This practice from Ram Dass helps us move our identification from the mind and the senses to identify with pure awareness [emptiness, God, Self, the Divine, Higher Power, or any other term that, for you, refers to the ultimate reality]. We can do it as beginners or as advanced practitioners. First, remove potential distractions and sit comfortably. Take a few deep breaths in and out. As you breathe, practice moving your attention into your belly as it rises and falls. Notice that as you do this your mind grows quieter. Now you can begin:
1. Breathe into your belly and bring your awareness to your eyes, silently saying, “I am not the eyes and what they see. I am loving awareness.”
2. Bring your awareness to your ears, silently saying, “I am not the ears and what they hear. I am loving awareness.”
3. Bring your awareness to your mouth, silently saying, “I am not this mouth and what it tastes. I am loving awareness.”
4. Bring your awareness to your heart center. Pause, breathing in and out of your heart center, resting in pure awareness.
5. If you wish, you can continue downward through the body, including other parts. When you are done, bring your awareness to the totality of your body, silently saying, “I am not this body. I am loving awareness.”
As Ram Dass put it, “Only this moment is real, this moment of loving awareness. The past and the future are all just thoughts.”
Repeat the above practice, this time substituting each feeling that arises, disidentifying with those feelings and identifying with loving awareness. Practice saying, “I am not this hurt. I am loving awareness. I am not this regret. I am loving awareness. I am not this anger. I am loving awareness.”
Repeat again, this time substituting each thought that arises, disidentifying with those thoughts and identifying with loving awareness. Practice saying, “I am not this thought. I am loving awareness. I am not that sound. I am loving awareness. I am not that image in my mind’s eye. I am loving awareness.”
Bring your attention to loving awareness and identify with it, again, again, again.
If you don’t feel drawn to the term loving awareness, you can substitute pure awareness, Spirit, Higher Self, soul, or whatever term resonates with you. Or simply say, “I am not X. I am that which lives and breathes through everything.”
— Ram Dass, Connie Zweig in The Inner Work of Age by Connie Zweig