Through cities, jungles, and long deserted ruins, the SELF shines.

It shines through the eyes of all beings, who in it live, move, and have
their being.

—————

When I see an emotion such as ‘fear or even

happiness’ arise. Now, there is a clear ‘noticing of
this fear or happiness’ as opposed to the past where
I ‘became’ the fear/happiness. I can see where it
starts and see where it ends. I am free from it
always, granted it’s essence is me of course.

Ted: Yes, the distinction is that while the fear or

happiness is you — i.e. essentially constituted of and
appearing within you, awareness — you are not the
fear or happiness in the sense that no limited object
can comprehensively define or characterize you. In
other words, all the emotions come and go while you
remain ever the same.

—————

Just as all-pervasive sunlight is concentrated into a

single beam when focused through a glass lens, so
pure awareness manifests as attention when
focused through the mind.

————————

Ted: Yes. The “feeling” of being is an object. The

“field” in which this feeling arises is you, pure self-
luminous awareness.

Ellen: I guess my question is what is the pure feeling

of being?

Ted: Awareness doesn’t feel like anything, yet it is

self-evident. You “know” that you are because you
are.

—————————————

The closest the apparent person (i.e. the

discriminative intellect) will come to being aware of
itself as limitless, non-dual, motionless awareness is
by means of “seeing” its reflection in a sattvic mind
(i.e., a relatively pure and quiet mind capable of
maintaining an introverted focus that allows it to
sense the limitless, attributeless, ever-present, all-
pervasive, non-objectifiable substratum that
underlies all objective phenomena, both subtle and
gross, which is its true nature).

Be clear, however, that this “seeing” is a matter of

understanding. The apparent person (i.e., the mind)
will never see the self, for the self is pure, non-
objectifiable awareness. By analogy, the self (i.e.,
awareness) is like light or space. Though we can see
neither, we know they exist. For by what other means
would we see objects and in what other place would
they be situated? Similarly, you (i.e., awareness) are
the “light” by means of which all objects are known
or the “field of being” in which all objects exist.

Though this “seeing” is not a matter of directly

perceiving an object, it is nevertheless direct
knowledge. In other words, you don’t know of your
existence in the way that you know of the history,
mathematics, grammar, or science. You know you
exist because you are. No one has to prove to you
that you exist. Your own existence proves that you
exist. For this reason, self-realization is not a matter
of “deeper looking,” but rather a matter of
understanding the true nature of “who” or “what” it is
that is “looking.” Kermit is not the one “looking.” You,
awareness, is the one “looking” through the vehicle
of the mind-body-sense mechanism referred to as
Kermit. In this regard, your conclusion is correct that
“inquiry ends when the relative sense of self is seen
for what it is [i.e., your identification—not
association, mind you, but identification—with the
apparent individual person referred to as Kermit is
realized to be nothing more than an erroneous
notion] and I am aware of myself as limitless, non-
dual, motionless awareness.”

——————————————————

Actualization of knowledge means that it has

negated your sense of doership. This means that
Benjamin is still there doing, but you know that this
projected entity—which is actually only an insentient
mechanism that is lent sentiency by virtue of its
being illumined by awareness—is not the doer.

Second, it means that it has rendered your binding

vasanas non-binding. This means that while you will
still have preferences (i.e., desires and fears, likes
and dislikes), you can take them or leave them
because you know that you need nothing to complete
yourself as you are the whole, the limitless scope of
awareness in which all objects (i.e., the entire
manifest universe in both its subtle or “inner” aspect
and gross or “outer” aspect) appear and of which all
are made.

———————————

Cynthia: Because it’s such a subtle shift. I know that

this seems ridiculous because it’s impossible for
awareness not to be present, but at those times it
really seems that the subject is different from the
object, and “i” have to look for awareness. It’s makes
me sad because the feeling is so terrifying. What if
the apparent “I” gets stuck for good? �

Ted: It can’t get stuck for good because it’s only an

object appearing within you and all objects are
subject to change. You, moreover, are not the one
worried about all this. You are the “light” in which the
worry and worrier are appearing.

————————————

Keep discriminating and applying the knowledge.

Stop identifying with Ben’s limited, fearful point of
view. It is not you. It is simply known by you. It
doesn’t affect you one iota. Look and see if this isn’t
true. Have any of your thoughts, feelings, actions, or
experiences ever changed the fact that you are?
Don’t take my word for it. Look and see for yourself.
Ben has changed, but you, the awareness in which
the character of Ben appears, never has.

——————————————

Bob: I am running around in circles thinking about

this though it has been explained hundreds of time
that awareness can only be revealed as knowledge
in the intellect.

Ted: The fact that awareness is revealed as

knowledge in the intellect does not mean that the
self, you, awareness, are a bit of information to be
known as an object. It means that the limitless
awareness that is your true nature, as has been
explained, cannot be comprehensively defined or
described by any particular experience or state of
being. You are awareness not matter what is
appearing or seems to be happening within the
scope of your being. You are not the apparent person
who seems to be observing, doing, and enjoying all
these objects and experiences, for that apparent
person is only another object appearing within you.

————————————————————

Ted: Focusing on the understanding of your limitless

nature is meditating on your self.

Ellen: …although I can never experience it in any

way, shape or form as an object. And although I can
never know myself as an object of experience, I can
know my(self) by virtue of the fact that I exist.

Ted: Yes.

Ellen: So I think I’m understanding that this is what

is meant by the idea that realization is knowledge
and not experience.

Ted: Good. This understanding is the most difficult

aspect of the teachings for most people to
assimilate.

Ellen: What leaves me speechless is that it seems

that at this point there is nothing the mind can do
with this. At this point I can only be what I am.

Ted: Yes, there is nothing to be done. You only do

when you believe you are an person saddled with
limitations who needs to do things to get things that
he feels will fulfill or complete him. When you know
that you are whole, complete, limitless awareness,
then there is nothing you need to do, no longer
anything you need to acquire. You can simply be
yourself and watch the life of the apparent individual
person you appear to be, including all the sensations,
emotions, and thoughts that arise within the scope
of your being, happen, knowing all the while that you,
awareness, remain completely unaffected by
whatever appears to take place.

————————————

You realize through the mechanism of the intellect

that you are “that” which you already know by virtue
of being “it.”

————————————

In Vedantic terms, “seeing” is a matter of

understanding. You will never “see” yourself as an
object, for you are the awareness that is “seeing” all
objects. Ultimately, you can only know that you are
the “seer” by whom all objects—as well as the
absence of all objects—are seen. This “seer” that you
are, however, is not a doer who is performing the
action of perceiving. The “seer” referred to here is
simply the “light” of awareness in which all objective
forms appear and, thus, by means of which their
presence (or absence) is known. According to
Vedanta, tat tvam asi, “That (i.e., awareness) thou
art.”