A Contemplative Practice of Self-Inquiry
Mark guides us through a deep letting go process called The 12 attachments practice where we can start to detach from the identification with the parts of ourselves and our environments that we think are who we are. Yet, we are much deeper beings than just the physical persona that stares back from the mirror. That is of course a reflection of who we really are.
The practice moves through 12 levels of attachment.
Part One: Awakening the Witness
So now, join us for “The 12 Attachments Practice,” a sacred pilgrimage of non-attachment that guides you home to the heart of existence. This is more than a meditation; it is a profound, soul-cleansing inquiry—a romantic union with the unchangeable, infinite consciousness that whispers the truth of your divine identity. Prepare to dissolve the veils and remember the boundless, eternal Self that has always been waiting. Before we begin our inquiry, let us establish a foundation of awareness.
Awakening the Witness
- Before the first word is whispered, before the stone of thought is tossed, there is only the quiet certainty of your own ‘I am.’
- Step into the light of this presence, establishing the foundation of awareness that is undeniable.
Notice that you are here, now. There is a sense of presence, an awareness of being. This is undeniable. Before any thought arises, before any sensation appears, there is awareness itself.
Rest in this simple knowing: I am.
Not “I am this” or “I am that”—simply the bare awareness of existence.
Pause for 30 seconds of silence
This awareness—this witness consciousness—is what we will work with today. It is the light by which all experiences are known.
Part Two: I Am Not This Body
Now, bring your attention to your body.
I Am Not This Body
- The body is the precious boat you sail, an instrument of earth, but you are not the vessel, you are the deep, unchanging Awareness.
- You are the one who feels and observes the warmth and the coolness, while remaining untouched by its changes. [04:01]
Notice the sensations: perhaps warmth or coolness, pressure where your body touches the chair or cushion, tingling in your hands, the rhythm of your breath.
These sensations arise in your awareness. You can feel them. You can observe them.
Now, recognize this truth:
I have a body, but I am not my body.
Repeat silently:
I am not this body.
The body is something you observe. It is seen, felt, experienced—but you are the one who sees, who feels, who experiences. The Seer cannot be the seen.
My body may be tired or energized, sick or healthy, young or old, but these changes do not touch the unchanging awareness that witnesses them.
When I was a child, this body was small. When I am old, this body will change again. Yet throughout all these transformations, something remains constant—the awareness that knows “I am.”
I Am Not the Body, I Am Not the Mind
The body is not who I am. It is an instrument, a vehicle, but not my essential nature.
Notice: Can you sense the difference between the body you observe and the awareness that is observing? There is a space between them. Rest in that space.
Pause for 45 seconds of silence
Part Three: I Am Not These Sensations
Bring your attention now to physical sensations—any tension, comfort, itching, warmth, coolness, or pain.
I Am Not These Sensations
- Let the sting of tension and the balm of comfort be like waves—you are not the rising, nor the crash, but the deep, imperturbable ocean floor.
- Observe them as passing breezes that only appear within your boundless presence. [06:54]
Notice how these sensations arise and pass away. They come and go like waves on the ocean.
I have sensations, but I am not my sensations.
Repeat silently:
I am not these sensations.
If I can observe this sensation, then I am not the sensation itself. The observer is separate from the observed.
Whether there is pleasure or pain, comfort or discomfort, these are experiences that appear in awareness—but they are not the awareness itself.
Neti neti—not this, not this.
These passing waves of sensation do not define me. They arise in the vast ocean of my being, but they are not who I am.
Pause for 30 seconds of silence
Part Four: I Am Not These Emotions
Now turn your attention inward to your emotional state.
Perhaps there is calmness, or perhaps restlessness. Maybe contentment, or anxiety. Maybe joy, or sadness. Whatever is present—simply notice it.
I Am Not These Emotions
- You are not the sudden storm of fear, nor the burst of joy, but the vast, unwavering sky in which all weather moves.
- Like guests passing through a familiar house, let them enter and exit without claiming the host. [10:03]
I have emotions, but I am not my emotions.
Repeat silently:
I am not these emotions.
Emotions are energy moving through the body-mind. They are like weather patterns—sometimes stormy, sometimes calm, but always changing. You are not the weather; you are the sky in which the weather appears.
If there is fear, you can observe it. If there is joy, you can feel it. But the observer is not the observed. The feeler is not the feeling.
Emotions come and go, floating through awareness like clouds across the sky, but they do not affect the inward I, the eternal Witness.
Neti neti—not this, not this.
Let emotions be present without identifying with them. They are guests passing through, not the host.
Pause for 45 seconds of silence
Part Five: I Am Not These Thoughts
Now, become aware of thinking itself.
Notice the voice in your head—commenting, planning, remembering, judging. Notice how thoughts arise spontaneously, without your conscious effort.
I Am Not These Thoughts
- The ceaseless current of the mind—the planning, the judging, the endless voice—is but a stream you stand beside.
- To watch a thought is to be set free from it; the observer is never the thing observed. [12:23]
I have thoughts, but I am not my thoughts.
Repeat silently:
I am not these thoughts.
Thoughts are objects that appear in the field of awareness. If you can watch a thought, then you cannot be that thought. The thinker is separate from the thought.
Right now, notice: there is a thought… and here I am, observing it.
This very recognition creates a gap, a space of freedom. In that space, you discover what the great sage Ramana Maharshi pointed to: the thought “I” is not the true I.
All thoughts—even the thought “I am thinking”—arise for someone. To whom do these thoughts arise? To me. But who is this “me”?
Neti neti—not this, not this.
I am not the stream of thinking. I am the awareness in which thoughts appear and disappear.
When you were in deep sleep last night, there were no thoughts—yet you still existed. Upon waking, you knew “I slept well” or “I slept poorly.” The awareness of even the absence of thoughts reveals that you are not thoughts themselves.
Pause for 45 seconds of silence
Part Six: I Am Not This Mind
Going deeper now in the The 12 attachments practice, recognize that the entire mind—this collection of thoughts, memories, beliefs, opinions, and mental patterns—is something you observe.
I Am Not This Mind
- The mind is a beautiful, intricate tool—a map for navigating the world—but the traveler is not the map, nor is the user the instrument.
- Even when the instrument grows silent in deep sleep, still you remain; the one who will always remain. [15:46]
I have a mind, but I am not my mind.
Repeat silently:
I am not this mind.
The mind is a wonderful instrument when used rightly. It solves problems, creates, plans, and remembers. But the instrument is not the user of the instrument.
Your mind may be clear or confused, focused or scattered, but that has nothing to do with your inward I, the Witness. The mind comes and goes—it is active during waking, it dreams during sleep, it disappears entirely in deep sleep—yet you remain.
As Ramana Maharshi taught: “The mind is only a bundle of thoughts. And the thought ‘I’ is the root of all thoughts. Find out where this ‘I’ thought arises, and the mind will dissolve.”
Neti neti—not this, not this.
The mind is not who I am. Behind the mind, prior to the mind, there is pure awareness.
Pause for 60 seconds of silence
Part Seven: I Am Not This Personality
Consider now your personality—the collection of traits, preferences, habits, and characteristics that seem to define you.
Perhaps you think of yourself as introverted or extroverted, confident or shy, creative or logical, kind or impatient.
I Am Not This Personality
- The personality is the beloved mask, carefully crafted over years for the stage of the world, changing with every act and season.
- It is a useful construct, but beyond it rests the eternal awareness that witnesses the character’s every turn. [17:36]
I have a personality, but I am not my personality.
Repeat silently:
I am not this personality.
Personality is a construct, a pattern that has formed over time through conditioning, experience, and habit. It is useful for navigating the world, but it is not your essential nature.
Your personality has changed throughout your life. You are not the same person you were at age five, fifteen, or twenty-five. Yet something remains unchanging—the awareness that witnesses all these changes.
Neti neti—not this, not this.
This constructed self, this character I play in the world, is not who I truly am.
Pause for 30 seconds of silence
Part Eight: I Am Not My Roles
Now consider the roles you play: perhaps parent, child, partner, friend, professional, citizen.
These are important functions, but they are not your identity.
I Am Not My Roles
- Parent, partner, professional: these are the necessary, cherished costumes of the day—the parts we play.
- But you are the actor, the pure consciousness that animates the role, defined not by what you do, but by the Presence you are. [19:56]
I have roles, but I am not my roles.
Repeat silently:
I am not these roles.
As Ramana Maharshi said: “If you think you are a householder, that thought will haunt you. If you become a renunciate, the thought ‘I am a renunciate’ will haunt you. The ego creates these identities.”
Roles are masks we wear, parts we play on the stage of life. But the actor is not the character. The consciousness that animates all these roles is beyond any single role.
Neti neti—not this, not this.
I am not defined by what I do or the relationships I have. I am the aware presence that experiences all of this.
Pause for 30 seconds of silence
Part Nine: I Am Not My Story
Consider now your personal history—your memories, your story of who you’ve been and what you’ve done.
All of these memories exist in the mind, in the past. But you exist here, now.
I Am Not My Story
- Your story is a collection of fading thoughts and memories, kind because it is already over, a history that exists only as memory in the mind.
- You are the eternal Now, the unchanging presence that holds the past, but is not held by it. [21:30]
I have a history, but I am not my history.
Repeat silently:
I am not my story.
The past is gone. It exists only as memory, as thought. The future has not yet come. It exists only as imagination, as thought.
Your story—everything you remember about your life—is a collection of thoughts appearing in present awareness. The stories change as memory shifts, but the awareness remains constant.
You are not your biography. You are not your successes or failures, your triumphs or traumas. These are experiences that have passed through awareness, but they are not awareness itself.
Neti neti—not this, not this.
I am not my past. I am not my future. I am the eternal now, the unchanging presence.
Pause for 45 seconds of silence
Part Ten: The Great Inquiry—Who Am I?
Now that we have negated what we are not, we arrive at the heart of the practice.
If I am not the body… If I am not the sensations… If I am not the emotions… If I am not the thoughts… If I am not the mind… If I am not the personality… If I am not the roles… If I am not the story…
The Great Inquiry: Who Am I
- When all the false garments have been lovingly removed—the body, the mind, the story—only the sacred silence is left.
- Rest in the question itself; do not seek a concept, but fathom the source from which the ‘I’ arises. [23:44]
Then who am I?
Don’t try to answer this with the mind. Don’t create a concept or form an idea. Instead, rest in the question itself.
Who am I?
Turn your attention inward. Where does this sense of “I” come from? Can you find its source?
Look for the “I” thought—the root of all other thoughts. Where does it arise? When you search for it, what do you find?
Pause for 90 seconds of silence
Part Eleven: I Am—The Self Reveals Itself
As you rest in this inquiry, notice what remains when everything false has been stripped away.
There is awareness. There is presence. There is being. There is existence itself.
This is not something you can grasp with the mind. It is what you are, prior to all concepts.
I am pure consciousness.
I am the eternal Witness.
I am the Self—unchanging, unborn, undying.
The Self Reveals Itself
- Beyond the stripping away, the Self stands unbound: pure consciousness, unborn, undying.
- You are the boundless ocean, not the single wave; the silent screen, not the fleeting movie. [27:34]
This Self is not separate from the divine Ground of all existence. As the Upanishads declare: Tat tvam asi—That thou art. The infinite consciousness that pervades all things is your own true nature.
You are not a limited as the The 12 attachments practice will teach you, you’re not just a separate individual struggling through life. You are the infinite awareness in which all experiences arise and dissolve—including the experience of being a body-mind.
This body appears in you, the awareness. This mind appears in you, the awareness. This entire world appears in you, the awareness.
You are the ocean, not the wave. You are the screen, not the movie. You are the space, not the objects in space.
Rest here, in your true nature—boundless, free, complete, at peace.
Part Twelve: Returning with Recognition
As we prepare to close this meditation, recognize that this awareness you have touched is always present.
You cannot lose it because you cannot be separate from what you are.
The Return
- This deep awareness, once touched, is never truly lost; you carry the eternal witness with you as you return to the world.
- This is the living investigation, the continual returning to the Source—the greatest service you can ever render. [30:21]
Throughout your day, you may again identify with the body, with thoughts, with emotions, with your story. This is natural. The habit of identification is strong.
But now you have tasted something deeper. You have witnessed the Witness.
Carry this recognition with you: I am not the body. I am not the mind. I am the eternal Self, the pure consciousness in which all experiences arise.
When you feel lost in thoughts, ask: To whom does this thought arise?
When you feel overwhelmed by emotions, ask: Who is aware of this emotion?
When you identify with your story, remember: I am not this story. I am the awareness in which the story appears.
This practice of self-inquiry is not a one-time event. It is a living investigation, a continual returning to the source.
As Ramana Maharshi taught: “The greatest service you can render the world is your own Self-realization.”
Closing
Take a deep breath in… and exhale slowly.
Bring gentle movement back to your body—perhaps wiggling your fingers and toes.
When you are ready, open your eyes, returning to this room, to this moment.
But carry with you the recognition of what you truly are:
Not the body. Not the mind. But the eternal Self—pure awareness, pure presence, pure being.
I am.
The journey of return is never truly over through the 12 attachments practice, for the Self you have tasted is the ground of all being, always present, always calling. As you gently return to the world of form, carry this light—the unshakable knowing that you are the ocean, not the wave; the eternal screen, not the passing movie. May this profound realization be the silent, loving current guiding your every step, a constant echo of “I Am” and the peace that passes all understanding.
Om Shanti, Shalom and many blessings to you
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