Welcome to day 12.
We're in our waxing gibbous phase and in this moment I'd like for us to talk about self-awareness because the more that we sit in stillness the more self-aware typically we become.
The more we can start to become aware of everything and there's this magic in this practice of actually shifting our awareness from the self by zooming out taking an eagle-eye view on our life.
And this is where we're actually using a lens to see what is happening beyond my perspective,
Beyond the eye perspective.
I'm growing out of my own world and seeing as if looking down at our lives.
And when we're able to do this we can actually start to see more of what is actually happening.
We become known to who we really are when we can zoom out.
And for some this might seem counterintuitive but in the Buddhist tradition there's a concept called original mind.
And this is the concept of consciousness itself being timeless,
Unborn,
Ever-present.
And from this place of witnessing it's not even you if you look deeply.
It's not I'm witnessing.
It's simply just consciousness itself.
So we'll take a moment and we're going to do our best when I count to three to just stop being aware of yourself.
Stop being aware of consciousness.
Stop being aware of all things.
And I'm gonna count to three and give you a couple seconds see what that's like.
Okay one two three and stop.
Okay so could you do it?
Could you stop being aware?
Most of us can't,
Right?
It's really hard to turn off this knowing about the I.
Moving away from the I self but to know that this is what presence is.
It becomes more liberating and more peaceful when we start teaching ourselves to zoom out from our own perspective.
And that's what we're gonna practice today.
Jack Kornfield says once you are not even attached to I you take your seat in the middle of the world.
Let's practice.
You'll hear three bells to begin and three bells to pull you out.
Enjoy this exploration my friends.
Go ahead and drop right in by taking some deep breaths.
Some steady breaths and just noticing yourself sitting right there on the cushion or laying there.
Noticing your self and then shifting your attention away from yourself.
Bringing your awareness back to your body,
Back to your breath and then letting that consciousness go completely.
How kind and gentle can you be with yourself as you play,
As you explore in this meditation around self-awareness.
Seeing yourself and not seeing yourself.
Seeing yourself as I and then stepping back away from the I to take your seat in the middle of the world.
Can you have the bird's-eye view of yourself so that you can be more of a channel for what wants to come through versus controlling what comes through by creating quiet time for yourself with meditation right now.
We can play with becoming knowing itself,
The original mind.
Consciousness itself which is timeless,
Unborn and ever-present.
And from this place of witnessing it's not even you.
And if you look deep enough it's not I'm witnessing,
It's consciousness itself.
You are consciousness itself.
Can you be open to being consciousness itself right here?
You are pure consciousness with everything that's arising.
Perhaps it's interesting to you to zoom out and become the eagle-eye that sees from above where we can become even more liberated and more peaceful.
What is it like to be consciousness itself?
What is it like to play with this?
Noticing where your mind wanders and bringing yourself back to this idea of being consciousness and zooming away from self-awareness so that you can take your seat in the middle of the world.
Can you notice the space between your thoughts,
Between your emotions,
Between sensations?
Can you notice and open yourself to the space between?
The space between the breaths.
There's a gap when you take a breath in all the way at the top of the inhale.
There's a gap.
There's a space.
And then when we breathe out all the way there's a space before we take a breath in again.
This is an opportunity for you to explore and to dance with the space between.
What is the channel that wants to move through you?
Can you be open to consciousness to move through you?
For you are the vessel noticing where your attention is and zooming out.
Zooming out.
What lies beyond the I am?
What is left when we surrender this concept of self?
We just get to play and explore.
There's no right or wrong.
Just curiosity so we can find more liberation and more peace as a people,
As beings on this planet that we miraculously get to call home.
Thank you for slowing yourself down today,
For noticing,
For seeing,
For looking that eagle-eye view of consciousness itself,
Of life that we get to embody,
That we get to inhabit.
It's such a gift.
Thank you for feeling it with me.
See you tomorrow.
