Hi, welcome back to

your Daily Mindfulness.

In today's session, we're going to

talk about awareness as your refuge.

This is a line that I've heard from the

teacher, Ajahn Sumedho, and it's part of

a longer passage in one of his writings.

He says, "Awareness is your refuge."

awareness is your refuge.

Now, since you've been with us on

Mindfulness.com for some time, you're

aware of this idea of awareness that we're

touching into in our meditation practice.

It's the part of us that is able

to know what is happening without

being consumed by what is happening.

It's the part of you that is

aware that you're thinking without

being caught in your thoughts.

It's a part of you that sees, oh yeah, I'm

feeling this right now, but you can create

some distance from it where you're not

absorbed and sucked into that experience.

Awareness is in the backdrop

of every single moment.

And the beauty of awareness

is that it's, it's unchanging.

It's not subject to the same laws

of transience, as thoughts are, as

emotions are, as sensations are.

And when we try to take refuge in

a certain emotion, like a positive

emotion such as joy, we'll always

get stuck and we'll always feel

like we're failing because the

nature of emotions is to change.

The nature of thoughts is to change.

The nature of the felt experience

in your body is to change.

And so it's a really

deep inquiry to look at.

What does a more sustainable form of

happiness and wellbeing look like in life?

If I were to take refuge in something

in my experience, what could that

be when everything is changing?

And that's where awareness comes in.

Of course, you don't have to

take any of this at face value.

I mean, the whole beauty of meditation is

that you get to explore this for yourself

and discern, does this feel true for you?

At least in my experience and the many

deep meditators who have come before me,

there's something about awareness that is

unique to any aspect of our experience.

It's steady, it's there and it can

hold all of you without becoming it.

And for that reason, as we spend more time

dwelling in awareness of our experience,

rather than the experience itself, we

start to re identify our sense of self.

And that that sense of self then

becomes bigger and more expansive

and more spacious than the momentary

experience moving through it.

So take this into your meditation

today and see if you can take

it with you throughout your day.

Thank you for your practice and

let's settle into today's meditation.