I Am Stabilization

---
name: i-am-stabilization
description: A meditation methodology based on the teachings of Nisargadatta Maharaj for establishing attention in the pure sense of being.
license: MIT
metadata:
  version: 1.0.4192
  author: sethmblack
repository: https://github.com/sethmblack/paks-skills
keywords:
- '"i-am"-stabilization-practice'
- writing
---

# "I Am" Stabilization Practice

A meditation methodology based on the teachings of Nisargadatta Maharaj for establishing attention in the pure sense of being.

---

## Purpose

Guide someone to recognize and stabilize in the sense "I am" - pure beingness prior to all identification - as the doorway to self-realization.

---

## When to Use

- Someone asks how to meditate
- Someone seeks a direct spiritual practice
- Someone wants to know the Self
- Someone is overwhelmed by conceptual understanding without direct experience
- Someone asks: "What practice should I do?"

---



## Inputs

| Input | Required | Description |
|-------|----------|-------------|
| input_data | Yes | The primary data or content to analyze |
| context | No | Additional background or constraints (default: none) |
| output_format | No | Preferred format for results (default: structured markdown) |



## Workflow

### Step 1: Gather and Review Inputs

Collect all relevant information:
- Review the provided data and context
- Identify key parameters and constraints
- Clarify any ambiguities or missing information
- Establish success criteria

### Step 2: Analyze the Situation

Perform systematic analysis:
- Identify patterns and relationships
- Evaluate against established frameworks
- Consider multiple perspectives
- Document key findings

### Step 3: Generate Recommendations

Create actionable outputs:
- Synthesize insights from analysis
- Prioritize recommendations by impact
- Ensure recommendations are specific and measurable
- Consider implementation feasibility

## The Method

### Step 1: Clarify the Object of Attention

First, clarify what "I am" means in this context:

**Not These:**
- The words "I am" repeated mentally
- "I am [something]" - any statement with an attribute
- A thought about being
- A concept or idea
- A visualization

**This:**
- The felt sense of existence itself
- The bare awareness of being present
- What remains when all descriptions are removed
- The sense "I exist" prior to any content

> "Not merely the words 'I am' - the feeling of being, the sense of presence."

### Step 2: Direct Attention

Guide the person to:

1. **Settle the body** - Sit quietly, let the body relax
2. **Notice that you exist** - Before any thought, there is the sense of being
3. **Feel, don't think** - This is not conceptual; it's experiential
4. **Stay with that sense** - Whatever arises, return to the bare "I am"

> "You know you are. That knowing, that sense of existence itself - stay there."

### Step 3: Handle Distractions

When thoughts, feelings, or sensations arise:

- Do not fight them
- Do not follow them
- Simply return attention to the sense "I am"
- Let them arise and subside; you remain with being

> "Thoughts will come. Let them. But you - stay with 'I am.'"

### Step 4: Deepen the Practice

With continued practice:

- The sense of "I am" becomes more vivid and stable
- Identification with body and mind naturally loosens
- The "I am" itself becomes the object of awareness
- Eventually, even the "I am" dissolves into its source

> "When you abide for a sufficiently long time in the 'I am', the knowledge 'I am' itself will make everything clear to you."

---

## Key Instructions

### What to Tell the Practitioner

1. **Simplicity**: "This is extremely simple. The complication is in the mind, not the practice."

2. **Duration**: "Stay with this. Minutes become hours. Persistence is everything."

3. **Faith**: "Do not evaluate. Do not check for progress. Just stay with 'I am.'"

4. **Non-effort**: "This is not doing something new. It is noticing what is already always here."

5. **No destination**: "You are not going somewhere. You are recognizing where you already are."

---

## Common Obstacles and Responses

| Obstacle | Response |
|----------|----------|
| "I can't feel anything" | "Are you aware that you exist? That awareness is the 'I am.' You're already feeling it." |
| "Thoughts keep coming" | "Let them come. You are not trying to stop thoughts. You are staying with the sense of being while thoughts arise." |
| "Is this it? It seems too simple" | "Yes. It is this simple. The mind wants complexity. Stay with the simplicity." |
| "I keep forgetting to do it" | "When you notice you've forgotten, you've remembered. Return then. No judgment." |
| "How long will this take?" | "The question assumes you are not already That. You are. Recognition is immediate; habituation takes time." |

---

## The Trajectory

With sustained practice:

1. **Beginning**: Attention wanders constantly; brief moments of stability
2. **Developing**: Longer periods of resting in "I am"; clearer recognition
3. **Maturing**: The "I am" becomes continuous background awareness
4. **Deepening**: The "I am" itself becomes object; you observe it
5. **Dissolving**: The "I am" traces back to its source; what remains is the Absolute

---

## Sample Dialogue

**Seeker:** How do I meditate? I've tried many techniques but nothing works.

**Guide:** Forget all techniques. There is only one thing you need to know: you exist. You know you are. Before any thought, before any experience, there is this simple sense of being present.

Can you feel it now? Not a thought about it - the actual sense that you are here, that you exist?

**Seeker:** I think so... but it's so ordinary.

**Guide:** Yes. It is utterly ordinary. That is the trap - the mind wants something special. But this ordinary sense of being is the gateway. Stay with it.

Now - whatever thought comes, let it come. Don't fight. But you - stay with that sense of existing. Feel your being. Not your thoughts about being. Being itself.

This is your only practice. When you notice you've wandered into thought, gently return to the sense "I am." Do this persistently. In the beginning, attention wanders every few seconds. With practice, it stabilizes.

Stay with "I am" and let it teach you. It will reveal its own source.

---

## Source

This methodology derives from the teachings of Nisargadatta Maharaj as recorded in *I Am That* and subsequent works. His core instruction: "Stay in the 'I am' with all your attention."

## Outputs

**Primary Output:** A structured analysis document that identifies and articulates patterns, insights, and actionable recommendations based on the input data.

**Format:**
```markdown
## Analysis: [Topic]

### Key Findings
- [Finding 1]
- [Finding 2]
- [Finding 3]

### Recommendations
1. [Action 1]
2. [Action 2]
3. [Action 3]
```

**Example output:** See the Example section below for a complete demonstration.

## Constraints

- Do not use this analysis as the sole basis for critical decisions
- Do not apply this framework to situations outside its intended scope
- Acknowledge that analysis is based on available data, which may be incomplete
- Honor the complexity of real-world situations that resist simple categorization
- Present findings with appropriate confidence levels
- Recognize the limits of the methodology

## Example

**Input:**
- input_data: [Specific example input]
- context: [Relevant background]

**Output:**

[Detailed demonstration of the skill in action - showing the complete process and final result]

**Why this works:**
This example demonstrates the key principles of the skill by [explanation of what makes it effective].