Self Enquiry

Without question, the mind assumes that because what appears through its senses is localised, what knows of these perceptions is also localised. Without question, the mind believes that because what appears through its senses is limited in time and space, what knows of these perceptions is also limited.

Question: Is it clear that there is an awareness that knows the experiences of the mind?

Without question, the mind assumes the self is a localised, limited being looking out at the world. If what appears is real, then what it appears to must be real. But what it appears to has no informational content and cannot be perceived by the mind. Without question, the mind dismisses this knowing reality as it is only concerned about what it knows through the senses.

Question: Is it clear that you are this Awareness that knows the experiences of the mind?

Nevertheless, what knows what the mind perceives can be known directly without the mind by itself verifying that it is always present, never changing. This primal knowing allows this knowing reality to say aloud through a mind and body, "I Am". Before it knows of anything, it knows of itself. This knowing of itself is the experience of existing, what some call the divine self-illuminating spark of existence.

Question: Is it clear you are this Aware Presence as your mind reads these words?

This reality is the knower of all information the mind and body perceive and the knower of itself. The mind cannot know this knowing reality is localised or limited in any way just because of what it senses. This knowing reality is experienced as the spacious invisible ocean within which and from which all that the mind perceives appears, and increasingly, these mental perceptions are seen in this way.

Question: As you become aware you are this Aware Presence, based purely on this experience and not any preconceived ideas, can you say for sure this Aware Presence you are is being generated by and limited to the mind?

As this knowing reality recognises itself, the experience of this knowing pervades the mind's perceptions, and what appears to it is no longer experienced as a separate object. This experience of Oneness divests us of the experience of thinking and feeling to be a localised, limited, separate self. As it does so, the fear and tension in the mind and body are also released.

Question: Based purely on this experience of being this Aware Presence experience and not any preconceived ideas, can you find any distinct gap between you and the objects your mind perceives, starting with bodily sensations with eyes closed and then sounds and then what your eyes see?

It becomes clear that the cause of this existential fear and tension was being triggered by paying attention to the mind's unquestioned assumption that what knows of its perceptions is limited and localised even though there is no evidence in experience of this. Suddenly, it becomes apparent that the source of tension was mistakenly identifying this undefinable knowing reality as a mentally knowable finite sensorial experience.

Question: Is the experiential distinction between being this Aware Presence or identifying as a localised bodily sensation clear to you?

In that instant, we become prone to the mortal fears of sensorial existence, which will appear sooner or later. However, as the knowing reality recognises the true nature that the mind cannot know and releases itself from this mistaken identification of being a limited separate object, it frees itself from this mortal fear at that moment.

Question: Can you see the connection between psychologically induced fear and the thoughts that indicate you are a separate localised person?

So released, it collapses the foundation of all anxiety-inducing beliefs that limit it to being a separate object and is free to enjoy the experience of living through the mind and body it has created.

Question: Can you see what happens to any thoughts that indicate you are a separate person in the world when you confront them with the evidence that, as this Aware Presence, you cannot know this belief is true?

Thus, through this knowing reality "waking up" to itself, which is free of existential fear, it can "wake down" into the daily living of a mind and body in a world and among a community of minds and bodies, never forgetting that all that the mind perceives is an expression of its reality and not separate.

Question: Does it feel that the things your mind perceives, including other bodies, are all expressions of the same aware presence you are, almost as if your waking reality has a dream-like quality?

As it does so, it can, over time, dissolve old patterns of behaviour that were programmed based on existential fear and replace them with new behaviours that express a natural trust, freedom and life-affirming enthusiasm. It can naturally create a process of living that effortlessly recognises and reinforces this trust in its own eternal and infinite nature rather than behaviours driven by existential anxiety. It can trust the flow of experience of life rather than attempt to control it. This is a purely natural process.

Question: Taking your stand as this Aware Presence, can you embrace whatever is going on right now as it is without trying to change it?

It is this waking down that is as essential as waking up. Possibly more. It is not about perfection but about authenticity. No judgement. Any judgment from any mind indicates defensiveness, and any mind that judges must be happy to be judged itself. It does not mean that the mind and body never feel pressure or fear, but it does mean that a mistaken identification of the self will not unnecessarily amplify this pressure.

Question: Taking your stand as this Aware Presence, can you embrace any fear and contraction your mind and body are experiencing without judgement or attempting to change it but just showing it love?

It does not mean that the mind and body will not make mistakes but will not induce a sense of shame or guilt because such negative states arise only due to the mistaken personalisation of life and serve no purpose. This does not mean that a brain that is wired in a complex way that makes life challenging will be somehow cured or that a body that has a disease will somehow be cured, but that these aspects will not be the cause of self-recrimination and instead be embraced, managed and even transformed because of this positive approach.

Question: Taking your stand as this Aware Presence, can you let go of any memories or ideas that trigger guilt, shame, or negative emotions because they are attached to the belief to be a separate person existing in time and space?

In the final analysis, living like this opens the mind to the possibility that this world we live in is some sacred cathedral, and our behaviour is a crystallisation of the recognition of the infinite and eternal in life rather than the finite and limited.

Question: Taking your stand as this Aware Presence, can you allow your natural enthusiasm to live to emerge, and what visions and thoughts do you notice that interest you in acting?