Here the question is: what is Self-awareness? The beauty of this encounter with the awareness of oneself, with the direct understanding of what this "I" represents, is this approach that we call Self-awareness. To know the truth about oneself is, in fact, to transcend this limitation, which is the limitation of this "I." So, the use of this word here on the channel is very specific. It's not about this "I" knowing itself in order to improve, but rather about the awareness that this present "I" is nothing but a set of thought's assertions-that is the "I."
Therefore, the real importance of this encounter with yourself is the understanding that this "you" has this mode of representation constructed by thought, which, by the way, is a representation within a project, a model, a program of mental conditioning. The deconstruction of this requires the awareness of what is happening within this context, in this relationship with life-that is Self-awareness. The psychological deconditioning, the deprogramming of this internal psychological condition, reveals something beyond the "I," beyond the ego; this is the sense in which we use the term, the expression "Self-awareness." The next question is: how can this be done practically? So now we are talking about practicing or how to enter into the practice of this vision, this truth, this awareness-we are talking about practicing Self-awareness.
Because the idea is involvement in the practice, engagement in this practice. So another question is: how to enter into this vision, this understanding, this direct perception of the illusion of this "I," of this program that is the "I," of this conditioning that is the "I," in order to reach the truth of the revelation of what lies beyond it? So, here we are talking about practicing Self-awareness. The term or expression "practice"-or "practicing"-also needs to be understood. Here we are not dealing with something like technical knowledge.
If you practice sports, you are using a technical practice; if you practice math, science, physics, or medicine, you are in fields that require technical skill. So knowledge, experience, and ability are necessary in those fields. What differentiates this approach to the vision of Self-awareness here is that we need another element, and that element is not technique-that element is the Presence of Awareness. And here, when we deal with the Presence of Awareness, we are not dealing with something repetitive, that maintains continuity, that requires memory, or that demands specialized knowledge. Therefore, this approach of looking, of perceiving our reactions, is not a technique.
So we never separate. for a clear view of what this represents, we cannot separate Self-awareness from Mindfulness. So note the close connection between these two principles: the principle of Attention to our reactions, and the other is the vision of what we are in this moment, here and now. Therefore, Mindfulness and Self-awareness cannot be separated. So let me touch here with you on what we understand by "observing oneself." As has already been mentioned here, any form of looking through thought is through conclusions, evaluations, comparisons, beliefs, ideas, intentions, goals, acceptances, or rejections-this is the model of thought.
Thought in us prevents a real contact with life as it unfolds, because what thought does is give an interpretation to this moment. What is this approach to life, free from the past, free from the "I"? It is the looking at this "me," this "I" when it arises; becoming aware of its presence is to annul its operating model, its pattern of action. And what exactly is "becoming aware" of this presence of the "I"? It is perceiving that, in the face of an experience, the tendency of thought is to separate from the experience to become the one who observes, the one who perceives, the one who thinks about it, who has ideas about what is happening there.
This is the movement of the "I." So, at every moment, we are sustaining, in life as it unfolds, this separation. So, to self-observe is not this "I" looking at itself, but the presence of this instrument, which is the mind. Note that the mind is the instrument we have for this approach of observing, perceiving, of becoming aware of life. So, this instrument in you is the mind.
The mind is this instrument of perception. But what has happened with us is that this instrument is unable to be free for this quality of perception without the "I," without this observer, without this thinker, without this one who wants to get involved in the experience. So this approach to oneself, here in this moment, requires that this mind, that this instrument, be free-free for this self-observation. Now, this self-observation is simply observing. So, what is the truth about self-observation?
It is looking through this instrument, which is the mind. Only when the mind remains uninvolved-and it remains uninvolved when, in this moment, it becomes quiet-if it becomes quiet, if it becomes silent, there is this new space, which is the space of observation. This pure observation does not require the presence of someone in the observation. When there is the presence of someone, this observation does not exist-what we have is the old movement of the "I," to reject what is observed, to like what is observed, to want more or less of it. Therefore, self-observation brings you closer to this Attention on your reactions.
So, these reactions, when they arise, lose that element of identity, which is the "I." Note how important this is: our entire mode of functioning in life always carries this context of the "I," which is the context of the thinker, the observer, the experiencer. So we live in this constant like and dislike, this accepting or rejecting. That's why there is always this form of responding to life from this background of memory, this element that comes from the past, which is the "I." The elimination of that past is the elimination of that element-it is the presence of this observing without choice, this looking without any intention to change or alter anything.
The truth of this practice, or this exercise, is not something mechanical-it is something that requires the Presence of this Awareness. That is what sets this approach to Self-awareness apart from anything else learned out there. When we discover how to learn about this, we have the key that brings us closer to this vision of Wisdom, this vision of Truth, this awareness of Life. There is no place in life for this sense of "I," for the ego, for this observer, for this thinker-and yet this is how we are living, this is how we've been living our days. Discovering the truth about yourself is the discarding of this "you" as you see yourself, as you believe yourself to be, as you think yourself to be.
With this disappearance, we no longer have life as we see it, as we feel it, as we perceive it. It is always through thought that life is recognized by this element that recognizes. So, we have this "I" and the "not-I." Life is the "not-I," and thought in us affirms the presence of a thinker, which is the "I." Thus, between this "I," which is the thinker, and life as it unfolds, we have the presence of thought and every image that thought builds about life.
When you deal with people, you deal with people you know; this knowledge is a recognition that comes from memory, from the past. You know their name, you recognize their face, you even know something about their story, but all that knowledge you have rests solely on thought. But there is something important here that we don't pay attention to: the fact that at no point does thought declare the truth; every thought falsifies the reality of the moment. When you describe an episode, for example, an event, many elements are missing from your description, and that description is a rendering of thought-it is the perspective of thought. The truth is that thought is incapable of dealing with facts, because thoughts are images, are memories, recollections, which represent only ideas.
The idea is not the fact. So, any and all descriptions from thought are not the truth-they are an attempt at an approximation through symbols, images, concepts, ideas of what occurred. Thought looks for a photograph-it creates this photograph-but it falsifies the reality of the facts. So our entire approach to people, based on thought, is a mistake. And here we face something undeniable: when you describe who you are, you are not bringing a real description of yourself, because your description is born of thought.
Therefore, if you don't know who you are, how can you, in fact, truly know who the other is? Based on thought? But what is thought? It is only this representation of images, it is this attempt to create a portrait-it does not deal with truth, it does not deal with reality. A true approach to life-for the presence of Freedom, Happiness, Love, Peace-requires an understanding of Life, and thought cannot reach that understanding.
Generally, we are doing exactly that-we are separating Life from what we are, through thought. An understanding of Life requires an understanding of ourselves; but understanding ourselves requires the discarding, the deconstruction of all these ideas. Here, the first element to be investigated, to be understood, and naturally discarded, is this idea, this picture, this photograph, this image that thought has built about you-about who you are. So, the vision of life requires this understanding of it, but this understanding requires, above all, an understanding of ourselves, because there is no separation between you and Life. Life is you and you are Life, when thought is not present, when the idea is not present, when this "I," the thinker, observer, experiencer, is not there.
All our effort together here is in the direction of a Real Life, a life free from the "I," free from the ego, and everything has as its principle, its foundation, this observing without the observer, this perceiving without the perceiver. To self-observe gives you this vision of Attention to these reactions-a Mindfulness to this entire old movement, which is the movement of the mind, this programmed mind, this conditioned mind, this mind without freedom. Then the Truth about You is revealed. All that you display to be, that you seem to be, that in thought you are convinced you are, dissolves. We have, simultaneously, a few things happening here, giving you the foundation of this understanding of yourself, which is the understanding of Life.
Earlier we spoke of this Happiness, this Love, this Freedom possible in this Natural State of Realization, which is the Nature of Life, which is the Nature of God, which is the Nature of your Being. But it is essential that we also understand this: that this same Liberation is not something in the end, as a goal or objective to be reached tomorrow. There is no such thing as "tomorrow" in which to attain this. This very Freedom, which is the mind as this free instrument that we need for this approach, is something that, paradoxically, is already present. See how strange all of this sounds.
That's why I've advised you to take a look at all the playlists we have here on the channel, because we are using terms and language that may seem contradictory at times, but it's like a puzzle: if you put all the pieces together, you'll see the picture of the puzzle-but they are many small pieces that at first don't seem to fit. You need to find the right little place for each puzzle piece. When you find the right place, the image begins to form. Here we've spoken of this conditioned mind, this conditioned brain, and just now I've touched on the importance of this free mind, which makes this approach to Self-awareness possible. And now we're telling you here that, paradoxically, we carry this conditioned mind, because it is the current model of thought that is acting very, very strongly.
But here and now we also bring the power of this Grace-the truth of this mind that, in this moment, in a free way, already approaches this vision. So, when the mind becomes quiet, when this free mind is present, that is when the mind becomes aware of its own movement; by becoming aware of its own movement, this conditioned mind-which is nothing other than this very movement of the "I," of this model of restless, agitated, chattering, repetitive thought that lives in liking and disliking, that judges, evaluates, accepts, rejects, that looks from the past-this model of thought, within this conditioned mind, dissolves. So it is with the approach of this new mind, this free mind, this silent mind, that this space opens. It is when the mind becomes aware of its reactions-it is when this awareness, which is the Presence of this Real Awareness, takes the place of this illusory identity, this illusory egoic mind, this illusory personal consciousness, which is the consciousness of the "I"-that we have the presence of the Revelation of Something beyond the known, of something beyond the world, beyond this psychological condition, which is the condition of separation, of duality. So, this is the end of this thought that appears as this element of separation between You in your Real Nature and Life as it is, as it happens.
The truth of this awareness, the truth of this vision, is the end of all this confusion, suffering, problems, disorder-it is the end of ignorance. Thus, the Reality of Life as it is, as it happens, is the Presence of Wisdom. Life in this condition-life as it unfolds, in the beauty of this encounter-is the understanding of the Truth about God, about You. This is what we are working on together in these online weekend meetings, where we are, Saturday and Sunday, deepening this with you-two days together. In addition to these online weekend meetings, we also have in-person gatherings and retreats.
If this is something that makes any sense to you, here is an invitation. Go ahead and leave your like, subscribe to the channel, and write in the comments: "Yes, this makes sense." Ok? And we'll see each other. Thanks for the meeting, and until next time!
