Witnessing the Observer.
When your mind and heart are truly open abundance will flow to you effortlessly and easily.
Question:
Dear Deepak, when i started meditation 8 years ago , I learned to abide in – to pay attention – to experiencer/consciousness. theoretically , I knew there is experience, experiencer and witness. so, before meditation , the attention was on experience and through meditation , I learned to have attention on experiencer (who am I – hard problem of consciousness. i am this experiencer – consciousness) . It was only recently that , silence grew sufficiently for me to experience witness. There are times when I can 'observe' witness watching both experience and experiencer. What does that mean? Well, there are times when i am not present to the presence of witness so to speak – it is experience and experiencer. so , at that time , i am identifying with consciousness (even though i know theoretically that i am beyond consciousness – i am witness) . in this state , when witness is not present , i am still in the domain of experience . There is pleasure and experiencer of that pleasure or pain and experiencer of that pain. and when that pleasure and pain are not intense enough to make mind too turbulent , then there is some bliss/joy in the background also. However, when i am present to witness , then i can abide in witness – i feel as if i am witness and this experience and experiencer are at some distance . bliss , impersonal love and peace/silence are natural aspect of this witness , i feel . it feels that there is silence in witness and some noise in experience/experiencer at distance. and i know that i am not consciousness . i am beyond consciousness. i am this witness. ( that 'this witness is reflection of absolute in consciousness' becomes clear) I am requesting you to please give some input about these experiences I am having and the sense that i am making out of them as also my theoretical understanding of 'truth'/ultimate reality which i am trying to test/realize through direct experience.
Response:
Self-awareness is actually a simple experience of pure consciousness knowing itself. This simplicity can get complicated when we try to use words to describe this pre-verbal, transcendental experience. Suffice it to say that consciousness in the act of cognition can be understood as a three part process of knower, known, and process of knowing. Pure consciousness as the silent witness can know itself as this process of cognition as a whole or as any part. That seems to be what you experienced, but you seemed to be confused into understanding that the self –awareness of the silent witness necessarily brings your consciousness into the relative domains of knower and known.
Love,
Deepak
"ULTIMATE From the beginning not a thing is. - HUI NENG This which I am is That (which I am not), That which I am not is This (which I am). There is neither This nor That. I neither am nor am not (there is neither an I which is nor an I which is not). There is neither whole-mind nor split-mind. There is nothing to function, and no functioning. There is no absence and no presence. There still remains spontaneous immediacy? It, also, neither is nor is not. Now do you understand that there is not a thing to be understood? WHO has understood, What has not understood? WHO has been lived all these years, What has suffered Requiescat in pace; de mortuis...." Wei Wu Wei: All Else Is Bondage ` Non-Volitional Living` T A O Hong Kong University Press, February 1964, 1000 copies. T A O: T-hat A-ll O-ne
Many types of meditation exist. Though mantras, OM Mani Padme Hum are to quiet the mind, bring us to emptiness and silence where Buddha can manifest our realization with us, we should not be down on analytical meditation. Where we analyze. It is a part of the Buddhist Path. Why insult Deepak. This makes you look arrogant and like you have some kind of point zero or meditative equipoise ability. Therefore you should not get involved or you should bring compassion, such as, it is very difficult to explain meditation experience and can be confusing. You should read the Wisdom Heart Sutra. I had to beg the Dalai Lama to explain it to me. I was confused for years. Empathy. Equalize. Or we could walk away and say nothing, humble and grateful we are beyond the confusion. Or we could say, I so get how confusing stuff is so I tend to focus on my mantra so my brain doesn`t fuse out. Anything but an attack from Buddhists, who now show this precious mantra is useless. Way to go... Or explain it your way, if you know Deepak, he appreciates it. If we ourselves actually understand the path, then we would identify, and be a part of it, not all, you suck and I am Buddha. With one mantra, Buddha and yet, I only offer insult. Discerning wisdom states, like smoke in the distance usually means a fire, insulting other people in meditation is not buddhism. Anyone who has meditated or studied a sutra at all would never insult others trying to discuss with their teacher. For that means no compassion. And no experience. Wasted life pretending to be a buddhist, more DS than anything. Hate that arrogance so deeply. Thank you, Deepak, for answering my issue about this when I asked as well. Love...
Divinity doesn`t know it is divinity. It is perfect, pure, static, manifesting instantly, thought and action are one. Silences in God. Consciousness is like a witness, thinker, knower, and below divinity. Somewhat of a shift from soul plane to mental plane. No wisdom. Just thought. No love, no compassion, just realizations. From there it grows into soul or spirit. Witness or consciousness is divinity realizing that divinity is not the norm, and other exists. Taken from Tibet Buddhism, Krishna, and my own realizations. Buddy with the OM Mani Pade Hum comment should look into maybe compassion and I hope your guru understands sutras so things aren`t as confusing for if you can`t comprehend Deepak, you have no true meditation ability or penetrative insight and your guru cannot shift you to understand which means sutras are impossible for you yes? The Dalai Lama once told me to eat shit and I said, why do you teach that story. Why are you swearing. I love this man. He can make anything easy to understand. So maybe less mantra, more at his feet begging for help to realize. He made me realize, witness so many obvious things as if I were an ego idiot. I love his divinity and abilities. Get a leader who is kind. Geeeez....