An infant is born conscious, aware and experiencing, but does not have a Sense of Self. Without a Sense of Self the infant can only experience pure consciousness. Obviously consciousness does not require the presence of the Sense of Self to exist, however the Sense of Self can only exist in consciousness.
In pure consciousness, the infants original state, there is no “me” or “you”, no inner world, no outer world. This spiritually significant state has been known about for millennia – Patanjali wrote about it 2000 years ago and even then it would have been old knowledge (see Extras). He called it “stilling the mind”.
This Brief Guide concerns recreating the original state of pure consciousness in an adult mind and body. Brief exposures to pure consciousness, even for a few seconds or a couple of minutes will have a cumulative effect. Over time this will lead to developing inner peace and happiness (see Spiritual enquiry exercise).
A lot of boings!
The method of spiritual enquiry described in this brief guide is defined as the art of experiencing pure consciousness by pausing the Sense of Self.
I can’t experience pure consciousness, and you can’t experience pure consciousness, it’s only when the Sense of Self is paused that pure conscious remains. It’s beyond words, understanding, knowledge, intellect, intuition, concepts and beliefs. Most spiritual teachings and practices, however, involve developing our knowledge, understanding, concepts, intuition and beliefs: they actively strengthen the Sense of Self.
For millennia the purest form of spirituality has been to “still the mind”. Spiritual enquiry frees us from all the stuff that endlessly bounces around inside our heads. All the best stuff happens in our absence!
By practicing the spiritual enquiry exercise it is possible to effortlessly pause the Sense of Self during our normal daily activities (but see the disclaimer). Pure consciousness is not only a wonderful, uplifting spiritual high: it has a cumulative effect that can be felt as an organic sense of inner peace and happiness, which is quite a bonus!
Spiritual enquiry
Stumbling into it
Some extras
Disclaimer