Katie Davis Website: www.KatieDavis.org
Katie's Blog Archives: Awake by Katie
Untie the Knot by Self-Inquiry by Katie Davis
The dreaming "I" is the ego and it is only a thought. Its only function is to tie a knot between pure consciousness and the physical body. When you peer out into the world of form from the reference point of the "I," the Self-illuminating Light of Consciousness is "behind" you and therefore, you cannot be conscious of it.
You are misidentified with the dreaming "I." You are the Pure I which is pure consciousness. There are not two. The only resolution is to turn the mind inward to the vast inner space within you. What lies beyond the thoughts? Become curious about the space that is the gap between your thoughts. Instead of interpreting or analyzing the thoughts, just notice the tiny gap between them. That gap is the opening to the formlessness within you.
The situation is that we have been living a lifetime in misidentification with this dreaming "I" as it attaches to worldly things. In other words, looking from that personal reference point, it then projects outward into the world of form and further attaches to its desires and fears. Follow that outward projecting thought back the way that it came. Trace the thought back home to the Pure "I."
If you will apply Self-inquiry by asking this most essential question, "Who am I?", you will notice that the mind turns inward toward the silence and inner body spaciousness that is perfect peace. The dreaming "I" is more like a phantom that disappears when you seek it.
This misidentification with the "I" thought and its outward projection is a very persistent habit; one that has been practiced throughout one's life. However all habits can be broken and the appropriate tool is Self-inquiry ... the question, "Who am I?" When you ask this question, listen with every cell in your body. Where is this dreaming "I" thought arising from?
The ego itself is an altered state of consciousness and has within it the essential pure consciousness. By asking the question through Self-inquiry, it draws the altered state back into the Heart, where the concept of "I" dissolves irreversibly into the pure consciousness that it genuinely is right now.
Self-inquiry unties the knot and the misidentification with the "I" thought and all of its projecting outward are finally finished.
When we are dealing with practices, it is the ego's false idea of becoming. Ego's idea of "becoming" is resistance to what is. Resistance will only tie the knot tighter. It must be seen that the one who is becoming is none other than the mind-made self and it is the mind that is practicing. The mind cannot removed itself, no matter how many years of practicing, the "I" thought will remain.
Isn't Self-inquiry a practice?
No, it is not. It removes the idea of the practitioner (the ego) that needs more time and experience to become what it already is as its essence. It cannot take more time to realize timelessness. It does not take more experience to realize that which is prior to experience.
Self-inquiry preceded the lovely teachings of Ramana Maharshi, one of the most cherished sages of modern day India. Ramana consistently suggested Self-inquiry as the Direct Approach to enlightenment for those who were unable to receive the teachings in radiant silence alone.
Some may overlook Self-inquiry due to its sheer simplicity. After all, the mind cherishes its complexity as it attempts to analyze and interpret enlightenment. The mind is an extraordinary, beautiful power, yet it is the wrong tool for Self-realization. If you will be persistent with Self-inquiry ... you will consciously realize the Pure Heart that is eternally being.
Self-inquiry is presented Katie's book, Awake Joy, in Appendix II at the end of the book in "Practices and Meditations."
To get this book or read reviews, please click:
AWAKE JOY
No comments:
Post a Comment