Seeker: Hi, Jim.
Why does awareness have such a convincing locus: just behind the head as if it is shining from behind?
Jim: The body is in awareness. Awareness is not in the body. “In” means “within the scope of.” Why does awareness seem to be located behind the head? The mind, which reflects awareness, intersects with the body in the area of the brain/head, the “seat” of consciousness. You can do a simple exercise to locate it. Divide the body in half horizontally and ask which half you are in. Then keep dividing the halves in half and ask the same question until you have nowhere to go. You will find the reflected self just above and behind your head. Yogis call it the crown chakra. You will of course be familiar with the iconography of Christ and the saints, which symbolize consciousness as a halo above or behind the head. The halo or aura – sometimes called the “astral body” – is the reflected self, chidabasa. It is known to you, pure, limitless awareness, the “substrate” (adhisthanam). Everything is located in you. You are not located.
~ James
