon in Egypt, his subsequent imagery was of darkness and death. Brugh Joy suggests that we dwell in world of light and darkness. We also dwell in a world of nothingness in that light and dark cancel each other out (forming a blank slate). We are left with the gray tones of Limbo or the loss of all visual displays. In this world of gray there is only ambiguity. In this world of blank slate, nothing that makes sense.
