Let's do a self-exploration on Awareness and Consciousness.
Chapter 11,
I am That.
Sit comfortably,
Relax the body,
Close your eyes.
Let's sit absolutely still for a few moments.
Take a step beyond the mass of sensations called the physical body.
Stand away from the sensations and simply be the observer of the sensations.
Recognize that if I perceive the body,
I must be separate from it.
Take one more step beyond and notice the bundle of thoughts arising and falling.
This is what has been labeled as the mind.
Stand away from the mind,
Recognize that if I can perceive the mind,
I must be separate from it.
Step beyond the thoughts,
Beyond the feelings,
Beyond the sensations,
Beyond all perceptions.
Turn inwards,
Exactly 180 degrees away from the body and mind,
Turn inwards.
Notice the sense of I that has turned inwards,
Follow the I,
Notice that the I disappears and dissolves when it is followed.
It dissolves into the emptiness,
Into no-thingness,
Into your own awareness.
That emptiness,
That no-thingness,
That silence is who you are.
It is your own true nature.
Latch on to that emptiness,
Latch on to the silence,
Latch on to the no-thingness.
Unhook from the I sense that keeps popping up from this emptiness every time you hear my voice,
Every time you entertain a thought,
Every time you entertain a feeling,
Every time there is an object to witness,
This I sense pops up,
Unhook from it,
Latch on to the emptiness.
The I sense is the witness that arises to witness an object.
My voice is an object of sound,
When the object arises,
The I sense is there to witness it.
And when the object passes away,
The I sense also disappears back into the no-thingness.
The I sense is called the witness consciousness because it is conscious of the object.
The infinite field of emptiness is called the pure consciousness or the primordial awareness.
Recognize that the infinite field of awareness is calm,
Silent,
Immovable,
Unshakable,
Indivisible.
Changeless,
Beginningless,
Endless and non-dual.
Recognize that the I sense that arises in it and dissolves back into it is the witness consciousness.
It arises only when there is an object to witness,
An object to be conscious of.
It only arises on contact.
This witness consciousness is partial.
This witness consciousness is changing,
Arising and passing away,
Arising and passing away.
It has a beginning and an end.
It is dual.
Because of the constant arising and passing away,
It is not silent.
It is not immovable.
It is not unshakable.
It is divisible.
It is dual.
Recognize that there can be no consciousness without awareness.
But there can be awareness without consciousness.
Recognize that when the I sense arises,
It is nothing but the awareness becoming aware of itself.
It is nothing but the consciousness becoming conscious of itself.
The very consciousness of being conscious is already a movement in awareness.
When the I sense arises,
It is nothing but the awareness becoming aware of itself.
When the I sense arises,
It is nothing but the consciousness becoming conscious of itself.
The very consciousness of being conscious is already a movement in awareness.
Unhook from the I sense.
Drop the interest in the witness and the witnessed.
Instead,
Follow the stream of the witness consciousness and dissolve.
Melt away.
Sink into your own self.
Dissolve within.
When you dive into the nothingness of awareness,
You recognize that you are the nothingness.
Silent.
Still.
You are this existence.
You are this love.
The silent love of nothingness.
Be the nothingness.
Be yourself.
