Being Aware Of Being Aware
This meditation guides you to the simple immediate experience of Being Aware. Awareness itself is so ubiquitous, so natural, effortless, continuous, and subtle that we miss it. Though Awareness is ever-present as who we are—and realizing this is liberation—we seem to be unaware of this. We are so accustomed to focusing on the contents of consciousness that we forget our natural, primary, felt sense of being aware. So, this meditation points to a felt sense of our essential Being, Awareness itself.
Transcript
Being aware of being aware.
To begin,
Take a moment to see and feel your environment as a sacred space.
Consider your intention for your practice.
Why is this important to you?
Consider dedicating your practice to the well-being of all beings.
The purpose of this meditation is to point to the simple,
Immediate experience of being aware.
Awareness itself is so ubiquitous,
So natural,
Effortless,
Continuous and subtle that we often miss it.
Though awareness is ever-present as who we are,
And realizing this is liberation,
We seem to be unaware of this.
We are so accustomed to focusing on the contents of consciousness that we forget our natural,
Primary felt sense of being aware.
Since awareness is not a thing,
Not an object that can be described,
But instead is that which enables objects and experiences to appear,
Awareness tends to hide behind the appearances,
The experiences and objects that it shines upon and reveals.
An object requires boundaries.
The boundless cannot be described.
Since awareness is not an object and can't be described as a thing with qualities and characteristics,
We can only point to it.
There are three ways we can do this.
We can say what it is not,
Or what it is like.
Or we can point to it through instructions that give you a direct felt sense which transcends words and objectification.
As a prelude to this pointing,
Let's begin with what awareness itself is not.
We've already said it is not an object,
But that within which objects and experiences appear.
It is also not a location,
So there's nowhere to go to find awareness,
And nowhere to get to,
To realize it.
Neither is it a state,
So we cannot achieve awareness using some special technique or skill,
Nor do we need to maintain it as a state of being.
So those are things awareness is not.
What is it like then?
Here are some common analogies.
It is like a movie screen,
The stable background upon which the play of life and its individual characters appear.
The screen remains unchanged no matter what is playing on the screen.
Awareness is like the clear,
Open sky within which the clouds of thoughts,
Feelings,
Sensations and experiences flow by.
The sky remains vast and open no matter what clouds appear that obscure it from view.
Awareness is like an ocean within which the waves of thoughts,
Feelings,
Sensations and experiences arise,
And into which they dissolve.
The waves are not separate from the ocean,
But simply momentary appearances,
Movements within the ocean itself.
Deep down under the currents,
The ocean is still and unchanging.
With these analogies in our minds,
Let's see if we can shift beyond the mind,
Beyond conceptualization and approach awareness directly.
We'll do this through posture cues.
I want you to be aware of each cue in a sensory way.
Really feel each one so you awaken sensory awareness,
Which is free from the conceptual mind and its objectifications and identifications.
Let's start by sitting comfortably upright,
With the soles of your feet flat on the ground and parallel to each other.
Are you aware of sitting upright?
Yes,
You're aware of this.
Now,
Be aware of being aware.
Feel into the sensations of contact of your feet on the ground.
Really feel the sensation of contact of your feet on the ground.
Are you aware of this sensation?
Yes,
You're aware of this.
Be aware of being aware.
Are you aware of feeling comfortable or uncomfortable?
Be aware of being aware of this.
Now,
Be aware of being aware.
Rest your hands cupped in your lap,
With the tips of your thumbs touching lightly.
Are you aware of this sensation of the tips of your thumbs touching?
Yes,
You're aware of this.
Soften and relax your hands.
Feel your hands and fingers soften and relax.
Are you aware of this sensation?
Yes,
You're aware of this.
You can feel it.
Be aware of being aware.
Lightly close your eyes.
What do you notice with your eyes?
Keep your eyes closed.
Anything at all.
What do you notice?
Thoughts,
Feelings,
Sensations?
What are you aware of?
Be aware of being aware.
Notice the sensations of breathing,
Wherever you feel them most prominently.
Can you feel any sensations of breathing?
Are you aware of these sensations?
Be aware of being aware.
Now,
Simply sit here.
Are you aware of sitting here?
Be aware of being aware.
Now,
Set all of these sensations aside.
Also,
Set aside your thoughts and the activity of thinking.
Set aside any feelings about how this is going.
Set aside the past and the future.
Set aside the sensation of your body sitting here.
Set everything aside and just rest here,
Now.
Setting aside all of this,
What remains?
Be aware of being aware.
Simple awareness.
What is it like?
Without content?
Without anything filling the space?
What is it like?
Does it have any boundaries or limits?
Does it begin or end?
Does it change?
Be aware of being aware.
Just being aware of being aware.
It's so simple,
So natural,
So ever-present and effortless,
That we often miss it or disregard it.
Awareness is always present underneath it all,
As that within which everything we are aware of appears.
For now,
Rest back as awareness,
Prior to content and experience.
Rest from the workings of the mind.
Rest from the ups and downs of experiences.
Simply aware.
Here,
Simple awareness of awareness itself.
Endless.
Changeless.
Close.
Closer than close,
Yet vast and open.
Rest as awareness.
Being aware of being aware.
Silky in this subtle felt sense.
Being aware of being aware.
Record it deeply.
Be aware of being aware.
Slowly,
Very slowly,
Begin to open your eyes,
With this same subtle felt sense of being aware.
Be aware of the space within and all around you.
As one space arising within awareness,
The world appears in the light of awareness.
You can be aware of many things.
Thoughts,
Feelings,
Sensations,
Sensations,
Interactions,
Yet these all appear within awareness.
Awareness is constant underneath and shining upon and through everything that arises.
Whatever we attend to arises.
It appears because we give attention to it.
What we experience is the result of what we focus on and how we relate to it.
You then have a specific experience from a specific vantage point.
You just don't realize you're involved in this activity of attending and interpreting.
You just notice what arises in awareness and think that's what's happening.
Hold up one hand in front of you and look at it.
Because you're attending to it and looking at it from this angle,
From this particular vantage point,
You experience your hand in a certain way.
Every experience is like this.
Out of the infinite variety of things you could focus on,
You focus on something.
You relate to it from a certain vantage point and you have a certain experience.
It's not that that is how it is.
It's just how it appears from a certain vantage point.
So focus on your hand again.
Are you aware of your hand?
Notice the felt sense of being aware of your hand.
Now,
Be aware of being aware.
Rest as awareness.
The vast openness within which your hand appears.
When you are aware of this vast openness within which your hand appears,
You have a different vantage point that changes how you experience it.
There is freedom around it.
Space around it.
Being aware of how every experience and interaction appears in a wide open space of awareness changes your relationship with everything that happens.
Things don't feel so heavy,
Substantial,
And fixed.
Everything is fluid and flowing in vast openness.
Now rest your hand in your lap again and be aware of moving your hand there.
Now be aware of being aware.
As you go about your day,
What would it be like to move through life recognizing everything as arising within vast open awareness?
No matter what happens,
Underneath it all,
Awareness remains peaceful,
Changeless,
And whole.
Awareness is so simple,
So obvious,
That we often forget we are being aware.
We are so accustomed to focusing on the contents of consciousness that we forget our natural,
Primary,
Felt sense of being aware.
We get caught up in and identify with what appears in the play of forms,
Desires,
Tensions,
And activities and forget the vast openness of awareness itself within which all of this appears.
If instead we rest as awareness,
We are always already whole,
Peaceful,
And free.
What we are seeking is already present in simply being aware.
So we relax and let go.
Then we can play in this world of forms with a sense of ease,
Openness,
Compassion,
And flow.
Take a moment to write down anything you'd like to remember from this meditative experience,
Along with any insights and inspirations.
You can repeat this meditation again and again to remind you to be aware of being aware.
Thank you for your practice.
Well done.
