Self-Inquiry Meditation

Turning your light inward and embarking on the path of self-inquiry is a simple but powerful method of meditation.
By Stephen Bodian ,

Step by Step

Step 1

To begin the practice of self-inquiry, sit for meditation as usual. If you don't already have a regular practice, just sit quietly and allow the mind to settle naturally. Don't attempt to focus your mind or manipulate your experience, just rest as awareness itself.

Step 2

After 10 or 15 minutes introduce the question "Who am I?" Drop the question into the stillness of your being like a pebble into a still forest pool. Let it send ripples through your meditation, but don't attempt to figure it out!

Step 3

When the pond is tranquil again, drop in another pebble and see what happens. Set aside any conceptual answers, such as "I am a child of God" or "I am consciousness" or "I am a spiritual being of light," and come back to the question. Though true at a certain level, these answers will not satisfy your hunger for spiritual sustenance.

Step 4

Instead of "Who am I?" you may prefer asking, "Who is thinking this thought? Who is seeing through these eyes right now?"

Step 5

For the practice of self-inquiry to work its magic, you must recognize at some level that the word I, though superficially referring to the body and mind, actually points to something much deeper.

Step 6

Let your inquiry be earnest but effortless, without tension or anxiety. Here's a hint: You definitely won't find the answer in the file folders of spiritual beliefs you've amassed over the years, so look elsewhere, in your actual, present experience.

Step 7

Eventually, the question "Who am I?" reveals the answer, not as a thought or a particular experience but as a vibrant, timeless presence that underlies and infuses every experience.

Pose Information

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