Understand THIS About Spiritual Practices

[00:00] You can never not be. You were already here, looking at it. You always were. [00:25] Almost everything you do is object-based, you see. We look for happiness in things outside of us—food, possessions, experiences—but they are all transient. [00:46] So, you may turn inwards. You may even meditate, right? You might go to things like chanting or other spiritual practices, but they can still be object-based, can't they? It's the 'I' doing a practice to get a result. [01:30] Some of these practices can help you go from a thousand thoughts to one, which may be chanting or maybe just following your breath. Now, instead of a thousand things, there’s only one, which allows you to see the seeing that is watching that one thing. [02:15] But true meditation means silence. It's not about becoming a 'good meditator'. The practice is a tool to reduce the noise so you can notice what's already here. [03:00] In the slowing down of our thoughts, in singling them out and tracing them back to where they come from, we find that there’s nothing really going on. Awareness is called in a pantomime. We’re caught in a show, and we mistake it for reality. [04:10] The direct instruction is this: Return your awareness to awareness. Don't focus on the thought, the breath, or the sensation. Notice the background of Awareness in which all those things appear and disappear. Just stay in awareness. [05:20] It's actually you. It’s been here the whole time. Even when you’re sleeping, it’s here. When you're having a good day or a bad day, it's here. You can’t get rid of it even if you want to. [06:20] So come back to the source of where you are. There’s an incomparable peace and freedom in this simple recognition. It's not something you achieve; it's what you are.

• Object-Based Seeking
  The common trap of chasing things for fulfillment, whether external objects like possessions or internal ones like 'spiritual experiences' or becoming a 'good meditator'. It reinforces the seeker, rather than dissolving it.
• Awareness
  The ever-present, impersonal seeing or consciousness in which all experience happens. It is not a state to be achieved but the fundamental reality of what you are. The Substratum itself.
• Return Awareness to Awareness
  The core instruction to shift attention from the objects of perception (thoughts, feelings, sensations) to the background of silent, witnessing Presence that perceives them. It is a direct pointer to your true nature.
• Pantomime
  A metaphor for the mind's activity. Thoughts and feelings appear as a dramatic show that captures our attention, but tracing them back reveals they have no real substance, like actors on a stage.
• The Seer
  The impersonal Witness or observing presence that is prior to thought and identity. In Non-Duality, this is not a personal 'seer' but Awareness itself. It is that which is 'seeing' the practice.

• Why do my spiritual practices sometimes feel empty?
  Many practices become 'object-based,' another thing for the ego to chase for a future result. The feeling of emptiness arises when the practice itself becomes the goal, rather than using it as a simple pointer to recognise the ever-present Awareness that is already here, observing the practice.
• What does 'return awareness to awareness' mean?
  It is a direct instruction to shift your attention from the objects you perceive—such as thoughts, breath, or sensations—to the background of silent, impersonal Seeing in which they appear. It's about recognising the screen, not just the movie playing on it. This is a direct path to realising your true nature.
• Is the goal of meditation to stop all thoughts?
  No, the goal is not to fight the mind. True meditation means Silence. Practices like watching the breath can help reduce a thousand distracting thoughts to a single point of focus. This quieting of the mental noise makes it much easier to recognise the unchanging Witness that was there all along.