Self Talk #134: Building Your Foundation of Self—The Tool of Awareness

You are awareness. Awareness is another name for you. Since you are awareness there is no need to attain or cultivate it. All that you have to do is to give up being aware of other things; that is, of the not-Self. If one gives up being aware of them then pure awareness alone remains, and that is the Self.
—Ramana Maharshi

We continue our series on the Foundation of Self with the primary tool: Awareness. Awareness offers a pathway to understand both our conscious mind, behaviors, emotions, and our deeper universal connection to everything around us.

• Awareness is the conscious act of placing our attention on something with metaconsciousness

• Differentiating between the two selves: the small 's' ego self versus the capital 'S' true Self

• Body awareness (interoception) helps us feel sensations and emotions rather than just thinking about them

• All beings share the same universal consciousness, supported by concepts like quantum entanglement

• Awareness helps detect when we're out of alignment so we can course-correct without judgment

• The small 's' self speaks from fear while the capital 'S' Self offers compassionate perspective

• Integrating both selves creates "Zorba the Buddha" – being fully human while maintaining spiritual awareness

• We are generators of energy who create our world through how we choose to live in it

Here's the link to the free download of Ramana Maharshi's book, Who Am I?

Have a question? Comment? Email me at rachel@selftalkpodcast.com.

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xo RA

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Episode Breakdown

0:00:00 - 0:00:42 - Introduction

• Quote from Ramana Maharshi about awareness
• Podcast host Rachel Astarte introduces the topic

0:00:42 - 0:02:15 - Defining Awareness

• Explanation of awareness as consciously placing attention
• Meta-consciousness exercise with focusing on an object

0:02:15 - 0:07:47 - Types of Awareness

• Awareness of self (mind and body)
• Body awareness/interoception exercise
• Guided 30-second body awareness meditation

0:07:47 - 0:11:30 - Awareness of Interconnectedness

• Advaita Vedanta philosophy
• Quantum entanglement discussion
• Concept of unity and energy communication

0:11:30 - 0:15:30 - Awareness in Practice

• Non-judgment approach
• Distinguishing between small s self and capital S self
• Examples of ego-based vs. true self thinking

0:15:30 - 0:17:35 - Concluding Thoughts

• Balancing Zorba and Buddha concepts
• Being an ambassador of source
• Encouragement for inner work and self-awareness

0:17:35 - End Podcast Outro

• Invitation for listener emails and questions
• Teaser for next episode on gentleness

(Courtesy of Otter.ai)

Got a question about your self?
Send it to me at rachel@selftalkpodcast.com and it may be featured on a future episode. 

Chapters

• 0:00 Ramana Maharshi on Awareness
• 0:46 Introduction to Awareness as a Tool
• 1:34 Awareness Exercise and Metaconsciousness
• 3:36 Types of Self-Awareness Explained
• 5:45 Awareness of Body and Interoception
• 8:05 Interconnectedness and Quantum Entanglement
• 9:58 Practicing Awareness Without Judgment
• 13:54 The Dance of Two Selves

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

You are awareness. Awareness is another name for you. Since you are awareness, there is no need to attain or cultivate it. All that you have to do is to give up being aware of other things, that is, of the not-self. If one gives up being aware of them, then pure awareness alone remains, and that is the self. Ramana Maharshi, welcome to Self Talk. I'm Rachel Estarte. Thank you for being here Today.

Speaker 1: 0:50

We're going to continue our discussion about the fundamentals of the foundation of self by talking about awareness. Awareness is the first tool we use to build our foundation of self. We'll talk about how that tool is used later on. Before we do that, let's define our terms. It's always a good place to begin.

Speaker 1: 1:13

Awareness is the act of consciously placing our attention, just that. Awareness is the act of placing our attention on something outside of us or within us, with consciousness. When we do that, you could say we have metaconsciousness, or awareness of being aware. So let's try a simple metaconsciousness exercise together. Look at something next to you, say a pen or a book or a mug of tea or a chair. Got it by looking at that item. You have placed your attention on it, you have become aware of it. You are practicing awareness in this moment. Keep looking at it this moment, keep looking at it. So, in this case, the subject on which you have now just placed your awareness is the item you've chosen to look at. Okay, you can stop now. Notice how other things around you kind of fell away from your awareness. You directed your attention to the one thing, away from your awareness. You directed your attention to the one thing, which necessarily meant that the other things did not take priority. It's not that you couldn't see them in your peripheral vision, but they were not prioritized by your awareness in that moment. You did not actively bring them into your consciousness. So, one more time, focus on that thing again, the thing you chose before. Keep the focus but begin to notice other items closely surrounding it. Notice how you can keep focus on your object but still allow for those peripheral things to come into your consciousness. So you have a main focus the item you chose and a lighter awareness of the things around it. Okay, great, I'll ask you to hold on to this concept as we continue.

Speaker 1: 3:18

There are many types of awareness, but for our purposes, as awareness relates to building a foundation of self, we're going to look at three Awareness of self, awareness of interconnectedness and awareness as we practice, as in doing our inner work. Awareness of the self has two parts awareness of the mind and of the body. So let's talk about the mind first. When we think about self-awareness, we have to ask if I am aware of myself, who is it that I'm aware of? In other words, who am I? Spiritual teacher Ramana Maharshi, whom you heard at the beginning, taught about this in his book of the same name who Am I? You can download a copy of it for free off the internet. It's available in 39 languages. I'll add the link in the show notes.

Speaker 1: 4:16

Ramana Maharishi taught the method of self-inquiry to bring awareness to the true self, not the ego self. Self-inquiry begins with the question who am I? And as the layers of those definitions of self get peeled away, such as our physical descriptions, our titles and labels, we see that there is a universal self. The true self is a universal self, the true self that is at the core of our being, pure awareness, and we can call this self the capital S self, while the ego self, the self that is defined by those physical traits, titles and labels, etc. That's the small s self. In this way, we actually have two mind selves, to be aware of the true, eternal consciousness self and the false ego self. We strive to stay in the state of the true self, unbothered by the false self. This is part of the foundation we speak of when we refer to the foundation of self. But until we reach that point, there will be a lot of interplay between these two versions of self. Remember that we don't judge One is not better than the other. They work together to create a whole human being, which we will get to later on.

Speaker 1: 5:44

So now let's bring in body awareness. Body awareness doesn't mean body assessment, as in looking at your body, but it's more like looking from within your body through sensation. The felt sense of the body is called interoception. We most commonly associate interoception with body sensations like needing to sneeze or being hungry or thirsty or having to use the bathroom. Interoception also allows us to feel into the sensations that emotions bring up in us. We don't think our feelings. We feel them.

Speaker 1: 6:24

To bring awareness to our bodies means that we feel into or drop in and pay attention to what's going on within our physical bodies, just like you did in that first exercise when you selected an object to bring your attention to, except now we get quiet and we bring our attention to what is going on inside our bodies. Let's try that together For 30 seconds. I'll keep count. Drop in and simply witness what is going on in your body. You're not trying to change anything and you're certainly not judging what you sense. You're simply witnessing, like a reporter on the scene. Okay, so let's start our 30 seconds now. Now take a moment to notice how you feel, note that connection you have between the inner self and the outer world. Try to hold this, if you can, as we continue to the awareness of interconnectedness. We've talked about the mind and body. This idea of interconnectedness brings in the awareness of our spirit.

Speaker 1: 8:15

Again, we return to Ramana Maharshi and his teaching of the philosophy of Advaita Vedanta, which says that there is no separation between the self and the universe. They are the same. They are the same. All is energy communicating with itself. We as individuals are part of the greater whole. It's helpful to keep this in mind as we interact with other people and the world around us. We are all part of the same family, originating with a big bang and radiating out into all forms. This is what quantum entanglement shows us, or Einstein's spooky action at a distance. Very simply, two particles separated by great distances communicate with each other, which researchers tested by measuring the spin of one particle, and then they repeated the measurement on the other distant particle and noted that its spin correlated with the first particle. Fascinating stuff. Go look it up.

Speaker 1: 9:23

When we practice self-inquiry, peeling away those layers of false self, we begin to experience that unity clearly. We understand that the true self we are exists in others as well. We all carry and have access to that eternal consciousness, from your mail carrier to the mycelial network, underground network, underground. Okay, we've covered awareness of self and of interconnectedness. Now let's talk about awareness as we practice.

Speaker 1: 9:59

As we discussed in the last episode, non-judgment is the lifeblood that runs through foundation of self-work. The first tool we use in this work is awareness. What that means is we bring our conscious attention to what is happening in our lives. We notice when we're feeling out of alignment, because the feeling of misalignment is the indicator that we need to course correct and realign ourselves. Sometimes your first indication will be awareness in your body. Someone cuts you off in traffic and your stomach lurches. Your face flushes. You feel agitation in your upper belly, which is your solar plexus energy center being out of alignment. Perhaps a friend or partner or parent has tuned out while you're telling a story and your mind says, hey, they're not listening to you. That's wrong, right. That's awareness. Sometimes our awareness of misalignment is not triggered by someone or something outside of ourselves, but something within.

Speaker 1: 11:11

Usually it's the voice of the small S self or the ego self, the self that is concerned with the minutiae of day-to-day life. The small S self often functions from a place of fear. Will I be liked? Will I say the right thing? What do others think of me? This self-talk is clearly not our true selves. Talking, our true self, the self that is pure awareness, pure consciousness, the I that is I, the witness, is eternal and therefore isn't bothered by these issues. So, for example, the small S self might say I'm no good at public speaking. But the capital S self, the true self, might say instead, I will learn how to get better at public speaking. So the ego self again, there's something wrong with me. That's some self-talk, that's ego-based, right. But the capital S self would say I'm unique in all the world. This is who I am. One more example no one likes me, no one loves me, no one understands me. That's the ego. Oh, the loneliness, the isolation. The larger self, the eternal self, the capital S self, says I am liked and loved in ways I may not even realize. I understand myself and I'm doing the best I can in this moment. Right See, there's a much larger view than the small S self offers us.

Speaker 1: 12:47

So as we do this deep inner work, it's essential to continue to practice non-judgment, because we may be looking at parts of ourselves we want to change or realign and we'll have a tendency to judge them as bad. We spoke in the last episode about this othering and how it's not helpful. It shames us and stops us from growing helpful. It shames us and stops us from growing. Likewise, as we begin to practice tools like awareness, we may unconsciously slip into old, unhelpful behavior patterns. It happens, it's just part of the deal. But consider this the fact that you are aware that you slipped into old patterns is itself awareness. It means you're using the tool correctly. So be patient, don't judge yourself. Instead, note where you lost your way and learn from the experience so that you can avoid it in the future.

Speaker 1: 13:46

For example, let's say I work in a place where I'm often talked over or interrupted. I've been working on speaking up for myself by calmly and clearly calling it out when it happens, for example excuse me, I was speaking, I'd love to hear your thoughts when I've finished, right? But one day I'm in an impromptu team meeting and I'm tired and I'm just not paying attention. So I speak, but then a colleague cuts me off and unconsciously I slip into my old people-pleasing habit of being quiet and just letting others speak After the meeting. I'm feeling agitated and I can't figure out why. And then it hits me, that person cut me off again. What happened? I was doing so well, speaking up. Why is this still happening, you know? And then the judging thoughts come in. Am I doing this wrong? What's the point? Why am I bothering?

Speaker 1: 14:44

If I practice non-judgment, I can look at the situation from a clearer perspective the capital S self perspective. I was tired. I let that one get past me, that's okay. I'll get it the next time. I am proud of myself for listening to my body's agitation and finding the source of it so fast, because in the past I would have let that ruin my day Right.

Speaker 1: 15:12

So take the wins when you get them, because that is awareness. There is no failure. Failing means stopping, not doing the work at all anymore. If we make a mistake, if we don't do it right, we learn from it. Pretty simple. We don't do it right, we learn from it. Pretty simple.

Speaker 1: 15:35

Now remember that as we bring non-judgment to our inner work, that means we don't declare the small S self to be bad and the capital S self to be good. They work together. The small S self allows us to experience life in a fully human way. Capital S self holds this experience and reminds us not to get attached to those temporary thoughts, feelings, emotions and behaviors. Think of the two selves dancing together the fully human self and the divine self. It's what Indian mystic Osho referred to as Zorba the Buddha.

Speaker 1: 16:10

Zorba is the titular character in the Nikos Kazansakis novel. Zorba, the Greek Zorba is passionate about life. He makes his own rules. He loves drinking and food and dancing and women. He's all here on this earth sucking it up and of course you know about the Buddha, who was basically the opposite of all that. You know about the Buddha, who was basically the opposite of all that non-attachment, etc. So the message here is to be both Be in this world, but not of it. Why do we want to do that? Because we are ambassadors of source. Our true nature is eternal. Our energy and everything is energy contributes to collective consciousness and the quantum field. We are generators of energy. You are a generator of energy. You create the world you live in by the way you choose to live it, the world you live in by the way you choose to live it. Next time we'll look at the third and final core principle of foundation, of self gentleness. Until next time, be gentle with yourself.