The self-inquiry intensives at the samadhi center
are a rigorous form of Sadhana
or spiritual practice
designed to create conditions of ‘no escape’
for the egoic mind to bring about
the possibility of Samadhi and Awakening
to your true nature.
Self-inquiry can be done individually
and when it's done on your own
it's meditation
self-inquiry can be done with a partner
in what we call dyads
or it can be done with a group where
the entire group is focused on one person
who is doing the inquiry.
The main technique used during the
self-inquiry retreat is the dyad.
The Retreat format involves working from
early morning 6 a.m until 11 pm at night.
The participants are encouraged to enter
into a period of continuous practice,
continuously inquiring into Who We Are.
For this period of time all distractions
are set aside.
There are no devices, phones, books
or anything to engage the conditioned mind.
During the break periods, or while eating,
one continues to inquire.
This continuous practice creates a
strong inner pressure or inner energy.
Energy is diverted from the old condition
patterns and starts to build.
A sort of alchemy starts to happen.
Awakening is an energetic event.
There is a flip from the conditioned ‘I’,
the sense that you are this character,
to the true self, to the unlimited ‘I’.
The self-inquiry Intensive is the most
direct way to bring about Awakening
that I know of.
By Awakening, I mean realizing
the true Self beyond name and form.
It's called 'Kensho' in Zen. The word kensho
means 'seeing essence',
in Mahayana Buddhism it is 'Prajna Paramita',
the highest wisdom, the absolute
wisdom of our true nature.
In Western Traditions, the terms 'Gnosis'
or 'Apophaticism' refer to the realization
of our true or divine nature.
For this period of time, we turn
attention away from thoughts and
sensations away from the
outer world of form,
towards the self, continuously.
If we do this practice continuously,
eventually we will awaken from
identification with the false self,
to our true nature.
It's extremely simple but it's not easy,
because the ego construct which is made
up of samskaras or condition patterns,
will generate hindrances, just
as it does in meditation. The whirlpool
of the mind may generate thoughts,
we may experience egoic preferences,
the mind may focus on comfort
or discomfort,
it may become tired,
it may get confused or disoriented.
It may find the whole process intolerable
and want to give up.
It HAS to give up.
The conditioned ‘I’ may think it is
already awake, we have to humble the
conditioned mind.
It is said that one must want to awaken,
like a person with their hair on fire
wants a pond to jump into.
We must proceed with a beginner's mind,
a not knowing mind, a humble mind,
a mind that is open,
mirror-like, alive.
For this process we enter into the cloud
of unknowing, we let go of control and
connect to a sense of curiosity
and investigation.
During this process, one remains
equanimous with whatever comes up within
the mind and senses, having a complete
experience of everything arising in the
present moment.
We observe everything that is arising,
not pushing anything away and yet not
getting identified with anything.
We come to the true self by realizing
all that we are not.
We make the unconscious patterns that
are in play within the self-structure,
conscious.
When we inquire into who we are, first,
everything that is the false self will
come to the forefront.
All of our thoughts and blocks, repressed
emotions, imprints, and samskaras that are
part of the self-structure, will start to
come to the surface.
By not reacting,
by having a complete experience,
a purification starts to happen within the
self-structure.
This practice that leads to samadhi,
is cultivating single pointed focus.
You become continuously present,
observing what is,
allowing what is, always becoming aware
of subtler and subtler aspects of what is.
Gaining sensory clarity,
allowing the mind to be open,
responsive, without analyzing.
When self-inquiry is done with a partner
it can be particularly potent.
One can't drift off into the mind,
you're accountable, it's like meditating with
a partner. You have to be present because
you're being witnessed, you're staring
into someone else's eyes,
you can’t wander away.
At these retreats we begin the
self-inquiry when we're in the waking state,
but the practice can carry over into
dreaming and even deep sleep States.
Here I'm going to describe the dyad technique.
In this practice, one person is witness,
and the other engages in deep
inner investigation,
inquiring into their true nature.
First, decide who will be the witness
and who will start doing inquiry.
You will switch roles back and forth
all day long.
If you're doing this with a large group,
you will switch partners,
roughly every 40 minutes.
Sit across from your partner
looking into their eyes.
Maintain eye contact in silence.
As an introductory exercise, just look
into each other's eyes for about
three or four minutes.
Allow yourself to see this being
across from you.
Allow yourself to be seen.
the witness will connect to their
intention to know who this being is
that is in front of them
the witness will say to their partner
tell me who you are
the imperative should come from a place
of sincere wanting to know
for the one doing the inquiry simply
allow yourself to be open
to receive the imperative
inquire into Who You Are
earnestly
sincerely penetratingly
notice how the imperative lands within
the self-structure
there may be an Impulse to close the
eyes or the eyes may remain open
simply let it land in the deepest part
of your being
take a moment or several moments to
observe the Mind Body
the energy any phenomena that arises
within the self-structure
then simply convey to your partner what
has arisen as a result of doing this
inquiry
what's coming up in the present moment
what's the most real thing happening in
this moment
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there are thoughts or doubts
or if there's a feeling that nothing is
happening just observe the most real
thing about this moment
connect with your I am-ness
[Music]
inquire into Who You Are by being aware
of this I am-ness the sense of existence
don't think that there is a right or
wrong answer
we're not looking for an answer on the
level of the mind don't think that you
have to please someone with your answer
be free playful
you don't have to search for an answer
be free in the not knowing
a Bible passage comes to mind unless you
become like little children you will
never enter the Kingdom of Heaven Jesus
said
there was a sense of I that you had when
you were a little kid the sense of you
the unconditioned you
it was there when you were a teenager
it's there at every point in one's life
feel that sense of eye right now
that sense of I am
what is that sense of I am
it has no quality
it doesn't change
the body changes the Mind changes
the phenomena of Life Changes
Sensations change but that sense of I am
does not change
it has no location
tell me who you are
it is not a question it is an imperative
one trap people fall into is that they
mistake it for a question
it is not about getting the right answer
with words
it's about knowing who is answering
who is responding
the practice is to report any phenomena
that arises within the self-structure to
your partner
explaining as clearly and as truthfully
as you can
there are some rules to this game
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don't refer to your partner as you and
don't refer to anything that your
partner may have said in a previous diet
this is not a conversation in this
practice we also eliminate words like I
mine or myself
when we use the word I we habitually
refer to the false eye the condition
itself so we want to communicate
whatever comes up without using this
dualistic language
if you know that you are referring to
the false eye then don't use the word i
instead of saying I am feeling tired or
I am feeling angry say there is a
feeling of tiredness arising
or there is a sense of anger within the
self-structure
is it true that I am tired
is it the body that is tired
am I the body or am I aware of the body
I can start with what is obvious but
don't miss the subtle
go into the feeling
sensory layer the somatic field
if a feeling comes up where does it live
in the body how does it move how does it
change Through Time
if there's sadness or anger what do
those feel like notice any energetic
contraction any holding or resistance
within the body having a complete
experience of everything arising in the
present moment
during this process the witness holds
the container of Silence
witnessing without reaction
without encouragement the witness
maintains a neutral face and lets go of
any body language
when witnessing you disappear
there's only your partner
make sure that you're understanding your
partner
following what is being said
don't zone out or stare through your
partner
something is said that you don't
understand you can say clarify that
this is the only thing the witness can
say
as a witness you may be feeling what the
other person is feeling
you may even sink breaths and movements
this happens spontaneously you don't
have to try to do anything
possible for the witness to enter a
samadhi state where there's no
separation from the one being witnessed
don't sympathize with the partner don't
play into their drama be totally neutral
this neutrality allows the freedom of
expression to unfold you are a mirror a
mirror has no opinion judgment or
preference
at The Retreat the facilitators will
come around and use various tools and
their own intuition to point
participants beyond their conditioned
Minds towards a direct experience of
their true nature
the dyad facilitator may come and
observe and may ask you questions if
this happens stay connected with your
partner's eyes
don't turn and look at the facilitator
simply answer the question but stay
connected to your partner
[Music]
stay awake in the not knowing
primordial awareness is inseparable from
Stillness and presence
it is a Stillness and presence beyond
the movement and Stillness of The
Limited mind
it is closer than the you that you think
you are
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it is neither near nor far
these are mere Concepts
don't try to manufacture some answer
with the mind or philosophize about who
you are let the thoughts and experiences
come up observe them and report them but
don't get caught in their content
we want to objectively report what is
coming up within the self-structure
we want to express freely in an
inhibited spontaneous way
don't overthink it
this process is incredibly simple
you don't have to do anything other than
Observe and Report
it is the condition mine responding
trying to answer
who are you
there is nothing to attain there is only
the dropping of the false identification
and realizing the truth of the true eye
primordial awareness is so simple and
obvious that the Mind misses it
it is always the conditioned mind that
looks
that moves
the conditioned mind is nothing but
movement looking here and there
if you give up that movement then what
remains
who is aware ever present in the seeing
the Zen master dogen said to realize
your true nature is to realize the self
to realize the self is to forget the
self
to forget the self is to be actualized
by Myriad things
to be actualized by Myriad things
your mind and body as well as the mind
and body of others drops off
when mind and body drop off there is
only direct experience of what is
samadhi is the dissolving of the
illusion between Observer and observed
experience and experiencer