I Am Meditation

Join me on this journey to your true self. We leave all identities behind and discover what will remain. This meditation is inspired by the traditional Neti Neti from the Jnana Yoga path. Stay open minded and see where this journey leads you.

Transcript

Welcome to this meditation.

Today's meditation I am might be a bit abstract for some of you.

So don't try to understand my words with your mind instead just listen with your heart.

For the meditation place your hands with your palms upwards on your thighs or in your lap.

You can again use a mudra you can for example bring your index finger and your thumb together.

Bring your shoulders up to your ears and draw them slowly back so your chest can open.

Find a comfortable seat,

Sit upright and whenever you are ready close your eyes.

Close your eyes.

We will start with just observing the breath.

That's it.

As you observe the breath notice that it spontaneously arises as a sensation and then it spontaneously subsides as a sensation.

There is the arising breath,

There is the experience of the sensation and then there is the subsiding of breath.

You are the observer.

As observer you are present before the breath arises,

You are present when you experience the breath and you are present when the breath subsides.

The awareness is present.

Know that you cannot hold on to the breath.

Know that you cannot hold on to your breath.

If you would hold on to your breath you would suffocate.

This is the principle for all experiences.

All experiences arise,

Unknown and then they subside.

No experience can be hold on to.

Now turn your attention to the experience of sound.

Right now I can hear the birds singing.

I can hear my voice and some little noises here and there.

There is the same principle.

The experience of sound is arising,

Knowing and subsiding.

In awareness,

The witnessing awareness,

You are present.

Now bring your attention to the sensation in your body.

Notice the same thing.

Every sensation is arising and subsiding in ever present witnessing awareness.

Now evoke an image in your consciousness.

Any image,

But something else is arising.

But something easy and simple.

You can evoke the image of a candle or just a red color or a dot.

Any simple image.

Let's choose a candle.

Notice that this image arises,

Is known and subsides in consciousness,

In awareness.

Awareness is ever present in every experience.

Awareness is ever present in the absence of this experience also.

Now evoke an emotion.

Let's evoke the emotion of love and just evoke that emotion of love by bringing to your awareness an object of love.

This could be a person,

It could be a dog,

It could be a cat,

It could be a painting or a starry sky.

Something that evokes that experience some memory.

Same principle.

I'm the witnessing awareness of this emotion that is arising,

Is known and is subsiding.

Now we go a little deeper.

So bring your awareness to your heart in the middle of your chest and focus on experiencing your heartbeat right now as either a sensation or a sound or some feeling.

Experience your heartbeat either as a sound or a sensation or some feeling.

Now bring your awareness to the tips of your fingers.

Try to keep your hands open,

Fingers pointing upwards.

Bring your awareness to the tips of your fingers and feel your heartbeat in your fingers.

You should be able to feel something,

A tingling or some sensation.

You should be able to feel your heartbeat in your fingertips.

Now move your awareness from your fingertips to your abdomen and just have the idea that the same pulsing of life,

The heartbeat,

Is happening in your abdomen,

In your lungs,

In your organs.

In your intestines,

In your stomach,

Everywhere.

There is the arising and the knowing and subsiding of the pulse of life.

The pulse of life which we call a heartbeat.

It is a sensation which arises and subsides in the same way.

In awareness,

In your stomach,

Everywhere.

It is a sensation which arises and subsides in the same way.

In awareness.

So going to the next step,

Feel your entire body,

The inside of your body,

As a pulsing,

As an arising and subsiding,

A pulsing of life known in awareness.

Your body is nothing other than consciousness experiencing itself.

Okay,

Now we move to the next phase.

Bring your attention to your heart and mentally ask yourself,

Who am I?

Or even better,

What am I?

Again,

Not looking for any answer but being receptive to any notion,

Any insight,

Any sensation,

Any image,

Any feeling,

Anything.

What am I?

Now go a little deeper and ask,

What or who wants to know who am I?

What is it?

What is it?

What wants to know itself?

Not guessing,

Not imagining,

Just allowing.

What is it that wants to know itself?

And of course the word is I.

I wants to know.

But what is I?

And now let's move to a third question.

What does it want?

What does I want?

Allowing any sensation,

Image,

Feeling or thought that spontaneously comes to you.

Now ask the next question.

What is my purpose?

What is the purpose of the existence of I?

Why does I exist?

Don't worry about the answer.

It will come to you as needed.

But what is the purpose?

Final question.

What is I grateful for?

Or if you want to keep it simple,

What am I grateful for?

Just remembering that I is not a person.

I is the awareness.

What is it grateful for?

Now we go slowly through a process of what in the original meditation is called Neti Neti.

Slowly unveiling the layers of experience.

So you can start with that by saying I am and then add your name to it.

I am Sabrina Kratinger.

First name and last name.

You're obviously going to add your name to it.

Keep repeating that.

And instead of repeating the name,

Just bring into your awareness all your experience you are having these days as you navigate through your life.

So everything that is happening in your life right now,

Your relationship,

Your job,

Money,

Deadlines,

Promises,

Stress.

Let these experiences fill up your awareness right now.

Okay.

Now let go of your last name and just repeat your first name.

I am Sabrina.

And keep repeating that.

We can stop repeating it and now let your awareness fill up with experiences or memories of your childhood or even during your time as a teenager.

But see whatever comes up.

Experiences from your childhood.

And now let go of your first name and just repeat I am.

And slowly disengage of all experiences.

All experiences.

Disengage from all experiences because they are all a dream.

What is left is I am.

Now before we come back,

Bring your awareness into your body.

Sensation of breath.

Take a deep inhale through your nose and then exhale through your mouth.

And when you're ready,

Open your eyes and then come back into the present moment.