What Remains When Thinking Stops? A Practical Exploration of Non-Conceptual Awareness

Relax more and more into the idea of being as you are.

I do not mean being as your thoughts say you are.

But as you are without thought.

You see, dearest, thought is a substitute for not knowing what you are. Thought in its nature is designed to continuously create commentary “about” the world and yourself. But thought can never sustain the greateness of your being.

Because your Being can only be felt when the stream of relentless thinking subsides.

It subsides once you become aware of the present moment in non-conceptual contemplation. What remains is your own presence that is the same presence shared in everything and everyone.

But what is non-conceptual contemplation?

You may already have experienced it but didn't know what it was.

It may have been the silent language of looking into the eyes of your loved one for a brief moment without any thought. Only a feeling of gratitude.

It may have been the awe shared when immersed in nature and breathtaking landscapes.

Or simply the speechless joy of tasting your favorite food. The kind that makes you close your eyes and dance on the chair while chewing.

It may even have been in the silent anticipation of a sound in the quiet room at night. Or the curious gaze upon a flower, without naming it in your mind, without any commentary on its scent or colors.

Those are the kind of moments that allow you to taste the serenity of your Being.

Where there is no thought but yet you still exist and feel more alive than any thought could say you are.

If you don't experience these moments too often then you can always create them by taking a few moments for yourself that are enjoyed in stillness.

Once you become more conscious of such moments, the Light of Awareness begins to expand more and more for such glimpses of your true Self to arise spontaneously, even in everyday life.

Amid the chaos of every situation or mind narrative about a situation, catch yourself thinking and return to the stillness of the present moment where your true Being is, without story.

From there on, you can enter e deeper dimension of presence, where your Being expands even further.

In these moments of non-conceptual contemplation you are fully present because your mind is no longer lost in thoughts or concepts about the present moment. But you are fully here, aware of the presence of the moment. In that awareness, take a step further and be aware that you are aware. It is like taking a step back, figuratively speaking, and observing yourself being aware.

Say you look at your phone without turning on the screen. Be aware of it without conceptualizing the experience. See it, scan it with your eyes, experience the sensation of holding it in your hand - again, without the inner commentary of the mind. You may sense the texture, the temperature, the different materials it is made of. You become aware of its color and shape. All the while you realize you do not need a thought about this object in order to perceive this object as it is.

Now, you are aware. Next, be aware that you are aware. Can you sense yourself being aware? It is a gentle, quiet presence, in the background of all that non-conceptual perceiving.

Meet your true Being, Here and most importantly Now.

Whatever it is that knows, experiences or is aware of your experience is what you essentially are. Most of the people are so focused on or involved with the content of experience, that is, images, feelings, sensations, perceptions, activities, states of mind - all stories, all appearances - that they have forgotten or overlooked themselves - the eternal, changeless presence of Self.

Non-conceptual contemplation immerses you in the presence of your being, which is one with the present moment, thus allowing the remembrance of your true self to flow with much more ease. In the Now, appearances are no longer your main focus, therefore the mind relieves itself from all the burdens of story-telling, of narrating every experience and you can have a taste of your natural beingness: without any boundaries, without any form, without any story attached to it, but as pure, fresh and constant peace. It awakens you to you. Presence knows itself one with you.