Being Is the Same in All States

Allow the feeling of being come to the forefront of your experience and the contents to fade. Our attention is often lost in thoughts, feelings, sensations and perceptions. Traditions may direct attention to something subtle, like the breath, because of its likeness to being’s qualities: transparency and silence. So lightly focus on breath. Though subtle, the breath is still an object. Being, more transparent than breath, has no objective qualities and cannot be found or attended to as an object. Being, synonymous with our self, is the source of attention. Don’t try to find being; just be aware. Imagine the process of falling asleep while remaining awake. Deep sleep is our natural state, akin to simply being. When we add thoughts, images, sensations, perceptions, we label our state as waking or dreaming. But underneath, we are always the same being, unchanged by these additions, just as a screen remains unchanged by a movie. Being is the same in all states.

Allow the feeling of being come to the forefront of your experience and the contents to fade. Our attention is often lost in thoughts, feelings, sensations and perceptions. Traditions may direct attention to something subtle, like the breath, because of its likeness to being’s qualities: transparency and silence. So lightly focus on breath. Though subtle, the breath is still an object. Being, more transparent than breath, has no objective qualities and cannot be found or attended to as an object. Being, synonymous with our self, is the source of attention. Don’t try to find being; just be aware. Imagine the process of falling asleep while remaining awake. Deep sleep is our natural state, akin to simply being. When we add thoughts, images, sensations, perceptions, we label our state as waking or dreaming. But underneath, we are always the same being, unchanged by these additions, just as a screen remains unchanged by a movie. Being is the same in all states.