Dont mistake yourself for the Ientity

By Enza Vita, author of Always Already Free What is Enlightenment and What Does It Matter Anyway?

The main point here is that the Iis not you. You do not have to eliminate the I, nor get rid of the concept of separation, nor do anything to change the image. You cannot burn away that which never was. This is just more agenda for a false self that continues to exist in your thoughts. Is the I really you? This is the point in a nutshell.

Observe this that you are calling I. The one who is masquerading as the real self is asking how to get rid of the I when he himself is the I.

Dont fight this I, you will lose, and even if you win for a while through mental effort, this state is worthless in the long run. Once the effort slackens off, all the Is will push in again and nothing will have been achieved. So leave the Ialone. No need to get rid of it. Just notice the vast aware space of your natural state in which the I is appearing and disappearing.

When you continue to think that the I exists, and that this is who you are, then there can be no end to what that I can be, including lost, unenlightened, confused, and more. If you continue to believe in the existence of an I, then you will continue to believe that you can change it for the better, and that this I will finally one day realize that it and awareness are one. Additionally, if you believe all of this, then you have to take the bad with the good.

Its not possible to have a totally free I, because if the I exists, it is both free and bound. What you need to question is if you are really separate from your nature as

presence/awareness. You need to inquire if this I that you think is there, is really there. So the first step is to have a look and inquire: is there an entity separate from presence/awareness? If you continue to treat the symptoms and never address the cause, the symptoms will go on forever. If there is no entity separate from awareness, then no one needs any fixing of any kind, and there are no more questions. You do not need to be fixed, and you realize that all your questions are answered. This is a realization that is instinctual and does not involve your mind or your intellect.

You are awareness, simple awareness. Dont mistake yourself for the Ientity. You are not this entity! If this continues to bother you, ask yourself, Am I really this entity? Then go back to that still point of awareness and you will have your answer. Realize yourself as the aware space in which all questions arise and everything is resolved.

Founder and director of the MahaShanti Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to support the spiritual awakening of all beings, Enza has studied with some of the great spiritual masters of our age and after a series of deep awakenings, culminating in a profound spiritual realization in 2007, her life is now dedicated to ignite the flame of truth in others. Enza Vita is the current editor of InnerSelf magazine, the former editor of Woman Spirit and Health & Wellbeing magazines, and the author of Always Already Free What is Enlightenment and What Does It Matter Anyway?.Based on Enzas own experience, Always Already Free, de-mystifies ancient spiritual teachings and practices from east and west and reveals that spiritual enlightenment is not a faraway dream, but the ever-

present reality always available here and now. The book guides the reader from the seeking process through the integration of enlightenment into everyday life.

The truth I talk about is not limited to any tradition but is found in, and open to, all true traditions.

The first 3 chapters of Always Already Free are available for free download from www.enzavita.com