Tag: Awareness

Giving Myself Carte Blanche


What does it mean to give oneself carte blanche without becoming irresponsible? In this reflective piece, I explore a deeply personal decision: to spend most of the day in deliberate solitude. Not as withdrawal. Not as rebellion. But as a conscious turning inward.

Rooted in the wisdom of Nisargadatta Maharaj, this practice centers on abiding in the simple yet profound sense of “I am.” Beyond roles, beyond relationships, beyond achievements—what remains when one rests in bare awareness?

This inward freedom does not violate the moral boundary articulated by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.: “The right to swing my fist ends where the other man’s nose begins.” Instead, it is an experiment in inner sovereignty—an attempt to discover whether sustained attention to the “I am” can transform not only solitude, but relationship, responsibility, and presence itself.

Is solitude an escape, or the highest form of engagement with truth?

Resting in the Source: The Moment Desire Loses Its Grip & Stepping Out of the Mind’s Imagination


In dialogue we explored how desire, thought, and action arise from the mind’s restless search for fulfillment. But the moment thought stops—even briefly—what remains is an empty, formless, peaceful stillness. This stillness is not achieved; it is uncovered when the mind’s commentary falls silent. Instead of analysing who thinks, who desires, or who awakens, the simplest instruction is also the most direct: summa iru—just be quiet. All disturbance is imagination. Stepping out of that imagination reveals the Source that was never touched by it.

The Empty Mind – J. Krishnamurti


In this profound Saanen talk, J. Krishnamurti explores the nature of intelligence born of insight — an awareness that acts instantly and without conflict. He questions the conditioning that makes human beings seek satisfaction through conformity, ideology, or authority, and urges the listener to sustain a “flame of discontent” that leads to true understanding. When all patterns of comparison, imitation, and suppression are dropped, the mind becomes empty — not void, but free and alive. In that emptiness lies insight, and from that insight, spontaneous, unmotivated action arises — pure, immediate, and transformative.

Walking the Middle Path: A Daily Guiding Note for Peace


At 75+, with a fulfilled life behind me and a peaceful present, I was advised by my relative Sam, a student of Advaita, to forget the world, ignore mind and heart, and simply live in awareness. Instead of renouncing life entirely, I now follow a middle path. Each day I care for my body, enjoy family and friends lightly, and watch desires without clinging. Morning quietude, small acts of kindness, and evening reflection keep me steady. Life’s forms may rise and fall like pots of clay, but peace rests in the awareness that is never broken.

The Simple Truth of Advaita


Advaita Vedānta insists that Truth is not complex but startlingly simple. It is not an achievement to be won, but the ever-present awareness in which body, mind, and world appear. Yet we miss it: the weak intellect assumes it is too difficult and looks away; the strong intellect insists it cannot be so simple and keeps objectifying it. Like mistaking a rope for a snake, our confusion persists until the obvious shines forth—I am that awareness itself. The simplicity is disarming only because it was never hidden.

Intelligence Over Materialism: A Path to Contentment


The journey toward inner simplicity is crucial, as true freedom comes from awareness rather than the mere absence of possessions. Outer simplicity may provide some freedom, but it doesn’t guarantee inner peace. An intelligent understanding of one’s relationship with possessions fosters true contentment and societal cooperation without the need for external validation or authority.