In the stillness of meditation, in the awe before a sunset, something shifts within us. Neuroscience has begun to trace this shift, revealing that during deeply spiritual experiences, one of the most active networks of the brain—the Default Mode Network (DMN)—grows quiet. This network, which is typically associated with self-referential thought, daydreaming, and the internal narrative, steps aside. The sense of “I” begins to dissolve, and in its place arises a feeling of union with something greater.

When the DMN quiets down, the brain is no longer preoccupied with planning, analyzing, or remembering. Instead, other parts come forward. The parietal lobes, responsible for mapping the body in space, begin to reduce their activity as well. The boundaries between self and world begin to blur. The prefrontal cortex, which governs decision-making and judgment, also lets go a little. What remains is presence. Immediate. Timeless. Sacred. The direct entering into our ultrasubjective hyperspace.

To the mystic, this has always been known. The yogi who speaks of merging into the Absolute, the monk who describes becoming one with God, the desert hermit who loses the self in silence—all these experiences seem to share a neurological signature. The mind empties. The self dissolves. The veil thins.

From an esoteric perspective, the hypoactivity of the DMN could be interpreted as the symbolic death of the ego. The thinker, the controller, the inner voice—all pause. In that space, what is revealed? The divine, perhaps. Or the true self, radiant and empty, not clouded by the incessant chatter of thought.

Spiritual practices across traditions—whether meditation, mantra, breathwork, or devotion—train us to enter this state. They quiet the DMN. They make space. And in that space, something speaks.

What speaks? That is up to you to discover. But it may not be a voice at all. It may be a light, a vibration, a knowing that needs no words.

This is the essence of the inner path. To become the silent witness. So that we can become vessels and transmittors for the sacredness, for the divine. Shunyam Adhibhu