Self-inquiry Meditation with Swami Shankarananda

Close your eyes, think about the past; everything that’s happened leading to this moment has gone. Think about the future; the future has not yet come. What’s real, what’s actual, is the present moment. In the present moment, listen to the sounds. Now feel the sensations in your body—the sensation of sitting, your neck, your back. Now be aware of your breath coming in, going out. You’ve breathed a lot in the past, you will breathe in the future; the only breath that gives you air is the present breath. Breathe that breath.

Now turning to the inner world, become aware of your mind, of thoughts in your mind. The mind is thinking. We’re not concerned with the content of the thoughts, but just that thoughts are occurring. Be aware of thoughts. At the same time, there’s a feeling aspect of your inner experience. Be aware of your feeling or your mood in present time. It doesn’t matter what the mood is, just be aware that there is some feeling, some mood.

Going deeper, go to the sense of ‘I’. Say ‘I am’ and feel the feeling of being you in this moment. The feeling sense of ‘I’—it’s the most intimate, most personal, closest to the centre feeling: ‘I am.’

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Ask inwardly, ‘Who am I?’ and become directly in touch with the context of all experience, which is your own Self.

Say:

• I am awareness.
• I am the screen.
• I am the space.
• I am the feeling of Self.

Make these statements and reflect on each. These are in the spirit of Ramana Maharshi’s inquiry. Alternatively, you can ask yourself, ‘What is my awareness?’ and get in touch with the place towards which that
question points.

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Close your eyes. Review the day in sections. Think about the morning, the afternoon, the evening.

• Did your emotions shift and change during the day?
• Did you have an emotional reaction to any event or encounter?
• Particularly regarding negative experiences, did you handle the emotion immediately or not?
• Did the emotion affect later events during the day?
• Is the feeling still with you?
• What did you need to do at the time to shift your experience?
• What do you need to do now to shift your experience?

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I suggest that you try and listen to this meditation and the previous chakra meditation every day during the time you read this book. Set aside at least 20 minutes daily. This will assist your practice and help develop Self-inquiry naturally.

Click here to purchase Swamiji's book 'Self-Inquiry: Using Your Awareness to Unblock Your Life'.

I suggest that you try and listen to this meditation and the following healing meditation every day during the time you read this book. Set aside at least 20 minutes daily. This will assist your practice and help develop Self-inquiry naturally.

Click here to purchase Swamiji's book 'Self-Inquiry: Using Your Awareness to Unblock Your Life'.