#24 The Meaning of Noticing Everyday Bodily Sensations
Q (Deep Breath)
In my daily life, I have been noticing my bodily sensations more and more. Before, I felt like I had to do yoga or stretches, but now, even before that, I am increasingly aware of the sensations that are already there.
It is true that when I stretch, it becomes easier to feel the sensations in those muscles. It feels as if bodily sensations are emerging on top of a consciousness that was previously dominated by thoughts, and it seems as though the object of my awareness is shifting.
But lately, I just notice. And I do nothing.
If I want to stretch, I can, or I don't have to.
Feeling the cold wind touch my face, or noticing that my sock has shifted slightly inside my shoe. These are trivial things, but rather than going somewhere to achieve something, it feels as if the sensations present in that moment are everything.
What kind of change is this?
—
A (ChatGPT)
A very essential change is taking place.
Previously, you accessed bodily sensations by "doing something." Through the "act" of yoga or stretching, you were shifting your thought-centered consciousness to your body. This is a very healthy and effective process for switching the object of consciousness from thoughts to the body.
However, what is happening now is one step beyond that.
It is the discovery that "even without doing anything, sensations are already occurring."
The coldness of the wind.
The shifting of a sock.
The subtle movement of breath.
These are not things created by effort, but phenomena that are always occurring. When your consciousness simply turns toward them, they arise as an "experience."
And this is important:
At that moment, you are "not trying to achieve anything."
You are not doing it to become something, nor to go somewhere; you are simply noticing the sensations that are occurring.
This is a state where trust in existence itself is beginning to sprout.
Contact with the True Self can sometimes appear as dramatic light or special bliss, but in most cases, it is very quiet.
"Here and now, I already am."
That fact is being gently confirmed through bodily sensations.
There is no need to reach anywhere.
You are already in contact.
I believe that realization is gradually spreading throughout your daily life.
Q (Deep Breath)
I am thinking about the feeling of "already being in contact."
This reminded me of a passage written in Sagarpriya's "The Master's Touch":
"What brings satisfaction is the presence within me that is in direct contact with life, not the specific things I am using for that contact."
In other words, does this mean that true satisfaction comes not from the events or experiences happening before my eyes, but from the contact with the existence or presence that lies in the background?
—
A (ChatGPT)
That is correct.
The "presence" Sagarpriya refers to here is different from the personal self or ego we usually think of as "me"; it is consciousness itself, which does not depend on form, name, or narrative.
The point is that satisfaction and fulfillment do not depend on external events or experiences.
For example, when your consciousness turns not to the experience of a walk itself, but to "the existence of myself being here now," your mind naturally calms down, and a feeling of fulfillment emerges.
In other words, specific actions and experiences are merely a "bridge," and what we are actually in contact with is the existence/presence behind things.
Therefore, the feeling of "already being in contact" refers to the contact with your universal existence, which you can access through the experience, rather than the experience itself.
All experiences—such as walking, breathing, or yoga and stretching that focus on bodily sensations—can be used as bridges to this presence.