Can we retrace our steps to the core of identification?
When the I Am thought took over the I Am experience,
The thought of who I am,
The bundle of thoughts of who I am,
Is what we refer to as the ego.
And it's quite remarkable that this three letter word,
Ego,
That we give so much importance to,
Is nothing but a bundle of thoughts of who we think we are.
And it starts with this body,
An awareness situated at first in this body.
With how I see this body,
With how others see this body,
With my ideas of this body,
With others' ideas,
Of this body.
And really,
With everything that comes with this body,
The mind,
The personality,
So on.
It starts there.
And then we build on that.
We add more and more features to it.
That somehow,
At some point,
Start to feel cut off from the truth of who we are.
Even when those added features claim to point to that truth,
That spiritual truth.
It becomes just one other layer,
One other thought we have of ourselves,
Another idea that we carry of ourselves,
That we latch onto,
That we pile on.
To steer clear of that region,
We avoid at all costs.
Find a comfortable seat.
We'll begin by chanting Om three times.
Exhale all the air out.
Inhale a breath.
Om.
Om.
Om.
Om.
Make any final adjustments in your seat.
And then invite the body to be still.
Allow the breath to carry your attention inward.
And following the natural path of the breath,
As it moves,
Rises along the front of the body on the inhale,
And descends along the back body on the exhale.
On the exhale,
Allowing your sit bones to descend.
Observing how that repositions the spine.
The spinal column.
The antenna.
By which we locate ourselves.
Situate ourselves in this body.
From the base of your spine,
Rising all the way up the spinal column.
Past the crown of the head.
And from there,
Looking back down the spinal column.
And all the areas surrounding it.
Allow your groin to soften.
Energy of the legs relaxing,
Spreading.
Allow yourself to observe all that is arising from the tapestry of this body.
The sensations.
Feelings.
Thoughts.
Ideas.
Making themselves known.
In this very moment.
See if anyone Emotion.
Sensation.
Idea that is emerging.
Is crystallizing itself.
Into a single.
Singular.
I am thought.
The thought of who I am.
The thought of who you are.
See if this thought of who you are.
That at present seems most pronounced.
Is in competition.
With other thoughts.
Who you are.
In contradiction.
With other ideas of who you are.
Observe the effect of this energetically.
The competing.
Of thoughts.
The contradicting.
Of the I am thoughts.
Or perhaps the uniformity.
The cohesiveness.
Of the I am thought.
Observe perhaps how this dance.
This push and pull.
One thought of I am leading.
Another thought of I am retreating.
How it's keeping your attention.
Really at the surface of the self.
The very tip of consciousness.
Allow your consciousness.
Allow your consciousness.
To plunge.
From the thought of I am.
To the experience.
Of I am.
And whatever experience.
Those words point to.
For you.
Notice if at all a certain resistance.
A pull.
A presumed security.
Familiarity.
In staying with the thought of I am.
Rather than plunging into the experience of I am.
The realm of the nameless.
Formless.
And fastness.
Notice every thought.
Every idea.
That keeps pulling you away.
From plunging into this realm.
How every thought of I am.
Must be surrendered.
Given up.
Towards this full immersion.
Drop all language,
All words.
And dive in.
Thank you.
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