Self-Inquiry (The I Am Sense) 

You’re welcome!

Which book???

@@dancerdiya7677 “Awake” It’s Your Turn ❤

You’re welcome ☺️

I’m glad to hear it :)

Oh good to hear 😃

I would also agree :)

Yip, this is where its at

I love this response. Me too.

thank you for your comment.. it has brought clarity

Glad it was helpful!

Perhaps yes :)

Awesome

How to just "be" around others is (has) been tough

@@davidholm645 it takes some adjustment for sure.

Nice to hear from you

Very welcome

🙏🏼

Beautiful :)

☺️

You’re welcome!

Very cool, nice to hear from you

Now it shows ... You are just like THAT, like me, who shows in the crazy game how to become perfect again, although there was never a separation .... it's like a shift in view🙃

Yes you do. Then go quiet. Don’t think the answer. 🙏🏻

When I eventually upload my consciousness, exactly what is being transferred?

I Am sense definitely does not require complete a sense of thoughts. However I would say it can be directly known, in one sense it’s the only thing that can be directly known, but this really boils down to what you mean by “know.” If knowing is defined as having to have a thought object of knowing then that is the I AM thought one would be referring you. The I Am sense is self validating and more real than real. Clarifying non dual vividness in senses comes later.

Could also be called knowingness. A dzogchen term might be rigpa, however rigpa also has deeper meanings as insight is clarified.

@@SimplyAlwaysAwake Okay, I think I am somewhat fluctuating between sensing pure knowing resp letting pure knowing know itself(?), and trying to hold on to the I AM thought, I guess. Because sometimes it takes effort to hold that sense, which is probably an indication that it's a thought. Or it's some kind of resistance, kinda difficult to tell.

@@s5saweig exactly! When you notice trying to hold anything that’s always a thought. Also I am as a thought object is not the IAM sense. The I AM sense is what that thought appears in and is also what “you” appear in, seamlessly one

That’s pretty accurate

Yes it's a thing... the thing is it is an opportunity to notice an associated thought that says it's a problem. Rather just start breathing again and return to inquiry/ I sense. Repeat as necessary. It some point the problem will subside. The associated thought has more influence than we realize

@@SimplyAlwaysAwake Thanks Angelo, that's reassuring that you know of this being an issue. I thought I was doing something wrong. Although I noticed that was a thought (doing something wrong), I missed the one you pointed out about it being a problem. Will look again with fresh eyes. Thank you 🙏

I have this experience, too. The thought arises, “I can’t breathe”. Once this is seen as a thought, a breath happens. It is still uncomfortable. Great to have Angelo’s reassurance that this is a common experience.

Thank you!

@@SimplyAlwaysAwake No need, my fingers just pushed the button without any decision whatsoever, but also you could not help thanking me. 😄 It just happened but everything is just happening so there is no real meaning for happen since it doesn’t have an opposite. So I said nothing really with so many words. 😉

To clarify, I'm pretty confident that these images are not forgotten memories. Partly because the story the mind creates isn't traumatic. They are often simple stories with no point.

I think I figured this out. I have delt with most if not all of the memories of my trama. Years ago in therapy. But the emotional aspect of that abuse. Not so much. So these emotions that I am allowing to play out is the healing I need now. And the mind created stories that overly thes emotions is just what the mind does. It does this with everything I experience 😂

Great questions, I may make a video about that in the future. :)))

@@SimplyAlwaysAwake Please do. :o)

Yeah man, crazy haha. Its our consciousness. The source of it

Wonderful

It really depends on what one means by these terms. I agree that being aware of being aware (for a moment or as a practice) is not the same thing as awakening. I do equate awakening with experiencing oneself as undivided consciousness. However that cannot be a mere experience but rather a pervasive alteration in one’s fundamental experience of existence. Resting in the I Am sense (only after realizing the I Am sense) is equivalent to that. What tho it the realization of I Am, trying to rest in the I Am sense will be tenuous and experiential, in which case self inquiry can be very valuable.

Look into reactivity and equanimity is what I would recommend. See what is left :)

The fact that you think you know and the desire to be enlightened means that the mind is not yet set on the Right Understanding. When the mind is set on the Right Understanding it realizes there are no ordinary or extraordinary human beings and it no longer seeks. It realizes that when it goes to sleep the world disappears and there is nothing but light every where. As a result, it is no longer afraid of death and it treats everybody and everything with kindness and compassion. " If you understand the true meaning of mind, you have encompassed all understanding ". The mind seeks because it suffers, but it continues to play games with itself. In order to set the mind in the Right Understanding, you have to dive within and hold on to the ego. The ego is the internal consciousness ( or energy) contaminated by thought. If you hold on to the ego then a major force will star to emerge. That major force is pure consciousness. The more you hold on to the ego, the more you expose the mind to pure consciousness. the more the mind is exposed to pure consciousness, the more it will be set on the Right Understanding. Only its maker can guide the mind to its true nature.

These are common experiences. regarding the pressure, it can be helpful to inquire into beliefs about it (ie "it shouldn't be here or I don't want it " etc

A thought could easily say boring , but that’s just a thought 💭 exactly , not being identified with any thought construct, then what is left

Well I thought about it then decided to put my original face before my parents were born there instead.

@@SimplyAlwaysAwakeLaughing so hard right now xD

@@sebwest11 😂

I would say it is suddenly seen to be different than it initially appeared. As Nisargadatta said, "If you regress properly the I Am thought will subside."

Right?? I love it, just attune to THAT

initial awakening is not the end of suffering, rather it is the beginning of the end. Beyond that there are other shifts, some call them awakenings others don't :)

Essentially yes, though it takes sone discernment bc it’s pretty common for someone to think they are resting in the I Am sense but it’s actually a thought identified state, just with a quieter mind. That can be achieved through meditation alone. I Am sense has to be realized through inquiry.

@@SimplyAlwaysAwake Thank you for responding - I know you must have so many comments to reply to! I’m a long time meditator but your work is helping me with inquiry, which is something I haven’t understood well in the past - and also recognizing and dis identifying from thought. The practice you give in the book of looking in the fishbowl of the mind and Identifying thoughts and naming them, then just returning to the space and resting until a new thought comes (I call it thought watching) seems to work better for me right now than asking a question. My follow up question is - if it’s not easy to just rest in the I Am without inquiry, is there some practice that you recommend engaging in when not meditating or inquiring? It seems like it’s too distracting to try to practice inquiry and find the I Am state when doing everyday things like working or engaging with people. Or will inquiry eventually become easier to do during those times?

Or is it worthwhile to just try to rest in the I AM state if not able to practice inquiry in that moment, even if it might have some subtle thought? Maybe this all becomes a moot point once one gets the hang of inquiry? It’s just challenging for me to do it on the go right now bc i get too distracted and attention is split with the activity I’m engaged with ;)

@@bkny108 oh it’s much more challenging off the mat. Especially at first. Give it time and most importantly it’s a heart based commitment primarily

@@SimplyAlwaysAwake Thank you!

1. Consciousness is doing the seeking, the seeking mind is the sought after mind. Not talking about awareness here. 2. There's no boundary in consciousness realized. No inside, outside, subject, or object. In reference to the questions about the head and sense organs, when practicing in the way described in this video those are simply recognized in thoughts. As are the ideas about awareness "I am awareness, I am nothing" etc Just the activity of the curious mind. The practice of regressing to the I Am sense is to clearly realize what is fundamental to all of that conceptualization. In your final description there is too much emphasis on trying to keep thoughts out, rather recognize the substance of a thought and that which seems to be perceiving all of this happening.

What do you think is being described here ?

@@SimplyAlwaysAwake Well, pretty much the complete opposite of the sense of "being" or of "me" really .. In my tradition we call i "The Mystery" .. the whole point is to get away from the idea of "me" or of "being" .. and what do you have left? A complete Mystery .. I see this happen a lot - people just switch the thought-self with the "higher" og "true" self or with "pure being" .. they just move the goalpost and are still as identified as before .. (except that they had a taste of it maybe) .. but reather than keeping it open, they instead land in what is really an *interpretation* of the experiece .. such as this is "who I really am" or something similar ..

@@stiankj​​⁠and you don’t think “The Mystery” and “moving away from the idea of me” is an interpretation? I’ll ask you, how exactly are you going to move away from the experience of being you? What would be the mechanism for such a movement?