I AM ?

I AM ?

Anyone on a serious inward spiritual journey will inevitably come across the feeling that they are being guided along on their journey by some unknown force. The right people, the right books, the right lessons in life, the right teachers, all seem to be right where you need them and at just the right time to keep you moving in a forward direction along your spiritual path. (So long as you continue to pay attention and follow your intuition.) This is called synchronicity.

Since this is an inward journey, and all the answers that have any real meaning can only come from within, the question then arises, "Who or what is guiding me". And of course there is only one possible answer, "I AM". I am guiding myself.


This is a deeper sense of I AM than simply something arising from the Ego that "thinks" it has all the answers. This is the sense of Self that is the I AM that can only be found when you look deep within with questions like:
-Who is making me feel guilty when I make choices that hurt others? - I AM
-Who is causing me to feel happy when I help others? - I AM
-Who is it that is driving the car when I am lost in thought or daydreaming? - I AM
-Who is setting my internal moral compass? - I AM

This sense of I AM has been described by all the great mystics and spiritual leaders for thousands of years. This sense of I AM is not the final destination, it is really only a signpost along the journey, directing one to look deeper into the true nature of one's Self. Inevitably the question arises, "If I AM my own inner moral  guide, them Who Am I?" Indeed, Who or What Am I really?

Once one has seen through the veil of the illusory self, the Ego, and realized that there is a lot more to one's Self than a collection of thoughts and ideas about who I AM, and that there is a lot more to one's Self than just a collection of cells formed by sub-atomic particles held together by some mysterious energy force that allows the body to animate itself even when the Ego is asleep in some sort of mind theatrics, it becomes quite evident that there is a lot more to one's Self than meets the eye.

The journey then turns toward discovering the true nature of the Self. When the mind falls completely silent, and all discursive and directed thought ceases, as well as all mind theatrics and dreaming, there is only a sense of pure awareness, a sense of pure consciousness. There is only Conscious-Awareness. Conscious-Awareness is a state that is completely free from all inner turmoil, free from all mental chatter, free from judgements, ideas, concepts and disharmony.  It can only be encountered with one's full attention to the present moment.

Meditation is the gateway to discovering how to access this state.With repeated encounters of this direct attention, one finds that over time and with much dedicated practice, this state will become easier to encounter. The practice then shifts to bringing this level of attention into every moment of one's life until this state becomes the new "normal" state of being. Only then can one say I AM and fully know what it means to be "I AM". It is the permanency of this state that is called "Enlightenment"

Michael L. Fournier