[Self-enquiry] Who is aware of consciousness ?

[cervid]

Hey guys,

I am practiseing self enquiry for about half a year now, with daily sessions of 30-60min. I am now at a point where I hit a wall.

In this context I refer to consciousness as the one who is conscious. So when I am awake I am conscious and when I sleep or got knocked out I am unconscious.

So with self enquiry I came to the conclusion that I can not be something that changes and consciousness does change. But then I only recognize this change when I am conscious.
I do not experience unconsciousness. I only experience that I was unconscious when I am conscious again.

The fact that I can see consciousness changing means, that there must be someone who exists in whom consciousness and unconsciousness arise. But my problem here is, how can I recognize this someone, when I need my consciousness to experience anything ?

How can I look outside of consciousness when I am stuck in consciousness ?

 

This seems like an impossible task.

[Mason Riggle]

There once was a boy who said though,

it seems that I know that I know,

but what I'd like to see, is the I who knows me,

when I know that I know that I know. 

-Alan Watts

 

The experience of 'an experiencer' separate from the experience is just more experience, which is all there is. 

Edited July 7, 2021 by Mason Riggle

[allislove]

Subject and object exist together: if there is no object, there is no subject and vice versa. In the deep sleep (or when you knocked out) there are no objects, so there is no subject, but you still are. The trick is to shift the focus from any object to the subject that contains every object. Once the thinking arises, see who is observing it, see that the thinking arises simultaneously with everything else (e.g. a bird singing). See that for thinking to arise there should be existence that turn on all of this. Just continue spiritual practices and shift the attention to the source of "I"-thinking, that's all. Enlightenment is like a knocking out but without actually knocking out.

[allislove]

@dflores321 ??

[allislove]

15 minutes ago, dflores321 said:

@allislove ???, it's a mindfuck though because we are plucking the subject out, destroying all objects in the process. 

Yeah, "destroying" sounds too impressive though, since the subject and objects are one & it's already the case.

"When you make the two into one, and when you make the inner like the outer and the outer like the inner, and the upper like the lower, and when you make male and female into a single one, so that the male will not be male nor the female be female, when you make eyes in place of an eye, a hand in place of a hand, a foot in place of a foot, an image in place of an image, then you will enter [the kingdom]." 

Jesus quote is always a good addition to any post  

[Breakingthewall]

7 minutes ago, allislove said:

when you make eyes in place of an eye, a hand in place of a hand, a foot in place of a foot, an image in place of an image, then you will enter [the kingdom]

What could mean that?

[allislove]

16 minutes ago, dflores321 said:

@Breakingthewall I think it means when the subject and object are realized to be the same, you are in the kingdom of heaven. 

Yep, that's the idea. If you can notice the subject, then you just give all of your attention to it, but usually there is too many identification with thinking, so it's not feasible to notice the subject. So, the quote suggests trying to letting go the beliefs about apparent separation between male and female or inner and outer for example. How? I dunno, by a meditation practice for example. It is not really entering the kingdom though, it's more like noticing that kingdom is always here. I prefer Rumi's quote on this regard:

"I have lived on the lip
of insanity, wanting to know reasons,
knocking on a door. It opens.
I've been knocking from the inside."

[Mason Riggle]

What is mistaken to be the experiencer of experience is just more experience.

What is mistaken to be the doer of what's being done is just more of what is already happening 

What is mistaken to be the thinker of thoughts is just more thought occurring now. 

[Anahata]

@cervid There cannot be a dream within a dream. A dream is not what generates other dreams. It's Consciousness and it can always change form. There are no external realities, there are just states of consciousness. Consciousness experiencing itself however it wants. Every 'dream'/experience you ever had is part of the same dream, another face of the same infinity. You've never been unconscious. You are Consciousness itself. You imagine a concept of being unconscious the same way you imagine your birth, that's a facet of infinity and it can only be imagined in Existence.

Edited July 8, 2021 by Anahata

[Anahata]

"Being unconscious while you sleep" is not something that happened last night. It is the very act of imagining it in Existence. That's actuality.