Resting as awareness

Peace, wisdom, and freedom are already within you. They can be realized by completely resting the mind. This is the essence of resting as awareness.

Resting as awareness is a profound yet simple practice that invites you to shift your attention from the constantly changing weather patterns of your thoughts and emotions to the vast, unchanging sky of awareness itself. It's a journey of returning to the natural ease of your being and experiencing the freedom that comes from letting go of the need to control or fix your experiences.

Understanding awareness

At the heart of this practice lies the understanding that awareness is the foundation of everything. It's that by which you know all things, including your own existence. Without awareness, there would be no experience, no perception, no knowing. Awareness is not something you need to create or acquire. It's already present, right now, as the very ground of your being.

The practice of resting

Resting as awareness involves a gentle letting go – a relinquishing of the deeply ingrained habits of analyzing, judging, and manipulating your experiences. It's about allowing thoughts, emotions, and sensations to arise and pass away naturally, like clouds moving across the sky, without getting caught up in their content. Resting as awareness is the ultimate practice that requires no doer and nothing to do.

This doesn't mean becoming passive or indifferent to life. Instead, it's about accessing a deeper level of wisdom and clarity that emerges when you're no longer entangled in the drama of your thoughts and emotions.

Cultivation rest

Resting as awareness is a practice, a skill cultivated through repeated, mindful effort. In the beginning, you might find it helpful to consciously choose to rest for short moments throughout the day. Notice the space of awareness that's always present, even amidst the busyness of your mind. With consistent practice, resting as awareness becomes more spontaneous and effortless, integrating itself seamlessly into the fabric of your life.

The fruits of rest

As you become more familiar with the practice of resting as awareness, you begin to experience its transformative effects:

• Peace and Well-Being: By releasing the constant tension of resisting your experiences, you open to a natural state of peace and ease.

• Wisdom and Compassion: Seeing the true nature of reality, you develop a deeper understanding of yourself and others, leading to greater wisdom and compassion.

• Freedom: When you're no longer chained to your thoughts and emotions, you experience a newfound freedom – a lightness of being that allows you to navigate life with greater flexibility and grace.