The purity of the background of being (Magdi 01-19-2023)

We'll start this meeting with a brief meditation, a guided meditation, so just sit comfortably and turn your attention inward and rest, allowing your experience whatever you perceive. Whatever is appearing, just let it be as it is. You don't need to do anything. Don't try to fix your experience or to solve any problems or improve how you feel. Just let it all be, just for now. Simply enjoy being because being is joyful, without concern about figuring anything out. Without being troubled by the past, allowing things to be as they are, your body, whichever way you're feeling right now. So, just notice that it's possible for the mind to rest, resting in presence. And how wonderful it is that you don't need to do anything in order to simply be like a newborn, a fresh moment, brand new. That has not yet been conditioned by thought and by time, by beliefs. That in this moment you don't need to be anyone or anything. You don't need to carry the past concerns about the future, no need to define yourself in any way whatsoever. There is freedom in not knowing what you are. you you without any identification you without any striving you notice the gentle movement of breath prana prana one of the many ways in which consciousness manifests you the warmth of the body maybe it's not too warm but you can feel it in any way you want. Whichever way the body is appearing to you as a sensation. It's hard to pin it down this sensation which is the sense of being you you sometimes i speak about the background of being we may wonder what what that is you this intuition that we have about being beyond the form being undefined by thoughts and feelings that deep intuition that we have that we are not made out of matter in this moment in every moment that we are the invisible presence that's aware you thoughts may appear images appear somehow we know deep down that we are not something which appears that we are not defined by perceptions we're not defined by that which we perceive you we have this deep yearning to be free and happy irrespective of any situation irrespective of any condition of any situation irrespective of any condition and although the mind may direct us to to various activities via which we will get there sometime in the future deep down we know that that we are that which we are looking for we are right now this causeless peace and happiness which is sometimes referred to as the background of being but these are just words because in reality there is no background and foreground such distinctions are conceptual in fact reality is one but we are so habituated to refer to ourselves as the body and the mind as persons as some limited beings we have created a distinction to create a division between our formless and borderless reality and the body-mind a conceptual separation you once we believe that we are body-mind a female or a male form you then we experience the sense of separation they were she's like we're like somebody who's in the ocean who does not know very well how to swim and struggling to keep their head above water and to make their way to shore you you you but it's not possible for you to ever leave your true self you it is not possible for you to be that which you are not you it's not possible for you to be anything but the self this aware presence although you may imagine yourself to be a person a man or a woman a mother or a father you you are this aware presence this more this aware presence in all states the waking state the sleep state the dreams deep sleep state you are that she's not a state you the ground of being the infinite background of awareness you which appears as your mind which appears as the world that you perceive you which appears as the avatar that you feel yourself to be like in your night dreams you perceive yourself as a character in your night dream when you perceive a variety of events in your night dream you none of which is separate from you you being the dreamer and whatever happens to the characters in your dream is your own creation it feels and seems so real yes but nothing whatsoever is happening to you you you you you there are no borders to awareness you there are borders to bodies and to minds but there are no borders to awareness you notice in your own experience don't believe any words that you are hearing check it out in your own experience that you are is this awareness is this presence and that this presence, this awareness has no borders no location no check it out because it is your understanding which matters you you