SELF REFLECTION EXERCISE

A SIMPLE EXERCISE IN SELF REFLECTION

Self-reflection helps you understand more about yourself. It builds confidence and equips you to approach life with a balanced mind. It encourages you to consider different options and discover new solutions.

The greatest benefit of self-reflection is clarity of mind, and clarity empowers you to make wiser decisions in your life.

Before going to bed, sit quietly with your back against a wall. Leaning against a wall creates a sense of safety. It allows you to feel grounded rather than on edge.
Now close your eyes and gently review your entire day.
Start from the moment you sat down and begin rewinding your memory, notice what did you do just before this? And before that? Continue tracing your steps backward, moment by moment, all the way to when you first woke up that morning.

Do this quickly and without judgment. Let the scenes pass like clouds, observed, but not held. Practice this nightly until it becomes natural for you.

Once this becomes easy, move to the next step, ‘ Negation.’
Negation is a powerful practice rooted in the ancient tradition of the East called Neti Neti. This is translated in Sanskrit as ‘ Not this, Not that’

This technique is a systematic process of self inquiry that helps practitioners to shed their false identities and realize their true nature.
The goal of this exercise is to guide the seeker to the ultimate reality by eliminating attachment to everything that is not the true self.
It works on deconstructing the ego, and helps one to move closer to the vast formless Absolute.

Negation is the practice of saying, “I am not that.”
To practice negation, sit quietly, notice your breathing, start observing yourself.
Observe your body, your thoughts, your mind, the emotions, professional labels and relationship status that your mind attaches to. Bring the different aspects of identity of yourself that your mind has, and mentally assert, “I am not this”
For example:
“I am not my body, I am not the one who is tired.
“I am not angry.”
“I am not sad.”
I am not my emotions.
I am not my mind.
I am not my roles or titles.

Truly these are not your essence, they are passing states that drain your energy. You are not these things. You are you. You are Presence. The observer. The sacred witness.

Repeat this process a few times until the tension begins to release from your body.
The greatest gift is to be yourself.
You are an extraordinary being of immense capability and creativity.
Removing the layers of all that is not you is a sacred act of remembering who you truly are.
Blessings!
Premlatha Rajkumar
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