Amarjit talks about how to experience your consciousness beyond the mind/body vehicle. He goes on to explain how you approach meditation is an indication of your approach to life. He shares an experience he had during a long and difficult meditation that allowed him to understand how to go beyond the mind and body to experience his true self. Amarjit continues with two methods he tried that led him to a third method that showed him this understanding. He then compares these three methods of meditation to methods for living.
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How to experience that you are not your body or mind
Typically, people deal with pain in one of 3 ways:
The first method is by force. They say, “I am stronger than this pain. It will not move me.” You can imagine someone in a challenging posture tensing all of their muscles to fight the pain. This is how many people approach life. Everything is a fight. We know these types of people. You may even be one of them. Some of them we even consider quite successful. However, what is happening in the mind? There is tension. No peace. Everything is a battle.
The second method is by distraction. You hold a difficult posture and imagine yourself on the beach or somewhere else. We do this in life through television, movies, drugs, ect. While distraction is a little more peaceful than by force, it creates duality. You are not present. Part of you is somewhere else and the other part of you is here.
The third method is to understand the truth on an experiential level: I am not my body or mind. You begin to experience pain in the body without letting it affect You (the Self). For example, you are sitting in meditative pose without moving and your legs are beginning to experience painful sensations. Your mind tells you, move your legs; stretch them out, just for a moment then you will be fine.
However, what you should do is NOT move at all! Not even a fraction of an inch. Be completely still. When you start to feel discomfort, or just want to move in general, don’t. Don’t try to escape the pain. This leads to more pain. Be equanimous with the sensations. Don’t react.
The first thing to do is remind yourself that you are not your mind. You do not have to listen to it. Just because it is telling you to stretch your legs out, doesn’t mean you have to do it. The second thing is to not try and escape the pain, but recognize that the body is feeling a sensation. However, remind yourself that You (the Self) is not feeling it. While it is causing discomfort on the body, it is not causing You (the Self) any pain. Remind yourself that it is the body that feels it, not you. Also, nothing will happen if you don’t move. Sure, you may be sore the next day, but nothing else. (Of course, it is important to know the difference between pain that leads to discomfort and pain that leads to injury).
Throughout this process repeat the mantra to yourself: I am not my body; it won’t hurt me (the Self). I am not my mind, I don’t have to listen to it and move. At some point the hurtful sensations will turn into just sensations, and eventually disappear. This is the process of experiencing the separation of the Self and the mind/body vehicle. The stronger you can hold your concentration on this, the easier it becomes. In fact, often the painful sensations turn into pleasure, while the Self observes. This is disciplining the mind and experiencing the true relationship between the mind, body, and soul.
False identifications restrict your understanding of who you are. When you identify with anything that is temporary you are identifying with something false and creating suffering. The most important false identification to break is that you are your mind and body. This is what brings suffering. Learn to EXPERENTIALLY understand that you are not your mind or body. These are your instruments to navigate this human existence. Learn to be equanimous with sensations of the body and you will learn to let go of your suffering.
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