Who Am I - The Witness

A direct introduction to the true nature of mind based on the pointing out instructions style of Tibetan Buddhist practices. These are adaptations are inspired by the work of Ken Wilber, Dustin DiPerna, and Dr. Alan Watkins. Designed to help the practitioner wake up to their true self and enjoy the peace and bliss that awareness brings.

Transcript

Who am I?

My body grows and over time it changes appearance,

Shape and form.

Over the years it has changed significantly many times.

Yet I remain.

I am more than just this body.

Who am I?

Our bodies change inside too.

Every day cells regenerate and repair our body.

Some cells regenerate every few days.

Skin cells regenerate in three weeks.

Alveoli cells in the lungs,

Six weeks.

Red blood cells,

Four months.

Bone cells ten years.

If we are injured they regenerate even faster.

Cells are constantly created and recreated.

They come and go.

Yet I remain.

I am more than just these cells.

Who am I?

My heart beats.

The rate rises and falls.

The electrical signal pulses and fades and pulses again.

My brain and organs connect as they send signals to each other that come and go.

Yet I remain.

I am more than the physiological signals within this body.

Who am I?

Notice the subtle energy in motion that is created as all the signals of the bodily organs combine.

Notice where you feel this energy in motion or emotion right now.

Notice any tension or ease.

Notice the stuckness or flow of the subtle energy.

Notice where this emotion is and where it is flowing.

Notice how that has changed from earlier today or from a short moment ago.

Notice how emotions change from moment to moment even though we are not always aware of them.

Emotions come and go.

Yet I remain.

I am more than just emotions.

More than the energy in motion.

The energy of some emotions may be more intense or longer than others.

But these two pass.

Yet I remain.

I am more than just these emotions.

Who am I?

Feelings are our conscious awareness of the emotions.

Feelings are the awareness of the energy and the labels we give to those experiences and sensations.

Notice how you are feeling now.

You may be worried or content,

Confused or clear.

Notice what you are feeling now and how that has changed from what you were feeling earlier today.

And how that is different from yesterday or last week.

Recognise that your feelings come and go.

Some of these feelings are pleasant,

Others less so.

But all feelings come and all feelings go.

Yet I remain.

I am more than just these feelings.

Who am I?

Now notice your thoughts and notice how they change and come and go.

What you are thinking today may be different from yesterday or from a few moments ago or even from moment to moment.

Notice what you know has changed and what you think has changed.

Notice how you think has changed and evolved compared to last year or ten years ago.

Thoughts come and go.

Yet I remain.

I am more than just these thoughts.

Who am I?

Now bring your attention to what you do from day to day,

Moment to moment.

Notice that what you do changes and how you behave and show up changes.

What you do now isn't exactly the same as you did yesterday or last week or ten years ago.

Behaviour changes.

Yet I remain.

I am more than what I do.

Who am I?

Notice how the narrative of how we see and describe ourselves changes.

Notice how our personal identity changes.

Our likes,

Our dislikes,

All of our preferences are always evolving.

Our job,

Our relationship status and our health have all changed over time and so has the way we identify ourselves.

Our values,

Beliefs and sense of self-esteem have all changed over time.

Who we are today as a personal identity is quite different from who we were five,

Ten and twenty years ago.

And it will change again.

Personal identity is always changing.

I remain.

I am more than a personal identity.

Who am I?

Notice that all the objects we once thought of as ourselves are not us.

We are more than those objects.

We are not our body,

Our selves,

Our physiology,

Our emotion.

We are more than the feelings,

Thought or personal identity too.

Now we realise and see our true self as the formless witness to the ever-changing and impermanent forms of all these objects.

See those objects for what they are and just sit in the beautiful awareness that is.

Notice the peaceful,

Formless,

Objectless space of your awareness.

There are no objects in this formless space.

No pain,

No suffering,

Only bliss.

Notice the bliss of the awareness of that peace,

That tranquillity,

The stillness and quiet of the formlessness.

Notice there is no time other than right now.

Recognise the deep realisation of what has always been there,

The I am-ness,

Just as it is.

Pure ever-present.

Pure Tauriya.

Pure witness.

Your true self.

Your original face.

The boundless awareness.

Realise everything you have called yourself in normal life is not your true self.

They are limited objects,

Just gross,

Subtle or causal objects which existed in time.

They were relative.

They all came and went.

They were all finite.

Our attachment to those objects can cause suffering and be painful.

Who am I?

We are infinite and eternal,

Unborn and undying.

The feeling of being that has always existed.

This is not the passing present.

This is the timeless now.

This is the simple feeling of being,

Totally free of all objects.

Feel the big bliss and know this awareness is always available to you,

Ever-present.

By recognising this,

You are on your journey of waking up to your true self.

The witness is always present and always available to you.

When you are ready,

Feel the support of the cushion or seat beneath you.

Breathe out gently and easily.

Slowly open your eyes.

Breathe rhythmically and evenly.

Take in the world around you with a fresh perspective.

Breathe rhythmically and evenly.

When you are ready,

With gratitude for a multiverse full of kindness and love,

Rise up and walk into your day.

Reviews

Thank you for this meditation 🙏

Wow, I really enjoyed that, Peter, and was not familiar with that practice, although I’ve felt it from childhood and never forgot it. Do most people sense these things as children and then forget them or get bullied out of them? I sure learned there was no point trying to discuss it!
My practice now always seems to reinforce that I had so much knowledge and understanding as a kid, and it wasn’t wrong or useless—at all! So bizarre that native perceptions can be so overlooked, undermined and placed under siege by societal “norms.”
Thanks for the practice, very refreshing!!
Donna

Thank you. Your words and energy helped to easily access my essence and true nature this morning.

Absolutely perfect perspective on the magic of living.

Incredible. "I" don't know when I've experienced my true self as clearly. Thank you.

Many thanks for this quiet, peaceful and focused quest on who I really am. So much more than I envisaged. Namaste 🤓🙏🏻

Dear Peter, thank you for this magical reminder of who we really are, and who we are not. I will be returning, for sure.

‘Who AM I?’ - what a wonderful and inspirational talk🤍. It has ignited my boundless awareness as BEing the Observer is a powerful state to live in from moment to moment. Clarity, Stability and a pain-free way of life are the gifts that await.

Thank you for a profound talk - ‘Who AM I?’- is a complex question but the truth is emerging slowly every day🙏🏻🌻❤️🕊️

Peeling layers to I Am... I think I will listen again.

This meditation helped me to get beyond my present state of momentary concerns, to surrender and remember to recognize my true self. It brought me peace. 🙏🏻

Thank you. I am going to listen to this every morning.

A beautiful self inquiry practice to be reminded of who we are.

Interesting meditation on Who Am I

Wow I will return for this one again and again 🙏

Prolific for me today! Wow this 15 minutes will effect my lifetime. Sometimes it’s just the way you say/hear something. TyTy!!!

A really unique approach.
I will listen again
Thank you

Wonderful. Just a shame the app was playing up so I missed many of your words. I hope to meditate to this again. Thank you for such beautiful words.

Thought provoking. Beautifully presented.