Who Am I?

During this practice, Sally Kempton leads us on a journey deep into the heart where we are invited to explore the experience of "I" through the question "Who am I?" "The knowledge of one's identity with pure Self....sets a person free even against his will, when it becomes as firm as the person's belief that he is a human being." Shankaracharya.

Transcript

Sit in your comfortable upright posture, Feeling the heaviness of your buttocks and thighs against the seat. With the breath, Let your hips and thighs and sitting buns ground and let your inner spine rise up from this grounded base straight up through the crown of the head. With your awareness, Follow the breath as it flows in and out. And begin to feel that the breath is flowing in and out from the inner heart, The center behind the breastbone. As the breath flows in, It flows into the heart space. As the breath flows out, The inner heart space opens and expands. With every breath, You let your awareness settle more deeply into the heart, Allowing the breath to caress and open the space of the heart, Allowing your attention to move very slowly, Very mindfully through the cave of your own heart, Exploring the energy there, Letting yourself feel more and more at home, More and more at rest inside the heart. As you rest easily in the heart, Ask yourself the question, Who am I? Ask the question and then notice what it is that arises in response. Remember, You're not looking for an answer in words. So if words arise, Ask, To whom do these words arise? Who is this I who is aware of words, Thoughts arising? If a feeling comes up, Ask yourself, To whom does this feeling occur? Who am I? What is this I? Each time you ask the question, Pause and attend to whatever it is that arises in response. Each time you ask the question, Attend to the spaciousness behind all words. If a thought comes up, Ask, Who's having this thought? Who is this I? Who am I? As the question becomes a real inquiry, You may find that its form changes. From who am I, It might shift to what am I? Or what is this feeling of being me? Asking in the heart, Stay with the inquiry, Asking the question, Then attending to the spaciousness, The sense of presence that may arise in response. Ask and then wait. You're looking for that which is beyond all objects of awareness. You're looking for awareness itself. Who am I? What is the I? Who am I? Who am I? Who am I?

Reviews

Very profound. I experienced an unsettling sensation and vision of my head and face in a myriad of thin layers where each layer rotated and fanned out. So that rather than one face I had numerous facets fanning in all directions. I felt an urge to pull away and turn my face away from the question but when I surrendered it was a profound experience, like the single egoic self lost its form and spread out into a thousand layers.

Amazing deeper level, open ended meditation. Sally was a gift to us all.

This was a valuable and well directed experience. Thank you 🙏

She has a very pleasant voice. It's also nice that the ending is open. You can't do this exercise often enough. That's why it's nice when the thoughts are also guided once in a while.

This amazing prompted self inquiry created a deeply embodied reflection of the self 🙏🏻