It can be argued that the universe does have a cosmic mind, which I would call consciousness. This is one of the eternally debated issues: Is everything just inside our heads/brains, or is consciousness something apart from and not contingent on the brain. It is obvious to me that it is the latter. I am sure you are also familiar with David Chalmers' ideas on this as well.

Based on what I wrote about the void, how could it not pre-exist life and the evolution of life? Life is contained within the void; the void is not contained with life. And yet the void permeates life. I've heard physicists (including Lawrence Strauss) argue with religious leaders that the universe actually did come from nothing. Since I am not a physicist, I don't know the specifics of his argument.

To realize the void is not imagination, no meditation is necessary. By ascetic renunciation I am supposing you mean a rejection of or abstinence from sensual pleasures. This is not necessary either. And yet these things are quite often practiced for some reason.

Jiddu Krishnamurti spoke of a certain kind of meditation, which does not involved trying to stop thought, trying to calm down, or visualization. Instead, he spoke of placing the attention on the entirety of the sense of self, watching it and noticing its movements, tendencies, etc. For some — I can only speak for myself — this eventually creates a situation wherein the self and all else disappears completely. This does not last permanently, of course (otherwise we'd be like mindless robots), but it is a potent realization that one does not exist as one has long supposed due to psychological conditioning. There are other things may happen as well, including the recognition of the void, or capacity, as what one fundamentally is. Unlike an experience, this does not fade or disappear. It is a knowing just as you know where your ears and nose are. I would not call this mystical, but perhaps others would.