Self-inquiry is a practice of redirecting attention away from external objects, events, and experiences and towards the experiences within your body and being, including subtle experiences within awareness itself. We investigate these inner experiences as objects and go beyond to find what we call the Self. Self-inquiry is designed to shift our focus from the world of form to Being ness.

Full recognition from the Nondual state of awareness or the highest level of Self-realization is Oneness. The Oneness could be characterized as more of a wholeness where all parts, the world of form and the being ness of Self, are seen as one field of consciousness in motion. Self-inquiry is a practice that reveals the true nature of Self even though the field of Oneness is inclusive of form and phenomena.

Shifting the focus of attention away from the world of form to being ness is indicative of realizing what is real and what is not and finding the true nature of Self, the real is hindered by the conditioning set over many years that have habituated the mind to believe the Self is the ego/mind.

So, what is real and what is not? Somewhere contained within the body and expressive of the thinking, feeling, and sensations are who I call me. And I, along with all physical attributes that seem to make up a personal me, have an innate feeling or a sense of the being that we exist. Rather than asking “Who am I,” which automatically brings about concrete answers, it’s better to rephrase “Do I exist?’

This sense of existence is the starting point for Self-inquiry in finding your true nature. Once that sense of presence is in your field of awareness, then it’s possible to find out what’s true about your existence, to explore that. What is it like right now to be? And is this being ness of existence the Self?

Let’s explore this “sense of Being.” Simple and immediate.

To be a Human Being:

To be consciously aware, to know the value of consciousness is to appreciate existence from the human level. The elements of humanity and the individual characteristics of existing are apparent, but there is the always present being conscious of how awake you are to the physical reality. We may be sharp to the fact that we are human, but far too often, we are overshadowed by the identification and limitations of the physical.

The famous phrase “I think therefore I am” by distinguished philosopher Rene Descartes (1596-1650)on its surface level of expression has been socially misinterpreted. Having personal thoughts does not identify you, especially the I am somebody or something. It goes beyond the notion that thought awareness implies a position of subjective reality. Descartes had in mind that this statement served as a point of knowing in the face of doubting existence, further qualifying absolute existence as the foundation for relative thought.

So, Existence:

Nothing exists but you; the attention is only on you; you are aware of just being only here, right now.

For the moment, leave everything aside, everything you think you are, all descriptions of this personal me, and any thoughts about anything in the future.

Any desire for enlightenment, self-realization, any results to be found in Self-inquiry leave it all behind.

Be empty, empty of everything, all concepts, even the concept of emptiness.

Everything has been taken out and what remains is what is here; whatever that remains is an awareness, a stillness, a presence.

Let’s Self-investigate:

This sense of presence, this I of pure existence, how far away is it from you, how close? Is there any distance?

Can you touch it? Do you know anything about it?

Could you say there is a natural boundary where it ceases to exist?

Are you creating or imagining this at all?

Can this, whatever it is, fade or diminish in any way?

Was it born? Can it perish or end?

Is it waiting for something to happen?

Locate it, try to find it, where is it? What is it?

It’s like a phantom, you know it’s here, but you can’t find it.

And this is just the point. The self is searching for Being; the mind will never find it because it is looking for itself, awareness looking for awareness; it’s already here but only knowing what the ego is habituated in projecting. The untethered mind is set free of the limitations of a controlling ego and reveals its true cosmic nature.

It’s always been here, as far back as you can remember, this I-ness of existing. It has never left you; the ego has just covered it over.

Can the mind, the ego, the thoughts, sensations, and the perception of the world around you, the display of objects can they push away the immensity of Being, the I-ness of Self, or are they just happenings within existence, this non-happening space?

It’s here alright, this perspective of what is playing around in mind and the world of form. It’s not a background, not a foreground; it just is. And you are it, the unbounded, infinite Self.

Neti-Neti: Not this-Not this.

Revealing the pure I, stripped of all its “am-ness” with the investigation of “who am I,” is not a meditation on a specific object. The Atman, the I-ness seated in the spiritual heart, is not a something. It is a “no-thing.” Restated, it is not an object.

In such a meditation of Not this-Not this, we remain lucid, without interpreting or judging—merely following the intimate feeling of existence. This feeling is not fully known and is usually ignored because of our habitual identification with the body, mind, thoughts, and sensations. Recognition of the “I” can reveal itself through Self-inquiry, but an initial understanding that the body is not who I am, nor the obvious—thoughts, feelings, and sensations.

The following is a paraphrased transcription of an Adyashanti Self-inquiry meditation. I came across this years ago and found it helpful:

You are looking for the nature of Self, what we call our Self—looking inside, directing the attention inside to find Self.

As you do this, you come across the obvious, a body sitting here; one can easily find any part of the body and come across thoughts, feelings, and sensations—the everyday awareness.

But there is something more than just a body or the generated thoughts and feelings. There is something more primary. It is aware of all these things—the direct, intimate conscious awareness.

As the attention is directed towards this “that which is aware,” something unexpected happens; the more we keep running our attention looking for this awareness or nature of the Self, the more we cannot find it.

What am I? Where is this Self, this I? The more we look, the less we find. This illusive Self never seems to appear as captured. We know it is here, but it is a fleeting mystery.

What we do find is more silence. This silence, yet close and comfortable, is still a mystery; it is Void to an ego/mind that has been habituated to physical objects, seeing things as something.

Can we look through the mind to find this something, a someone, locate this owner of awareness, consciousness, and self-called I. In this style of looking for ourselves, our whole definition of Self is wordlessly called into question because when we look for it, we can’t find it.

The assumption is that we are a something and a somebody due to conditioned thought the ego/mind displays as authentic. But meditation is an opportunity to direct attention inside, look, and find for yourself. Is it true, is there somebody?

So, looking within, you are presented with a mystery. You know there is something more than just a body, thoughts, and feelings, but you can’t find yourself—yet whatever you are is here, obviously aware, whatever it may be.

Any confusion may arise because the ego/mind thinks of you as being a thing, being somebody. It is challenging to think otherwise. There is no someone or something, the owner of this mystery called I.

But as we look in this way, our whole notion of Self can begin to transform because you start to see for yourself that you are indeed not a thing; it cannot be found.

So, what is there in the absence of somebody, in the absence of something? The lack of a personal me, a body, thoughts, and feelings? This that notices the absence of a physical self.

This awareness that notices the complete lack of entity is an opportunity to open to what you are beyond thought. That maybe you are not somebody or something at all. You are the Self that cannot be found within limitations, within definitions.

What then could this I be? There is no entity; there is no somebody. But it does lead you to a place where what you are certainly Is. Whether you understand it or not. It Is.

It is not a thing or somebody. It is the absence of something and somebody. There is a complete lack of definitions and an invitation to stop, rest—rest in the awareness aware of itself. This mystery, the Self.

Through these two similar styles of Self-inquiry, one by self-investigating the attribute less nature of awareness through questioning the intimate experience of reality one has, and Neti-Neti, one whereby taking away the shared beliefs of how we usually perceive ourselves leads again to the qualities-less indefinable Self. Both are valid and may bring about a clear seeing of the nature of Self through practice. These glimpses or even a clear understanding from an intellectual level will diminish the conceptual norm of how we view ourselves and can lead to further investigation.