Advaita SE Meditations - Is The Sense Of "I AM" The Ego?

Listen to Ektaji guide us through an Advaita self-exploration meditation, ‘Is the sense of I AM, nothing but the Ego?’. Through direct observation, examine the constantly changing body, mind, thoughts, feelings, sensations, and perceptions, and discover why none of them can be a permanent personal identity.

Recognize how the false sense of "I am the body" and "I am the mind" gives birth to the ego- a fake sense of separateness and individuality. Then look beyond the mind to the changeless background of Awareness and investigate whether even the sense of "I AM" has permanence. Follow the "I" to its source and discover that the ego disappears into the changeless field of Awareness.

Rest as the Nothingness in which the "I" momentarily appears and disappears.

Transcript

Beeping Let's do a self-exploration. On the question. Is the sense of I am. The eagle. Is the sense of I am. Nothing but the ego. Let's recognize this. By exploring within. Let's sit comfortably. Relax into the chair. Let's close our eyes. And empty out the mind. Let it become an empty cup. Empty out the thoughts, The feelings, The sensations. Become empty completely. There is no room here. For any of thoughts, Feelings, Sensations or perceptions. Be in the emptiness. Baby. Daddy. Ask yourself the question. Is the physical body. Constitute. Or is it inconstant? Keeping our eyes closed. Just with the binoculars of attention. Examine the body. Take your attention from the top of the body to the bottom. From the bottom. To the top. The physical body. Is nothing but a mass of sensations. Sensations of heat. Sensations of coolness. Sensation of dryness. Or sweat. Or heaviness. Lightness. Dingley. Crawling. Each other. Vibrating. We have labeled a constantly changing mass of sensations. As the physical body. The change. Is so quick. That it is inconspicuous. We think the body is a constant. The mass of sensations. Appear to have a fault. The apparent form is what gives us the illusion. Of something that is personal. That is separate from other forms. This gives birth to a sense of separateness from others. This gives birth to the sense of a personal identity. When you examine the body. In your direct experience you notice that there are only sensations. Constantly changing sensations. Sensations that are arising and falling. How can that which is constantly changing constantly arising and falling. Be a permanent personal identity. If the physical body cannot be a permanent personal identity, Then the word I. Cannot refer to it. The sense of I am the body. Is a fake sense. It is a wrongly assumed identity. Where none exists. This fake sense. This wrong assumption is called the ego. It is a fake sense of separateness from the others. It is a fake sense of individuality. Of feet. Thanks. Of personal identity. Let's look at the mind. And examine it carefully. Isn't the mind a constantly changing field of fleeting thoughts? Isn't the mind a constantly changing field of fleeting feelings? Isn't the mind a constantly changing field? Of fleeting and metis Observe how everything is arising. And falling so quickly. The speed of the arising and falling. Thoughts, Feelings, Images. Gives a false sense of continuity. The false sense of continuity makes the mind appear as if it has a subtle form of its own. This apparent form is what gives us the illusion of something that is personal. This abandoned farm. Is what gives us the illusion of something separate from other forms. That gives birth to a sense of separateness from others. This gives birth to a sense of personal identity. Examine the mind. Folds. Feelings. Perceptions sensations. All that you experience. Everything. Is constantly changing. Constantly arising. Constantly clean. And constantly disappearing away. How can that which is constantly changing constantly arising and falling. Be a permanent personal identity. If the mind cannot be a permanent personal identity. Then the word I cannot refer to it. The sense of I am the mind. Is a fake sin. This wrongly assumed identity. Where none really exists. This fake sense. This fake identity. This is called the Eagle. It's a fake sense of perfectness. Fake sense of individuality. Let's look beyond the mind. Recognize the changeless background. Where the sensations arose from. And vanished in dew. Recognize the changeless background. Where the thought arose from. And disappeared into. Recognize the changeless background. Where the feelings arose from. And banished into. Does this changeless background of awareness say I am? No, It does not speak. It does not even give a hint of I am. Where does the sense of I am? The sense of I am also appears and disappears like a thought appears and disappears. Like a sensation appears and disappears, Just like a wave. Rises and falls back into the ocean. It only appears to be constant. There is no real constancy there. No real permanence there. Can you locate a separate I am? From that field. The changeless background or the changeless field of awareness. Can this field of awareness be personalized? You will recognize that it is not separate. It cannot be personalized. There is no question of a permanently real Ain't it pretty? Constantly existing cold. Bye. Then who is saying I am? What is the sense of I am? Can you locate it? Follow the eye. You will notice that the I disappears. Even the sense of I am is not constant. The sense of I am. Itself is the birth of the ego. Then you look for the ego. It is nowhere to be found. It disappears into no-thingness. Stay as the no-thingness. In the do things. Recognizing that. Moment to moment. The joker called I. Appears and disappears. Do not believe its existence. It is simply a showman. Fall.