'I' Meditation: Discovering The Fountain Of Joy

This contemplation starts with how we address ourselves, viz. "I," and explores the different journeys in time, space, emotions, thoughts, physical appearance, and even geographical locations and how they have affected this "I" (or not).

The simple, intimately familiar "I-ness" is kept at the center of this profound exploration. We even explore the difficult and the happy times traversed over the years, yet this "I" feels the same to us!

How will this insight change the way we live our lives?

Transcript

Let's close our eyes. Open your mind, Call yourself out as I. We constantly think about, Talk to ourselves, I did this, Oh I didn't mean this, Oh I should have done this, Etc. Etc. But let's become aware of this, I. It's a very familiar pronoun that we use for ourselves. I have a four year old nephew. He was late to the party of speaking. He was late to the party of speaking. So a few months ago, Until a few months ago, He couldn't build sentences. So whenever he used to hear my mom talk to me about him, He used to say me, Me, Me, Me. Me in my native language is I in English. So even before we became proficient in speaking, We have this deep, Deep bond with this word I. And those of us who are not native English speakers. And juxtapose this word with the word that you use to call yourself. I don't call myself Mitesh when I'm alone. Just like that, You don't call yourself Laura or Jean. You call yourself I. And the beauty of this is. We've been calling ourselves I for three, Four, Five decades. Everything following the I has drastically changed. We no longer look like our four or five year old self or the teenage self. Or the 20s or the 30s. And we know that. Our voice is no longer the same. Our thoughts are worlds apart. Our geographical location is very different. The kind of activities we engage in. Are very different as well. Somehow commits to all this change. We still call ourselves I. Not that we call ourselves I and know that, Oh, The I that I am today is not the same I as I was yesterday. We know for sure that I am the same I. Not that we call ourselves I. I'm the same eye. So much has happened over the last few decades. The good, The bad, The ugly, The really ugly. I've been afraid, Cried, Rejoiced, Celebrated. But I'm the same eye. Some of us became parents, Gave birth to another human being. It wasn't like half of your eye went to your child and half remained with you. I'm still fully the same eye. Very few things are life-altering as compared to giving birth. But even after that, I didn't become partial and I didn't grow back the remaining part, Like a fractured bone would do, Or a cut on her skin. Speckless So maybe this eye is not made of flesh or bones. Maybe. Also the eye that got angry. Was it a different eye that got hurt or became happy or became sad? Or the eye that got angry? Or the same eye that became sad? Or the same eye that became happy or got hurt? Unless someone is changing the eye within us, Unbeknownst to us, Which is quite a fantasy, Straight out of the movie Matrix. Or maybe. The eye is beyond emotions. Maybe. Can you slightly tilt your head towards the left for this experiment? And see if you are the same eye in this new geographical location? Or maybe with the new space, With a different space, You are a different eye now? It could be, But only I can know and only you can know. Or maybe. Eye is independent of the space. I was the same eye in India and I'm the same eye in America. Thousands of miles away. Schema. Since the last 15-20 minutes, Do you feel like you are a different eye? Than what you were before you started this session? Maybe you were a different eye from yesterday or 10 years ago Or when you were a 4-5 year old boy or a girl Maybe we don't remember being a 4-5 year old boy or a girl But we do remember ourselves from 20 minutes ago From yesterday Maybe I is beyond time or unaffected by time But we do remember ourselves from 20 minutes ago But we do remember ourselves from 20 minutes ago How would you feel if you recognized That despite losing all that you have lost over the years Despite gaining all that you have gained Physically, Emotionally, Financially over the last decades How would you feel if you recognized that losing or gaining didn't affect me, I It affected probably everything else in my life But the most important thing in my life Namely, I Because everything begins with I The most important thing stayed Just as we found it Would it change the way you live your life today And for the rest of your life Knowing Not because I'm telling you or I'm asking this But knowing in your heart Experientially That no matter what happens No matter what I get No matter what I don't get No matter what I hear What I say What I do I won't change Life may become a celebration An expression of this Treasure that we've just found We always had this treasure But we just recognized it Love and kindness Would infuse our actions, Words Maybe Thank you