Well,
Hello everybody,
And now to Asmita,
The second of the kleshas.
So Asmita is generally translated as the I-ness,
Ego-sense or identification with the self.
But more precisely,
Asmita is the confusion of the seer with the instrument of seeing.
In other words,
We mistake what we are,
Pure awareness,
Purusha,
For what we use,
Mind,
Personality,
Body,
Roles,
Thoughts,
Emotions,
Etc.
So,
Instead of I am the one who is aware of the thoughts,
We unconsciously shift to I am my thoughts,
My story,
My role,
My body,
My achievements,
My wounds.
So that mistaken identity is Asmita.
And this,
Of course,
Causes us a great deal of suffering.
So Patanjali in Yoga Sutra 2.
6 translates it simply as,
Asmita is the apparent identity of the power of seeing consciousness with the power of perception mind.
In plain English,
We confuse the witness with the mind that witnesses.
So with that in mind,
We're not trying to destroy the ego in any kind of way.
We're simply trying to see clearly through it and understanding it for what it is,
An instrument of purpose.
And so,
We're just going to lie down,
Get set up for our practice in shivasana or seated in a cross-legged posture,
Whichever one you prefer.
And immediately,
We're going to think about who is it that's lying down.
And you'll notice that it's me that's lying down.
It's not the experience of lying down,
It's me lying down.
So just dwell with that thought for a moment.
Settle into the comfortable position.
Let the body and mind settle into the comfortable position.
Let the body be supported.
Allow the eyes to close gently and allow the breath to move naturally.
There is nothing to manage here,
Nothing to improve.
Just this moment as is.
Begin sensing the body,
The weight of the body,
The contact with the floor or the chair.
Let awareness rest in simple sensation.
The back of the heels,
The back of the calves,
The hamstrings,
Buttocks,
The spine,
Shoulder blades,
The face,
The whole body,
The whole body,
Listening to the sounds,
Listening to the sounds.
The breath is moving,
Sensations are appearing,
Sounds are coming and going.
And just allow that to happen.
Simply being aware of this happening.
Getting deeper now,
Allowing ourselves to get deeper now.
The deeper with the breath,
Moving inward and downward.
Notice how naturally awareness is already present.
The sense of I am is already leaving.
Pure awareness.
Now begin to notice something more subtle.
Notice the quiet sense of I am the one experiencing this.
I am the one experiencing this.
Notice how subtle that is.
Identification with I.
My body.
Not the words,
Just the feeling of being a center,
A reference point,
A me here with experience happening to it.
Just dwell in that.
Dwell in that.
There's no need to judge this.
The sense of I is not a problem.
It's simply a pattern.
Gently notice how thoughts arise as my thoughts.
Sensations are felt as my sensations.
Emotions appear as my emotions.
Just notice this moment.
Just noticing this moment.
Identification with I.
Me,
Myself,
I.
There's nothing wrong.
You're not broken.
The answer is in the awareness.
Inside of yourself.
Once again,
Gently notice how the thoughts arise as my thoughts.
Sensations are felt as my sensation.
Emotions appear as my emotions.
And now,
Gently explore.
What happens if you don't add mind to what is happening?
Breath is breathing.
Breath is breathing.
Just breathe.
Be involved in the awareness of the breath.
Allowing the body to do exactly what it needs to.
Soft and easy.
Pure awareness of the breath.
And now notice sounds of sounding.
Just vibrations.
Waves filtering through.
No meaning.
Just pure listening.
No identification with meaning.
No identification with meaning.
Sensation is just sensing.
Just sensing.
Just sensing.
Experience is happening without needing an owner.
The moment is unfolding.
No owning.
Life unfolding.
A witness of the experience.
Become the witness of the experience.
Let awareness widen.
Include everything.
Breath.
Sound.
Sensation.
Thought.
In one open field.
No center.
No edge.
Just knowing.
Push out.
Who you truly are.
Pure awareness.
Rest in.
Be in.
Be involved.
Open your mind.
Open your mind to the pure experience of life.
Very deep now.
Now if the sense of me returns,
That's fine.
Notice it kindly.
Let it float in awareness like everything else.
There is nothing to remove.
Just this soft noticing.
As identification loosens even slightly,
Notice the quality of the mind.
More space.
More ease.
More quiet.
Not because anything has changed but because nothing needs to be held.
Nothing needs to be held.
Rest here.
Let experience be simple.
Let awareness be open.
And now let it be for a few moments.
If thoughts appear,
Let them pass.
Just let them pass.
If emotion arises,
Let them be known.
No need to take anything personally.
This is not indifference.
This is intimacy without contraction.
Stay here for a few more moments resting as awareness allowing life to unfold.
And when you're ready gently return to the body to the body to the breath to the room around you and take control of the breath.
Gently start to breathe the body move the fingers and toes breathe feel the body on the ground or on the chair coming back now coming back now as you open your eyes notice how experience continues without needing the center without needing the story all the way back now all the way back now the practice of asmita meditation is over now bring your hands together in prayer in front of the heart may we have love in our hearts hands to the lips prayer to the lips may we have truth in the speech to the forehead may we have gratitude in the mind back down to the heart center by the head namaste thank you ever so much for joining me yogi phoenix if you loved this please either follow or follow and share with others so that they may feel the benefits of understanding who they truly are it's been my pleasure as always thank you ever so much from my heart to yours with love yogi phoenix
