Hi 9senapati. It helps when you begin your meditation, as in this video, to have some set protocol that the mind expects and realizes that it is time for meditation. Find whatever works for you. you may find that counting exhales from 1 to 10, until you can do it w/o losing your place, is more powerful to start. It is a good sign to see the mind so fiercely resisting; it recognizes that this is a "dangerous" situation for the "I"'s having control. A common challenge. Persist, persist, persist.
Hi chrertoffis. It is all about letting go, all of it. If you haven't cried, it isn't real... Self-inquiry is about letting go of our strongest addiction, the ego/I and its stories, promises, fears, traumas, attachments, etc. Just keep letting go, and letting go, and letting go... If you look under "Show More" above you'll see links to all of my stuff, all free in some format. stillness
Welcome to the dependence and the need for nothingness and still an "I" who needs to withdraw from the world to experience a conditional peace, that will past and leads to a neverending circle of bouncing back and forward. Awakening is not the end, never forget that. Read daoism or diamant sutra for more informations. Just my 50 cents from my own search and the illusion of an goal, even if it is a non-goal for nobody. Dualistic concepts have to go someday and even then the path is not finished. It is never finished, because that what self is is never finished also, because it never began in the first place. Anywhere where claiming of a finishing is, it is not the doa. The doa that can be named is not the real dao. And the path is even deeper.
Hi Rajeev. As you found, w/"Where am I?", or similar inquiries, the "I" starts someplace, but then moves around, which is the answer, i.e. the "I" is all over the place, as different functions come into play. As the author Virginia Woolf observed, we have as many "I"s as we have relationships; watch that in the course of your day. The heart center Bhagavan described is really another chakra, the Ananda Kanda. Some folk, but not all, find that a useful focus. Ultimately everything is the Self.
Hi John. Great that you found it so useful. The "Guided Meditation" playlist @ ua-cam.com/play/PLuH37Fyz9VEMrD8dcreiCNKGROGlOENhL.html has more examples. stillness, gary
Hi Renee Tje. Great that this approach is helpful for you. It comes from being an empirical scientist where everything is questioned and proven, or not. stillness
This was very synchronistic for me. Just yesterday during my meditation I realized the ever changing nature of the I. Looking back. Today it was the I in the now....empty as best I could see. Then today I was wondering about the value of chanting in old languages. Even through the utube portal, I felt strong energy today....amazing and wonderfull. Thank You Gary!
Hi Josh Ward. If you go to my soundcloud channel @ soundcloud.com/gary_weber you'll be able to listen to many Sanskrit chants. There also are videos "Shut Up and Chant", "Dancing Beyond Thought: Bhagavad Gita Verses for Awakening", and "Using Simple Chants for NonDual Awakening". It is worth exploring chanting in Sanskrit as it encodes the depth of the teaching so deeply and passes it across the ages, just as its originator encoded it. stillness
Thank you Dr. Weber. I do a walking meditation in which I look at anything in my path, including garbage (that I pick up usually but haven't during this pandemic) and say "I am that, I am". It brings me into stillness to do so.
Hi Tim. There are many "meanings" to that phrase from Exodus, including "I am who I am", "I will become what I choose to become", "I am what I am", "I will be what I will be" or "I create whatever I create". All useful. On walking meditation, the blogpost "Nondual, self-inquiry meditation while walking..." @ happinessbeyondthought.blogspot.com/2013/06/nondual-self-inquiry-meditation-while.html gives a comprehensive review including the Buddhist approach popularized by Thich Nhat Hanh and many secular approaches as well. stillness
I have just begun my journey and find your channel so helpful! Also, thank you for responding to many of the questions/comments as well. Peace from Palm Springs CA!!
Hi Blacktees. Know the Cath City, Palm Springs/Desert, Indio, Coachella Valley very well...wonderful part of the world. Great that you are finding the channel so helpful. BTW, if you look under "Show More" above, or in any of my vids, you'll find links to all of my work, all free in some format. stillness
Had an insight when you mentioned how agency works. 'I' can control my breath, but how does that work? What has agency? Everything that is named is a limiting belief, what is unchanging is free.
Hi Workdove. Yes, excellent insights. Some other interesting approaches include watching carefully and seeing if you consciously think up your thoughts, or do they just emerge "all by themselves". That shows how "we aren't our thoughts". Similarly, watch to see if you consciously think up what you say, or does it emerge "all by itself". When you rehearse what you are going to say when you meet someone, see if it is what you actually say. Also see if the same "Workdove" shows up for every meeting, or if it changes. When A is there, and then B joins the discussion, and then C, and then C leaves when D comes along, is there a "limiting", different "Workdove" in every arrangement? Are any of them "unchanging"? Trust this is useful. stillness
Hi Steve Murray. Great that you found it useful. JIC, if go to the youTube channel page @ ua-cam.com/channels/MSnyxnteEx7IOPIFkfh3og.html, you will see a "Guided Meditation" playlist that has other guided meditations that might be useful. stillness
wow very effective. I just included the memory of the original experience.in this meditation. Only for a few seconds and space happened. Many thanks Gary? : )
Hi Gary, I am a bit late to comment here, I know. Just wanted to know from you, why it was necessary to evolve the "I" some 75,000 years ago when on the other hand you say (elsewhere) that even today in this extremely more complex world everything runs smoothly by itself (for example in a meeting) without thoughts and the "I". That is something I cannot make head nor tail of. Thank you!
Hi Wolfgang. If you look at the blogpost "How old is the 'I'? How/why did it come into existence?...new science" @ happinessbeyondthought.blogspot.com/2013/02/how-old-is-i-howwhy-did-it-come-into.html you'll see why it was necessary to evolve the "I". However, if you do these nondual awakening meditations diligently, you'll find that you can function much better w/o it. It is just a mental construct. stillness
1.5 years i’m practicing nonduality but not very committed. When i ask these questions i have no answers or words in my mind just silence. Is that the point or i’am doing somthing wrong Also I don’t have a lot of self thoughts but I experience a lot of imagery conversations in my head. I don’t know the correct way to deal with them. I will be very thankful for helping me. Thank you so much
Hi Chris Manders. Great that you found it useful. BTW, if you look under "Show More" above, you'll see links to my "stuff" including free book downloads. stillness
Hi Not Crazy. Great that it was useful for you. There is also a playlist "Guided Meditation" @ ua-cam.com/play/PLuH37Fyz9VEMrD8dcreiCNKGROGlOENhL.html which has the other vids in this category. FYI, if you look under "Show More" in any of my videos, you'll see links to all of my stuff...books, articles, website, blog, interviews, etc. all free in some format. stillness
Hi +somethingness. Great that you found it useful. Gratitude for the feedback. JIC, as mentioned elsewhere, links to my work, all free in some format, are under "show more" above. stillness
Hello Gary. What are your thoughts around not remembering childhood in the context of the consruct of 'who I am?' so that the question 'who am I?' feels very tricky because there will be something remembered or hooked onto somewhere in the subconscious that informs this idea of who I am and in order to let go of it, presumably there's a necessary process of exploration and then becoming aware of what 'story lines' to let go of. Psychotherapy is useful however sooner or later I may become too invested in looking backward?..it's a tightrope..I'd appreciate your perspective on this. and thanks for the mediatations very good!
Hi caroline. That uncovering of what "informs this idea of who i am" is why the self-inquiry is so useful. As those childhood stories, fears and memories are uncovered, what i have found most useful is to use either Byron Katie's "The Work" and/or the Sedona Method. you can find these on youTube, or in my blogpost "Surrendering the "I", letting go of suffering". (URL under "Show More" above - blog is keyword searchable). It is amazing, IME, how powerful these very simple, widely-proven approaches are and how quickly they can allow you to just let go of them. If you do them often, just the arrival of an emotionally charged memory or story, is enough for the brain to invoke them automatically, and the memories/stories just vanish. Once you do let go of them, they are dramatically reduced in strength or disappear completely. i also encourage you to read my free downloadable book "Happiness Beyond Thought" (link under Show More), to explore other alternative self-inquiry questions, affirmations, and negations or even other approaches. It turns into a fascinating exploration of our attachments and fears, which fortunately, we have the tools to let go of. stillness
Gary Weber Hi Gary thank you, yes Byron Katy is very helpful. Also your simple 'letting go' meditation has been by far the most useful for me because of it's simplicity which creates the space for more abstract and very powerful letting go. It's really been profound for me and I do it every day. I can't find the link to your book but will see if it comes up if I google it. Many thanks again for sharing all that you have discovered on your own journey.
Hi caroline gregory. Great that you have found "letting go" to be so useful...it is amazing that works as well as it does, as it is so simple, yet so powerful. If you go to the "Show More" under the video box above above, and click it, you'll see the titles of both of my books along with a link to the free downloads. This first goes to "tinyurl" as an intermediary to the Scribd download page; this is to confuse some types of spam/malware that intercepts the first click and diverts you to some other destination. If get the tinyurl, it is legit...just click on it. Also much other stuff available under "Show more"...interviews, blog, website, articles, etc. youTube doesn't allow putting URLs in comments. stillness
This was an informative video. I also tend to experience joy. I also feel that the sensation of 'I am' tends to be situated in , from a bodily perspective in the face to start off with. I know Bhagawan said that finally it will be in the hear centre. Just wanted your opinion. Thanks
That is great and thank you very much. But I found the volume of the voice went up and down too quickly and it was a little bit disturbing as I had my eyes closed. In the beginning of many sentences my attention was pulled by the high volume of your voice and the rest of the sentece was in a lower volume. I think in those meditations the volume of the voice should be more stable and in a lower talking speed. Thank you again.
Hi Nikos Batras. Thanks for the feedback. we've been trying to do a better job on sound quality and we're now using a different location and have a more sophisticated microphone, and there is more focus on the issue, so things should improve. Some of that is just how it manifests. Great that you found it useful, even w/the not optimal sound quality. stillness
Gary Weber Hi again Gary and thank you for all your videos. I have a question this time and I would like your opinion. The last 3-4 days, every time I meditate and I concentrate on the word "I", I get a very strong tension in the neck. The nerves on the left and right side of the neck are getting stretched. My lips and mouth gets also streched and I get a " :( " kind of mouth shape! I just found out that this phenomenon is connected to the vagus nerve. But what should I do? Should I continue meditating or not? Also, my voice changes and becomes raucous after meditation. I started meditate a year ago, 20-30 minutes per day. Thank you very much.
Nikos Batras Hi Nikos Batras. i don't know about the link to the vagus nerve, but what you describe is very common as folk progress in meditation/yoga. It is attributed to Kundalini energy rising up the spinal cord to the top of the brain/head which gets blocked when the head is down; with the head back and the neck stretched, the energy flows much more easily upward. i spent a lot of time in the Kundalini world and it may have some scientific validation, as well as a long history of experiential validation. The "chakras" to which much importance is attached, roughly correspond to the bundles of nerve plexes which are anatomically in the regions classically described, and experienced. There are many physical exercises you can do, and sounds/mantras, and hand positions/mudras that appear to also affect the process if you find you begin moving around strongly, strangely and involuntary or experiencing a lot of energy which feels like it is "locked" in some region. your report of your voice changing and becoming raucous is also a "kundalini-type" phenomena which is often observed. There's no reason to stop meditation. If you have the time, i would strongly recommend extending your meditation time to >35 minutes. Many folk find that they experience a "runners high" @ about 35 minutes from a lot of dopamine being released, which is a good reward and reinforcement for your meditation. As you are seeing some "action" from your meditation, i would strongly recommend you include some self-inquiry meditation to keep de-energizing the ego/I. There are four "Non-dual awakening meditations..." on this channel that folk have found useful. stillness
Gary Weber Thank you very much! Yes, I do self-inquiry during meditation and your videos have helped me a lot. I also do it during the day when I observe the "I, me, my" thoughts. What you said about the head being down which blocks the energy, I can totally confirm that. But I also have a pain in the back of the neck (mostly on the right side) and I feel a lot of tension there all day long (maybe it's because I'm sitting on a chair most of the time or simply it's from stress). I don't feel very confortable to keep going with meditation right now because I feel the nerves on the neck kind of "burned out". Can you tell me which exercise is best to release the tension around the neck? I have found some exercises on UA-cam (yoga stretching type), but since it's connected to kundalini, maybe you know some special exercises. Thank you again.
Nikos Batras Hi Nikos. Since it is mostly on one side, it is highly likely it is from "sitting in a chair most of the time". we are not balanced in our laptop, or screen usage as our "dominant" side (right side in most folk) tends to do many more activities. i would do the yoga stretching exercises for the muscles around/in the neck and shoulders, balancing both right and left sides. Always ask yourself when a new reason to discontinue meditation manifests, "What is it that has come up with this reason?". Just feel your way into the "reason" and see if you can sense any fear there, particularly a story about it. If you can, "move into it", welcome it in and see if the Byron Katie/Sedona methods (on blog) can give you an approach to just let go of that story. The ego/I will keep coming up with stories of why we should stop this self-inquiry, until it is deconstructed. It is just trying to keep its job, hopefully at the same pay grade, but if not, it wants to at least be employed. stillness
Hi gary..so I understand you would advice me to follow the current....however whet I get confused is where Bhagwan has mentioned that on following the 'I am ' the I am will disappear. Hence I tend to stick to the ' I am' ...hope my rambling makes sense. As usual thanks for your patience,
Hi Rajeev. As you have found the current, which Ramana also called the "I - current", follow it. you have moved past the "I am" as you have found the current. The "I am" process has done its work. stillness
Hi Chunxiang Wu. Great that you found it useful. If you are interested in more material, if you look under "Show More" above, or in any of my youTube videos, you'll see links to all of my work, all free in some format. stillness
Hi Gary Weber ,thank you very much for your reply. How can I contact you via phone or skype or something I can call. As I am a Chinese, writing in English is hard. Do you do private sessions?
Hi Chunxiang Wu. Yes, i do work with folk 1/1 by skype, although i typically do it by email for a while, but in your case we can do it on skype. If you go to my website @ happiness-beyond-thought.com and look under "About", you'll see my email address. Send me your skype information and we'll set something up. stillness
Hi Holy Moly. That would be a great opportunity to investigate with self-inquiry and letting go. See if you can find a story about any of the individual body parts, or about your body overall, that can fit into one sentence. The do the Byron Katie and Sedona techniques described in the blogpost "Letting go of your attachments to awaken - why/how/when" @ happinessbeyondthought.blogspot.com/2014/06/letting-go-of-your-attachments-to.html. If that one story/attachment is let go of, then see if there are more. Also do self-inquiry on this feeling, i.e. "Who/when/where is this I/me that feels uncomfortable?" and the affirmation "I am not this body. Is that true?". you can also explore the feeling using the techniques described in "Feeling your way to nondual awakening" @ happinessbeyondthought.blogspot.com/2015/04/feeling-your-way-to-nondual-awakening.html Trust this will be useful. stillness gary
Thank you Gary. That is very helpful. The fact is that I just don't like being this body. I don't have any extreme physical problems, but I just dislike feeling connected to a body. I don't want to be one. Actually, I have reached a point where I can go into egoless states quite easily, but if I try to follow a guided meditation which asks me to focus on body parts, I just have to switch it off.
Hi Holy Moly. Yes, if you have reached that point where you recognize that you aren't this body, but are in fact the pure egoless state that underlies all of this, that is great. Sometimes it is helpful for folk to recognize, part by part, that they aren't any of the parts of the body, and then make the extension that they aren't the whole body, either, but it sounds like you're past that stage. stillness
Hi +Ramdas Chakraborty. i would encourage you to download a free copy of my first book, "Happiness Beyond Thought" (link under "show more" above) and read for yourself what to do to investigate that question. you can also get a free .pdf by putting "Who Am I?" in the Google search box - this is Ramana Maharshi's first written work and is very short and direct on answering your question directly. he wrote it in the dirt w/his finger as he wasn't speaking at the time in response to some questions. i basically memorized it as a key part of my process. stillness
Hi SAMARTHA. Great that you found it so useful. BTW, the playlist "Guided Meditation" @ ua-cam.com/play/PLuH37Fyz9VEMrD8dcreiCNKGROGlOENhL.html has the others in this series. Also, if you look under "Show More" in any of my videos, you'll see links to all of my stuff including books, blog, website, interviews, etc. all free in some format. stillness
Hi Gary Any chance of putting a link to the pamphlet you speak about at the beginning of this video?. I can’t find it. Love this meditation. Thank you 🙏
Hi Debbie. The "Who am I" pamphlet of Ramana Maharshi is @ www.sriramanamaharshi.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/who_am_I.pdf. It was the first book he wrote, and it pretty much covers everything. Another great resource is "Talks" which records his teachings, day-by-day for over 3 years. It was recorded in English and then checked each evening by Ramana to make sure it was correct. It is @ selfdefinition.org/ramana/Talks-with-Sri-Ramana-Maharshi--complete.pdf. stillness
Hi Gary, Thank you, a very good meditation. I notice that whenever I try to reach the source, the mind more or less starts its 'dance', to put it mildly, which try to distract and manage to pull me off the search. I sometimes mildly feel the love arising in my heart, but very rarely I manage to grab a hold of this state, of awareness, where my sense of hearing amplifies for some reason... Also feel love at those time, but these are rare and few, and not really anywhere close to an awakening... Any advise, or let me know if you'd like me to contact you by mail or something. Thank you!
Hi Mohan C. The key thing is to keep doing the self-inquiry, over, and over, and over again. In place of "Who am I?", you might try "Where am I?", "When am I?", and "Who hears?", etc. The blogpost "What is the 'Direct Path' to nondual awakening? What is self-inquiry? @ happinessbeyondthought.blogspot.com/2012/08/what-is-direct-path-to-nondual.html is useful as a guide. Also, it is important to look at the stories, fears, etc. that arise and after inquiring into what has them, the if you can get a "one line" summary of them, use the "letting go" techniques described in the blogpost "letting go of your attachments to awaken...why/who/when" @ happinessbeyondthought.blogspot.com/2014/06/letting-go-of-your-attachments-to.html. If you look under "Show more" above, or in any of my youTube videos, you'll see links to all of my work, all free in some format. my first book "Happiness Beyond Thought: A Practical Guide to Awakening", has much background. stillness gary
Hi Gary, thank you very much, to be honest, I've not really been serious I guess. To put it more accurately, one part of my mind really wants to go full into this and wake up, the other part, perhaps the dominant part, shows lot of resistance, trying to divert with other things always. Sure & thanks for sharing, I shall check out your pages and links. Lastly, one question, is there a tip to increase this inner fire/yearning for awakening or what they call enlightenment or will it just happen at the appropriate time? Thanks.
Hi Mohan C. Unless one really wants to be rid of their suffering, they will not have the drive, that "inner fire/yearning for awakening" that it takes to push through all of that resistance that "diverts with other things always". For most folk, that resistance will win out. There are no "tips" to increase that "fire for awakening"...either you have it or you don't, and no one can give it to you. If you have it with the same intensity as you feel when you have your head held underwater, or like your "hair is on fire", you will succeed...if not, then you will just be diverted. It isn't going to just "happen at the appropriate time". stillness
Hello Gary, Thank you for explaining that to me. Yes, I'm coming to that stage I guess, where I can't take it anymore, I mean with reference to suffering. But not sure if it directly relates to the fire for awakening. Fine, I shall keep on doing this work, the self-inquiry, and filling myself with material about this, like satsangh videos, your website, etc., Thanks.
I listened again to this now. The 'om' that was chanted towards the end, suddenly freaked me out completely, I heard as if somebody was there next to me or had imagined it to be a ghost (sorry, no offence intended :)), later realized it was from within the video. Dont remember having felt this much fear. Anyway, just thought of sharing. Thanks.
I watch this video, and as I do, what arises in me is painful beyond measure. My whole life I've lived with suicidal depression. I can't bear it anymore. I hate it. I hate myself. I hate life. I hate being here. I am tormented and alone and ashamed, and I am consumed by grief and rage. I have nothing to live for. All I feel is hopelessness and powerlessness and stress. I am panicked. I wish to die.
When you're undergoing a stage of very deep depression and you are able to post this message, it shows that you are still capable of freeing yourself from your troubles. When you keep doing this many times I am sure you would be able to let go of your mind boggling difficulties and realized that those are illusions created by your overburdened mind. Let peace and harmony be cultivated in your heart and you set yourself free.
Hi Gary - When you say 'I am not a great fan of Be As You Are.' as you did to Truthadept, isn't that ego, judging/intellectualising etc.? As a beginner to this it makes me ask the question 'What are you a fan of? and who is 'the you' that is a fan or not a fan of anything. If I go even deeper - Surely there is no you or me or other or thing to praise, doubt or analyse, only one story playing itself out..
Hi Mae rik. my response to Truthadept was like someone asking an experienced traveler who often goes to LA, what is the best way to get to LA. Truthadept said he used Delta, and i said i had some bad experiences w/Delta to LA. That is all. Call it what you want to. Folk ask for my direct experiences, and i tell them. Whether or not they do anything w/them is "out of their control". It is useful to understand that there are two distinct circuits in operation here, the Default Mode (selfing) network and the "Tasking" network. The former handles I/me/my emotionally-invested, issues and generates "blah, blah" from episodic memory. The latter handles intellectual problem solving, planning, etc. and uses semantic memory. This work is about shutting down the Default Mode Network so "blah, blah" stops and the tasking network can function in an enhanced and unimpeded way. we have no interest in stopping intellectual functioning, or problem solving. If you see the blogpost "nondual awakening and autism...the battle of the "blah, blah" and "tasking" networks (URL under "About" under vid"), and follow the links, you see the functional and neuroanatomical distinctions. It is also important to realize that I/me/my is virtually impossible to avoid in most human langugages; "i" tried it for a while and it doesn't work, so folk get confused on the different "I"s that appear. One can remain in silence, which i did for a while, but that is accessible to only a very few folk...most just misunderstand it as arrogance. Trust this is useful. stillness
Thank you for taking the time to reply Gary. We could discuss further but ultimately discussion seems pretty futile to me these days. As Ramana says 'one question just brings up another.' Love and Stillness to you also..
but one last question - Why is it that the more I look into, understand and practice the teachings of Sri Ramana the more depressed I become. I understand that Ego does not want to disappear but when will it give up the fight? because right now my world feels as if it is falling apart and I am having difficulty functioning in it.
Mae rik Whose world is it that is falling apart? What is having difficulty? Where is the one who is depressed? It is important to recognize that the ego/I will create many, many clever diversions, including these emotions, stories and sensations, to try to deflect this "dangerous" and "disruptive" investigation. This self-inquiry is the worst news the ego/I has ever heard. The key is to persist, and persist, and persist. As Sri Ramana said "The successful few owe their success to their perseverance." Don't forget that the ego/I is just an intellectual construct that evolved about 75,000 yrs ago - a mere eye blink in evolutionary time in the millions of years since we branched off from the chimpanzees. It served a useful purpose for a while, but now is arguably no longer adaptively useful as it produces most of our stress, anxiety, fears, and depression through its never-ending "blah, blah" internal narrative. Without the ego/I, functional competency for things like planning and problem solving are actually enhanced, and the negative emotions mentioned above are gone. It's time for an "upgrade". stillness gary
Hi +Ramdas Chakraborty. my direct experience is that everything is One. my direct experience is also that there is "something" that is all-pervasive that is in control of everything that is happening. i just totally surrender to that, as whatever it is, is so much more powerful, intelligent, and able to "arrange things" than i am, that it is foolish to believe that i could "do it better", or am in control of anything. stillness
Hi Shaun Spiritual Revolutionary. The major texts that were useful for me were all in Sanskrit, which is the primary root language for the "Romance" languages, including English. It is scientifically and logically constructed with tight grammar, which can itself be chanted, so what is written in Sanskrit is exactly what was intended thousands of years ago. Its characters are designed to show how the sound is produced in each discrete phonic region. It has meters designed for easy chanting and memory. That is why i don't chant in English. Trust this is useful. stillness
Hi Tomasaz Holuj. Much gratitude for your wonderful comment emojis. Great that you found the meditation so useful. If you look under "Show More" in any of my vids, you'll see links to all of my stuff, all free in some format. stillness
hmmm who is the one exactly meditating? when the words come and say take a big breath in. who is the one who controls this breath? There is no doer here. Ramana Maharshi isnt a man by any means though from the separate self yes. The awareness that was aware then is still here now. Ultimately thats all this is there is no one here. But the love that acts through the supposed person naturally tries to awaken supposed others. It is emptiness appearing as something but it is only a mask it wears to hide. Hence the brahman hides and goes seek with itself for all eternity. If there is a reason why it must be love.
I dont want to hurt your feelings, but with all your wisdom you should be able to put together a meditation that is actually effective at waking people up. This meditation is not good, to say the least. You should write it, but have someone else read it. Your voice and way of speaking is unsettling and your annunciation is quite poor so that many of your words are unintelligible. Thanks for the effort, but you need to do better.
Hi Oratai. you're more than welcome. Great that you found the work useful. BTW, if you look under "Show More" in any of my videos, you'll see links to all of my stuff, all free in some format. stillness
Hi 9senapati. It helps when you begin your meditation, as in this video, to have some set protocol that the mind expects and realizes that it is time for meditation. Find whatever works for you. you may find that counting exhales from 1 to 10, until you can do it w/o losing your place, is more powerful to start. It is a good sign to see the mind so fiercely resisting; it recognizes that this is a "dangerous" situation for the "I"'s having control. A common challenge. Persist, persist, persist.
I started crying 5 minutes in and wept throughout the meditation. I let go for a moment. Truly liberating. Thank you.
Hi chrertoffis. It is all about letting go, all of it. If you haven't cried, it isn't real...
Self-inquiry is about letting go of our strongest addiction, the ego/I and its stories, promises, fears, traumas, attachments, etc. Just keep letting go, and letting go, and letting go...
If you look under "Show More" above you'll see links to all of my stuff, all free in some format. stillness
When bursting into tears, while feeling your whole body breathing, ask yourself: "who cries?"
Welcome to the dependence and the need for nothingness and still an "I" who needs to withdraw from the world to experience a conditional peace, that will past and leads to a neverending circle of bouncing back and forward. Awakening is not the end, never forget that. Read daoism or diamant sutra for more informations.
Just my 50 cents from my own search and the illusion of an goal, even if it is a non-goal for nobody.
Dualistic concepts have to go someday and even then the path is not finished.
It is never finished, because that what self is is never finished also, because it never began in the first place.
Anywhere where claiming of a finishing is, it is not the doa.
The doa that can be named is not the real dao.
And the path is even deeper.
Hi Rajeev. As you found, w/"Where am I?", or similar inquiries, the "I" starts someplace, but then moves around, which is the answer, i.e. the "I" is all over the place, as different functions come into play. As the author Virginia Woolf observed, we have as many "I"s as we have relationships; watch that in the course of your day. The heart center Bhagavan described is really another chakra, the Ananda Kanda. Some folk, but not all, find that a useful focus. Ultimately everything is the Self.
I am in Tiruvanamalai and remembered you and meditated with this here - what is the Sanskrit you say at 14:39 🙏
This is absolutely amazing and cuts right to the core.
Hi John. Great that you found it so useful.
The "Guided Meditation" playlist @ ua-cam.com/play/PLuH37Fyz9VEMrD8dcreiCNKGROGlOENhL.html has more examples.
stillness,
gary
Recently I found out about your philosophy. Your realistic and direct approach helps me to find my path and clear my mind. Thank you.
Hi Renee Tje. Great that this approach is helpful for you. It comes from being an empirical scientist where everything is questioned and proven, or not. stillness
This was very synchronistic for me. Just yesterday during my meditation I realized the ever changing nature of the I. Looking back. Today it was the I in the now....empty as best I could see. Then today I was wondering about the value of chanting in old languages. Even through the utube portal, I felt strong energy today....amazing and wonderfull. Thank You Gary!
Hi Josh Ward. If you go to my soundcloud channel @ soundcloud.com/gary_weber you'll be able to listen to many Sanskrit chants. There also are videos "Shut Up and Chant", "Dancing Beyond Thought: Bhagavad Gita Verses for Awakening", and "Using Simple Chants for NonDual Awakening". It is worth exploring chanting in Sanskrit as it encodes the depth of the teaching so deeply and passes it across the ages, just as its originator encoded it. stillness
Thank you Dr. Weber. I do a walking meditation in which I look at anything in my path, including garbage (that I pick up usually but haven't during this pandemic) and say "I am that, I am". It brings me into stillness to do so.
Hi Tim. There are many "meanings" to that phrase from Exodus, including "I am who I am", "I will become what I choose to become", "I am what I am", "I will be what I will be" or "I create whatever I create". All useful.
On walking meditation, the blogpost "Nondual, self-inquiry meditation while walking..." @ happinessbeyondthought.blogspot.com/2013/06/nondual-self-inquiry-meditation-while.html gives a comprehensive review including the Buddhist approach popularized by Thich Nhat Hanh and many secular approaches as well.
stillness
Thank you once again Dr. Weber.
I have just begun my journey and find your channel so helpful! Also, thank you for responding to many of the questions/comments as well. Peace from Palm Springs CA!!
Hi Blacktees. Know the Cath City, Palm Springs/Desert, Indio, Coachella Valley very well...wonderful part of the world. Great that you are finding the channel so helpful. BTW, if you look under "Show More" above, or in any of my vids, you'll find links to all of my work, all free in some format. stillness
Thanks Gary, genuinely liberating, appreciate the upload
Hi Jim. Great that you found it so "genuinely liberating". stillness
Had an insight when you mentioned how agency works. 'I' can control my breath, but how does that work? What has agency? Everything that is named is a limiting belief, what is unchanging is free.
Hi Workdove. Yes, excellent insights.
Some other interesting approaches include watching carefully and seeing if you consciously think up your thoughts, or do they just emerge "all by themselves". That shows how "we aren't our thoughts".
Similarly, watch to see if you consciously think up what you say, or does it emerge "all by itself". When you rehearse what you are going to say when you meet someone, see if it is what you actually say.
Also see if the same "Workdove" shows up for every meeting, or if it changes. When A is there, and then B joins the discussion, and then C, and then C leaves when D comes along, is there a "limiting", different "Workdove" in every arrangement? Are any of them "unchanging"?
Trust this is useful.
stillness
Wonderful!
Thank you, Gary
Veronika Shamak Hi. Great that you found it useful. Gratitude for the feedback. stillness
Simple and brilliant, thanks very much.
Hi Steve Murray. Great that you found it useful. JIC, if go to the youTube channel page @ ua-cam.com/channels/MSnyxnteEx7IOPIFkfh3og.html, you will see a "Guided Meditation" playlist that has other guided meditations that might be useful. stillness
wow very effective. I just included the memory of the original experience.in this meditation. Only for a few seconds and space happened. Many thanks Gary? : )
Hi Gary, I am a bit late to comment here, I know. Just wanted to know from you, why it was necessary to evolve the "I" some 75,000 years ago when on the other hand you say (elsewhere) that even today in this extremely more complex world everything runs smoothly by itself (for example in a meeting) without thoughts and the "I". That is something I cannot make head nor tail of. Thank you!
Hi Wolfgang. If you look at the blogpost "How old is the 'I'? How/why did it come into existence?...new science" @ happinessbeyondthought.blogspot.com/2013/02/how-old-is-i-howwhy-did-it-come-into.html you'll see why it was necessary to evolve the "I".
However, if you do these nondual awakening meditations diligently, you'll find that you can function much better w/o it. It is just a mental construct.
stillness
1.5 years i’m practicing nonduality but not very committed. When i ask these questions i have no answers or words in my mind just silence. Is that the point or i’am doing somthing wrong
Also I don’t have a lot of self thoughts but I experience a lot of imagery conversations in my head. I don’t know the correct way to deal with them. I will be very thankful for helping me. Thank you so much
Thank you, Gary ♥
Hi Chris Manders. Great that you found it useful. BTW, if you look under "Show More" above, you'll see links to my "stuff" including free book downloads. stillness
I love that! Thank you very much
Hi Not Crazy. Great that it was useful for you. There is also a playlist "Guided Meditation" @ ua-cam.com/play/PLuH37Fyz9VEMrD8dcreiCNKGROGlOENhL.html which has the other vids in this category.
FYI, if you look under "Show More" in any of my videos, you'll see links to all of my stuff...books, articles, website, blog, interviews, etc. all free in some format.
stillness
Thank you very much.
Hi +somethingness. Great that you found it useful. Gratitude for the feedback. JIC, as mentioned elsewhere, links to my work, all free in some format, are under "show more" above. stillness
Thank you for this! :)
Hi Trevor. you're more than welcome. Great that you found it so useful. It is an important one. stillness
I prefer "WHAT am I?" "Who am I?" assumes that I am a person.
Hello Gary. What are your thoughts around not remembering childhood in the context of the consruct of 'who I am?' so that the question 'who am I?' feels very tricky because there will be something remembered or hooked onto somewhere in the subconscious that informs this idea of who I am and in order to let go of it, presumably there's a necessary process of exploration and then becoming aware of what 'story lines' to let go of. Psychotherapy is useful however sooner or later I may become too invested in looking backward?..it's a tightrope..I'd appreciate your perspective on this. and thanks for the mediatations very good!
Hi caroline. That uncovering of what "informs this idea of who i am" is why the self-inquiry is so useful. As those childhood stories, fears and memories are uncovered, what i have found most useful is to use either Byron Katie's "The Work" and/or the Sedona Method. you can find these on youTube, or in my blogpost "Surrendering the "I", letting go of suffering". (URL under "Show More" above - blog is keyword searchable).
It is amazing, IME, how powerful these very simple, widely-proven approaches are and how quickly they can allow you to just let go of them. If you do them often, just the arrival of an emotionally charged memory or story, is enough for the brain to invoke them automatically, and the memories/stories just vanish. Once you do let go of them, they are dramatically reduced in strength or disappear completely.
i also encourage you to read my free downloadable book "Happiness Beyond Thought" (link under Show More), to explore other alternative self-inquiry questions, affirmations, and negations or even other approaches. It turns into a fascinating exploration of our attachments and fears, which fortunately, we have the tools to let go of.
stillness
Gary Weber Hi Gary thank you, yes Byron Katy is very helpful. Also your simple 'letting go' meditation has been by far the most useful for me because of it's simplicity which creates the space for more abstract and very powerful letting go. It's really been profound for me and I do it every day. I can't find the link to your book but will see if it comes up if I google it. Many thanks again for sharing all that you have discovered on your own journey.
Hi caroline gregory. Great that you have found "letting go" to be so useful...it is amazing that works as well as it does, as it is so simple, yet so powerful. If you go to the "Show More" under the video box above above, and click it, you'll see the titles of both of my books along with a link to the free downloads. This first goes to "tinyurl" as an intermediary to the Scribd download page; this is to confuse some types of spam/malware that intercepts the first click and diverts you to some other destination. If get the tinyurl, it is legit...just click on it. Also much other stuff available under "Show more"...interviews, blog, website, articles, etc. youTube doesn't allow putting URLs in comments. stillness
This was an informative video. I also tend to experience joy. I also feel that the sensation of 'I am' tends to be situated in , from a bodily perspective in the face to start off with. I know Bhagawan said that finally it will be in the hear centre. Just wanted your opinion. Thanks
That is great and thank you very much. But I found the volume of the voice went up and down too quickly and it was a little bit disturbing as I had my eyes closed. In the beginning of many sentences my attention was pulled by the high volume of your voice and the rest of the sentece was in a lower volume. I think in those meditations the volume of the voice should be more stable and in a lower talking speed. Thank you again.
Hi Nikos Batras. Thanks for the feedback. we've been trying to do a better job on sound quality and we're now using a different location and have a more sophisticated microphone, and there is more focus on the issue, so things should improve. Some of that is just how it manifests. Great that you found it useful, even w/the not optimal sound quality. stillness
Gary Weber Hi again Gary and thank you for all your videos. I have a question this time and I would like your opinion. The last 3-4 days, every time I meditate and I concentrate on the word "I", I get a very strong tension in the neck. The nerves on the left and right side of the neck are getting stretched. My lips and mouth gets also streched and I get a " :( " kind of mouth shape! I just found out that this phenomenon is connected to the vagus nerve. But what should I do? Should I continue meditating or not? Also, my voice changes and becomes raucous after meditation. I started meditate a year ago, 20-30 minutes per day. Thank you very much.
Nikos Batras Hi Nikos Batras. i don't know about the link to the vagus nerve, but what you describe is very common as folk progress in meditation/yoga. It is attributed to Kundalini energy rising up the spinal cord to the top of the brain/head which gets blocked when the head is down; with the head back and the neck stretched, the energy flows much more easily upward. i spent a lot of time in the Kundalini world and it may have some scientific validation, as well as a long history of experiential validation.
The "chakras" to which much importance is attached, roughly correspond to the bundles of nerve plexes which are anatomically in the regions classically described, and experienced. There are many physical exercises you can do, and sounds/mantras, and hand positions/mudras that appear to also affect the process if you find you begin moving around strongly, strangely and involuntary or experiencing a lot of energy which feels like it is "locked" in some region. your report of your voice changing and becoming raucous is also a "kundalini-type" phenomena which is often observed.
There's no reason to stop meditation. If you have the time, i would strongly recommend extending your meditation time to >35 minutes. Many folk find that they experience a "runners high" @ about 35 minutes from a lot of dopamine being released, which is a good reward and reinforcement for your meditation. As you are seeing some "action" from your meditation, i would strongly recommend you include some self-inquiry meditation to keep de-energizing the ego/I. There are four "Non-dual awakening meditations..." on this channel that folk have found useful.
stillness
Gary Weber Thank you very much!
Yes, I do self-inquiry during meditation and your videos have helped me a lot. I also do it during the day when I observe the "I, me, my" thoughts.
What you said about the head being down which blocks the energy, I can totally confirm that. But I also have a pain in the back of the neck (mostly on the right side) and I feel a lot of tension there all day long (maybe it's because I'm sitting on a chair most of the time or simply it's from stress).
I don't feel very confortable to keep going with meditation right now because I feel the nerves on the neck kind of "burned out".
Can you tell me which exercise is best to release the tension around the neck? I have found some exercises on UA-cam (yoga stretching type), but since it's connected to kundalini, maybe you know some special exercises.
Thank you again.
Nikos Batras Hi Nikos. Since it is mostly on one side, it is highly likely it is from "sitting in a chair most of the time". we are not balanced in our laptop, or screen usage as our "dominant" side (right side in most folk) tends to do many more activities. i would do the yoga stretching exercises for the muscles around/in the neck and shoulders, balancing both right and left sides.
Always ask yourself when a new reason to discontinue meditation manifests, "What is it that has come up with this reason?". Just feel your way into the "reason" and see if you can sense any fear there, particularly a story about it. If you can, "move into it", welcome it in and see if the Byron Katie/Sedona methods (on blog) can give you an approach to just let go of that story.
The ego/I will keep coming up with stories of why we should stop this self-inquiry, until it is deconstructed. It is just trying to keep its job, hopefully at the same pay grade, but if not, it wants to at least be employed.
stillness
Hi gary..so I understand you would advice me to follow the current....however whet I get confused is where Bhagwan has mentioned that on following the 'I am ' the I am will disappear. Hence I tend to stick to the ' I am' ...hope my rambling makes sense. As usual thanks for your patience,
Hi Rajeev. As you have found the current, which Ramana also called the "I - current", follow it. you have moved past the "I am" as you have found the current. The "I am" process has done its work. stillness
Thank you !
Hi Chunxiang Wu. Great that you found it useful. If you are interested in more material, if you look under "Show More" above, or in any of my youTube videos, you'll see links to all of my work, all free in some format. stillness
Hi Gary Weber ,thank you very much for your reply. How can I contact you via phone or skype or something I can call. As I am a Chinese, writing in English is hard. Do you do private sessions?
Hi Chunxiang Wu. Yes, i do work with folk 1/1 by skype, although i typically do it by email for a while, but in your case we can do it on skype. If you go to my website @ happiness-beyond-thought.com and look under "About", you'll see my email address. Send me your skype information and we'll set something up. stillness
I find it very uncomfortable focusing on my body parts. Not sure why.
Hi Holy Moly. That would be a great opportunity to investigate with self-inquiry and letting go.
See if you can find a story about any of the individual body parts, or about your body overall, that can fit into one sentence. The do the Byron Katie and Sedona techniques described in the blogpost "Letting go of your attachments to awaken - why/how/when" @ happinessbeyondthought.blogspot.com/2014/06/letting-go-of-your-attachments-to.html. If that one story/attachment is let go of, then see if there are more.
Also do self-inquiry on this feeling, i.e. "Who/when/where is this I/me that feels uncomfortable?" and the affirmation "I am not this body. Is that true?".
you can also explore the feeling using the techniques described in "Feeling your way to nondual awakening" @ happinessbeyondthought.blogspot.com/2015/04/feeling-your-way-to-nondual-awakening.html
Trust this will be useful.
stillness
gary
Thank you Gary. That is very helpful. The fact is that I just don't like being this body. I don't have any extreme physical problems, but I just dislike feeling connected to a body. I don't want to be one.
Actually, I have reached a point where I can go into egoless states quite easily, but if I try to follow a guided meditation which asks me to focus on body parts, I just have to switch it off.
Hi Holy Moly. Yes, if you have reached that point where you recognize that you aren't this body, but are in fact the pure egoless state that underlies all of this, that is great. Sometimes it is helpful for folk to recognize, part by part, that they aren't any of the parts of the body, and then make the extension that they aren't the whole body, either, but it sounds like you're past that stage. stillness
Can you answer me one more question..
Who am I ?? Am I not the mind.. Because even if I say I am not the mind, I am saying that to my mind itself..
Hi +Ramdas Chakraborty. i would encourage you to download a free copy of my first book, "Happiness Beyond Thought" (link under "show more" above) and read for yourself what to do to investigate that question. you can also get a free .pdf by putting "Who Am I?" in the Google search box - this is Ramana Maharshi's first written work and is very short and direct on answering your question directly. he wrote it in the dirt w/his finger as he wasn't speaking at the time in response to some questions. i basically memorized it as a key part of my process. stillness
Excellent 😊
Hi SAMARTHA. Great that you found it so useful. BTW, the playlist "Guided Meditation" @ ua-cam.com/play/PLuH37Fyz9VEMrD8dcreiCNKGROGlOENhL.html has the others in this series.
Also, if you look under "Show More" in any of my videos, you'll see links to all of my stuff including books, blog, website, interviews, etc. all free in some format.
stillness
Thanks.grateful.
Hi Gary
Any chance of putting a link to the pamphlet you speak about at the beginning of this video?. I can’t find it.
Love this meditation. Thank you 🙏
Hi Debbie. The "Who am I" pamphlet of Ramana Maharshi is @ www.sriramanamaharshi.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/who_am_I.pdf. It was the first book he wrote, and it pretty much covers everything.
Another great resource is "Talks" which records his teachings, day-by-day for over 3 years. It was recorded in English and then checked each evening by Ramana to make sure it was correct. It is @ selfdefinition.org/ramana/Talks-with-Sri-Ramana-Maharshi--complete.pdf.
stillness
Gary Weber Thank you so much 😊
Hi Gary, Thank you, a very good meditation. I notice that whenever I try to reach the source, the mind more or less starts its 'dance', to put it mildly, which try to distract and manage to pull me off the search. I sometimes mildly feel the love arising in my heart, but very rarely I manage to grab a hold of this state, of awareness, where my sense of hearing amplifies for some reason... Also feel love at those time, but these are rare and few, and not really anywhere close to an awakening... Any advise, or let me know if you'd like me to contact you by mail or something. Thank you!
Hi Mohan C. The key thing is to keep doing the self-inquiry, over, and over, and over again. In place of "Who am I?", you might try "Where am I?", "When am I?", and "Who hears?", etc. The blogpost "What is the 'Direct Path' to nondual awakening? What is self-inquiry? @ happinessbeyondthought.blogspot.com/2012/08/what-is-direct-path-to-nondual.html is useful as a guide.
Also, it is important to look at the stories, fears, etc. that arise and after inquiring into what has them, the if you can get a "one line" summary of them, use the "letting go" techniques described in the blogpost "letting go of your attachments to awaken...why/who/when" @ happinessbeyondthought.blogspot.com/2014/06/letting-go-of-your-attachments-to.html.
If you look under "Show more" above, or in any of my youTube videos, you'll see links to all of my work, all free in some format. my first book "Happiness Beyond Thought: A Practical Guide to Awakening", has much background.
stillness
gary
Hi Gary, thank you very much, to be honest, I've not really been serious I guess. To put it more accurately, one part of my mind really wants to go full into this and wake up, the other part, perhaps the dominant part, shows lot of resistance, trying to divert with other things always. Sure & thanks for sharing, I shall check out your pages and links. Lastly, one question, is there a tip to increase this inner fire/yearning for awakening or what they call enlightenment or will it just happen at the appropriate time? Thanks.
Hi Mohan C. Unless one really wants to be rid of their suffering, they will not have the drive, that "inner fire/yearning for awakening" that it takes to push through all of that resistance that "diverts with other things always". For most folk, that resistance will win out.
There are no "tips" to increase that "fire for awakening"...either you have it or you don't, and no one can give it to you. If you have it with the same intensity as you feel when you have your head held underwater, or like your "hair is on fire", you will succeed...if not, then you will just be diverted. It isn't going to just "happen at the appropriate time".
stillness
Hello Gary,
Thank you for explaining that to me. Yes, I'm coming to that stage I guess, where I can't take it anymore, I mean with reference to suffering. But not sure if it directly relates to the fire for awakening. Fine, I shall keep on doing this work, the self-inquiry, and filling myself with material about this, like satsangh videos, your website, etc., Thanks.
I listened again to this now. The 'om' that was chanted towards the end, suddenly freaked me out completely, I heard as if somebody was there next to me or had imagined it to be a ghost (sorry, no offence intended :)), later realized it was from within the video. Dont remember having felt this much fear. Anyway, just thought of sharing. Thanks.
I watch this video, and as I do,
what arises in me is painful beyond measure.
My whole life I've lived with suicidal depression.
I can't bear it anymore.
I hate it.
I hate myself.
I hate life.
I hate being here.
I am tormented and alone
and ashamed, and I am consumed by grief and rage.
I have nothing to live for.
All I feel is hopelessness and powerlessness and stress.
I am panicked.
I wish to die.
When you're undergoing a stage of very deep depression and you are able to post this message, it shows that you are still capable of freeing yourself from your troubles. When you keep doing this many times I am sure you would be able to let go of your mind boggling difficulties and realized that those are illusions created by your overburdened mind.
Let peace and harmony be cultivated in your heart and you set yourself free.
Hi Gary - When you say 'I am not a great fan of Be As You Are.' as you did to Truthadept, isn't that ego, judging/intellectualising etc.? As a beginner to this it makes me ask the question 'What are you a fan of? and who is 'the you' that is a fan or not a fan of anything. If I go even deeper - Surely there is no you or me or other or thing to praise, doubt or analyse, only one story playing itself out..
Hi Mae rik. my response to Truthadept was like someone asking an experienced traveler who often goes to LA, what is the best way to get to LA. Truthadept said he used Delta, and i said i had some bad experiences w/Delta to LA. That is all. Call it what you want to. Folk ask for my direct experiences, and i tell them. Whether or not they do anything w/them is "out of their control".
It is useful to understand that there are two distinct circuits in operation here, the Default Mode (selfing) network and the "Tasking" network. The former handles I/me/my emotionally-invested, issues and generates "blah, blah" from episodic memory. The latter handles intellectual problem solving, planning, etc. and uses semantic memory.
This work is about shutting down the Default Mode Network so "blah, blah" stops and the tasking network can function in an enhanced and unimpeded way. we have no interest in stopping intellectual functioning, or problem solving.
If you see the blogpost "nondual awakening and autism...the battle of the "blah, blah" and "tasking" networks (URL under "About" under vid"), and follow the links, you see the functional and neuroanatomical distinctions.
It is also important to realize that I/me/my is virtually impossible to avoid in most human langugages; "i" tried it for a while and it doesn't work, so folk get confused on the different "I"s that appear. One can remain in silence, which i did for a while, but that is accessible to only a very few folk...most just misunderstand it as arrogance.
Trust this is useful.
stillness
Thank you for taking the time to reply Gary. We could discuss further but ultimately discussion seems pretty futile to me these days. As Ramana says 'one question just brings up another.' Love and Stillness to you also..
but one last question - Why is it that the more I look into, understand and practice the teachings of Sri Ramana the more depressed I become. I understand that Ego does not want to disappear but when will it give up the fight? because right now my world feels as if it is falling apart and I am having difficulty
functioning in it.
Mae rik Whose world is it that is falling apart? What is having difficulty? Where is the one who is depressed? It is important to recognize that the ego/I will create many, many clever diversions, including these emotions, stories and sensations, to try to deflect this "dangerous" and "disruptive" investigation. This self-inquiry is the worst news the ego/I has ever heard.
The key is to persist, and persist, and persist. As Sri Ramana said "The successful few owe their success to their perseverance."
Don't forget that the ego/I is just an intellectual construct that evolved about 75,000 yrs ago - a mere eye blink in evolutionary time in the millions of years since we branched off from the chimpanzees. It served a useful purpose for a while, but now is arguably no longer adaptively useful as it produces most of our stress, anxiety, fears, and depression through its never-ending "blah, blah" internal narrative.
Without the ego/I, functional competency for things like planning and problem solving are actually enhanced, and the negative emotions mentioned above are gone. It's time for an "upgrade".
stillness
gary
Do you believe that spirituality is non dual in existence or you have just assumed it?
Do you believe in spirit?
Hi +Ramdas Chakraborty. my direct experience is that everything is One. my direct experience is also that there is "something" that is all-pervasive that is in control of everything that is happening. i just totally surrender to that, as whatever it is, is so much more powerful, intelligent, and able to "arrange things" than i am, that it is foolish to believe that i could "do it better", or am in control of anything. stillness
🙏
Gary why dont you chant in English?
Hi Shaun Spiritual Revolutionary. The major texts that were useful for me were all in Sanskrit, which is the primary root language for the "Romance" languages, including English. It is scientifically and logically constructed with tight grammar, which can itself be chanted, so what is written in Sanskrit is exactly what was intended thousands of years ago. Its characters are designed to show how the sound is produced in each discrete phonic region. It has meters designed for easy chanting and memory. That is why i don't chant in English. Trust this is useful. stillness
💐🌹🌞🙏🌞🌹💐
Hi Tomasaz Holuj. Much gratitude for your wonderful comment emojis. Great that you found the meditation so useful. If you look under "Show More" in any of my vids, you'll see links to all of my stuff, all free in some format. stillness
hmmm who is the one exactly meditating? when the words come and say take a big breath in. who is the one who controls this breath? There is no doer here. Ramana Maharshi isnt a man by any means though from the separate self yes. The awareness that was aware then is still here now. Ultimately thats all this is there is no one here. But the love that acts through the supposed person naturally tries to awaken supposed others. It is emptiness appearing as something but it is only a mask it wears to hide. Hence the brahman hides and goes seek with itself for all eternity. If there is a reason why it must be love.
I dont want to hurt your feelings, but with all your wisdom you should be able to put together a meditation that is actually effective at waking people up. This meditation is not good, to say the least. You should write it, but have someone else read it. Your voice and way of speaking is unsettling and your annunciation is quite poor so that many of your words are unintelligible. Thanks for the effort, but you need to do better.
Thank you.
Hi A Traveler. Great that you found it useful. stillness and surrender.
Thank you 🙏
Hi Oratai. you're more than welcome. Great that you found the work useful. BTW, if you look under "Show More" in any of my videos, you'll see links to all of my stuff, all free in some format. stillness
Thank you.