Embracing Your True Nature: Understanding You Are Awareness
Have you ever stopped to wonder about the nature of your own awareness? It’s like asking yourself, “Who am I, really?” This question might seem simple at first glance, but it dives deep into the essence of our existence. Bentinho shares a profound perspective on recognizing and embracing our true nature as awareness.
Imagine your thoughts and emotions as clouds floating in the sky. These clouds come and go, changing shapes and sizes, but the sky—the awareness that you are—remains unchanged. This awareness isn’t something far away or hard to reach; it’s you, here and now. You can’t deny your own existence, right? That very fact that you are, that you exist, is the awareness we’re talking about.
Bentinho encourages us not to separate meditation or moments of silence from our everyday living. Why? Because everything, from the silence we cherish in meditation to the chaos of our thoughts and the depths of our emotions, occurs within this awareness. It’s all equal to this vast, embracing sky of awareness.
Here’s a golden nugget to carry in your heart: “Everything that you experience, whether thoughts, silence, chaos, or depression, appears on the face of awareness. To awareness, everything is completely equal.” This understanding brings a stability that doesn’t waver with changing states of mind. It ends the relentless search for something more and opens the door to continuous discovery and realization of how vivid, fulfilling, and inherently perfect our natural state of awareness is.
As you align more with this natural presence, you might notice a shift. Your personality, with all its quirks and expressions, begins to reflect this clarity and transparency more vividly. There’s a beautiful simplicity in realizing that there’s nothing beyond this awareness because everything we perceive or strive for is experienced within it.
Bentinho reminds us that awareness is spontaneously present and liberated, caring not for the layers of purification we often think we need. This realization is a gift, freeing us from the effort of trying to fix or purify ourselves. It’s in this space of recognition that we find true spontaneity, presence, and the intrinsic qualities of compassion, love, and clarity that are inherent to our being.
Quote:
“Recognize the sky of awareness in which all thoughts and emotions are but passing clouds. Here lies the spontaneous liberation and vivid presence of your true self.” – Bentinho
“You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop.” – Rumi
Spiritual Reference:
The Bible shares a similar sentiment in Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God.” This verse echoes the idea of recognizing the stillness and presence within, akin to acknowledging our inherent awareness.
John 15:5 – “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from me you can do nothing.”
How can we tap into this ever-present awareness?
- Moment-to-moment awareness: Pay attention to your thoughts, feelings, and sensations without judgment.
- Integrating meditation with daily life: Don’t compartmentalize your spiritual practice, bring it into every moment.
- Recognizing the equality of all experiences: See both “positive” and “negative” experiences as valid expressions of awareness.