The Self Behind No Object

This is an inward inquiry into awareness, resting as the Ever-Present Self, Turīya. We are not trying to create a special state or discover awareness as an object, but relaxing into that which is already present and by which every experience is known. This is a deeply grounding, non-dual meditation that moves one effortlessly from the mechanics of breathing into pure, effortless self-inquiry (Atma Vichara).

The entire arc of the practice moves away from grasping at objects and settles into the formless, silent background of pure witnessing consciousness—often pointing directly to the state of Turiya (the fourth, foundational state of pure consciousness).

Transcript

Welcome to this meditation. Seeking truth. Come to sit in a comfortable posture. Settle, Feeling the earth. Let gravity take the body. Become aware of your breathing. Just feeling the breath Knowing I am breathing in. I am breathing out. Slow down the breathing as you've learnt in the swallowing breath. The breath becomes imperceptible, Hardly breathing at all. So really softening the breath. Allowing the breath to slowly, Gently. . . Move in and out, No push, No pull. As we venture deeper into the self on the quest of the true essence, The true self. Allow yourself to relax the idea of discovering some exceptional subtle object of any kind. And in a light, Silence or an expanded state. Or peace or bliss. Because anything that we can observe or conceptualize is still an appearance within awareness. If there are any thoughts, Just notice them, Let them arise. Let them be observed like you're looking at the clouds in the sky. Allow yourself to rest in the space behind the thoughts. Just like when you're looking at clouds, You can see the sky behind the clouds. So whatever we can observe, Whatever we can. . . Think about is not the true essence, Is not who we truly are. So first we look at the thoughts and recognize. Anything that can be known cannot be who I am. Till the thoughts are seen, The thoughts are known. It is not me. And we look at the body. The body is known. The breath. The energy. Are known. Even silence is seen, Observed and known. The experience of self. Right now, I am the meditator. Is known. We often perceive our own consciousness as being. The thoughts or I am thinking so I am conscious. Even every thought. Is created by consciousness. So thinking is not consciousness. Your body is created by consciousness. And so is any experience, The experience of silence. The experience of knowing existence. All this is not the self. Is not the pure awareness. Everything you create comes from the consciousness. Imagine life as all the paintings you create. And as you look at all the paintings and all the experiences you see, You can experience. The concept of the artist. But you are not seeing the artist. Look upon all the creations to see the Creator behind them. And you see the space from which everything gets created. The stillness. Deep and into the stillness. Be absorbed in the stillness. Allow awareness to be everywhere. And ask yourself. Where am I creating reality from? Rest into that. No more doing. No more thinking. Just being. Resting. Consciousness does not merely illuminate the world, It knows itself through and as its manifestations. Body, Breath, Sensation and thought are therefore not outside consciousness. They are movements of consciousness, Shakti. Through which consciousness may recognize its own freedom. Recognize both the silent knower and every appearance as expressions of one's self-aware consciousness. Using logic to understand ourselves through analysis of the experience of ourselves. Doesn't bring us to our true essence. Deeply relax and rest. Beyond Thoughts Allow yourself to relax into feeling. Drop deeper into being. Instead of understanding. Experience who you are. Instead of finding who you are, Be who you are. Yourself cannot be known by an experience. It is that by which every experience is known. Recognize that the awareness presently knowing experience is itself what we have been seeking. Before creating a name or conceptualizing an experience. Allow yourself to feel what is here. Feel the space in which all experience, Thought, Sensation is arising. Finally, Even the division between awareness and what awareness observes may dissolve. There is simply self-luminous experiencing. No separate observer standing outside it. Failing to find awareness as an object may reveal awareness as our very nature. A quiet, Clear mind allows the ever-present self to be recognized. As a sole lake reflects the moon clearly. The reflected image may become clearer, But the moon was never absent. The space holds all objects. And cannot be seen or known as an object. The space is ever-present. Feel this. Your essence can never leave. Change or diminish. Rest into vastness. Rest into the silk. Okay. You Okay. You Thanks for watching! Home. Oh.