PART 3

Self enquiry
So, instead of just adding to the slush-pile of philosophical debate or relying on any self-help snake oil, we can take a far simpler and more direct approach to the most fundamental of all questions, "Who am I?".  We can just sit still for a few minutes, temporarily suspend our understanding and past judgements about who we  think  we are, and then take a direct look and take note of what we see.

Here's a little experiment to try.  It's as well for the purpose of this exercise to do whatever you need to do, to not have the act of actually reading the words be a distration from doing what the words suggest.

Take a few moments now to let your mind relax a little.

Just as we can be aware of the feelings and movements in our body we can also step back from our thoughts and simple watch them.

We are not normally aware of our thoughts - one thought arises which then leads to another and then another, until we become lost in our own world. But right here, right now, step back in your mind and simply be aware of your thoughts as they come and go.

Just watch them for a few moments, nothing more. Simply sit still and wait for a thought to arise and then just be aware of that thought without following it or attaching any meaning to it. This is something we can all do. Simply watch them slowly come and go.

Feels good doesn't it?

And just watch that thought come and go too.

Now, as we are doing this, simply be aware of who is doing the watching, the feeling of your own Presence.

Who we think we are, our self concept, is in the realm of thought - those things that we are stepping back from right now and are able to watch. But who we really Are is who it is that's doing the watching.

You can see now that they are two distinctly separate entities. Who we really Are is the observer.

As we are aware of our Self watching our thoughts, recognize now that who we really Are cannot be known or deducted from thought. Who we really Are can only be known through this awareness, through direct experience.

This is a simple yet profound understanding that is easy to forget but can stand us in great stead.

So what was the point of this little exercise?

It can help us see that who we think we are cannot be true.^[1]  Who we think we are is bound up in thought - those things our real Self has just been watching.  As we start to step back from our everyday thinking mind and allow ourselves to relax deeper into the experience of our true Self we recognise it as far more intelligent, alive, creative, loving, resourceful and unlimited than anything our thoughts could even conceive of.^[2]

With a little practice in stepping back and simply observing our bodies and thoughts in motion we begin to not only recognize that who we thought we were is tied up in these things that we see changing, but also recognize that this true Self that is doing the watching, is in itself unchanging.  Our true Self isn't made up of matter that can be destroyed or thoughts that come and go; it is the pure intelligence that is aware of these things.  It has no beginning or end, it never grows old or gets tired, it doesn't need to struggle to achieve anything at all, needs no maintenance whatsoever and isn't constrained by any limited self- concept or belief.

As this awareness of our own Presence becomes more and more tangible to us we also start to recognize, incredible as it may seem, that although our genius is expressed in our own unique way, this Presence is the same creative intelligence that we all share.  Healing and great creative works takes no effort - just the ability to get out of our own way so our own true nature can shine through.  This Presence is always there, is always shining.  We can never lose it, only deny it.

As we have just experienced, there is no effort or journey required to access the awareness of our true Self - it's an acceptance of what already Is and that requires no effort, just a relaxing into this feeling of Presence that is growing within us and is always trying to get our attention.  Life delights to set us free, we need only stop resisting it.  This is so simple, direct and easy to do it is almost universally overlooked.