PURE AWARENESS

An appendix in the NSR Manual explains that there is a philosophy behind NSR, which it calls "yoga", a philosophy that is also the source of this technique of transcending itself, based in the ancient Vedic tradition of the development of consciousness of India. Unlike many other forms of meditation, there is no mysticism or religiosity in NSR. But there is a practical philosophy behind NSR, and after ten years of distributing the NSR course I think it is time to share some very specific words about that philosophy. In NSR we speak of "pure awareness" or, having the same meaning, "pure consciousness". What do these phrases mean? We speak of transcending, which we describe as a mental and physiological process having two alternating strokes, an inward stroke in which the mind dives spontaneously inward and an outward stroke in which the unique state of deep rest of the inward stroke causes the mind to come out on thoughts and feelings that are associated with the process of the release of stress. This whole inward and outward process of transcending eliminates stresses so that life becomes free of problems and naturally filled with peace, strength, flexibility, happiness, and satisfaction. This whole process of growth in life seems to be based on that inward stroke, or dive, from the usual waking state of consciousness to a more subtle or abstract level of thinking that has its own natural charm and attraction. We see from our own experience of the daily practice of NSR that the end of this inward dive is a simple state of pure awareness, "pure" meaning free of all stain or distraction of thinking or feeling. We feel this state of pure awareness, perhaps very clearly and enjoyably, all by itself during meditation. This experience has been called "transcendence". Sometimes, also, especially at first, we experience awareness or transcendence in a murky or unclear way, when it is overshadowed by stresses that are in the process of being released by the deep rest of transcending. That is part of the process of eliminating stresses that improves all aspects of life. Now, in general, not just during meditation, let us ask the question: how far away is this state of pure awareness? The answer, perhaps surprisingly, is not far away at all. Consider whatever you are experiencing right now, here in the waking state. Are you feeling peaceful, or are you feeling rushed or distracted? Are you feeling free of problems, or are you feeling weighed down with anxiety, misery, or suffering? Whatever you are feeling now, whether peaceful or frazzled, whether clear or distracted, something is aware of that state. Something is aware of our experiences, whatever they are. This something, this awareness, is our own simple and true nature. It is we ourselves, that which we call "I", that is aware of whatever is or is not happening in our field of experience. And this awareness can be experienced simply by asking ourselves the simple question, "am I aware?" Take a moment to try that, so this discussion can be based on your own experience. It doesn't matter how much stress we have accumulated in life. It doesn't matter how deep or how predominate are our outward strokes of meditation, in which we see our stresses being dissolved. It doesn't matter how distracted or depressed we sometimes get. Underneath all that distraction or misery is pure awareness, which is already our true nature. If one were to ask any of the 7.2 billion people on earth, "are you aware," the answer would eventually be "yes", once the unusual nature of the question is overcome. Awareness is essential to being human. Feel it now, for a moment. Can you see the qualities or characteristics of pure awareness? Pure awareness is free of personality. There is no male or female in it. There is no age, no beliefs there. It is impersonal and yet intimate, our own innermost nature. Pure awareness is free of problems. Whatever distractions or limitations we feel, the awareness behind them does not share this experience of distraction or limitation. Awareness is whole, complete, content, and free of content. Note that I've used "content" to mean "satisfied" and "free of content" to mean "having no objects, meanings, or thoughts". Pure awareness is free of limitations of location. It doesn't really seem associated with the body, even though the mind tells us that it is a side effect of the brain functioning within the body. That is an objective belief, but it is not our subjective experience. There is room for both. Take a moment to see if there is any boundary between awareness and any object that we experience through the senses or through thinking. No such boundary can be found. There is no edge or ending point to awareness. Pure awareness is free of the limitation of location in space. It is subjective, not objective in its nature, and cannot be located. It is intimate to ourselves, below or beyond all objective experiences. Pure awareness is free of limitations of time. It does not have any content, including a past or a future. Awareness is free of memory or imagination, free of the past or the future. We can say it is free of the limitation of time, existing only in the present. Its timeless and everpresent nature can be seen in its constancy in time. While our feelings, behavior, our home, environment, and other aspects of life vary over time, pure awareness never varies. We feel the same feeling of "I" or "being myself" at age 10, 20, 30, or 40. Awareness is a simple state, never changing in any way. All of this description of awareness is based on our experience of it. Subjectively, awareness can be experienced at any time, simply by being aware of it. The direction above to ask yourself, "am I aware?" is just one of many ways to bring our attention back to our fundamental nature as awareness. Awareness can always be aware of awareness. Once our attention has returned to awareness, we see how simple it is, and how "transcendental", or different it is from all the objects that usually grab our attention, distracting ourselves from ourselves, taking us away from our fundamental nature as peace and happiness. The process of transcending is the basis for an active and successful life. We see from this Forum, and from the unsolicited testimonials, that many benefits in daily life result from the regular and correct practice of NSR. But the basis of all such success is not something we do to make ourselves better. It is our own nature, which we already have or are, of pure awareness. This is the real source of all benefits of transcending: our fundamental nature as awareness. Our fundamental nature is always available, always accessible, and cannot be stained or destroyed by stress caused by weakness of the nervous system and overload of experiences. Overshadowed, yes; veiled, yes. But peace, happiness, love, and freedom are already our essential characteristics, by virtue of our essential nature as pure awareness.