Imagine sitting before a flickering butter lamp, mantra on the lips, as the world’s chatter gently fades. In Vajrayāna, “emptiness” (śūnyatā) isn’t an abstract cave; it’s the very ground of everything, woven right into tantric meditations.

Many esoteric practices begin with deity yoga. Here, a meditator visualizes themselves as a deity—bright, radiant, wholly composed of wisdom and compassion. Rather than building a solid ego fortress, this assumes that self and deity are both empty of inherent existence. Picturing every rainbow-hued petal or jeweled crown dissolving like mist teaches the mind to slip beyond fixed identities.

Vajra recitation rituals, often livestreamed these days on Buddhist centers’ YouTube channels, layer syllables—like “oṃ ah hūṃ”—into patterns that resonate through subtle channels (nāḍīs). Those vibrations, when felt in the body’s energy nexus (chakras), loosen up any sense of a rigid “I.” In effect, each mantra pulse is a reminder that thoughts arise and vanish like clouds drifting across a clear sky.

Dream yoga and sleep practices add another twist. Before drifting off, a yogi recalls that both dreamer and dream are empty, turning the night’s illusions into fields of awakening rather than distractions. It’s a bit like flipping a coin and discovering both sides are the same—there’s no real separation between waking and sleeping mind.

Modern mindfulness apps tend to focus on breath only, but tantric systems interweave visual imagery, subtle energy work, and emptiness teachings in one go. Today’s practitioners might notice their stress “melting like butter” when seeing every sensation as a display of luminosity without substance.

A stirring trend in 2025 has been hybrid retreats—online sessions paired with small, in-person gatherings—where participants learn that emptiness isn’t a void to fear but the cradle of boundless wisdom. By embracing this paradox, the meditator gently unravels habitual patterns, discovering that what once looked like solid ground was always an open sky.