That Lazy State of Being and Shining

Meditation is to be knowingly the presence of awareness with which all experience is known and in which all experience appears. It doesn’t require effort, just recognising ourself as what we essentially are. As Ramana Maharshi said, ‘that lazy state of simply being and shining is the highest state’. We do not become this luminous presence through effort or discipline. We either recognise it or forget it but never cease being that. The foreground of experience is always in motion; the background of awareness is always at peace. Awareness doesn't know experience from a distance, but from within experience. You, awareness, are like a vast space that both knows and contains everything that is possible to be known or perceived. Thry these these two possibilities: first, that you are the person – a bundle of thoughts, feelings and sensations, secondly, that you are this luminous, empty presence of awareness. Choose one and make that your identity.

From event 09 - 16 October, 2022 Seven Day Retreat at Garrison Institute – 9th to 16th October

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