John Wheeler from Awakening to the Natural State ...

John: The bottom line is that you are that presence or awareness
now.

When you first get exposed to this, the mind and all
the concepts want to rush in with 'What if?' and 'But ...' and
so on. Then you are pointed back again and again to the fact of
your own being.

Through force of habit, we instinctively look
to the thoughts as a gauge of where we are, but it is looking in
the wrong direction. Thoughts appear in awareness, which is
what you really are and always have been. It is like being above
the clouds and then looking down at the clouds searching for
the sun.

You say, 'Look at all the clouds. They keep arising.
Where is the sun?' But if you turn around, you notice that the
sun is behind you, and it is illuminating the clouds. It is even
what is allowing you to see them. The sun really has nothing
to do with the appearance or configuration of the clouds. It is
a subtle shift, but has profound effects.

We have been looking
in the wrong direction, and this can be quickly remedied
once this gets pointed out. It is not really anything you need to
practice. You just notice it. The answer is not in the mind.

If you ask most people to look across a room and say what
they see, they will usually name the various objects. Few will
say they notice the space. But once this is pointed out, you
notice that everything takes place in space. It is the same with
awareness. Once you get a feel for it, the center of gravity
starts to shift from fixating on the thoughts to just relaxing
into your true being of self-knowing awareness.

Q: How do I get there (or here, as the case may be)?

John: You don't get there. You are there now. Your existence-awareness
is here and now always. If I can make a suggestion,
don't be concerned at all with thoughts. The rising of thought
has nothing to do with any of this.

Be more interested in what
thoughts appear in and on. That is the direction to explore.
Dealing with thoughts is interminable and there is no freedom
forthcoming from doing that. I know from experience,
believe me!

Know your true nature and thoughts take care of
themselves.

Just as a heads up (in case you are wondering),
thoughts will continue to arise for the rest of your life, just
as they did before. But, knowing your real nature, you will
not be concerned like you were before.

Peace does not lie in a
peaceful mind, but in establishing your identity in that which
is deeper than the mind. You are that even now. It just takes a
little looking to clarify this.