And that quality is awareness, consciousness, an intuitive sense of existence. Eventually, you will get to a point within yourself where you realize that you, the experiencer, have a certain quality. You will begin to notice who is experiencing the experience. If you are in there experiencing the peace that occurs when your thoughts stop, then obviously your existence is not dependent upon the act of thinking won’t you say? When you go into deep meditation, for example, the thoughts stop. You are very aware of your presence of being, your sense of existence, without the help of thoughts. Rene Descartes, a great philosopher, once said, “I think, therefore I am.” But is that really what’s going on? You are in there having both inner and outer experience, but who are you? Inside and outside objects compete for your attention. You can become so absorbed in beautiful inner feelings, or frightening inner fears, that it’s hard to focus on outer objects. But who feels the fear? Isn’t it the same you who was watching the dog? All your attention can very quickly become absorbed in your emotions. Suddenly you hear a noise right behind you–a hiss, like a rattlesnake! Would you still be looking at the dog with the same intensity of focus? To take a clear look at this, imagine that you’re watching a dog play outdoors. “Who am I? Who sees when I see? Who knows that I am aware? Who am I? Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950), a great teacher in the yogic tradition, used to say that to attain inner freedom, one must continuously and sincerely ask the question, “who am I?” He taught that this was more important than reading books, learning mantras, or going to holy places. Singer, The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself. “There is nothing more important to true growth than realizing that you are not the voice of the mind – you are the one who hears it.”― Michael A. The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer Book Summary.