Breath awareness meditation is quite simple in its instruction: “Breathe, and know you are breathing, right now, in the region between the nostrils and upper lip.”

“Produce the thought that is nowhere supported.”

and relax. When you notice your awareness has shifted away from awareness of the breath, gently and kindly return it without criticism or self-judgment.

In the moment of Awakening, while my consciousness was landing more fully in the absence of a self, another realization flashed into my consciousness. Everything and everyone is without a me, a separate and distinct self.

Whichever kind of concentration meditation you practice, you start by focusing on one meditative object to the exclusion of all else, and you begin to witness the functioning of your personality. Your mind shares with you all the things you need to feel comfort and have ease in the meditation.

In short, the Awakening was a series of realizations that (1) I was not a me, (2) no one was a me, and (3) everything and everyone is an undivided expression of the wholeness of pure unconditioned love and innate goodness. These realizations were my true identity! This was the base reality of all life-forms.

Innate Goodness Practice › Close your eyes. Seating yourself in a comfortable position, place your hands in your lap or high on your thighs. Take a few deep belly breaths inhaling and exhaling as thoroughly as possible. Feel your feet on the ground while noticing the support of the floor in the building you are in. See if you can feel the support

I had a teacher suggest that I maintain an 80/20 rule. This means that I maintain 80 percent of my awareness on my inner processing and experiences and place, at most, 20 percent of my awareness on the person I am interacting with or other external interactions.

While our inner foundation can shift in a big First Awakening, it then takes rigorous investigation to uncover what in us is incongruent with the truth revealed in a First Awakening.