Slogan #3

Examine the nature of unborn awareness

Reflection:

Busy mind today. There were so many thoughts, and they took me back to the beginning of my meditation practice. Back then, my biggest wish was to stop thinking altogether, to quiet my mind and give myself a break from the constant chatter. I quickly learned that the only way to completely stop the stories in my mind was to be dead.

So, what is the purpose of meditating? What does “examine the unborn awareness” mean? It’s hard to grasp intellectually, and I’ve tried not to overthink it. Then, I was introduced to the concept of “the witness” or “the watcher”—the part of me that observes the thoughts flowing in and out. My first real experience of this was during a meditation led by Josh Cohen. After seven years of practice, I finally glimpsed what it meant to be the watcher of my “self” and my body. Josh guided us to soften, relax, and become aware of sensations and thoughts. It felt like I was watching my body meditate from above. It was eerily quiet, no mind chatter, just space between breaths. And then, just like that, my to-do lists popped back up and my mind started racing again.

Today’s sit wasn’t easy. My body felt tense, my breathing was short like I was gasping for air, and I kept shifting at every little discomfort. So, I decided to focus on pausing briefly at the top of my inhale and again at the bottom of my exhale. These short pauses gave space for the sensations to dissipate and my breathing to return to its natural rhythm. It was only then that I could see my thoughts as separate from “I,” the one perceiving the thoughts.

At the end of my sit, one question came up:

What is awareness, and where does it come from and go?

Reflecting on this slogan reminds me of the continuous journey of understanding and experiencing awareness. Each meditation session, regardless of its difficulty, offers an opportunity to explore and deepen this understanding. The moments of quiet, however brief, are precious glimpses into the nature of awareness and the space beyond our everyday thoughts.