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What if your thoughts and emotions are experiences you have, not the essence of who you are?

In this episode, we explore:

• non-duality and the quantum field
• the difference between awareness and identity
• why emotions rise and fall like waves
• how to stop letting thoughts run the show
• a simple reflective exercise to reconnect with the eternal Self

This is about reclaiming your power—not by suppressing emotion, but by remembering what remains aware beneath it all.

🌿 Bonus exercise for paid Substack subscribers

EPISODE TIMELINE

0:00 – Opening Quote & Theme
Ramana Maharshi quote introduces the core inquiry: if thoughts and feelings come and go, what remains?

0:19 – Welcome & Guiding Question
Rachel welcomes listeners and shares a client’s question: “What is the emotion of the highest self?” This frames the episode’s central exploration.

0:47 – What Is the Highest Self?
Clarification that the highest self does not “have” an emotion. It is non-dual presence, infinite potentiality—both all emotions and none of them.

1:22 – We Are Not Our Thoughts and Emotions
Examination of how “I am” language (“I am angry,” “I am excited”) leads to identification with transient experiences instead of true self.

2:08 – Pure Consciousness and Chosen Experience
Description of pure consciousness/quantum field “choosing” a potential feeling, which then appears in experience—without defining identity.

2:39 – Not Suppression, Not Spiritual Bypass
Important clarification that this work is not about numbing, detachment, or becoming emotionally unavailable, but about relating differently to experience.

3:09 – The Constant Presence of Awareness
Introduction of awareness as the “something” that remains through every emotion and thought, pointing to the eternal, capital-S Self.

3:44 – Rethinking the Divine: Not ‘Up There’
Challenge to the belief that the divine or Source is distant or above, and question of where the individual self fits into that framework.

4:14 – Non-Dual View: Atman and Brahman
Explanation of Advaita Vedanta’s teaching that Atman (deepest self) is not separate from Brahman (infinite field); the field is what one truly is.

4:57 – Individuation as Expression of the Field
Reframing individuality as a precise, necessary expression of the universal field becoming conscious in this form, body, and life.

5:33 – Why Individuality Matters
Emphasis that each life is a unique iteration of the whole, underscoring inherent worth and relevance in the broader field of consciousness.

5:58 – Nature of Thoughts: Events in Consciousness
Discussion of the volume of daily thoughts and how many are conditioned narratives, not truth—just events passing through consciousness.

6:25 – Inquiry: Who Is Having This Thought?
Introduction of the core self-inquiry question that reveals awareness as distinct from any single thought.

6:44 – Nature of Emotions: Waves in the Ocean
Description of emotions as energetic experiences shaped by perception and interpretation, rising and falling like waves, never permanent.

7:22 – The Eternal Self Before the Story
Pointing to the capital-S Self that exists prior to name, biography, and conditioning: soul, Atman, core being.

7:52 – Awareness as Observer and Origin
Clarification that if something notices a thought or emotion, awareness cannot be identical with it; awareness is both observer and origin.

8:26 – Practical Example: Working with Anxiety
Application of the teaching to anxiety—shifting from “I am anxious” to “Anxiety is present”—creating space between identity and experience.

9:01 – Host vs. Visitor: The Cottage Metaphor
Use of the cottage and long wooden table image to illustrate hosting emotions as visitors rather than becoming them.

9:23 – Suffering Through Identification
Explanation of how believing every thought and fusing with emotions increases unnecessary suffering and reactivity.

9:43 – From Reacting to Responding
Illustration of how awareness softens reactivity, allowing more grounded, intentional responses to inner weather.

10:02 – The Three Pillars: Non-Judgment, Awareness, Gentleness
Recap of the foundational pillars that support a healthy relationship to inner experience and to self.

10:32 – What the Goal Is—and Is Not
Reaffirmation that the goal is not to transcend humanity, but to remember that what one truly is is larger than any passing state.

10:57 – Guided Practice: Meeting a Recent Emotion or Thought
A brief practice inviting listeners to bring to mind a recent emotion or thought, and gently notice its presence.

11:35 – Self-Inquiry in Practice
Questions offered for inner exploration: “Who is having this thought?” “Who is aware of this emotion?” “When it passes, what remains?”

12:10 – Discovering What Remains
A pause to rest in whatever arises when the thought or emotion is allowed to move on, pointing again to awareness as the ground.

12:41 – Ocean and Waves: Core Metaphor of Awareness
Reinforcement of the image of awareness as the ocean and emotions/thoughts as its waves, always moving, never the whole.

12:58 – Living from the Foundation of Self
Integration of the teaching into daily life: thinking and feeling fully while not surrendering identity to temporary inner weather.

13:26 – Closing Reflection and Encouragement
Final reminder that the “sky” is never harmed by the weather that passes through it—and neither is true self. Closing blessing to be gentle with oneself.

Write Your Self Open is a revolution in self-development that blends guided meditation, journaling, and supportive group discussion led by holistic psychotherapist Rachel Astarte.

It's all the benefits of personal transformation + community-building without the constraints of talk therapy.
Join anytime. No previous meditation or writing experience necessary.

http://writeyourselfopen.com

Got a question about your self?
Send it to me at rachel@selftalkpodcast.com and it may be featured on a future episode. 

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Music:
"Ave Marimba"
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0