Become aware of your body.
What sensations are you experiencing?
Do you feel any tensions?
What position is your body in?
Be aware of the exact position that your body is in.
Be aware of the air around you.
Be aware of the floor beneath you.
Be aware of what's going on inside your body.
Can you feel your heartbeat?
Be as fully aware of your body as you are able to be.
Now imagine a sphere around this body of awareness,
And that you step out of it.
In front of you now is a sphere that encloses all your body awareness.
Try and vividly imagine it before you.
Taking a step away,
Closing your eyes again,
Now become aware of your emotions and feelings.
Do you have emotional reactions to these questions?
What feelings do you experience?
Are you happy or sad?
How do you feel?
Be aware of how your feelings are changing all the time.
Be as fully aware of your feelings as you can.
And now imagine a sphere around this feeling and emotional awareness,
And that you step outside of it.
Before you is a sphere that encloses all your awareness of your feelings and emotions.
Try to vividly imagine this sphere of feelings in front of you.
Now become aware of your thoughts.
Where does your mind go?
Do you have thoughts about the exercise?
The meditation class?
You have other thoughts coming in and out of awareness?
Watch your thoughts come and go for a while.
Notice how they come and go,
Almost as if they have nothing to do with you.
Be as fully aware of your thought processes as you are able.
Now imagine or pretend there is a sphere around this awareness of thoughts,
And that you step outside of it.
See these three spheres of awareness in front of you.
The sphere of body awareness,
The sphere of emotional awareness,
The sphere of mental or thought awareness.
These three spheres constitute your personality.
You have a body,
Feelings and thoughts,
Which enable you to experience the world and to express yourself,
And you can choose to go into any of these spheres of awareness when it's appropriate for you to do so.
You can also choose to be separate or not attached to these contents of your personality.
Then become aware of the three spheres in front of you,
And ask yourself,
Who am I?
Who is it that has these spheres of body,
Feelings and thoughts?
Who is it that connects these vehicles of expression?
Who is this I that experiences all these changes?
Try and allow yourself to experience this sense of I fully,
As if you are pure awareness.
You can choose to identify with the contents of your thoughts,
Feelings and your body,
Or equally choose to simply be aware.
You have a body,
But you are more than your body.
Your body may find itself in different conditions of health or sickness.
It may be rested or tired,
But that has nothing to do with the real you.
You can value your body as a precious instrument of experience,
But it's only an instrument,
A vehicle.
You can treat it well and seek to keep it in good health,
But it is not you.
You have a body,
But you are more than your body.
In the same way,
You have emotions,
But you are more than your emotions.
Your emotions are diverse,
Changing,
Sometimes contradictory.
They may swing from love to hatred,
From anger to calm,
From joy to sorrow,
From sorrow to joy.
And yet,
Your true identity does not change.
Somehow underneath it all,
You remain.
Though a wave of anger may temporarily submerge you,
In time it will pass,
And therefore the anger can't be you.
Since you can observe and understand your emotions,
And can gradually learn to direct,
Utilize and integrate them harmoniously,
It is clear that they are not you.
You have emotions,
But you are more than your emotions.
Similarly,
You have a mind,
But are more than that mind.
It is a valuable tool of discovery and expression,
Just like your body,
But it is not the essence of who you really are.
The mind,
Its contents are constantly changing.
Sometimes you embrace new ideas,
Knowledge and experience.
Sometimes you make new connections.
Sometimes the mind may seem to refuse to obey you,
And therefore it cannot really be you.
It is an organ of knowledge for exploring both the outer and inner worlds,
But it is not your true self.
You have a mind,
But you are not your mind.
Just being the one who notices it all come and go,
Rest in the space of awareness.
