Toolkit

Self-observation is an essential tool we can use in our efforts to open ourselves to our natural, ever-present state of happiness, peace and freedom.

When we use Self-observation, we simply, without judgment, watch ourselves as we go about our day. We pay attention to the way we unconsciously react to the events of the day.

When we use self-observation, we will see that we unconsciously allow ourselves to act small. Our small actions are habitual; they are the cause of our suffering.

Our habits; the unknowing way we respond to our day to day, moment by moment experiences have been fed to us by our families and culture. These habitual ways of seeing and reacting to life do not include the understanding that we live within a non-dual universe.

We can, as the observer, quietly and without judgment, watch ourselves and the world around us. We can watch the way our small thoughts cause our suffering. Practiced in this way, nonjudgmental self-observation becomes a nutrient-dense feast for the Soul, and as we feed our Soul, our Soul, in turn, feeds us happiness, peace and freedom.

Self-remembering is a tool useful in our efforts to become aware of our true Self—the Self that is the potent eternal expression of Consciousness.

Self-remembering is the act of recognizing that we are the ecstatic universe in motion. It is the act of opening ourselves to the reality that our nature and the integral nature of the universe are one and the same: indescribable, yet eternally present. It is the process of remembering that we are, and all things are, a singular yet multifaceted expression of the jewel of Consciousness.

Self-remembering involves remembering that Soul exists within each of us and is always available to introduce us to our true Self. It is the art of remembering that we are, at all times and regardless of appearances, our true Self—the expression of eternal Consciousness.

Whenever we have the presence of mind, we should pause and acknowledge that there is a true Self. Even if we do not yet fully understand its depth, the simple act of reflecting upon it penetrates and dissolves our misperceptions about who and what we think we are. In these moments, we rediscover ourselves as eternal Consciousness.

The process of self-remembering can go hand in hand with self-observation. At the moment we remember to self-observe, there is an opportunity to simultaneously, with split attention, self-remember. We can watch our small self—acting small—while remembering that our true Self is as vast and eternal as Rumi’s “universe in ecstatic motion.”

In these moments of split attention, we are both the observed and the observer. Time slows, and insight into what it means to be the universe in ecstatic motion filters into awareness. In these effortless moments, true Mind, Body, and Spirit align. We nourish the Soul and open ourselves to a taste of the ultimate reality— where, as Rumi reminds us, we will find the field where, “When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about.”

When we find ourselves caught in the time-driven, anxious world of our small self, we can ask ourself to STOP and remember. In that moment of STOP, we can take a breath. The act of taking a breath at the moment of the STOP brings us into the ever-present awareness of now. Now is the magical moment where we can allow ourselves to remember who and what we truly are. Every moment we cause ourselves to Self-remember has the effect of transforming the moment into a conscious, timeless, anxiety-free experience.

In our moments of Self-remembering, we consciously allow the vibrant energy of reality to mix with the dense energy of the material world. The resulting transformed energy is the nourishing energy we give to our Soul.

The true Self will respond to this energetic gift.

“Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”
—Luke 6:38

We can accept the responsibility of giving ourselves to the timeless moment of now. We can, in the moment of now, remember that we are expressions of eternal Consciousness. And we can express gratitude; we can thank the moment of now for the opportunity to awaken to our ever-present true Self.

Assumption: the action of taking on power or responsibility.

Small self assumes that life is a challenge that demands that we take on the task of making something of ourselves. The small self assumes the world to be a series of time driven events that involve multiple interactions with multiple objects. This is a false assumption. Our true self is non-dual eternal Consciousness, and in recognition of this non-dual Consciousness we can rest easy in understanding that we are complete. We don’t need to make something of ourselves, we simply need to experience who and what we truly are. We can facilitate this profound experience by simply remembering to bring our attention to the act of assuming the attributes of eternal Consciousness.

An understanding regarding the power of assumption allows us to experience the attributes of our true Self rather than the mistakenly accepted fractured attributes of our small self. Adjusting our assumptions, widening our scope of vision offers us the opportunity to experience the qualities and conditions of eternal Consciousness. As we, with attention, assume the attributes of Consciousness, we allow ourselves an opportunity to effortlessly experience and express our true Self.

Attributes of Consciousness

Attribute: a quality or feature regarded as a characteristic or inherent part of someone or something.

We can make ourselves familiar with the attributes; the inherent qualities of eternal Consciousness. We can remember that each of us is an expression of this Consciousness and in so being, each of us is in full possession of the attributes of eternal Consciousness. We may not be able to instantly comprehend the full measure of our true Self as expressions of Consciousness, but we can comprehend the inherent qualities, the attributes of Consciousness. As we go about life, we can remember to be present with the moment; we can be in the now. In the presence of the moment, we can remember to actively assume the attributes of eternal Consciousness. We can invest our energy in our conscious expression of these attributes.

• Nonduality
• Endlessness
• Fullness
• Gratitude
• Forgiveness
• Righteousness
• Intelligence
• Virtue
• Peace
• Love (most essential)

True love, not small self-love, is the foundational attribute of eternal Consciousness. It is this non-judgmental love that dissolves all struggle. It is this unconditional, nonjudgmental love that exists above all else. Bring unconditional, nonjudgmental ever-present higher Love into this world will cause us to recognize that we and all things that exist are expressions of higher Love.

We can easily see that we have been completely successful in manifesting faulty assumptions. We can see that the manifestation of the small thoughts of our small self effortlessly, without our attention, become our experience. We can be absolutely certain that, with our attention we can be equally successful at manifesting the attributes of eternal Consciousness.

“If, with all your heart and all your mind you sincerely assume the attributes of Infinite Mind, dis ease (lack of ease) will flow right through you.”

— Thane Walker

This is not to say we will not experience dis-ease as it flows through us. It means that rather than unconsciously allowing ourselves to see ourselves as victims totally engaged in the experience of dis-ease, we can STOP. We can take a breath, self-observe, and Self-remember. We can, with attention, allow ourselves to simply assume an attribute of truth and allow ourselves to non-judgmentally experience the experience. In this way, we profitably make use of the experience. We can gain precious energy that will be used by our Soul to further our Self-realization. Self-realization filters the element of dis-ease out of the experience and allows us to see that in the timelessness and endlessness of our true beingness, the attributes of Consciousness are in full and ever-present effect and all is well.

We fill ourselves with many inaccurate, unconsciously accepted thoughts, and we experience life through the quality of these thoughts. The quality of our small thoughts fractures and splits apart the full-spectrum light of our experiences, reducing them to fragments of reality.

To experience the full spectrum of life’s light—and the deeper beauty, peace, and ease life offers—we create a vacuum: a space emptied of unconsciously accepted thoughts. We make this space by observing our small self’s fractured thinking. Seeing it clearly lets us disengage for a moment. In that moment of emptiness, the reality of our conscious nature can fill awareness and reveal our ever-present true Self.

The Soul, like the lotus, knows the light exists. Opinionated thinking confines us to shadowy slivers. Correcting fractured thinking—emptying ourselves of habituated patterns—lets the Soul’s innate wisdom transform our lives. Emptying small thoughts makes space for the revolutionary uprising of true Self.

The Soul understands; it isn’t encumbered by misunderstandings that fracture experience. To nourish Soul, we empty erroneous thinking. A vacuum is created via Self-Observation and Self-Remembering. Done without judgment or expectation, they naturally create empty space, and within that space the Soul’s understanding flows effortlessly into awareness.