So then we begin the actual meditation of letting go of the wrong sense of self and creating a positive,
Healthier sense of self.
Get yourself comfortable and upright as always and then begin with a few deeper breaths,
Calming your mind and calming your body.
One more long breath in,
Long breath out.
And then we set our motivation,
We're here doing this practice for the benefit of ourselves but not just ourselves,
For the benefit primarily for the benefit of all living beings,
Every single living being.
And then bring your attention into the present moment,
Let everything else go.
And for the first few moments just be with your breath,
Let your mind mix with the breath going in and the breath going out.
And then we begin by bringing into our mind the sense we have of our identity,
Of our self.
Try imagining a time when you're very scared or someone criticizes you or you're very embarrassed or nervous or very strongly emotional and feel,
Get a feeling and an idea or an image of that sense of me,
Possibly based on your looks,
Your nationality,
Your sex,
Your education,
Your status,
Whatever it may be.
Bring into your mind,
Get as clearly as you can in your mind this sense of yourself,
Who I think I am,
Me,
This I.
And keeping that with you during the meditation,
First of all just make that conclusion that if the self which is appearing to us,
This image we have of ourselves,
If it exists it should be findable somewhere,
Either within our body,
Within our mind or somewhere else in the world,
These are the only possibilities.
And then again keeping this image in your mind as clearly as you can,
Who we think we are,
This me,
This self,
Begin to look first of all through the body,
Sinking this image of ourself into each part of the body,
The head,
The legs,
The arms,
The inner organs,
And keep asking that question,
Is this me?
Is this myself?
Ask that question through each part of the body,
Are my arms me?
Or are they just what belong to me?
My legs,
My chest,
My head?
Does that fit with this image of who I think I am?
Or is it just a body part?
Maybe we feel the whole body is ourself,
But if that were the case,
Then when we cut our hair or nails we would become less of me,
If we lost a limb then we'd no longer be ourselves,
But that's clearly not the case.
So be sure that nothing within the body,
Including the whole body or any part of the body,
Is me,
This sense of self,
It's unfindable.
And then keeping this sense of self,
This image of oneself in the mind,
Refreshing it if you need to,
Now begin to look in the mind.
Am I a happy thought or is myself a sad thought or the thought this morning?
An emotional thought?
A worry or a stress or is it love?
Which of the thoughts and the feelings,
Memories and emotions,
Are any of them me,
This self?
Check the thought which is doing the looking as well.
Is that me or is it just a thought looking for something?
Make sure that nothing in the mind corresponds to this sense of self.
It's completely unfindable within any of our thoughts or feelings or emotions.
And then having not been able to find that self anywhere within the body,
Anywhere within the mind,
Just make sure it can't be anywhere else,
Like at home or in your bedroom or in another country or place,
Just make sure that's not possible also.
And if this sense of identity of me,
This self,
Is not findable anywhere within our body and mind or anywhere else,
Then the only conclusion we can come to is that it simply doesn't exist.
It's completely unfindable.
And stay for a few minutes or few moments with that sense of unfindability.
It's just not there.
Whenever it seems to come up again,
This me,
This I,
Just look within the body and mind and anywhere else,
Just conclude it cannot be found.
And be with that emptiness,
That lack of it having any existence in reality.
It's just not there.
And staying within this emptiness,
This non-findability of the self,
Staying in that space,
Not trying to bring the self back,
Just being in the emptiness of it being there.
It's just simply not there.
Staying there.
Now let yourself arise,
Let create a new sense of self.
Not something different from the body and mind,
But just see your identity as being healthy,
Strong,
Confident.
With an energetic immune system.
With positive aspects to your mind of love,
Compassion,
Connection,
Wisdom.
Don't just imagine it,
But feel that's who you are.
This is me.
This healthy,
Strong,
Confident self.
Let that arise in your attention,
In your mind.
And again,
Not a thought but a feeling.
Feel that's who you are.
Right from the depths of your mind,
This is who I am.
Strong,
Healthy,
Confident,
Loving,
Connected,
Compassionate,
Wise.
This is me.
It may be an image,
A visualization,
It may be a feeling,
But whatever it is,
Just create that strong,
Healthy sense of self and be there with that.
As a feeling,
Rest with that feeling,
This is who I am,
For a few moments.
If a negative sense of self comes in again,
Then just analyze and see it's not there.
And out of that emptiness,
Out of that lack of finding,
Arise again into this new healthy,
Confident,
Happy self and be with that.
This is me.
This is who I am.
And then we dedicate the fruits of our practice,
Positive energy we've created,
May it lead to the complete finishing of suffering for all living beings.
And may it become the cause to lead every single living being into complete happiness.
Thank you for your practice.
