Henosis Foundation.

Layer 3 feels like an all-pervading presence and fullness. Initially, as one deepens through Layer 2 into Layer 3, it can feel as though the emptiness of Layer 2 becomes infused with fullness. Fullness and emptiness are both the distinction and intersection of these two layers. 

In addition, rather than being a container for and the substance of what is (as Layer 2 feels), the qualities of Layer 3 feel as though they permeate and infuse everything. Some would describe this transition as the container dissolving, or, alternatively, as it expanding infinitely. 

It is relatively rare for Finders to reach Layer 3 in a persistent way, however temporary experiences of it are more common. Just as some religious and spiritual traditions regard Layer 2 as the end of the Fundamental Wellbeing path, others view Layer 3 this way. Whereas nondual forms of Layer 3 are sometimes considered the endpoint in various Eastern Traditions, Layer 3 of Location 3 is generally regarded as the goal within Islamic and Christian traditions. 

Layer 3 is probably the vastest of all layers to explore subjectively. Deep into Layer 3, it will feel as though it is the substance of everything. On the shallower end, Layer 3 feels more like an essence or presence infusing experience, as though it pervades but is simultaneously transcendent of everything. It feels untouched and untouchable. 

There are many ways in which the experience of Layer 3 can show up, particularly in Location 2. It can go in the direction of deep stillness and pure beingness and/or isness, and can have very little affect, thus appearing similar to Location 4. In fact, it is common for Finder who reach this depth in Location 2 to believe that they are in Location 4. Alternatively, the experience can be infused with joy, love, and even a sense of sacredness or divinity, which may appear more similar to Location 3. It can feel highly energized in and of itself and sometimes be referred to as “life” or “aliveness”. It can also be perceived as having a quality of innate intelligence, beyond that of the linear conceptual mind.

Some people will experience Layer 3 as light, using descriptions such as “the clear light of being (or consciousness, or awareness),” or “a light shining through all space and objects”. When this is the case, it can be perceived as an all-pervading, still, luminous field that is both the source of experience and what experiences everything. 

Quite deeply into Layer 3, its field-like presence can feel dense, even like a thick liquid, although not everyone experiences this. When it shows up this way, Finders report perceiving what seem like patterns of energy (like ripples) that interact with the environment and other people. In addition, the field-like presence of Layer 3 feels powerful and penetrating, and while being deep in Layer 3 it can feel as though one is having a noticeable influence on others. 

There is no sense of emptiness or loneliness deep in Layer 3. The quality of fullness prevails and can feel immeasurably vast and deep. At its deepest reaches, Layer 3 is experienced as a centerless, aware, still, all-pervading field or presence without limits, permeating through and as everything. At this depth, the distinction between inside and outside seems meaningless. It is equally present everywhere. 

There is very little sense of an individual self left at the deepest centerless reaches of Layer 3, but fragments of self that formerly constituted the complex individual sense of self can still rise into awareness. These are typically viewed as something to release or go beyond, and one can easily spend the rest of one’s life working on this. Doing so leads to an increasingly pure experience of raw beingness and/or isness as these filters are stripped away.

As with each deeper layer, there is a greater depth of stillness/silence experienced at Layer 3 than any preceding layer. This relates to stripping away or getting beneath the processes that filter and structure perception, including the sense of self at its more foundational levels. The quality of stillness/silence at Layer 3 is profound and feels as though it pervades and encompasses everything. Simultaneously, it also feels as though it transcends everything, or is somehow more foundational, real, or permanent than anything else. 

Layers 1, 2, and 3 are like holons, in that each successive layer feels as though it contains or enables the content and existence of the more shallow layers beneath it. This is not the case with Layer 4, which feels total and complete beyond all distinctions. However, with Layers 2 and 3, each feels like a greater or more foundational context for the unfolding of experience at preceding layers. Movement deeper into the layers subjectively both transcends and includes the layers that came before. The deeper layers feel more foundational and absolute than the more shallow layer(s). Especially at Layer 3, there is a distinct quality of presence and beingness, which feels deeper and more real than anything previously experienced. It can be described as a very raw experience of being, pure beingness or isness, timeless presence pervading everything, the ground of being, the foundational aliveness or life in everything, and so on.

Accordingly, Layer 3 is sometimes described as the foundation or source of manifest existence. It can be experienced as a source that pervades all levels of being, yet simultaneously transcends the specific forms that are manifest. Because it is undifferentiated and formless, the only way the symbolic mind can conceive of it is as unmanifest, pure potentiality. 

Subjectively this may be experienced as a field of infinite potentiality because it is formless and unmanifest, yet feels profoundly full and like the source underlying all differentiated existence. It feels like it is everywhere—there is nowhere it is not—yet it is not localized anywhere and it does not have spatial dimensionality. There can still be a subtle duality or separation perceived between form and formless, manifest and unmanifest, which increasingly fades at greater depths of the experience.  There are many depths and varieties of nonduality, many of which contain subtle levels of duality that often only become apparent when they are gone beyond. The subtle dualities deep in Layer 3 are an example of this.

Because of the innate tendencies of Layer 3, isolating in this layer can be less optimal in terms of effectiveness in the world. Layer 3 feels profoundly complete and as though one must have arrived at the end of the path in terms of deepening further into Fundamental Wellbeing, while simultaneously seeming to allow for endless deepening within it. Consequently, the tendency is to deeply root into it. 

There is a strong pull into the stillness and peace which can preclude thought and action. This layer can increase issues with motivation, and people generally become less concerned about being functional in the world. For those who feel deeply pulled into Layer 3, Layer 1 can be more difficult to access, and one can be more distant and non-reactive in terms of normal human interaction. It can be very helpful for Finders deepening into Layer 3 to have fixed responsibilities, such as a job or family to care for, that force them to integrate, or maintain access to, more of Layer 1. 

An alternative to isolating perception increasingly into Layer 3, is to move fluidly between Layers 1, 2, and 3 (and 4, where possible) as is most appropriate for the moment at hand. This enables greater integration of the system and can allow one to experience the depths of Fundamental Wellbeing without compromising effectiveness in the world. The degree to which this is achievable depends on the location one is at and its innate tendencies and access to the layers. 

Differences in Layer 3 across Locations:

Location 1	Layer 3 is difficult to access in Location 1, and the experience is typically temporary and more shallow than at other locations. The experience usually involves aspects of Layer 3 mixed with shallower layers. As with Layer 2, the movement in and out of these temporary experiences can give Location 1 Finders a sense of “not being there yet,” which is usually not correct—there are simply more locations and depths within them to explore, and that process is unfolding.
Location 2	Layer 3 is highly accessible in Location 2, but it remains relatively rare for Finders to reach Layer 3 persistently. The experience of Layer 3 is often mixed with the deeper aspects of Layer 2. Finders who reach Layer 3 in Location 2 and do not seek to isolate from society often develop a natural fluidity between Layer 3 and Layer 1, sometimes even minimizing access to Layer 2.
Location 3	Layer 3 is the default layer for Location 3 and is dominant and pervasive in subjective experience. It is experienced as the divine or panpsychist presence permeating everything. There can often be a natural fluidity, and even integration, between Layer 3 and Layer 1, sometimes minimizing access to Layer 2. This can be an exception to deepening in Layer 3 generally resulting in diminished access to Layer 1. Particularly in Location 3, Finders sometimes develop the perception and/or belief that their state of being is somehow of benefit to humanity or life as a whole. They can feel as though the divine or some beneficial type of blessing is radiating out from them.
Location 4	Layer 3 can remain accessible in Location 4, though usually only the deepest centerless aspects of it. This will typically be mixed with Layer 4. Finders often experience a mix of Layer 3 and Layer 4, and possibly other layers, after initially transitioning to Location 4. If they remain in Location 4, they will usually go through what they often describe as a “deepening” in that location, which typically involves their system moving more solidly into Layer 4. From this point on, it becomes more difficult access to Layer 3.
Location 5+	Access to Layer 3 depends on whether one is experiencing later locations on the Path of Freedom or the Path of Humanity. On the Path of Freedom, subjective experience roots increasingly deeply into Layer 4, until Layer 3 becomes difficult to access. It can sometimes show up again in later locations in a highly integrated form where it will feel like Layer 3 is a quality of reality/existence.  In contrast, on the Path of Humanity, the deeper aspects of Layer 3 remain accessible. This difference in where subjective experience centers appears to underlie the split in development after Location 4. Layer 3 has a quality of being/beingness that falls away at Layer 4, hence Finders on the Path of Humanity return to experiencing a subtle quality of self. Similarly, the continued perceptual awareness of Layer 3 results in greater dimensionality in perception, which can subjectively feel richer and more alive than Location 4. There is also some return of emotion on the Path of Humanity, usually impersonal forms of love, which also relate to Layer 3.