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For those thinking ‘I haven’t yet had an Awakening or Essential Awakening’ let’s examine if that is true.
Essential Awakening can be surmised simply as; ‘I recognise I am not my thoughts or feelings, rather I am a presence that is Aware, it appears to be constant and timeless.’
My favourite teacher on this precise topic is Rupert Spira. I recommend watching some of his youtubes. (See Below).
Rupert states that by asking oneself the question ‘Am I Aware?’ we return to Consciousness and then the answer Yes arises in our mind. Yes I am Aware. That is the simplicity of Awakening. The one who answers has self recognition. It’s as simple as that.
However for some people they want more. It doesn’t feel enough. A friend said to me ‘yes but unlike you I didn’t have a blissful experience follow from it’. Everyones ‘awakening’ is different and there is a variety of reasons for that which I will post about another time.
I think it does help to take some time to sit with the question and experience of being aware of awareness, relaxed eyes open or closed, examining the moment, recognising the thoughts and sensations, the perceptions of the moment. Really just being with the moment. It can be descibed as sinking into awareness.
It can help to do a practice like ‘Neti Neti’ or other Awareness practices. Also it helps to be in a satsang, in the presence of a great teacher or felow ‘Awakening friends’.
Eventually the thoughts of doubt or disagreement such as ‘I am not awakened’ or ‘it hasn’t happened’ or ‘I want more’, once those thoughts no longer arise what is left?
Just peace, presence the examination of this moment. And that’s not to suggest that the mind is at necessarily peaceful, the mind may have moments of peace and serenity but in general unless one is extremely advanced on the path, the mind will be still busy thinking.
This leads into a discussion about liberation, and the liberated mind. Which is not the same thing as the recognition of one’s essence, the recognition of Consciousness/Awareness.
Self recognition is also not a state of mind or a state of feeling. Any state of mind or feeling that comes will also go. You are the knower of all experience and all states of mind and feeling.
So if you have doubts about whether you have had an Awakening then take some time out to explore the essence that you are. That essence ultimately is the essence of everything. Experiences of Oneness and true Self Realisation can follow on from these explorations of Self / True Essence.
Below are some articles from the book that may help;
‘Neti Neti’; Not This, Not That
Here are some good Rupert Spira Videos to watch on this subject;
