Tag: Vedanta

  • Steady Wisdom: Day 33

    Steady Wisdom: 108 Verses On Changing My Thinking

    DAY 33

    I am not an object of the five senses nor do they belong to me.  I am the ultimate reality so there is no reason to grieve.
    -Avadhuta Gita 1:16
    Meditation

    As the Kena Upanishad says, “I am the ear of the ear, the mind of the mind, the speech of speech, the breath of breath, the eye of the eye.”  For how can there be hearing, thinking, speech, breath or sight without me, pure consciousness?  As consciousness, I am not an object of the senses because the senses are objects known to me.  And as the ultimate reality, pure existence, the senses depend on me and not the other way around (for how can the senses exist without me, existence itself?).  Therefore, I am not afflicted by the suffering caused by the senses and I do not need the senses to be the limitless self I already am.  There is no reason to grieve. 

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  • Steady Wisdom: Day 32

    Steady Widsom: 108 Verses On Changing My Thinking

    DAY 32

    I am not the ever-changing body and mind.  I am unchanging, non-dual consciousness.
    – Ashtavakra Samhita 1:13
    Meditation

    It is undeniable that the body and mind change from year to year, day to day and moment to moment.  But how do I know this?  Because I am the consciousness that illuminates the body and mind.  Just as the sun is unchanged by the things it illuminates, I am unchanged by the body and mind.

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  • Steady Wisdom: Day 30

    Steady Wisdom: 108 Verses On Changing My Thinking

    DAY 30

    I witness my body acting as if it were someone else’s.  There is no reason to be disturbed by praise or blame. 
    – Ashtavakra Samhita 3:10
    Meditation

    How strange is it that while I am absolutely clear that I am not another person’s body, I identify with this body that looks and feels closest to me, call it “myself” and claim its actions as my own.  But how can this be?  I witness the bodies of others the same as I witness this one—they are all thoughts known to me. As such, this body cannot be me.  I merely witness it acting, the same as I witness the actions of other’s bodies.  Just as I cannot be praised or blamed for the actions of other’s bodies that I witness, I cannot be praised or blamed for the actions of this body that I witness.  I am the action-less, blameless self.  OM. 

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  • Steady Wisdom: Day 29

    Steady Wisdom: 108 Verses On Changing My Thinking

    DAY 29

    I have no body nor am I bodiless.  I have no mind, intellect or senses.  It cannot be said that I am either attached or unattached.  My nature is ever-free; there’s no illusion for me. 
    – Avadhuta Gita 4:12
    Meditation

    There is no illusion for me; despite the appearance of the body and mind I know I am pure being, reality itself.  Just because I have no body does not mean I am bodiless.  Just because objects cannot attach themselves to me (affect me) does not mean I am unattached.  Embodied and bodiless, attached and unattached are dualistic opposites.  I am non-dual so I transcend them all.  I am ever-free.   

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  • Steady Wisdom: Day 27

    Steady Wisdom: 108 Verses On Changing My Thinking

    DAY 27

    I am not the body nor do I possess a body.  I am not the doer or the enjoyer.  I am ever-free consciousness, the witness of them all. 
    -Ashtavakra Samhita 15:4
    Meditation

    I am consciousness; I witness the appearance of “my” body similar to the way I witness the appearance of a tree, a house or the body of another person.  And yet, while it is abundantly clear that I am not a tree, a house or someone else’s body, I think of this body as myself, referring to it as “I” and “mine.”  I claim its actions as my own, rejoicing when the results are good and lamenting when they are not.  As such, I continuously vacillate between happiness and suffering.  But is this body myself merely because it appears to be closer to me than a tree or a house?  Is it myself simply because it appears in my consciousness more frequently than a tree or a house?  No, the body cannot be me because it is known to me.  The body cannot be me because it comes and goes while I, remain.  I am ever-free of the body. 

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