Heads

Head 0: The No Head

There's not much that can be usefully said about this state. There seem to be constant references to it in mystic literature but most of the things the mystic's say aren't going to make much sense unless you know what they mean already. Hence they end up sounding confused. Leary and Wilson also talk about some aspects of this head in describing the 8th circuit but if anything they make less sense on this subject than those who have given up any hope of scientific description. This state can be described as what lies beyond absence of consciousness rather than the absence itself (perhaps it should be called head -1). It has variously been called Samhadi, Satori and any number of other things.

I know of no drugs that will always induce this state and the only practices that seem to work fairly reliably are tantra and raja yoga but even these don't seem to work all the time. In fact these practices are best thought of as waiting around for it to just happen. It should be pointed out that head0 seems to be in some ways much less spectacular than (for instance) the effects of psychedelics, but then in others ways it can be far more spectacular. In addition to being the ultimate goal of the mystical tradition it also describes a state you are in ALL THE TIME, which is quite hard to explain. Many claim head0 has no worth at all, often mystics who have spent their lives pursuing it. The state can also be described as logically impossible.

If all that seems a bit nonsensical it must be remembered that head0 transcends language.

No amount of reading or study is will cause you to reach this state but the following may be helpful to the curious:

• The Book of Lies - A. Crowley
• The Tao te Ching - Lao tse Tung

The work of Crowley makes constant reference to this topic but I feel that the Book of Lies with its constant assault on reason works best. I also find A.O. Spare's concept of Kia quite useful but it can be easy to mistake this MAP for the territory. A good survey of Zen, Tao and some Hinduism could also be a good idea but try not to get caught in the descriptions or you will miss the point.