Welcome to this week's The Flowing Zone: Free I AM-Self-Remembering Processes
Raise The Platform of Your Level of Being to Live In The Flow of I AM
Welcome back to this edition of Becoming the Powerful Creator that You Are
In this issue, Kristopher discusses one of the most powerful practices for self-realization. He includes some practical processes. Kalyn gives a new perspective on Karma, what it really is, and how to use it in your spiritual journey.
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In the article below, I outline how Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj reached self-realization in just three years, using the singular technique of I AM, or Self-Remembering. If you have already read the article published on Medium, you may want to review it, or you can just scroll down to where I give some practices you can use to help you enter and stay in the state of I AM.
I am providing the practices for subscribers to this newsletter (they are not included in the original Medium article).
In Just Three Years, A Singular Practice Led Him to Enlightenment
Can the path to self-realization be this simple?
“When I met my Guru, he told me, ‘You are not what you take yourself to be. Find out what you are. In all my spare time, I would spend it looking at myself in silence. And what a difference it made, and how soon! It took me only three years to realize my true nature.” Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
Nisargadatta’s direct, no-frills teaching has had a profound effect on many other spiritual teachers, including:
Ram Dass. Ram Dass was a close student of Nisargadatta Maharaj, and Maharaj’s teachings on self-inquiry and realizing one’s true nature significantly influenced Ram Dass’ teachings.
Gangaji: Gangaji is a spiritual teacher who teaches a direct and uncompromising self-inquiry style similar to Maharaj’s teachings.
Eckhart Tolle: Eckhart Tolle’s teachings on the present moment and the power of awareness are also influenced by Maharaj’s teachings.
Humble Beginnings
Nisargadatta, the only son of poor farmers in Maharashtra, India, had to work hard from a young age. He started working as a shopkeeper at 14. After his father's death in 1915, Nisargadatta moved to Bombay to support his family. He started working as a junior clerk but soon began a business venture. Although he had humble beginnings, he possessed an entrepreneurial spirit. He started a small retail shop specializing in selling beedis (leaf-rolled cigarettes), eventually leading to an eight-store chain.
It wasn’t long before he yearned for something deeper in life. In 1933, a friend introduced Nisargadatta to his Guru, Siddharameshwar Maharaj, the head of the Inchegiri branch of the Navnath Sampradaya. A short three years later, his Guru died.
He had only been with his Guru for a short time. But the impact his Guru made on Nisargadatta was profound. Shortly after his Guru passed away, Nisargadatta became self-realized.
Nisargadatta Did Not Practice Any Particular Form of Breathing, Meditation, or Other Yogic Practices
“I did my best to follow his (my Guru’s) advice, and in a comparatively short time, I realized within myself the truth of his teaching. I did not follow any particular course of breathing, meditation, or study of scriptures.” Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
Nisargadatta did not adhere to specific spiritual practices such as meditation, controlled breathing, or studying scriptures. Instead, he devoted himself to a single instruction that he received from his Guru. According to Nisargadatta, his Guru imparted the following instruction to him, and he followed it diligently.
“I simply followed my teacher’s instruction, which was to focus the mind on pure being ‘I AM’ and stay in it…My Guru ordered me to attend to the sense ‘I AM’ and to give attention to nothing else…Watch the sense, ‘I AM,’ find your real Self.”
Whenever he had spare time, Nisargadatta focused on ‘I AM’ and nothing else.
Simple Does Not Mean Easy
Nisargadatta’s prescription for self-realization is simple: focus on ‘I AM.’ There are no complex yoga postures or breathing rituals. However, just because it is simple doesn’t mean it is easy. Try focusing on yourself, existing where you are sitting or standing, and time yourself. For most people, a thought will come up in just a few seconds, and they will have forgotten to focus only on Self (I AM).
The Mystic G. Gurdjieff’s Version of I AM
In the early 1900s, G. Gurdjieff formed the Fourth Way School. Gurdjieff taught that people are not conscious of themselves and thus live in a state of hypnotic “waking sleep.” However, it is possible to awaken to a higher state of consciousness and serve our purpose as human beings. One of his core teachings was that of Self-Remembering.
P. D. Ouspensky was one of Gurdjieff’s primary students and teachers of The Fourth Way. According to Ouspensky, Self-Remembering is distinct from self-observation or witnessing the Self. It means to be aware of oneself, expressed as ‘I AM.’ This state of self-awareness is not a function, thought, or feeling but a unique state of consciousness.
Self-Remembering is not the same as mindfulness, but it takes mindfulness to a new level when brought into mindfulness. Self-Remembering propels mindfulness and being in the present moment to a new level of consciousness. It involves developing a consistent and constant awareness of one’s ‘I’ or Self, signified by the realization ‘I AM.’ This means being aware of one’s existence in every moment and sensing the presence of I AM. This heightened state of being is referred to as true Self-presence.
Identification Stops I AM
Self-Remembering can be challenging. It’s common for individuals to lose this Self-presence and become identified with something outside their Self. This could be an object or activity in the external world or even a thought or emotion in the internal world. This state of losing oneself is referred to as ‘identification.’
When one realizes they have become identified with something external, they can consciously redirect their attention back to Self-Remembering(I AM) and re-enter the state of Self-presence. By practicing Self-Remembering for extended periods, one can evolve to higher levels of consciousness, expand their awareness, and begin to perceive the world through the eyes of the Eternal Self that they authentically are.
Osho Talks About Gurdjieff’s Self-Remembering
The colorful Indian Guru Osho beautifully describes Self-Remembering, I AM, in the following:
“Gurdjieff used the method of Self-Remembering…Remember “I AM” — whatsoever you are doing. You are drinking water, you are eating your food — remember, “I AM…” It is difficult because you already think you know you are…it is a very potent technique…Do not be so much merged, involved, or identified…Let this “I AM” be a constant factor of awareness.
Suddenly, you are awake at your center one day, functioning for the first time. And then the whole world becomes a dream, then you can know that your dreaming is a dream. And when you know that your dreaming is a dream, dreaming stops…With this awakening, there is no misery; after this awakening, there is no death; through this awakening, there is no more fear. You become, for the first time, free of everything…You become just love. Not loving, you become just love!”
Self-Remembering, or, as Nisargadatta says, attending to the sense of I AM, goes by different terms such as Self-Abiding and Self-Presence. However one wishes to label it, it is a powerful component of self-realization that is sometimes overlooked. For example, as mentioned above, bringing Self-Remembering into the practice of mindfulness can propel one to states of consciousness that are difficult to reach without a firm sense of I AM. Bringing the I AM into yoga can take it to new levels. Because it is simple, Self-Remembering can be brought into almost any activity in life.
In the words of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, “Give your heart and mind to the ‘I AM,’ what is it, how is it, what is its source, its life, its meaning. It is like digging a well. You reject all that is not water till you reach the life-giving spring.”
Practices to Help You Enter and Stay In the Powerful State of I AM
The state of Self-Remembering or "I AM" refers to the practice of being constantly aware of one's existence or being in every moment. It is a state of consciousness that involves the recognition and awareness of one's intrinsic or true Self. Here are two simple yet powerful Self-Remembering processes to be in the state of I AM.
Repeat the mantra "I AM" silently to oneself. This can be done anywhere, at any time, and for any length of time. As you repeat the mantra, focus on the feeling of "I AMness" that arises. Do this consciously and intently. You want it to be something other than mechanical and automatic. When you consciously repeat "I AM" over a period of time, you will begin to feel the sensation of "I AM" in certain parts of your body, such as the Dan Tien (just below the navel), your heart center, or your head. Encourage it to expand throughout your energy field.
Breath, I AM. As you slowly breathe in and up, say to yourself, "I." At the top of your breath, briefly hold and feel the sensation of I AM above your head. As you slowly release your breath, say, "AM." Open, allow, and feel the sensation of I AM move down into your mental, emotional, and physical bodies. Do this process often for as long as you are comfortable doing so. It is a powerful process that raises your level of being and greatly enhances the sense of I AM.
Enjoy these processes. The more you do the processes, the more quickly you sense I AM's presence. It is not uncommon to have increased intuition, enhanced dreams, and/or out-of-body experiences when tapping into I AM.
Questions or Comments?
You Can Blame Your Karma But You Can’t Be Free Of It
Kalyn Raphael
Karma! One of my favorite topics!
Something bad happen to you? It’s your karma.
Something happend again? It’s your karma.
Bad luck?
Never catch a break?
Does the bus always leave — just as you are getting to the station?
Yeap, it’s your karma.
Your Karma Is Always At It
Whether it is in love, work or any other part of your life, your karma is always at play. Like the Capitan of a ship steering you in the right or wrong direction, your karma attracts things into you life, the good and the bad, but generally the really bad!
“You can keep modifying the outer environment, but nothing will work because you haven’t figured out how to change your karma.” Sadhguru
Sadhguru says that karma is action and that-
“That action is on three levels, body, mind and energy, but it doesn’t have to do with physical deeds.”
What this means is that the energy you choose and use, whether it be in your thoughts, actions, heart or energy, will either create karmic energy or a higher vibrating energy for you.
It’s all about your intent. You can steal candy from a child or give a child a treat and these can deceptively activate your karma.
You may think that stealing is always wrong. However, a diabetic child, who you stealthily steal a candy from, will do better without the candy, replaced by love and attention from you. With an intent to help the child, you activate a higher-vibrating energy and benefit you both.
On the other hand, being generous with a child may seem right every time. But if your intent is to manipulate the child to get them to stop having a tantrum that is driving you crazy or if you are trying to get them to do something you want them to do, then a seemingly-benevolent act can quickly become one of a trickster, which adds to your karma. It is detrimental to you both.
It’s true. Our karma attracts things into our lives — not because we did something evil or bad in the past, but because this energy is active in us and actively attracting experiences to us all of the time.
Our own personal energy trumps everything else, including the Law of Attraction. This is why LOA works differently for you than it does for anyone else.
The Law of Self, on the other hand, is all about you and your energy. It says that you must know yourself first, a common first causality in many spiritual schools. This is because you are energy. As Sadhguru says in his book, Karma, it is why you are here in the sense that, if you had no karma, you could not be alive.
Karma is a part of the game of life that enables you to play. Thus, it is also the purpose of life, to refine your karma, because you cannot get rid of it or cure it. After all, it is an energy and we know that energies cannot be destroyed, but they can raise or lower in frequency.
As it was taught to me, karma is a lack of love. To me, both Sadhguru’s definition and the one I was taught are pretty much the same. You either take actions of love in mind, deed, heart and soul or a lack of love. The former produces higher-vibrating energies. The latter produces more karma.
Regardless of how you think of karma, it calls for your attention. It screams. And, when it cannot be heard, it turns into a monster in your life casting destruction everywhere you go.
Or if you understand karma, simply an energy that is unique to each one of us and one that you need to refine, then you empower yourself to do so. You empower yourself to change what you attract, how and why you attract it.
The only way to attract in life is effortlessly. Your karma does this all of the time.
To shift your karma so that you are, instead, experiencing dharma, you must refine your karmatic frequency. Doing so means that things start to work out. The bus seems to wait for you before leaving the stop and everywhere you go people are nice to you, cut you a break and act like a friend.
Anything You Don’t Like In Life
Yeap, if there is anything you don’t like in your life and you are ready to change it, then it’s time to refine your karma.
How?
Meditate and take more loving actions and thoughts.
Or effortlessly raise your frequency by flowing your energy. Flowing your energy is an enjoyable process. You don’t have to know what karma is or how you activated your karmatic energy to attract a terrible circumstance in order to flow it.
You just have to choose to flow your energy and then let it all go.
About Me:
For 20 years one of my favorite things has been helping people raise their frequency to be energetically bigger and live their dreams as a teacher & author (under KB Raphael)
Flowing your energy with me on Wednesdays~https://flowing.zone/coaching-session/
Check out my books https://www.amazon.com/KB-Raphael/e/B01N10BC40?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2&qid=1658268645&sr=8-2
Hi Pamela,
Great to connect with you again!
Kris
Yes, and the I Am transcends karma, so it doesnt manifest either in the outside life or inner life and to be kept under kontrol to be healed and released . But , with the help of my karma , i became who I Am today, holly mamma :)