Itâs amazing to remember that I can become a witness to my life and my thoughts anytime I remember to do it! 
Actually, last night in the middle of the night I woke up and was suddenly bombarded with a lot of mean thoughts/limiting beliefs about myself and my future. but thankfully I was able to step back and just notice these thoughts and how intense and extreme they were, and how interesting that was and just get curious about them instead of immediately believing them. Then I fell back to sleep 
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What an interesting practice- I think I will give it a try. Thanks for mentioning.
Honestly, I canât recall a specific incidence where I was able to identify with the Witness. Plenty of times where I was not, including yesterday when a spiritual teacher offered me an alternative that felt demeaning and I was not able to witness the unlikely possibility that she was truly trying to help - if Iâd been witnessing, I would have thanked her - rather than push me away. I, too, like many of the posts that I have read, have been present with the Witness for some time. It is easy when by myself, which is usually the case unless on a zoom call or with my daughter, to witness my thoughts, feelings and actions and if my memory was good enough, I could tell you of multiple times I find myself laughing at myself or consoling myself or numbing myself with shows on the computer. I am very appreciative of this course although I really do want to do nothing until bedtime which is almost here!
This sounds so familiar. And it is quite - not sure what word to us - dangerous when you are at the age of faulty memory and in real life with someone with whom you have created this whole scenario in your head based on alternative things you might have said or done! LOL - I have caught myself in conversation trying to remember what actually happened, what was said or done and then just being in the present moment and responding as best I could. Thankfully, I do not spend as much time in my head as I used to. I turn on music or chant outloud and get back to the present moment.
Thanks for your share.
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Identifying with Witness is helpful for me as I explore my newly-discovered neurodivergence. It has been challenging to navigate the complex US-healthcare system to receive a diagnosis that would unlock access to additional resources that would be supportive for me. Witnessing my being navigate the bureaucratic red tape, downloading an entire lifeâs worth of trauma and neuroses with a therapist who ultimately did not agree that I was neurodivergent, and feeling invisible throughout this entire processâŠthe Witness brings a level of softness and compassion that I would not be able to experience otherwise.
I truly know that the obstacles on my path ARE my path, and am so grateful to be reminded of these lessons through this course. I feel like this is reigniting a spark that was quite dim at the start of this journey, and itâs only Day 5!
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Having a meditation practice is the witnessing I do on a regular basis, without knowing it can be referred to as that; to sit and sometimes see my thoughts pass, or struggle to let it pass without getting involved.
I think the concept of Karma Yoga, act as an offering and having a witness see the action, can be related to perhaps not taking things personally. Often I get sucked into feeling self sacrificial, âI did that but no one appreciated itâ '. Seeing the act itself as an offering, something with higher purpose, would help in getting out of this mental loop.
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I started becoming a witness through a life altering trauma, when I found my partner who has committed suicide and my reanimation attemps on him were too late. We had only met a couple of months before he left his physical body, though it has been the most profound relationship for both of us. Going through the whole process of connecting with his family and friends, has been mirroring his inner state and struggles as well as isolation. It has been a very sad revelation. This has really pulled me out of seeing the world as I used to see it, it opened a multiverse, which I believe is part of being a witness
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I just love this particular talk by Ram Dass on the witness. He has the ability to put these very obscure delicate pieces of our daily interactions with self and guru/god/whatever together in such simplistic terms and analogies. I am not just crazy, Iâm schizophrenic and I wouldnât want to be any other way! Developing the witness for me has been absolutely life changing, I find that not only does it help my own spiritual practice (I kinda walk around in a meditation state on the daily), it helps keep ego at bay when it wants to interject at a time itâs not needed, like a constant reminder to breath and watch your reactions. Just loving this course! Thanks for making it so easy to access and enjoy 
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I love that: âdonât be phonyâ itâs so refreshing to hear and hearing it again has reminded me of just how powerful it is when we acknowledge and accept how we are, without trying to change it or deny it. Even today, after listening to Ram Dassâ audio (I could have listening to it all day) I still caught myself getting lost in the dramas of my loved ones. I could see where it was catching me and I could feel the infuriation and frustration arising in me. Healthful expressing my feelings, with kindness, of course, but this made possible by the element of witnessing myself.
Lately, I have been practicing giving myself space to feel what I am feeling without judging it. If I have found myself sad or angry about a situation, I give myself adequate space to feel what I am feeling. I have found that when I allow myself to feel what I am feeling, it helps me to move through it versus staying fixated on it. Also, this meditation course really has been super helpful in redirecting my thought process. I notice the other day I had so much positive energy, and I thought to myself, âwowâ this is what meditation does when I practice it regularly. I had a good laugh at this. Funny how we can forget the awesome benefits of meditation.
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For me, applying the witness needs to be more mindful and patient. Recognizing that results are partly dependent on actions, beliefs, attitudes, and previous results/conditions that are beyond my control can be helpful.
My practice is but a drop of rain in the ocean of global karma. One step at a time. I find the amount of skill required to achieve wholesome results fluctuates, depending on the environment in which I am practicing. Not witnessing can definitely influence the conditions I am creating. And I take some solace in the dharma teaching that the more skillful my practice, the more space this offers others to be more skillful (when wisdom and ethics are present).
For me, it seems that witnessing as an act of meta cognition without the ethics and wisdom can:
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Judgment: get caught up in not only witnessing and judging the witness but also being attached to the outcome (which defeats the practice of witnessing)
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Karma: impact the quality of my practice, wisdom, insight, and the karma that results (which again, limits the purpose of practicing witnessing)
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Agency: foster dissociation and its subsequent impact on purposeful value driven action
When I am not practicing witnessing I am certainly more likely to be frustrated with results. When practicing witnessing I am more able to be compassionate, patient, and less judgmental; open to the unfolding of events, without having to categorically judge or understand the results.
Iâve found similar - space is powerful!
Since I started getting into Ram Dass more and more, I started noticing myself noticing 
For me itâs usually little things like watching how I respond to things, and contemplating âwhereâ that came from. Hint hint⊠usually my ego. Lol.
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