Mar 31: ❖ Awareness Is, Therefore, We Are
Rethinking Descartes' dark, separate world
Mar 31: Rene Descartes’ Birthday Anniversary
The more aware we become, the less reactive we become,
and the less identified we become with thoughts and emotions.
—Michael Singer
The 17th-century philosopher Descartes, born 429 years ago today, would have us believe we are nothing but clocks, mechanical entities with detached minds from our bodies, ticking through life like wind-up toys until we hit the wall of death.
His famous "I think, therefore I am" dictum first introduced the idea of a split between body and mind, the so-called "Cartesian dualism." He defines the self as the thinker, with the existence of thoughts proof of your identity.
In other words, “I think, therefore I am” means you are nothing but a bundle of thoughts. What you think is what you are.
Really?
You Are Not Your Thoughts
You are not your thoughts or emotions; you are witnessing them.
When you identify with the ever-changing flow of experience, you suffer.
But when you realize you are the space where all things arise and pass away, you will be free.
The key to happiness is not to hold on to pleasurable experiences and try to push away the bad ones.
Instead, it cultivates a spacious awareness to hold whatever comes up without being overwhelmed or attached.
In this way, we can experience the fullness of life, with all its ups and downs, without losing our balance.
There is freedom when you realize that you are just
a witness to all that is happening. —Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Try This
Sing this song in your head. “This is the song that never ends….”
Keep singing. Do you hear the tune, the words? Who made the mind sing? And who is listening?
You used the mind as an instrument to produce the song, a convenient tool to help you navigate through the body-mind lens. However, the mind is not who you are.
Instead, you are aware of the mind and its activities, like hearing the song in your head.
In the same way, you are not your thoughts; you are the witness of your thoughts.
Thoughts come and go like transient clouds. Think of yourself as the sky, not the clouds.
Pick up any object: a pen, leaf, spoon, or phone.
Look at the object.
Close your eyes. Do you “see” the object in your mind’s eye? Notice that there’s something that knows “seeing” is happening.
Open your eyes and look at the object. Your eyes see the thing using the optic nerve, but what is it that “knows” you are seeing?
Your thoughts, emotions, and sensations are also objects that come and go. The watcher stays—the awareness, the condition where everything appears.
Noticing consciousness doesn’t mean we become indifferent to our thoughts, emotions, and sensations. We still experience them, but we no longer identify with them.
Instead, we see them as transitory waves of energy that arise in and dissolve back into the one common infinite space we all share.
You don’t experience the world—your body or your senses do. Your senses see, smell, taste, hear, and feel the world, which is a string of events like your thoughts that show up.
When a song pops in your head like the one earlier, you don’t think, “I want to sing that silly song in my head a million times.” The song just appears.
Thinking happens the same way. Thoughts pop out of nowhere, demanding you think about this or that. Instead of letting your thoughts control you, tap into the awareness that notices the thoughts and watch them disappear.
The next time you’re hungry between meals, pause instead of running to the refrigerator and take a moment to feel what you’re feeling. You are not the hunger feelings that come and go, but the one aware of them.
You are the awareness that’s aware of hunger.
Your stomach is hungry, not your awareness of hunger. When you realize you’re not the hunger feelings, there’s no urgency to rush and satisfy hunger.
Instead, you can relax and eat when you want to rather than caving under pressure from something your body feels.
You Only Have One Problem
The good news is that there’s only one problem to solve: understanding the difference between thought and awareness.
That’s it.
Simple.
Line up thought and awareness side by side. Which one can you look at, and which one is looking?
Can you point at thinking and say, “That’s thought,” and then at awareness and say, “That’s awareness”? Notice the difference. Are you the thought, or are you what is aware of the thought?
Awareness is the foundation of our being. It is what we are before identifying with objects, including our bodies, thoughts, possessions, and relationships. It is what we are when those objects are present. And it is what we are after they’re gone.
What we want is not more objects but a deeper understanding of who we are.
We can find that understanding by turning our attention inward and connecting with our true nature of awareness. This open, unguarded state is the birthplace of peace, happiness, and love.
Maybe Descartes should have turned it around and said, “Awareness is, therefore we are.”
🧘🏻This Week’s Inspiration: Open-eye Meditation
Open-eye meditation focuses on inner awareness while keeping your eyes open. Unlike traditional meditation, which involves closing your eyes to minimize external distractions, open-eye meditation invites engagement with the environment.
Keeping your eyes open works well for beginners, including children. Whether standing in line, sitting outside, waiting at a doctor’s office, or in traffic, you can anchor your awareness in the present moment.
In open-eye meditation, you choose a focal point to direct your gaze. A candle flame, flower, picture, or corner wall can be used. The key is to select something visually calming and non-distracting.
While keeping your eyes open and your gaze fixed on the focal point, you direct your attention inward. You notice thoughts, emotions, sensations, and the silent observer within—the part of your consciousness that witnesses your experiences without judgment or attachment.
1. Find a comfortable place
Choose a location where you can sit in comfort without distractions. It can be indoors or outdoors, as long as you feel at ease.
2. Close your eyes and breathe
Close your eyes and take three deep, slow breaths.
3. Choose a focal point
Open your eyes and select an object or a spot in your surroundings to focus your gaze. It can be a specific point on a wall, a tree, a flower, or dust motes dancing in the sunlight.
4. Soften your gaze
Gaze on the focal point. Soften your focus, allowing your peripheral vision to expand while maintaining a gentle awareness of the selected object.
5. Engage the silent watcher
Focus on the object while shifting attention to that which is looking. Now, you are observing the object within instead of with the mind.
6. Become one with the space
Feel your body slip away as you merge with the space between you and the object. There is no distance, no separation. Everything blends as one unity.
7. Stay with the practice
Remain in this meditative state for a desired duration. If your mind wanders, bring your focus back to the object and reestablish your connection with the silent watcher.
8. End with gratitude
When you’re ready to conclude your meditation, take a moment to express gratitude for the inner stillness and awareness. I like to press my hands together, as in prayer, bow my head, and whisper the Sanskrit word, Namaste, which means “I bow to you.”
🗣️ Reflections
Do you believe you are more than your thoughts?
What does shifting from thoughts (the clouds) to awareness (the sky) feel like?
Have you ever tried open-eyed meditation? Tell me about your experience.
🩷 Sending Love
Clicking the heart that you like this post means the world to me. If you know someone who would also like it, please share and send them an invite to subscribe.
📚 Want to Learn More About Awareness And Your Thoughts?
Read Watching Your Mind by
Don’t believe everything you think. —Unknown
I like your use of Descartes as a springboard into this meditation. I love to play with prepositions and thought, imagining what's under, behind, before, beside, around it, etc.
Such a rich and well thought out article, lots to digest, thank you. I think this is from Pema Chodron “you are the sky, not the clouds”.
🙏🏻