The 'Me' And 'Mine' We Never Question

00:30

06:35

The 'Me' And 'Mine' We Never Question

by Pratika 'Sahayak' Kshemya

Type

talks

Activity

Meditation

Suitable for

Everyone

What if the “me” you have always assumed yourself to be has never actually been questioned? From childhood, we learn to experience life through the ideas of “me” and “mine” — my body, my thoughts, my feelings, my possessions, my beliefs, my experiences, my life. But what happens when we quietly stand back and look beneath the surface of these familiar assumptions? This meditation invites you to explore the difference between experiencing what is here and the mind of the separate self's movement to claim it as “mine” — and to recognize what is already present before the labels, judgments and stories of “me” arise. There is nothing to get rid of and nothing to become. Simply a quiet invitation to look a little deeper… and discover what is timelessly aware when the need to define experience as “me” or “mine” begins to soften.

Self Inquiry Practice Resting As Awareness Non Duality Identity Cultural Conditioning Awareness Meditation Identity Exploration

Meet your Teacher

Pratika 'Sahayak' Kshemya

1074 Tawapiban Soi 12, Tambon Nai Mueang, Amphoe Mueang Roi Et, Chang Wat Roi Et 45000, Thailand

Meet your Teacher

Pratika 'Sahayak' Kshemya

1074 Tawapiban Soi 12, Tambon Nai Mueang, Amphoe Mueang Roi Et, Chang Wat Roi Et 45000, Thailand

Transcript

Hello again, Welcome back. What does it mean when we say me or mine? We use these words constantly. Usually without questioning. What they actually refer to, My body. My feelings. My relationships, My achievements. My life. We have used this language for so long, It seems completely natural. We learned it from our childhood. And because we've never really known another way of relating. To our personal experiences. We rarely notice what is being implied every time we experience a me or a mine. Because every time I say, My body, My thoughts, My experiences, My life, As subtle as it may seem, A conditioned distinction is being affirmed. This is Amin. And when there is a me, There is also a them. There is me and there is day. I have. They don't. I am. They are not. I know they do not. And so our language can reinforce a sense of separation, Of perceived distance. Difference or judgment. This does not only happen on an individual level. It also happens on a much broader scale. Throughout the cultural influences we grow up in. We learn about us and them, We and they. We learn to distinguish who belongs, Who does not, Who is welcome, Who is not. And from these distinctions can arise judgments, Prejudices and segregation. And the perception that some are less than. More capable or more deserving than others. I belong, They don't. I am more suited, They are not. And so what may begin as an innocent distinction between me and them, Can become deeply, Deeply ingrained. Forming an entire structure of societal prejudice. Selection Assessment Comparison and separation. Not necessarily because anyone consciously chooses to create these divisions. Because we are part of a wider personal belief system that continually separates and categorizes. And distinguishes individuals into me and them. And this is why it is worth looking a little more closely at what we actually mean when we say me or mine. Because the use of me and mine does more than describe how we relate to people, Objects and experiences. It can continually reinforce the belief there is a separate person here, A separate me, Living a life separate from the world I experience. But if there is a separate me living this life, Where is this me? Can this me actually be found? Not as a thought about me, Not as a name, Not as a history. Not as an image of who I believe I am. But as something that actually exists independently. Take a moment and look. Where is this me? Is it the body? The body is changing from moment to moment. Breathing, Moving, Aging. Sensations appearing and disappearing. Is it thoughts? Authority appears. But did me choose the thought before it appeared? Is it the feelings? A feeling arises, Is experienced, Then changes. Or is this me something else? Something that exists beyond all of this. If so, Where is it? Can it be located? Can it be observed? Does this me have substance? Does it have an existence of its own? Or is me simply a label, A conditioned belief? Continually reinforced through thought, Memory, Language, And identification. And also notice something very subtle. We say, My body, My thoughts, My feelings, My life. But if there is a my, Where or who is the owner? Can the owner actually be found apart from what has been conditionally identified? Perhaps this is the question we have never really asked ourselves. So for this moment, Before the thought of me arises, Before something becomes mine. Just notice what is actually present in your awareness. Right here where you are. There is seeing, Hearing, Feeling, Breathing. Thinking, Experiencing. All of this is already happening before the mind habitually claims and identifies it, Saying, This is happening to me. Before the label, Before the ownership, Before the distinction. What is actually here in real time. Is there, Beyond any doubt, A separate someone standing apart from what is being experienced? Or is there simply an experience appearing? Being known. Without a separate identified owner that can actually be found. There is no need to answer intellectually, Just be still and notice. And perhaps for the first time be aware of how quickly the mind can place a label on what is here. My thought, My feeling, My body, My experience. My life. But what happens when the label is not added? What remains. Simply this. An open, Free, Spacious awareness. Seeing, Hearing, Feeling. Simply being aware. Without consciously choosing to divide what is here into what belongs to a me. And what does not. Before me, Before mine, Before ownership, Before separation. Just this impersonal presence, Wholeness and awareness. One's indefinable direct experiencing of what is timelessly present. As one's fundamental nature.