Practice 14 · Finding Awareness

Settling In

Let's begin together. Sit somewhere comfortable, close your eyes softly, and observe your breath as it takes its natural rhythm.

Stop and shake hands with your mind. Inquire tenderly: What are you showing me today? Assure her that you will explore together her great power of discovery and knowledge.

Establishing Focus

Be curious about what you may learn in this practice. When you're ready:

• Direct your attention to your natural breath.
• Notice how familiar this action has grown.
• See how the knowledge of the breath appears immediately.
• Observe the simple flow of air moving in… and moving out.

Cooperation with the Mind

If your mind feels:

• Stormy or agitated → count breaths (1–10) softly, or softly label (“inhale… exhale”).
• Calm and steady → just rest and watch, unnamed.

The Dance of Attention

Notice something fascinating: when you lose your focus, you are still aware. It is the nature of the mind to shift to other things. When you feel lost, bring yourself back to the breath. There is no combat here, but a soft dance.

Remember:

• Wandering is not failure, but the nature of mind.
• You can always choose to return.
• Every returning enhances conscious direction.

Sit here together in this silent place of quiet observation. Sit in silence for ten minutes.

Expanding into Mindfulness

Now slowly release the breath. Open the mind; make consciousness bigger, like the widening aperture of a camera. Include all the experiences that occur:

• Body sensations (pressure, coolness, warmth).
• Close and distant sounds.
• Thoughts and memories.
• Feelings and emotions.

Becoming the Observer

Suppose you are a spectator in a theatre: all this is presented on the stage of consciousness. Sensations, thoughts, emotions, sounds, all playing their roles. You are the constant observer, just a spectator of the performance.

Should you need assistance to keep on track: name silently what comes to mind (thinking, hearing, feeling), or kindly ask: What is this? Although nothing may appear to be happening, note that you know that as well.

Noticing the Flow

Observe the linkages of experiences:

• A thought comes into view; it produces expansion or contraction.
• This awakens a feeling, leading to a desire to act.
• Every moment passes into the next.

This is so in the body, too: a feeling of pain arises; it generates the urge to move; action follows naturally.

Sit in silent observation for ten minutes.

Finding Out Who We Are

Now, stay in this general consciousness. Notice: all that you see, breathe, think, hear, feel, want, is impermanent and in flux. Ask yourself:

• Do I start when these experiences start?
• Do I cease when they cease?
• Or do I abide through them all?

Be aware: when thoughts pass, you stay. Through every up and down, you stand. When you are lost or confused, you know that you are lost or confused. Happiness or sadness, light or darkness, you are the one who sees.

The Essential Question

And now ask, mildly and quietly: “Who am I?” Am I these changing things? Or am I the constant consciousness in which they appear?

Sit with this inquiry. Let it echo. Don't seek an answer from thought; look directly at your experience.

Investigate in silence for five minutes.

Closing the Practice

Gradually now, release the investigation. Take a deep breath. Allow this realization to sink in. As soon as you are ready, open your eyes.

Through this practice we have witnessed something deep: everything that is experienced, thought, felt, sensed, is temporary. But we, the consciousness that sees them, are unchanged. Not a theory, but something we can ascertain first hand, through our own experience.