An Exercise in Noticing Awareness

This is one way to learn to observe and to make some contact with awareness.

1. Sit quietly and relax your body.  Look around and observe your environment.  Focus on the visual aspects.  See it as clearly and as vividly as possible.  Take a few moments to do this.  Now close your eyes and breathe in slowly.  As you inhale recall this vivid visual awareness.  Then exhale and as you do, ask yourself, who is aware?  You do not need an answer, just notice that there is an awareness of the question.
2. With your eyes still closed, become aware of what you hear.  Listen to the sounds around you.  Be aware of the silence.  Now take a deep breath, and as you exhale slowly, ask yourself, who is aware?
3. Still with your eyes closed, imagine that you are drawing a green triangle on a blackboard.  Look at the triangle.  Be aware of it.  Take a deep breath, and as you exhale, ask yourself, who is aware? Again the focus is not on soliciting an answer (as in I am aware etc) but rather just notice that there is an awareness of the triangle.
4. Now let the triangle fade away and breathing slowly stay with the awareness of being aware.  Really experience being aware.  Try to get as clear a sense as possible of this experience but without forcing it.  Just gently allow the sense to come into being.
5. Now try to get as clear a sense as possible for what it is like to be this awareness…  Try to become aware of its stability, its permanency.  You will find that while all else changes, it remains. It is available always, as a source of stability and of clear perception in the midst of change.
6. With this awareness in mind, turn your attention to your body.  Your body changes.  Possibly, the sensations of your body are different now from a few moments ago.  But the awareness of the body did not change.
7. Do the same for your feelings.  Notice how they change from moment to moment.  But the awareness of the feelings does not.
8. It is the same with your thoughts.  Notice that they change from moment to moment.  Yet awareness of them remains constant.
9. Try focusing on thoughts, emotion, and the body at once.  You will notice that there is always awareness there.
10. As you go about your daily routine, try bringing your attention back to noticing that awareness.

The aim is to simply notice, nothing more and nothing less.