Awake: It's Your Turn

The technique of observing thoughts in real time is quite simple. If you follow these steps you can’t fail: Take a moment to become aware of your surroundings. Listen to the noises. Feel the body sensations in the feet, hands, and face. Feel the breath moving in and out. Tell yourself that for these few minutes, the only thing you are interested in

“What is this like when I don’t reference the past, or the future, or even the present? Where can I look now?”

“What in the world is that light, that unity, coming and going in? What allows it to unify and seemingly shatter again? What is the vessel for lightness and darkness?”

There is no need to repeat the question over and over robotically. If you find yourself doing that, then take a break. When you return, remind yourself to ask with curiosity and willingness to direct your attention into the immediate experience that reveals itself after the question is asked, whether or not there are thoughts there.

When we truly allow ourselves to feel into the fear of being abandoned or losing someone we are emotionally connected to, we will have an automatic “distancing” response. This isn’t necessary or adaptive, but it seems to occur almost without exception among humans.

Ask, “What is the unknown?” Then look there. I’ll give you a hint: It’s not a thought. Any thought is the known, so then what in the world is the unknown?

“God is a comedian playing to an audience that is too afraid to laugh.” ―Voltaire

On a side note, these “root” beliefs that seem absurd to question turn out to be the beliefs whose dissolution leads to incredible degrees of freedom and intimacy.

I always teach in the immediate. When I am working with someone, I don’t concern myself with where they are in the realization process or a specific trajectory. In this way, the teaching can be immediate and not “loaded” with preconceived ideas of where someone is coming from or where they are headed. Hence the exchange is intuitive, instant, and f