In the great tradition of Yoga and Vedanta we have the concepts Atman and Brahman.

The Atman is reading this sentence, the Self, the radical, mysterious Subject that is looking out of your eyes. Atman is the subjective nature of all beings, the amazing, inexplicable phenomenon of consciousness.

Brahman, the unqualifiable reality is the undeniable, impersonal truth of existence. It is the fact that there is something rather than nothing. At the deepest level, the ultimate or absolute level of reality, existence is a fact, yet it is impossible to say what it is, “vibrating strings”, “energy”, “the quantum field.” It is beyond description, beyond labels, beyond definable qualities, yet it is.

Atman, self-ness, is embedded in the fabric of the universe. Every vibration of energy, particle, atom, molecule, cell all the way up to the complex organisms that we are has an interior, has an inside, has a subjective sense. This is a radical statement. All matter is conscious. The consciousness of the material comes from the conscious field from which it arises, Atman itself, the Self.

The ultimate realization in Yoga is the unshakeable knowledge that Atman is Brahman. The Self, that which is reading this sentence, you, is none other than the field from which all matter arises, from which all distinctions are made. The Subject and the Object while apparently separate, are actually one and the same.

The nature of this realization is called Sat-chit-anand.
Sat – Being, Truth, Is-ness, the fact there is something rather than nothing.
Chit – Consciousness. Consciousness is embedded in the something.
Anand – Bliss. Bliss is the natural state that arises when consciousness knows itself, when the very ground of Awareness knows itself as awareness. When Sat knows Chit and Chit knows Sat

This reorients life in a radically different way. No longer am I fighting for survival. No longer am I separate from the rest of the world. I am That. I am Life itself. This is not an egoic, self-centered position. This recognition completely annihilates the ego, the sense of separateness. It means total humility, vulnerability, without defense. It means freedom from the confines of this limited human form. I am the joy and suffering of every being. I am the evolution of the cosmos, exploding stars and empty space. I am birth and death and beyond. Everything is allowed to be as it is, including my own mind. It means total acceptance of what is, as it is.

The recognition of this truth is your birthright. It is who you truly are. It is absolutely possible to live life in and as this understanding. If your absolute priority is to see through the delusions that veil the truth of Atman and Brahman then true freedom is your destiny.

Enjoy!