MEDITATION FOR SELF REALIZATION

Self-realization is often linked to a profound understanding of one’s true nature, which goes beyond intellectual comprehension and is deeply experiential. The phrase “you are not the mind and body” is frequently referenced in this context, suggesting that true identity is not derived from the mind or body but must be experienced directly through meditation and introspection.

The mind is an accumulation of experiences, memories, imaginations, and learned behaviors. Identifying oneself with the mind creates an unstable and false self, subject to change. Similarly, deriving identity from feelings, emotions, sensations, the body, relationships, and places also results in an unstable sense of self, as all these aspects are transient. Everything perceived through the mind is subject to change, making it an unreliable source of true identity.

Despite this, most people derive their identity from these changing elements, often identifying themselves with statements like “I am a doctor,” “I am African,” or “I am depressed.” These identities are products of the mind and therefore unstable. The self-realization we aim to explore here transcends the domain of the mind and is not something the mind can comprehend.

There exists within us a core essence, an unchanging centerpiece of our being. During meditation, one realizes that all happenings are experiences and seeks to find the experiencer of these events. When thinking occurs, we are aware of the experience of thought. So, who is the experiencer? The mind might quickly answer “me,” but this is an intellectual response. The true answer comes from allowing the realization to unfold naturally.

Similarly, when we have sense perceptions — sight, smell, touch, taste, or their absence — we know we are experiencing them. But who is the knower? Who is the experiencer? When mental activity and body awareness occur, what within us registers these experiences? If it were the mind, why are we also aware of the mind’s activity? For an experience to occur, there must be an experiencer, a subject, and an object.

In meditation, everything that arises is an experience, whether it pertains to the mind, feelings, bodily sensations, or external environment. These are all recognized as experiences. When we try to sense the experiencer of all these, we begin to open to our true dimension, who we are at our core. Persistently seeking this realization can lead to a profound understanding of our true nature, devoid of any scaffolding. In this place, true peace resides; we remain unaffected by the mind’s activities such as anxiety, fear, worry, confusion, inner conflicts, compulsions, and incessant thoughts. Everything settles, we attain equanimity, and we feel at home.

Experiencing this state even once is transformative. One learns the “location” (not a physical place) and how to access it. While one might not be able to live in this state continuously, it becomes a refuge during troubled times, providing peace without the side effects associated with external stimuli like people, places, relationships, or substances.

It is essential to remember that our true self is beyond mental constructs and the mind’s domain. When we access our true self, the mind may try to understand it but will fail. If the mind believes it has comprehended it, it has not. This realization is beyond the intellect.

That’s all for now!