Today, we begin reading from The Teachings of Inner Ramana. A primary focus in The Teachings of Inner Ramana is letting go of mental chatter. When one lets go of mental chatter, she completes the sixth step of the seven steps to awakening. The sixth step is:
Letting go of perception, which is letting go of thought as me.
Note: For a thorough review of all seven steps, see Day 284.
When one lets go of perception, one awakens to true perception. With true perception, the body’s eyes still see what everyone else’s eyes see, but clarity knows that what it looks on is consciousness.
Today’s reading says:
Mind cannot be ignored entirely.
In this context, “mind” does not refer to mental chatter. Mind refers to the brain’s ability to interpret.
On Day 22, we learned about the connection between the brain’s ability to interpret and our ability to see objects. Here is a quote that we contemplated that day:
“Vision consists of your eyes detecting light and converting it to electro-chemical impulses in neurons which are then given meaning by your brain. Hence, the real ‘seeing’ occurs in the brain with the interpretation of the impulses. ~ Debbie Hampton, author of Beat Depression and Anxiety by Changing your Brain
In order to live as a human in a world, even within the experience of true perception, some mental interpretation is necessary.
However, mental interpretation is not knowledge. As today’s reading says, knowledge is “beyond the mind.” In other words, when one has the experience of human, but knows that he is life-awareness, he has knowledge. When one has the experience of human and believes he is a human, he is deluded.
The Teachings of Inner Ramana begins by giving us two tools. These tools enable us to live as humans while totally ignoring mental chatter. The two tools are:
Mantra
Surrender
We have looked at both the mantra and surrender as taught in The Teachings of Inner Ramana since Gentle Healing Year 1. However, now we will start to use these tools in our daily life with great emphasis.
The mantra is “I Am That I Am.” We were introduced to this mantra through the Thoughts of Awakening on Day 230. Here is that Thought of Awakening again:
“I am that I am”
is open.
It is as open as the sky.
It has no end.
It continues forever.
This is the best idea of you.
This is the truth
without definition.
Do not put thought to this idea.
Merely let it be thought,
repeated,
by the mind.
And after it is thought,
rest the mind without thinking,
and then let this thought
be thought again.
~From our Holy Spirit
The Thought of Awakening on Day 231 also referred to the mantra:
I have asked you
to rest the mind.
This is not a little request.
To rest the mind frequently
will bring the most insight.
To rest it little
will bring the least.
The mantra
“I am that I am”
is a gift of awakening.
Cherish it as a gift,
and you give love
to your reality.
~From our Holy Spirit
Today, begin to practice the mantra as regularly as you can. Realize that the purpose of the mantra is to help you ignore mental chatter and rest in silence.
You will learn about surrender in the next two days. Today, focus on replacing the habit of listening to mental chatter with a new habit—the habit of practicing the mantra.
Note: The next tip will be available tomorrow morning after 3:50am ET at this link.
