The Awareness That Knows: A Return to Your True Nature
Understanding the Presence Behind Your Thoughts
The mind is an ‘it’—it is not a ‘you’.”
— David R. Hawkins
We spend most of our lives chasing experiences, managing thoughts, and reacting to emotions — like actors on a stage, caught up in our roles.
But beneath all of it, something quietly remains. Something watches. Something knows.
That something… is you.
Not the “you” made of stories, titles, opinions, or even your name.
But the real you — the Knower.
If this is your first time exploring these kinds of ideas, let this be an invitation—not something to “get,” but something to experience.
You don’t have to fully understand with the mind—because this is about something deeper. Let the words stir awareness in you. Let the stillness speak. Let the question live: Who is noticing this moment right now?
Be gentle. Be curious. See what you find.
David Hawkins calls this the Self with a capital “S” — the divine presence within.
Rupert Spira names it Awareness — the open field of being that never changes, even as experience shifts. Mooji invites us to meet it through inquiry: Can the one who sees be seen? And Alan Watts describes it as the witness behind the mask — the space that makes the play of life possible.
This Knower isn’t the voice in your head. It’s the one hearing the voice.
It’s not your feelings. It’s the one noticing the feelings.
It’s not even your sense of self-image. It’s the one aware of the self-image.
Without the Knower, nothing could be known.
Without that conscious presence, there would be no “you” to observe the world at all.
So what does this mean in daily life?
It means you can stop trying to control the story.
You can stop trying to fix every thought.
You can let go of the spinning, striving, grasping…
And rest in the peace of what has always been aware — before the thought, beneath the feeling, beyond the identity.
You are not what you think.
You are the one who knows you’re thinking.
You are not the clouds.
You are the sky.
Practice: “Be the One Who Knows”
Take a moment to sit quietly today. Let the thoughts come. Let feelings arise. But instead of following them, simply observe.
Ask yourself gently:
“What knows this thought is here?”
“Who is aware of this feeling?”
“Am I the thought… or the one who sees it arise and pass?”
Rest there.
Even for a few seconds, that space is the gateway to peace.
“Thoughts are visitors. Let them come and go. Just don’t serve them tea.”
— Mooji
Journal Prompt
What does it feel like to be the Knower instead of the thinker?
Have I experienced this awareness before — even in brief moments?
How might life change if I lived from the quiet presence that observes, rather than reacts?
Affirmation
“I am not my thoughts.
I am the one who knows.”“I return to the stillness that never leaves me.
I am the sky behind every cloud.”
Whisper for the Week
May you rest in the sacred awareness of who you truly are.
May the noise of the world pass through like weather…
While you remain — clear, steady, and free.
This week, may you remember again and again:
You are not the storm. You are the sky.
“You are the witness of your life, not the actor.”
— Alan Watts