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elderberry
USA
49 Posts |
 Posted - Aug 17 2024 : 9:31:29 PM
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I have been dipping my toe into self-inquiry lately. Of the various types of self-inquiry available, jnana-transcending appeals to me most, wherein we ask ourselves the question of "Who Am I?" in relation to the various events in our daily life, releasing the question into stillness.
My understanding of the baseline application of this style of self inquiry is as follows. Borrowing from the conventional example given in AYP of being stuck in traffic.
Baseline Approach:
"Who is it that is frustrated about being stuck in traffic?"
"I am."
"Who Am I?"
So summarize, the process has three components to it. Asking who is having a given experience, responding with the I thought, questioning the I thought with "who am I?"
For whatever reason, this process for me feels extremely clunky and circuitous. I deeply resonate with the general inquiry of who am I, but applying it in this exact fashion feels quite clunky to me.
My mind tends to lean towards one of the following alternatives:
Alternative 1:
"I am frustrated about being stuck in traffic"
"Who Am I?"
This reduces it from a 3 step mental process to a 2 step mental process. For me, it feels much more natural to simply state "I am (feeling or experiencing) ____" directly, and then questioning the I thought found within that statement directly. Rather than asking the question, responding with the I thought, and questioning the I thought.
Alternative 2:
(After feeling an emotion such as frustration)
"Who is frustrated about being stuck in traffic?"
This is a further reduction, all the way from 3 thoughts to 1 question. Call me crazy, but in my mind's eye, the question "who is frustrated about being stuck in traffic" feels extremely similar in principle to the question of "Who Am I?". For me, it is deeply inherent, implied and baked in to the question that the person experiencing the frustration is "I". So when I ask the question, since I implicitly know the answer is "I", my mind translates the question to something very akin to the question of "Who Am I?".
Question:
Are alternative 1 or 2 equally as effective as the baseline approach? Is anything lost in either of these approaches?
Alternatives 1 and 2 as I described feel very mentally easy for me, and I could see myself easily integrating either of them into my daily life. However the "3 thought" process described in the baseline approach feels hard to integrate into daily activity without a degree of distraction or mental strain.
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Edited by - elderberry on Aug 17 2024 9:34:05 PM |
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Dogboy
USA
2281 Posts |
Posted - Aug 18 2024 : 05:38:57 AM
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Most of my self inquiry happens after practice, before or during rest, as prescribed in the lessons. I conger a question or a feeling, or a question about a feeling, and drop it into silence Ike an sutra, and listen to the white noise. It is in belief that if I do this with devotion, and often enough, the knowing will come. Even if no answers appear, the fact I honor my feelings in this way is healing and loving.
I don't know how strict or how rigid the process of self inquiry should be. I use it as an extension of Samyama. |
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Christi
United Kingdom
4487 Posts |
Posted - Aug 18 2024 : 4:29:18 PM
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Hi Elderberry,
Self-inquiry practice is something that evolves naturally for each person. When some people begin to use the -who am I?? - practice, they are sometimes not sure what the I is that is being questioned. If they are called Tom, they may think the question being asked is - who is Tom? And then get into a story about who Tom is, when they were born, what their job is and so on. So using the three step method helps to make it clear about what the I is in the question - Who am I? It is that that is aware of what is happening.
More advanced practitioners will usually be aware straight away that the I being inquired into is that that is aware. Then, more direct questions can be used such as:
Who am I?
Who is aware of this thought?
What remains after each thought ends?
What is always already the case?
Quite often an individual practitioner will resonate quite strongly with one question but may find the others more difficult. If this happens it is fine to focus only on the one that is easiest to work with. |
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Modifying the "Who Am I?" Self Inquiry
