Becoming Aware Of Our Being-ness

When we go looking for ourselves, we so often look outside of us. We look for a fashion trend, a career, a lover, a religion to define who we are. For the next 10 minutes, we'll experiment with searching for ourselves within instead. This meditation is rooted in the practice of Jnana Yoga, the yoga of knowledge, with the aid of the "I am" mantra.

Transcript

Find a comfortable seat. And take a deep breath in through the nose, All the way down to the hips. Holding the breath in for a moment. And then exhale out the mouth, Letting the body relax. And arrive. The eyes might be gently open, Gazing at the floor, Or if you'd like, You can close them down now. We'll begin with a contemplation on a verse from the Isha Upanishad. The spirit without moving is swifter than the mind. The senses cannot reach it. It is ever beyond them. Standing still, It overtakes those who run. To the ocean of its being, The spirit of life leads the streams of action. It moves, And it moves not. It is far, And it is near. It is within all, And it is outside all. Who sees all beings in their own self, And their own self in all beings, Loses all fear. When a sage sees this great unity and has become all beings, What delusion and what sorrow can ever be near them? Begin by noticing your breath. Gently flowing in through the nose and out through the nose. Let the breath be light and easeful. As if the body is breathing itself. There is nothing you need to do. Simply watch in through the nose. Out through the nose. The body knows how to breathe. You are that which watches the breathing. See if you can feel that sense of watching yourself breathe. Watching the body breathe. Stepping back as if you are an explorer and you're watching a rare bird. Now dipping a little bit deeper. As you inhale through the nose, Think I. And as you exhale through the nose, Think am. Inhaling through the nose, I. Holding. Exhaling out the nose, AM. Keep up this rhythm, Inhaling AI. Exhaling, AM. Notice if your mind starts to suggest what you are. Notice if there are any identities. Any titles or names. What arises around the thought, I am? And see that anything that arises is just a thought. That you, What you are, Is aware of thoughts. Thoughts of identity. Thoughts of attachment. Thoughts of personality or character. In this moment. See if you can step back from being anything but being. I am. Investigate for yourself, Is this true? Can you sense your existence? I AM. What is it like to be anything at all? I AM if any other thoughts occur to you beyond I AM. Simply send them away, Refocusing your attention on I inhaling, Am exhaling. I, Inhaling, Am exhaling. If thoughts arise, Allow them to arise within your awareness of your being. Thoughts arise to you. The subject. What is it like to be? What is it like to exist as the subject, That which is aware of thoughts? Without using any words. See if you can experience the sense of being. Now turn up the volume just 10% on the internal I AM. Let it become a little bit louder. Imagine your entire being is vibrating with this phrase, Every atom affirming, I am. I AM I AM. And then release the practice. Allowing your mind to be open. Maybe imagining an empty black space in the Chit Prakash, The space behind your eyelids. And watching whatever arises in that space. Without any expectation of what might arise. And inhaling very deeply. Gently open the eyes as you exhale. Gazing around the room. And coming back into your day.