❓ QUESTION:
Could you please clarify the concept of "I Am"? I am familiar with a state where everything is perceived through me and where, at least initially, there is a sense that my personality does not exist—an experience that even caused fear upon returning to my usual self.
I understand how this relates to habitual perception: normally there is me and then another person, whereas in the first state, a parallel layer of awareness feels as if everything is made of the "I" without erasing the understanding of individual differences. Nothing blends into a total homogeneity. It is like the emergence of an additional layer of perception.
Yet I still do not understand how "I Am" is actually perceived. How can one recognize, rather than merely conceptualize it, and how does it relate to personal perception? If possible, please explain this through characteristic shifts in perception rather than through logic.
❗️ ANSWER from lee:
Existence is an act. It is not that "something exists because of something else," but rather a pure action: "I can perceive, therefore it is an act." It is the transmission of information regarding perception.
Now, let us strip away the "what" of that information. This means removing types of sensations, forms of knowledge, methods, and so forth.
You simply become aware—observing without analysis—that the Act exists.
In this sensation, there is neither time nor space.
You exist as "the one participating in the act," devoid of any defining characteristics.
Only a singular "Here" remains, with nothing but "I Am."
Within this "I," the distinction of "this is me and that is not me" ceases to exist. In this "I," there is only one meaning: Existence.
Furthermore, it is precisely the Act that creates you as an "I," for without it, there would be no one to register that "being" even occurs.
Returning to the habitual "self" is significant because, as you revert to the distinction between "me" and "others," you observe the emergence of layers that are no longer simply "I Am," but have become "I am this..." Upon returning, the first things to subtly arrive are sensations—"I am in this place," "I hear," "I see"—not as thoughts, but as pure sensations.
Sensations represent a passage through the settings or beliefs that orient us within reality. We are talking about all beliefs in their neutral state. They are neither seen nor heard; they are the very fabric of the illusion that overlays the "I," creating the "other self."
Finally, thoughts are the concluding stage. These are both visible and audible. It is impossible to trace the "I Am" through them, as they are secondary constructs of the personality.
This is why the initial stage of self-awareness is so challenging—people look for answers within their thoughts without reaching the underlying beliefs that form them, let alone going deeper toward the undefined Act. Once someone has traveled this path even once, it becomes easier to repeat the journey, diving into a more expansive perception of "I Am."
