What’s your earliest memory?
Mine was from kindergarten playing on the playground.
I distinctly remember falling on the ground and skinning my knee.
It hurt. I think that’s why I remember it.
What’s yours?
Was it a pleasant experience? A painful one? A completely random one?
One of my other earliest memories is of a classmate stealing my Batman toy. I couldn’t believe it!
Think back. What’s your earliest memory?
Do you have it now?
Good.
Now, reflect on ‘who’ you were then as a child. Reflect on your likes, dislikes, thoughts, desires…
Now, reflect on ‘who’ you are now as an adult.
What’s different about you? How have you changed?
Chances are almost everything about ‘who’ you remember being as a child is completely different than ‘who’ you are now as an adult.
Now ask yourself this question:
This may seem like a very tricky and complicated question. Scientists and philosophers have argued about it for centuries, right?
But the answer is so simple.
Your essential nature is simply being consciousness, or the sense ‘I am’.
The sense of being present, of being conscious, is with us every moment of our lives.
The ‘I am’ is your center.
The ‘I am’ is the stillness within at the background of all movement.
It’s the sense of being and consciousness that allows your mind and personality to form.
Within your sense of ‘I am’ is the peace and joy we all crave in life.
The paradox is WE ARE the peace, love and joy we so desperately desire.
Remembering your nature as the ‘I am’ is called Self-remembrance.
Self-remembrance helps you stay centered throughout your busy life.
Remembering this truth has a powerful affect on the way we perceive ourselves and the world.
We’re no longer disconnected.
We see that everyone and everything shares the same intrinsic nature.
This frames our behavior and actions in a powerful, harmonious way.
It takes skill and practice to remain centered in being beyond the mind, especially while active in doing.
You have to practice meditation to deepen the connection, so it’s there for you in the activity of life.
We get so caught up in our thoughts, emotions, beliefs, judgements and attitudes that we forget they aren’t us.
The first step is to remember who you are.
Your mind is part of you, but it isn’t YOU.
Your mind is your tool. It’s not YOU.
You are beyond the mind.
You are the still, peaceful center of being within. Beyond race, gender, sex, creed or belief.
We need to continuously remind ourselves of this truth throughout our lives.
How often do you remember yourself, or ‘center’ throughout the day?
Do you leave time in meditation to connect to your sense of ‘I am’? To just be?
Could you be better for yourself?
