Stillness · “Stillness Reveals”
Meditation on the Self
Turn attention inward to the inner Self — the witness behind thought — held with the reverent attitude that this innermost awareness is itself divine: ‘God dwells within you as you.’
In 5 lines: Sit, eyes closed. Turn attention from the world and from your thoughts toward the one who is aware. Rest as that silent witness — and meet it with reverence, as the Divine within. Let the mind grow still and joyful. When you drift, return to the awareness behind the thought. “God dwells within you as you.”
What it is
This is the practice Muktananda’s most famous teaching points to directly: “Honor your Self. Worship your Self. Meditate on your Self. God dwells within you as you.” It is meditation turned toward the meditator — not on a breath, image, or mantra as the final object, but on the inner Self, the silent awareness that is aware of everything else.
The distinctive Siddha Yoga note is the attitude: this turning inward is done not as detached observation but as reverence, as worship of one’s own innermost consciousness, because in Muktananda’s experience that consciousness is itself the Divine.
The aim is to recognise oneself as that witnessing awareness — “the recognition that everything you experience is the same Divine Consciousness as your Self” — and to rest there as unconditional joy.
The Method
- Sit upright and at ease, eyes closed. Begin with a few easy breaths to settle.
- Turn attention inward — away from the outer world and away from getting lost in thought, toward the one who is aware. Ask, in effect, who is experiencing this? and look back toward the experiencer.
- Rest as the witness. Notice that thoughts, sensations and feelings come and go in awareness, while awareness itself remains. Let attention settle into that silent observing presence rather than its contents (Life Is a Dream).
- Hold the reverent attitude. This is the Siddha Yoga key: regard that inner awareness with honour and love — “honour your Self, worship your Self” — meeting it as sacred, as the indwelling Divine, not as a neutral object.
- Let it deepen into stillness and joy. As attention steadies on the Self, let the mind grow quiet; Muktananda describes the Self as experienced as peace and unconditional inner joy. You may support the turning-inward with a soft “Om Namah Shivaya” or the Hamsa breath, letting them dissolve into silent awareness.
- When you drift into thought, gently return to the awareness behind the thought.
- Continue 15–30 minutes; close by carrying the recognition — God dwells within me as me — lightly back into activity. (Sourcing note: “Honor your Self. Worship your Self. Meditate on your Self. God dwells within you as you,” and the recognition of all experience as one’s own Divine Consciousness, are Muktananda’s words / Siddha Yoga teaching.)
Source & Lineage
Swami Muktananda distilled the non-dual vision of Kashmir Shaivism — that the individual self and supreme Consciousness (Shiva) are one — into the directly practicable instruction to meditate on the Self with reverence.
His autobiography Play of Consciousness and the manual Meditate describe this inward turn and the inner experiences he reports along the way. This entry is distinct from generic witness practices and from Ramana’s bare “Who am I?”: Muktananda’s signature is the devotional, worshipful tone toward one’s own inner awareness. → (existing Voice).
Common refinements
Searching for the Self as an object. It is the looker, not a thing seen; relax back into awareness rather than hunting for a special experience.
- Dropping the reverence. Muktananda’s distinctive instruction is honour/worship the Self — cold observation misses the warmth that makes this his practice and not just bare witnessing.
- Forcing thoughts to stop. Let them come and go in awareness; you rest as the awareness, not as a thought-policeman.
- Chasing visions or bliss. Reported inner experiences are by-products, not the goal; clinging to them re-engages the mind.
- Treating it as analysis. It is recognition and resting, not thinking about the Self.