Tuesday, September 16, 2025
“It is hard to clear 5-10 minutes in my schedule
for sitting in silence and solitude.”
Read mindfully the above sentence to realize how silly it sounds. Do you chat on the telephone, surf the internet, watch television? How long do you spend on any one of these passive diversions? Then, why does 5-10 minutes of quiet sitting feel like a waste of time when you know it’s benefits?
Sitting quietly provides time to settle the sediments of your mind (thoughts, feelings, sensations and images) and become aware that something in you is aware of all that and watching you being aware of them. Something behind all those sediments. Reflect on this for a few minutes.
That reflection makes you realize that behind your experience (thoughts, feelings, sensations), behind the masks you wear something is constantly watching you. It watches you when you walk, talk or just be. But you don’t know it because your experiences veil it.
Your Authentic Self communicates in stillness and silence. Its language is beyond thought, sensations or feelings. It is your pure awareness or consciousness, veiled behind all your experiences. It shows itself when you ask yourself, “Who am I?” or “Who am I stripped of all my experiences, memories and relationships?” “Who am I when I am by myself unmasked and authentic?”
I asked such questions when I started on this spiritual journey. Trust me when I say you will learn to recognize the voice of your Authentic Self, the way you recognize the voices of your parents, your best friend, your children. Your AS is the awareness that makes you aware that you’re aware.
It is essential that you practice living in the present moment. When you are Here and Now your awareness is one with you. With practice you learn to bring the inner quietude right into the present moment. When you bask in self-recognition of your aware self you live with loving heart and trusting mind. When seeds of wisdom are sown; they are bound to sprout and blossom. External circumstances will not change; you will change.
Jenn Diamond
Thank you for sharing, Madhu! It’s incredible to realize this—“But you don’t know it because your experiences veil it.” All of our passive use of time strips our ability to be still. Thank you for teaching me how to tap into my AS. You’ve changed my experience with this life!
Madhu B. Wangu
Jenn, you have understood the essence of our Authentic Self, our inner witness well. This is what is called the divine within. Isn’t it great that you can tap into it regularly! After a few years of tutelage, we become our own teachers.