If we begin this informal meditation with a visualization.
So just imagine that your life is a story.
And picture this as a book,
Like a novel.
The story of you,
With your name on the front.
And this day will be one of the pages in this book.
The story of you.
With yourself as the protagonist.
And there's been a story so far.
There is the story as it stands right now.
And an imagined,
Predicted future to this story,
With some kind of resolution at the end.
Many people actually visualise their life in this way already.
As though it's a kind of narrative,
With oneself as the protagonist.
And there are side characters,
Allies,
Enemies.
Situations to overcome.
A plot that needs to resolve in some way.
So really visualise this.
With your name on the front cover.
Perhaps a picture of you as well.
And you know how the story so far has been.
And you know which chapter you're currently on.
And you have an idea about where this story is going.
But just for this time,
Close the book.
Close the book.
And put it back on the shelf.
If you have a storybook with nobody reading it.
Is it still a story?
The story,
Really,
Is the act of reading the words.
And the story is something then that happens in imagination.
So as we've closed this book,
And put it to one side.
.
.
There's no more story.
There is no story unfolding.
There is no protagonist.
There is no scenario.
There is no narrative.
So pull all elements of the narrative,
The story,
The character.
Off of your body.
Just be rid of them for a while.
All these things happen in imagination only.
So cease imagining this story.
And see that it simply vanishes.
In the same way that it vanishes when you fall asleep at night.
What does that leave us with,
Exactly?
Sensations in the body.
Awareness of your sense perceptions.
May still be some mind activity.
But if we don't collect all of this together.
.
.
And turn it into some kind of story unfolding.
We find that the experience of reality changes dramatically.
So,
Being very aware of the present moment.
Just notice that you are conscious.
Of the body.
You are conscious of your senses.
You are conscious of your mind.
You are conscious of your emotions.
It is this consciousness.
That is the fundamental nature by which you experience life.
And this consciousness itself does not have a narrative.
There is no story about your awareness of your unfolding experiences.
The consciousness itself is a blank page,
And always has been.
Your body,
Mind and life experiences are the story that is written on the pages.
But simply abiding.
Meaning simply being.
This conscious awareness without narrative,
Without story.
Here you find and experience your true self.
This is the self-realization spoken about in Hinduism.
And do not leave this as a cool,
Entertaining thought experiment.
Deeply investigate the implications of this.
You are not the story that you've been telling yourself all this time.
You are not your past.
You are not your history.
You are not your memories.
You are not your names.
You are not your height,
You are not your age,
You are not your weight.
You are not your bank account.
You are not your salary.
You are not your savings.
You are not where you live.
You are not your current situation.
You are the consciousness that is aware of all of these things.
And notice,
You can let these things go.
They don't exist in reality.
They only exist in the mind.
So what if you could let go?
Of trying to perfect this character.
Trying to make this story unfold in the right way.
What if you could stop?
Trying to change the story in any way,
Instead choosing to realise this whole story was a complete fabrication the whole time.
A phantom of the mind.
And upon this true self-realisation.
Recognising.
That your true nature has nothing to do with a personality.
Has nothing to do with any achievements.
Has nothing to do with anything that happened in the past.
And has nothing to do with any imagined future.
That the whole concept and idea of human beings.
Was a kind of dream.
Something illusory.
And naturally,
One gets to thinking,
Well,
Okay,
I can seemingly set this story aside for brief moments each day.
But it's so persistent.
And my experience seems to be so filled with this body,
This mind,
This scenario,
These dramas.
What to do?
There is no harm in witnessing this story play out.
The only real error that we make is becoming identified with it.
Just as if you became overly invested.
In the narrative that you are watching.
Say,
Uh,
Play.
Taking place on stage.
If you became utterly invested,
You would begin to fear for the characters.
You would begin to suffer in some way the same thing that the characters are suffering.
This is exactly what happens.
Pure consciousness itself gets tangled up.
Mixed up,
Mixed in with the human experience,
And begins to believe that it is the human experience.
Disentangle yourself from this illusion.
And realised.
The true self.
You are not a character in the play.
You are the audience.
Upon that realisation you will no longer suffer.
The same things that the character was suffering.
This is the liberation promised.
By Awakening,
Enlightenment,
Moksha.
Has many names.
And you can realise this today.
Right here,
Right now.
All that is required is that you close the book.
Cease reading the story.
And just be.
Thank you for doing this meditation with me today.
Take care,
Be well,
And stay present.
