Dao De Jing

The ''I am''

Just thinking out loud.

Looking at this again, I note that the word used by Ramana Maharshi is "aham vritti." 

Vivekananda described the mind like a lake. Within the waters (chitta) there are ripples or waves (vrittis) that obscure the bottom (atman). Ramana Maharshi says the aham vritti is the vritti that underlies all other vrittis. 

Now in the modern West, we tend to assume (incorrectly) that when we see a table, we are really seeing the table. But that is not really what we're seeing—- what we're seeing is not the table, but the mind in the shape of the table, i.e. a vritti. The same holds true for all forms—- our body, thoughts, emotions, etc. 

This isn't some philosophical thought, but you can actually see the mind forming and unforming the world when you drift off to sleep or wake up. 

So the first mistake is taking any of the vrittis to the be the Self, or in thinking any of the vrittis can capture the Self. The second mistake would be to take the mind (chitta) to be the Self. 

Just know that I am nothing

When I accept it , life grabs another color, begins to feel . There is a joy that is not where springs ...

I am that. that i am me. So I am

Forever

Free as a leaf in the wind.