THREE SALIENT FEATURES OF WITNESSING. FOCUSING ON THE UNCHANGING SELF. Abiding as the  seer not the seen - from ‘i’ ‘me’ to ‘I Am’. 

Om chants begin…

Greetings…so once again just observe  the sea: very gentle …gentle … gentle ripples… a calm blue sea …just the subtle movement of the sea; it’s not a still pond or lake after all, it is the sea and thus even in a motionless calm sea there is gentle movement within. And yet it’s the calmest sea you have ever seen, and just looking at this calm sea calms you, actually what it’s doing is calming what you call your mind- because whenever you say something calms me…brings me peace…it’s bringing that churning mind of yours into its restful state. 

In our last gathering you were made to view that   the waves, the larger waves are the thoughts and worries - but today we ask you to focus on that gentle still sea; of course there is that slight movement, the very presence of something called the mind means movement, but allow this beautiful vast calm sea to rest the mind. Let it reflect your state of mind…let the mind correspond these gentle ripples …calm…no waves…just the hint of that motion in a calm sea. This is the restful mind, also what you call mindlessness…thoughtlessness as the mind is nothing but frequencies/thought waves - and what you usually call the mind are the jagged frequencies…jagged larger waves…up and down…! But when the frequency is settled down like a calm calm sea…we say the mind is resting…subsiding…moving out of the way.

So let the sea and what you call your mind correspond to each other…the calm vast sea. There is great power in imagery/vision…very often what you see effects your brain waves…therefore as you see this calm completely calm…tranquil…deep blue aqua sea…the mind corresponds. Indeed f you had to see the state of the mind through machinery equipped to chart the mind, at this point of time there would be barely any fluttering up/down moving – yes the hint of motion/ the ripple would be present because otherwise the mind cannot exist…but it would not have this jagged lines one usually sees as brain waves!

And if just watching the sea can do this to your mind - how much…how much more the work you all have been doing is bringing your mind and its waves into this state of being…!? The shift from what you call the engaged participant into witnessing into awareness …each a step of the mind corresponding to this tranquil wave less still calm sea.

You are now aware that thoughtlessness does not mean no thoughts, but not identifying with the thoughts,   so therefore the sea has its motion… has its movement but all below the surface…for in witnessing and awareness you abide in a higher frequency than of thoughts and the mind is calm no matter what maybe going; and also the awareness that those so called thoughts are not your thoughts…further helps settle the mind …helps the surrender of thoughts…the mind like the vast calm sea.

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You can call this the shift from the engaged participant to witnessing to awareness - or as the sages call it the move into seer rather than the seen. There is magic in the words of sages because their frequency permeates their words - so use this mantra for the remainder of the week:   I abide as this seer not the seen. It’s the same thing as witnessing or awareness (rather than what you are aware of) but for this week we ask that you use these words. Nisargadatta Maharaj…Ramanna Maharishi…frequency… I abide as this seer not the seen.  The visual image of this, is the sea we asked you to begin with today, because in abiding as seer not the seen - your mind waves/ frequencies…the peaks…the jagged edges… those crashing thoughts… all settle and calm and becomes like a ripple less sea. The movement is there, thoughts are there as a function of the universe, you cannot exist without them - and yet your awareness is beyond the thoughts- your awareness is that of the seer not the seen. 

And through the years, indeed we would say when we began our first gathering with you, actually beloveds every session…every gathering has been leading up to this point to helping you shift out from the engaged…involved participant into the witness. If you remember your earliest gatherings always began with you seeing yourself outside - in that space of green grass…blue hills…seeing yourself in a pool…? That was the initial training of witnessing…of stepping out of yourself…of moving from the seen to the seer…and that is what you do here in every gathering no matter what we take you through …you move from the engaged participant into witnessing into awareness…ultimately that is the real work being done.

And then we have introduced to you Self enquiry, again a gift by the sages, Ramanna…Nisargadatta Maharaj to mention a few… as this complements your meditation and tremendously deepens it. We have explained all of this to you in previous gatherings: that self enquiry by itself, automatically, indeed the moment you are engaged in any degree of self enquiry takes you from the seen to the seer. You watch yourself…you are aware of yourself…and what is happening to that mind…the turbulent sea …those waves…they become like tiny tiny ripples…a calm beautiful sea…the mind starts to subside into its most restful state of being.

And so how long shall thou do self enquiry? Till there is no need…you don’t need to question yourself…Am I Divyaa ? Am I Anju ? Am I Hamsi ? You know it! You don’t need to reflect on am I sitting in this room in Dyvlok- you know it!  And likewise a time will come when you will know it…all that you experience in meditations…all that you understand intellectually…you will BE the seer…self enquiry will drop on its own…till then beloveds till then whether it is one week…one month… one year…one life time or several life times…self enquiry is the path.

And then meditation will be the experience of this, the experience (it’s truly not ‘experience’ but direct knowing but in duality we have to use the word experience) of being the seer! Self enquiry will aid meditation and meditation will aid self enquiry thus we urge you week after week after week…carry forward the work done here through self enquiry… because unlike meditation self enquiry can be done through the day… from the moment you awake to the moment you sleep…you do not need to take half an hour to sit with your eyes closed…! And overtime you will be in a meditative state through the day…your mind will be like that vast beautiful calm blue sea…the shift from self to Self…from the ‘i’ ‘me’ to the ‘I Am’ and even meditation drops!

So look upon that sea…see your state of mind like a calm blue sea…tiny tiny ripples perhaps…the movement is there of course…allow the mind its waves. This is why you feel sleepy…the Beta waves…the beta frequency that keeps you alive and thinking shifts into Alpha…the higher frequency…that state between being awake and  sleeping where you lose touch with the waking thoughts  ! Some of you shift deeper into delta and theta and gamma…! Let the brain waves subside…slow down in pace…now you do not know whether you are seeing the sea or that which your call your mind…and yet be aware…be aware beloveds…we are not taking you to a state of deep sleep.

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And so we come to describing some of the features of this state of being-  the features in this shift from self to Self…from ‘i’ ‘me’ to ‘I Am’…from engaged participant to witness to awareness…what are some of the features? If you have been practicing it well this will resonate with you…

A - One of the features in this what you call witnessing, is that you move out of the picture…seen to seer…you move out of the picture!  The moment you move out of the picture there is a certain distancing…a certain detachment…certain objectivity…less of entanglement…involvement – indeed what you call witnessing! The very word witnessing means: watching something by being out of the picture, out of the frame - objectively. And when you continue to witness the so-called self, you remain out of the picture, outside of the ‘self’ - this is very important to understand – because that’s why one day  through this distancing,  the connection ( to yourself/life/identity/ being part of the picture)  just snaps!  Even here, you are seeing the mind…the sea…outside; you are outside the picture you are viewing; your point of awareness is outside it ! In self enquiry too, you step out of the picture to enquire! Or how could you? Thus out of the picture:  the distancing…the detachment…the objectivity…the less entanglement…is witnessing…! Stepping out of the picture is an aspect of witnessing! It should come more and more natural to you now… 

Let’s use analogy:  you go on a vacation… all the turmoil and troubles and agendas of your home get left behind…by just that act of moving away…nothing is changed at home but just that act of moving away…the distance…the detachment…the objectivity? This is what you are doing energetically when you move into witnessing…self enquiry…meditation…you are stepping out of the picture.

Use this awareness next time you are getting entangled and embroiled- “I step out of the picture”. I Am watches the ‘i’ ‘me’, Self watches self. Recall the mediation we have done with you- I have bad seats at the play and can’t see what’s going on the stage/of my mind can’t hear the actors/my thought…in this distancing automatically the mind…the brain waves start to settle like that calm blue sea.

B) The second salient feature is the shift to a higher frequency: from ‘i’ ‘me’ to ‘I Am’!  As you move from self to Self…from the seen to the seer…from ‘i’ ‘me’ to the ‘I Am’ all that’s happening is you are shift a higher frequency! And thus the lower frequency automatically fades/falls away (the higher cannot be impacted by the lower)! Thus you are caught not in those thoughts of lower density…! And as you settle into and abide in the higher frequency and its buzz you cannot even see those thoughts of lower density…! Witnessing is happening…you are abiding as the seer rather than the seen … by a shift to the higher frequency.

Like the example we gave you of the flight going above the clouds…the clouds are there…the turbulence is there below…you have moved to the higher frequency. Take a flight…fly higher and higher and higher and higher…the same turbulent sea will appear calmer and calmer and calmer and calmer. That is why music soothes you…calms you…it is of a higher finer frequency…very often when you put on music your troublesome thought start to abate…that is the secret of chanting…the secret of prayer…all you are doing is shifting to a higher frequency…of course in meditation…of course in self inquiry because in self enquiry you move from self to Self…you abide in the higher frequency. So one is stepping out of the picture…second is the shift to a higher frequency…and the mind and the brain waves are becoming like that large beautiful sea… 

C) And for today one last third salient feature: the shift from movement/ momentum into stillness; from change to changelessness! Become aware how in the shift from self to Self, from engaged participant to witness to awareness, from the seen to the seer - you are shifting to the changeless Self, from movement into stillness! Become aware that some point (of awareness) within you is unchanging…? That is what allows you to be aware of the change… it’s what allows you do self enquiry…it is what allows you to meditate…that unchanging point is what you tap into. This is what we wish you to focus on for the remainder of the week…

Become aware of ‘That’ stillness within you which is aware of the motion and the movement of your day… it is only stillness which can become aware of its opposite or you would have been lost in churning? So when you say “i have had a rushed and troubled and frenzied day” which part of you says that? Which part of you is aware of that…? It’s the still unchanging part …come become more aware of this aspect… this still and unchanging aspect… and focus on it…

Of course in meditation you automatically tap into that…and so do you in self enquiry - because the Self who sees what’s happening to you is unchanging that’s why it can view the changes!  View this energetically:  see your thoughts flowing by you…one thought after another…but which is that part of you that is unchanging and still which is aware of that flow of thoughts? So subtle but so there! Once you become aware of it… you can never not become aware of it again. And this practice won’t be required!

Through analogy we have taken you through this often before: You are the sky not the clouds that float by. You are the movie screen on which the pictures drift by! You are the computer screen on which words scroll by!  Come practice this with us: See your mind as a computer screen and see any word in the screen – example love. Then view the word …love… float from left to right …love…love…love… but which is that unchanging aspect of you which is seeing this word float by…love…love? You are that unchanging awareness on which the thoughts drift by. Initially the word Love will be more frequent and gaps small… but  as you continue the  distance between the first word - love and the second -  love will become vaster. Focus on the gaps between the words love drifting by… and as you  continue to focus on the still unchanging space…the gaps will become vaster and the words less frequent till it won’t matter anymore.

You will Be or abide more in that gap…in that space…in the unchanging…in the awareness… in that changeless state of being. And Self enquiry takes you straight into this - unchanging Self /awareness as does meditation. But take this out of meditation and focus on that unchanging…that stillness…within.  You are that unchanging awareness on which the thoughts drift by…

And actually all the tools that you all have used…prayer…chanting…positive thinking…all of them employ all these three features : a) Stepping out of the picture - otherwise how could you see the need for  positive thinking or do chanting or prayer b) Moving to a higher frequency – that’s what positive thinking chanting prayer etc do!  c) Moving to that unchanging still which space allows the positive thinking chanting prayer to happen!

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So all you have to do for this week is be aware of this unchanging Self; that within you that never changes; that which is always aware and present and still and vast; that knows the movement/changes:  the ‘I Am’ that sees the ‘i’ ‘me’! The seer not the seen…! Stepping out of the picture…this shift to the higher frequency…abiding in this unchanging Self that you are.

Automatically the mind settles. The mind itself means movement beloveds…the lower mind…the manas means movement…so in this you abide as that unchanging Self, aware of the movement but not caught in it! Therefore thoughtlessness is not having no thoughts but not identifying with them; surrendering them; being aware they are not my thoughts…they are cosmic flow…they go on doing their work…I step out of the picture into a higher frequency and into ithe unchanging aspect…like the sky…not the clouds that drift by.

Find that unchanging aspect within…who is hearing all these words…who is aware of what you are feeling…? Most of you have already discovered/experienced this state of being …you can move into it …and allow the brain waves to settle…to subside…to stop that jagged journey…like the calm beautiful sea. But over time it becomes your unceasing natural state of being

You are an astronaut now…! Like an astronaut you don't even see any ripples on the sea! And when this lower mind- the manas rests/subsides, you open unto  the universal mind - the working mind and it’s the clarity,  guidance,  action that needs to ensue, the words that needs to be said -  but they come from that space beyond the changing i/me…they come from the ‘I Am’ …

Come beloveds, back to where we started today: Allow the mind/brain waves to settle down…like the calm blue sea…it’s not a pond or lake…it’s a sea…there is a movement…and yet a calm blue sea reflects your state of being. You can call this the shift from participant to witness to awareness…you can call this meditation…you can call it self enquiry… you can call it the shift from the seen to the seer…outside the picture…the higher frequency…that changeless aspect…!

And So It Is…And So It Is…And So It Is.

SYNOPSIS

The mind is nothing but frequencies/brain waves - therefore its very nature is - movement /motion! When these frequencies/waves (called thoughts) subside, we say the mind is calm or at rest or subsiding/ moving out of the way. However even the calmest mind will have some degree of waves – because otherwise it can’t be something called the mind - because by definition the mind implies movement /frequencies.

Use the imagery of a calm sea: Imagery has power and what one ‘sees’ affects the mind – thus use the image of a calm sea to calm the mind. The imagery of a calm sea, rather than still pond/lake has been used because the sea is calm and yet there is that hint of motion underneath. Likewise, as you all have now understood, thoughtless doesn’t mean no thoughts but you not claiming or identifying with them. In witnessing, your awareness/frequency is higher than those of thoughts (which have to exist for the world to function) thus in witnessing your mind is like the calm sea - even though thoughts/motion is present are there. So let the sea and what you call your mind correspond to each other - and if just watching the sea can do this to your mind…how much more the work you all have been doing is bringing your mind and its waves into this state of being.

This is the shift from the engaged participant to witnessing to awareness - or as the sages call it the move into seer rather than the seen. There is magic in the words of sages because their frequency permeates their words - so use this mantra for the remainder of the week:   I abide as this seer not the seen. When you abide as this seer rather than the seen…your mind waves…your frequencies…the peaks…the jagged edges…those crashing thoughts…all settled and calm and becomes like a ripple less sea.

Self enquiry (a gift by the sages…Ramanna…Nisargadatta Maharaj to mention a few) and meditation automatically takes you from the seen to the seer. One enables the other. Mediation is usually done for a while; self enquiry can be all day. So how long shall thou do self enquiry? A time will come when you will Know the Self (like you now the divyaa (put your own name here) self - till then self enquiry is the path meditation will be the experience of being the seer.

Some of the features of this state of being (this shift from self to Self, from ‘i’ ‘me’ to ‘I Am’, from engaged participant to witness to awareness) are :

A - You move out of the picture - there is a certain distancing…a certain detachment…  thus  objectivity…less of entanglement/involvement…what you call witnessing. The very word witnessing means: watching something by being out of the picture/ frame… objectively. And when you witness the so called ‘self’, you remain out of the picture, and therefore one day through this distancing - the connection ( to yourself/life/ identity/being part of the picture)  just snaps. Even here, you are seeing the mind…the sea…outside!  In self enquiry too you step out of the picture to enquire…or how could you?  Analogy:  you go on a vacation… all the turmoil and troubles and agendas of your home get left behind by just that act of moving away -nothing is changed at home but just that act of moving away…the distance…the detachment…brings the objectivity? This is what you are doing energetically when you move into witnessing…self enquiry…meditation…you are stepping out of the picture.

b) The second salient feature is the shift to a higher frequency: As you move from self to Self…from the seen to the seer…from ‘i’ ‘me’ to the ‘I Am’ all that’s happening is you are shift a higher frequency! And thus the lower frequency automatically fades/falls away (the higher cannot be impacted by the lower)! Thus you are caught not those thoughts of lower density…! Witnessing is happening…you are abiding as the seer rather than the seen by a shift to the higher frequency. Analogy: Like a flight going above the clouds, the clouds are there, the turbulence is there below…you have moved to the higher frequency. Fly higher and higher and the same turbulent sea will appear calmer and calmer. An astronaut sees No RIPPLES! That is why music soothes you…calms you…it is of a higher finer frequency…

c) The third salient feature is the shift from the ever changing self into changeless Self- from movement/momentum into stillness. Become aware of ‘That’ aspect within you which is unchanging:  and is thus aware of the motion and changes of your day?  It is only stillness which can become aware of its opposite or you would have been lost in churning in it. When you awake in the morning be aware of the unchanging self aware of the sleeping, dreaming waking self; through the day be aware of the unchanging self who views the hundred of changes of your day .So when you say “i have had a rushed and troubled and frenzied day” which part of you says/is aware of that? It’s the still unchanging part … So subtle but so there! Once you become aware of it… you can never not become aware of it again. And this practice won’t be required. Analogy: You are the sky not the clouds that float by. You are the movie screen on which the pictures drift by! You are the computer screen on which words scroll by!

Of course in meditation and Self enquiry you automatically tap into all three features! They  automatically take you out of your current picture, into a higher frequency and into that still place which becomes palpable!  Indeed all the tools that you all have used…prayer…chanting…positive thinking…all of them employ all these three features : a) Stepping out of the picture - otherwise how could you see the need for  positive thinking or do chanting or prayer b) Moving to a higher frequency – that’s what positive thinking chanting prayer etc do!  c) Moving to that unchanging still which space allows the positive thinking chanting prayer to happen!

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And thus when the mind - the  thinking mind/manas rests or subsides - you open into the universal mind, the working mind and it’s the clarity,  guidance, effortless action (the action that needs to ensue…the words that needs to be said)  but they come from that space beyond…from the ‘I Am’ not the ‘i’ ‘me’.