Guest guest Posted January 16, 2003 Report Share Posted January 16, 2003 kkt, that was pretty good. i just had an idea. (this is usually how i get into trouble). perhaps the other group members can post their explanations and i can add a section to the nisargadatta.net on this subject and refer the future questions to this page. come on discussion group warriors, this is your chance. it's never too late. thanks, hur > Hi, > My name is Jim and I am new to the group and fairly new to the > thought and teaching of Nisargadatta. One question I have is, > Nisargadatta suggests that we " hold onto the sense of I Am " . How is > this done? The only book of his I have is " I Am That " but it is > really something. > thank you > Jim > > > KKT: I AM = the sense of << being >> > = the sense of existence. > > One can say that one knows nothing > about oneself as well as about the world. > But there is one thing one << knows >> for sure: > this is the sense of << I AM >> > > This is the << unique >> knowledge. > > So hold onto this sense of I AM. > > > Peace, > > > KKT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 16, 2003 Report Share Posted January 16, 2003 Hi, There is a sense of self right in the middle of the chest. The place that hurts when I take offense. The place of feeling depressed. The place that is most related to identity. Nevertheless, I can feel depressed, and be a witness to it and not necessarily get bogged down in it. It can be like I watching a me. Now, aside from that, to abide in the Self for me can also just mean the sense of being. Physical sensation of being... free of excessive thinking... Inner core, mind at peace. Meditation. Most of the time, most people are not in their bodies (aware they are in their bodies) but instead they are lost in thought streams. To not be lost in thought streams, one can be in a still mind or awareness (consciousness). What I experience is that when the attention is focused on the sense of Self, then when I take offense say, ... there can be an understanding (eventually) that this is not just an automatic response of conditioning but something that is willed by me--albeit unconsciously... as a result of beliefs that conflict with reality. I have opinions or beliefs that cause me to cringe, hurt etc. They are my beliefs so I am doing it... or my conditioning is doing it and I am held prisoner as a victim until I can get some understanding on it and when I totally understand that I can't change the people places and things I am rubbing up against, then I can accept reality and perhaps ease up on my 'reaction' which causes suffering. My friction with reality. But first I have to become aware I am doing it. It is a process of learning. Yet even if I can absolve myself from doership, it is still being done and I need to see it and understand it whether I take doership or not. So, to focus awareness on this sense of how the self interracts or feels around and about different peoples, places and things is how to begin to get out of the mess of confusion. Untangling the web of maya. The beginning is to " Turn Within " . Then, observation of the self. A simple practice is to notice what one is doing all the time. To pay attention. This is difficult to do because most of the time I am lost. But as often as possible, to return to the senses works wonders for me. To return to the physical sense of feeling, touch smelling seeing to me is returning to the sense of I AM except that the I AM can also be thought of (to do the work of entanglement) as the sense of self in the chest. This self is what must be observed in order to become free. Observing how I become afraid, what that is all about... stuff like that... Once most of the resistance is solved, then the sense of self-centeredness also goes away because it is made up of all the hurt... it is the ego. The Guru gives a mantra. The mantra is to be repeated with the understanding that the repeater of the mantra, the mantra, and the Self or God are one. So, to repeat the words " I AM " or the SoHam mantra and sense the sense of self or Identity and identify THAT with the Universal Self is reception of the Word of God or Mantra. When I repeat the mantra, " I AM " over and over again coordinating it with the breath, I can sometimes sense a pool of blue light, that is bliss in the middle of the body and bathe in that bliss. This is a sort of Samadhi. One way to repeat this mantra might be to repeat " I AM " mentally mingling it with the breath on the inbreath and on the outbreath. Or perhaps I on the inbreath and AM on the outbreath. I focus attention on the breath and 'let go' of breathing and instead of forcefully breathing, just pay attention to the breath or that I am being breathed. When repeating a mantra such as I AM mentally, I focus the attention on where the words form in the mind. After repeating them, they collapse and then arise again. I rest in that space. That is the space of the Self. Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 16, 2003 Report Share Posted January 16, 2003 Excellent, Paul! Very clear. You're on the right track. Pete --- " Bondzai <bondzai " <bondzai wrote: > Hi, > > There is a sense of self right in the middle of > the chest. The > place that hurts when I take offense. The place of > feeling > depressed. The place that is most related to > identity. > Nevertheless, I can feel depressed, and be a witness > to it and not > necessarily get bogged down in it. It can be like I > watching a me. > > Now, aside from that, to abide in the Self for me > can also just mean > the sense of being. Physical sensation of being... > free of > excessive thinking... Inner core, mind at peace. > Meditation. > > Most of the time, most people are not in their > bodies (aware they are > in their bodies) but instead they are lost in > thought streams. To not > be lost in thought streams, one can be in a still > mind or awareness > (consciousness). > > What I experience is that when the attention is > focused on the sense > of Self, then when I take offense say, ... there > can be an > understanding (eventually) that this is not just an > automatic > response of conditioning but something that is > willed by me--albeit > unconsciously... as a result of beliefs that > conflict with reality. > I have opinions or beliefs that cause me to cringe, > hurt etc. They > are my beliefs so I am doing it... or my > conditioning is doing it and > I am held prisoner as a victim until I can get some > understanding on > it and when I totally understand that I can't change > the people > places and things I am rubbing up against, then I > can accept reality > and perhaps ease up on my 'reaction' which causes > suffering. My > friction with reality. But first I have to become > aware I am doing > it. It is a process of learning. Yet even if I can > absolve myself > from doership, it is still being done and I need to > see it and > understand it whether I take doership or not. > > So, to focus awareness on this sense of how the self > interracts or > feels around and about different peoples, places and > things is how to > begin to get out of the mess of confusion. > Untangling the web of > maya. > > The beginning is to " Turn Within " . Then, > observation of the self. > > A simple practice is to notice what one is doing all > the time. To > pay attention. This is difficult to do because most > of the time I am > lost. But as often as possible, to return to the > senses works > wonders for me. To return to the physical sense of > feeling, touch > smelling seeing to me is returning to the sense of I > AM except that > the I AM can also be thought of (to do the work of > entanglement) as > the sense of self in the chest. This self is what > must be observed > in order to become free. > > Observing how I become afraid, what that is all > about... stuff like > that... Once most of the resistance is solved, then > the sense of > self-centeredness also goes away because it is made > up of all the > hurt... it is the ego. > > The Guru gives a mantra. The mantra is to be > repeated with the > understanding that the repeater of the mantra, the > mantra, and the > Self or God are one. So, to repeat the words " I AM " > or the SoHam > mantra and sense the sense of self or Identity and > identify THAT > with the Universal Self is reception of the Word of > God or Mantra. > > When I repeat the mantra, " I AM " over and over again > coordinating it > with the breath, I can sometimes sense a pool of > blue light, that > is bliss in the middle of the body and bathe in that > bliss. This is > a sort of Samadhi. One way to repeat this mantra > might be to > repeat " I AM " mentally mingling it with the breath > on the inbreath > and on the outbreath. Or perhaps I on the inbreath > and AM on the > outbreath. I focus attention on the breath and 'let > go' of breathing > and instead of forcefully breathing, just pay > attention to the breath > or that I am being breathed. > > When repeating a mantra such as I AM mentally, I > focus the attention > on where the words form in the mind. After > repeating them, they > collapse and then arise again. I rest in that > space. That is the > space of the Self. > > > Paul > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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