Just One Look Forum Archives

Dear John,

I recently purchased your book through Amazon and have fully benefited from it. As well, I have read your pdf about Ramana. I lived in Tiru for a year and so am very familiar with his teaching. I realize that you are very busy and do receive many emails, so it's no problem if you don't have time to answer. But I would like to ask you one question of clarification. As you mention in the book, one should find the feeling of I somewhere in the body and hold to that. For me that is not a particular spot but a more overall sensation of here. I can easily do this if it is needed. But, I am very familiar with I that is not body-centered and not a feeling at all. It is not localized and in fact is not describable in the realm of time or dimension. It is simply the I knowing itself as itself. Or, awareness aware of itself. This is a very obvious and easy noticing for me. I feel that this is the direct route to enquiry, bypassing the need to ask the question, Who am I? or even to hold to the body sense of I until I come to this direct knowing. Since I don't want to fool myself at all and my intention for coming to the full fruition of whatever is possible is absolute, I wanted to ask you if it is right to simply notice this that I have mentioned again and again and to forgo the question or body sense, or shall I continue with a holding on to the sense of I as a sensation here in the body? If you have time for a very simply response that will be sufficient for me and very appreciated. I thank you.

With love and warmth,

S.

We all speak a unique dialect of whatever language we use, and it is for this reason that it is impossible to confirm or deny the the namingof extremely simple matters, such as just what it is we are noticing when we look at ourselves. This is especially the case with the use of words such as "I", "awareness", "consciousness", and the use of the passive voice with a personal pronoun (the I), and the like.

When you speak of the "feeling of I" as an "overall sensation of here", that rings a bell.

I think it best to stick with the simple and the ordinary when considering such matters as how to tell whether you are on the right track. It is you that you are trying to get a glimpse of--you would call that me from your point of view. Try to stay personal; use the personal pronouns whenever you can if you want to speak of what it is I want you to look at, and don't concern yourself with any philosophical objections that may come.

Keep in touch,

John