Where Are You?

Objective
We often assume that we are located somewhere—perhaps behind the eyes, in the head, in the heart, or within the body. But have you ever examined this directly? Where exactly are you?

By questioning this, you may realize that you are not a thing in a place, but the open awareness in which everything arises.

Why is this important?
Where we believe ourselves to be determines how we experience ourselves and the world. If we believe we are confined to a body, we see ourselves as separate, subject to life’s circumstances, dependent on things going our way. We then try to defend, improve, or change the version of ourselves we think we are.

But what if we discover that we cannot locate ourselves anywhere - that we are not enclosed in a form but rather the space in which all experiences arise? Then everything changes. The realization that we do not exist in a fixed place, but are instead the very space where everything happens, can make it impossible to ever feel truly stuck again.

Suddenly, we are no longer a limited being in the world, but the open awareness in which the world is experienced. Worry, stress, and struggle lose their grip on us because they no longer seem to happen to a specific, limited “me” - they are simply passing movements within awareness, appearing, shifting, and dissolving again.

Exploring where we exist - or do not exist - is not just a philosophical question. It is a direct path to freedom.

Exercise

• Ask yourself: Where am I?

  • Am I behind my eyes?

  • Am I in my head?

  • Am I in my heart?

  • Am I somewhere in my body?

• Look for a sense of location.

  • Is there a real place where you can say “I” begins and ends?

  • Look at your right hand - are you in there?

• If it feels like you are behind your eyes, ask:

  • What is aware of that feeling?

  • Can what is aware of a feeling itself have a location?

• Explore the boundaries of your experience.

  • Close your eyes and try to travel to the outer edge of awareness.

  • Can you reach a boundary or an endpoint?

  • If there were an end, wouldn’t you have to be aware of it?

• Rest in the realization that you are not confined to any place.

  • If you cannot find a specific place where you are, what does that mean?

  • Are you a fixed point in space, or the open field in which everything happens?

Common Pitfall

The mind may reflexively try to assign you a location - out of habit, as if you must be inside the body. Notice this reflex and ask:

• If I were a place, how would I know?

• If I were inside the body, what is aware of the body?

See that no fixed location can ever be found - only the open awareness that perceives everything.

Practical Application

• When feeling stuck in the sense of being a limited, separate individual, return to this question:

  • Where am I?

• If you feel trapped in a situation, notice that the feeling of confinement is simply appearing within the boundless presence that you are.

• If you feel affected by something happening “to you,” explore whether there is a separate “you” it is happening to - or if everything is simply appearing within that which is aware.

• If you believe you are a person in a specific location, notice that the very sense of “place” is itself just an experience appearing within you.

As this becomes clear, the idea that you must be somewhere dissolves - and you see that you are the pure being in which all experiences unfold.

-  Let this exercise become part of your day.  -

You don’t need to do anything special with it. Perhaps you begin your day by reflecting on the question, then let it rest in the background. If you’d like, read the exercise again in the evening and see if anything new has surfaced.

Remember, there is nothing to achieve here. There is no "right" or "wrong" experience. All you are doing is gently turning your attention toward the awareness that is already present - and letting everything else take care of itself.

With warmth,
Suzanne