You are not what you think

Thought is image. Can an image feel? Can it see, hear, touch, taste, or smell? Can it be aware?

Have you ever noticed that the person you take yourself to be—the one you believed you knew your entire life,

...the one so special to you, the one you're at times proud of and other times frustrated with,

...the one who, in quiet moments, fears disappearing, who desperately yearns for validation or success, for the comfort of being seen, acknowledged, understood, and loved,

...the one at the center of all your hopes and fears...

...is, in fact, entirely made up of images, thoughts, and memories, none of which are truly alive, here and now?

So, if it is not an image itself, a memory, a concept, what is it that is here and now, reading these words, breathing this air, thinking these thoughts?

What is it that is aware of all images, sensations, and thoughts in this present moment?

What remains once all images are discarded?

Is that even an entity, in any way distinct from the forms and feelings you are perceiving right now? Once all names and distinctions have been dropped, is it not the same life, shining unconditionally in all things, within and without?

Notice how awareness, like a mirror, reflects every appearance but is never affected by them. Its light is constant, unbroken by the fleeting clouds of thoughts and sensations.

IMF - La Cathédrale Verte - 3rd of october 2024