Disturb the self
The Play of Appearances
For thirty-seven minutes, let thoughts, feelings, and even your sense of self appear and pass.
Rob Burbea · Guided meditation
A way in
Set aside the full thirty-seven minutes somewhere you can sit without another task. Begin with the body as Burbea asks. You can pause, open your eyes, or stop if the inquiry becomes uncomfortable.
The practice engages self-image and emotionally charged thoughts. You can pause or leave it at any point.
Afterward
Why we chose it
Burbea begins with the body and an unusually gentle instruction: allow whatever is here. As the meditation unfolds, judgments and images of yourself become things to notice, alongside sounds and sensations. You may feel more room around a thought without needing to argue with it or make it disappear. Start with that feeling. The Buddhist language of emptiness offers a way of practicing here; it is not evidence that a particular account of reality has been proved.
What it may shift Your relationship to a thought that calls itself you.
Was there a difference between having a thought about yourself and taking it as a description of who you are? Notice whatever happened, including nothing in particular.