I think magical practices, initiation and such techniques to induce ego death are actually just an 'early' experience of this same phenomenon. In many ways these practices are designed so you will be able to release these things without attachment at the moment of death. Obviously there are other benefits to these practices too, but I feel like this is very similar in concept.
In Kabbalah, there is many parts of the self. The lower part is called the Nephesh and represents the animal body, the physical form and the raw material self. Above that we have the Ruach which represents the conscious mind, emotions and experiences, the place we typically dwell. Above that is the Neshamah which refers to the 'higher mind', the intuition, wisdom and the higher faculties. The process of Kabbalah is used to bring the awareness of the consciousness up out of the Nephesh, stabilize the Ruach and reach upwards to the higher mind of Neshamah.
The boundary between the Ruach and the Neshamah is called the Abyss or the Void and it protects the higher Neshamah from the 'lower functions' while also acting as a gateway to the higher functions. When one crosses in to the Abyss, the Ruach is dissolved and released and one experiences the Neshamah directly. This has always been described as a transcendent experience, beyond all thought and bodily emotions, being a purely elevated experience where words cannot touch. To those who cross it is said that their personality and limited mind is "left behind" in the Abyss while the consciousness rises to exalted heights. Those who do so are never 'themselves' again.
I believe it is fully possible to 'die' in this way in life and be reborn as a new, free entity (as in, free from your self-conceptions) and that this is what the ultimate path of meditation, magic and prayer leads to. When you release the self to become the Creator you never quite see yourself the same.
I don't think magic or meditation are the only ways though, I think it can happen 'spontaneously' or because of trauma, but I also think it can happen when someone is unprepared for it and I think that it happens that way more often than not because people are seeking something so high and then they get a peek at infinity and their minds do not know how to process it. The purpose of all the many grades and techniques of ceremonial magic (among other initiation traditions) or the process of experimenting is so that the mind is fully explored and nothing is hiding when the Abyss is crossed, for whatsoever you have neglected shall be amplified a thousand-fold in the Abyss. This usually results in not "crossing" and instead becoming trapped in an egoic identity, usually convinced you are the best thing ever. In Thelema they call these Black Brothers and are seen as "fallen" in a manner.
In short, ready yourself to die and try not to die until you are ready.
In Kabbalah, there is many parts of the self. The lower part is called the Nephesh and represents the animal body, the physical form and the raw material self. Above that we have the Ruach which represents the conscious mind, emotions and experiences, the place we typically dwell. Above that is the Neshamah which refers to the 'higher mind', the intuition, wisdom and the higher faculties. The process of Kabbalah is used to bring the awareness of the consciousness up out of the Nephesh, stabilize the Ruach and reach upwards to the higher mind of Neshamah.
The boundary between the Ruach and the Neshamah is called the Abyss or the Void and it protects the higher Neshamah from the 'lower functions' while also acting as a gateway to the higher functions. When one crosses in to the Abyss, the Ruach is dissolved and released and one experiences the Neshamah directly. This has always been described as a transcendent experience, beyond all thought and bodily emotions, being a purely elevated experience where words cannot touch. To those who cross it is said that their personality and limited mind is "left behind" in the Abyss while the consciousness rises to exalted heights. Those who do so are never 'themselves' again.
I believe it is fully possible to 'die' in this way in life and be reborn as a new, free entity (as in, free from your self-conceptions) and that this is what the ultimate path of meditation, magic and prayer leads to. When you release the self to become the Creator you never quite see yourself the same.
I don't think magic or meditation are the only ways though, I think it can happen 'spontaneously' or because of trauma, but I also think it can happen when someone is unprepared for it and I think that it happens that way more often than not because people are seeking something so high and then they get a peek at infinity and their minds do not know how to process it. The purpose of all the many grades and techniques of ceremonial magic (among other initiation traditions) or the process of experimenting is so that the mind is fully explored and nothing is hiding when the Abyss is crossed, for whatsoever you have neglected shall be amplified a thousand-fold in the Abyss. This usually results in not "crossing" and instead becoming trapped in an egoic identity, usually convinced you are the best thing ever. In Thelema they call these Black Brothers and are seen as "fallen" in a manner.
In short, ready yourself to die and try not to die until you are ready.
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