The brilliant clarity of Self-Knowledge

There is this idea in the mind that Enlightenment must come from some profound insight. And the idea is that this perfect Knowledge must be rare and only obtainable by worthy individuals. But this idea is flawed. It is a facet of the human psyche.

This idea of divine revelation. Waiting for an external influence; some gift, some final insight. Even though there is a moment of insight involved, deep and profound, the idea that it is some Holy Grail, some special secret knowledge, something not yet found, that itself keeps the Insight from occurring. This idea directs attention away from the knowledge that actually leads to Realization.

Because the knowledge that forms the basis of the insight is not rare. Self-Knowledge is not rare. Whatever is rare is not universal or fundamental.

Selfknowledge is simply the knowledge of your own existence.

In words it can be expressed as the sense that, "I am."

This knowledge of being is not a thought in the mind. It is the very basis, the kernel, the seed for any and all minds to form.

This most common and universally available knowledge is the Holy Grail.

Hiding in plain sight.

The divine revelation is not the attainment of some rare and secret knowledge. It is nothing arcane and spiritual. It was already made available at the beginning.

With this birth. This knowledge appearing was the birth. And Realization is simply seeing the true import, the deepest meaning, of this most ordinary and common knowledge.

The sense that I am.

Just focus your energies on understanding what this truly means. What does this Self-Knowledge say about Reality. What does it reveal about your true identity? Your true nature?

When the meaning of 'I Am' is understood it doesn't just refer to existence.

It transcends existence and inexistence, being and non-being, self and others.

You already know that this world is entirely subjective. What do you expect to glean from it and the experiences it gives you? All the thoughts you can have, or knowledge you can obtain, are again limited by this world and the capacity of this mind and body.

And how can Reality be known by splitting apart atoms, or trying to comprehend the meaning of equations, or even by analyzing some rapturous peak experience? All those avenues of inquiry are dead ends when it comes to reaching the Absolute - the core of Reality.

This knowledge that I am is like no other knowledge. It is an unassailable fact.

You are.

Only because you are do you know this mind, body, and world. Because you are aware. Because you are present.

Nothing can disprove this.

Every experience proves this and depends upon the fact that you are. And if there is no experience, its absence does not prove that you are not. It only means that the knowledge that you are, the Self-Knowledge, comes and goes. But that does not say anything about whether you come and go.

I Am is not a thought in the mind.

I Am is a signpost to what is real.

I Am is not a belief in the mind.

I Am is the knowledge of being alive. Aware. Real.

The kernel of life and consciousness around which the mind forms. I Am is not perceived in or with the mind. This knowledge is known directly, without the aid of the senses, or thoughts, or memory. This is known through your most inseparable quality.

I Am is the Self-Knowledge of being aware. The universal mark of Sentience.

I Am is the announcement of your true identity. Of your self-luminous nature.

You do not depend on the body, or mind, or world, to know this knowledge. You know it because of what you are. Because of your own true quality of being aware.

I Am reveals your true place in Nature as the Heart of Reality.

The pure, infinite, indivisible Space of Subjectivity itself.

This knowledge that I Am is the signature of life and consciousness, and points all the way back to the Absolute. Bring it from being the background of the mind to the foreground, and keep it there.

In this most ordinary and common knowledge is the fulfillment of the Heart's search.

There is no greater contentment to be found, and no greater love to be shared.

Just stay with this.

The Awareness of being aware, the knowledge of just Being, is Bliss.