Check, confirm, and re-confirm until the below is clear:

1. All experiences change.

Test that this is true of, e.g., (a) thoughts, (b) physical sensations, (c) hearing, (d) seeing, and (e) emotions. Have fun with this. Look at thoughts one day, at emotions another, etc.

2. Awareness is changeless.

Test:

• Is awareness really changeless while thought A is coming into being, while thought A is going out of being, while thought B is coming into being, while thought B is going out of being? Etc. (Yes, awareness really is changeless.)
• Is awareness really changeless while sensation A is coming into and out of being and while hearing B is coming into and out of being? Etc. (Again, yes, awareness really is changeless.)

3. Experiences are in the foreground while awareness is in the background.

Test:

• Can experiences occupy the background? For instance, can thought A get behind awareness? (No, since awareness, still “behind,” is that which makes possible the movement of thought A.)
• Can awareness occupy the foreground? For instance, can awareness go in front of a sensation? (No, awareness is always in back while also always “surrounding” every, e.g., sensation.)

4. Awareness is the “unseen seer.” Test:

• If you try to step back, can you find awareness out in front? (No, awareness is, as it were stepping back, and only (a) a blank object or (b) another thought is out in front.)

• If you try to turn your attention around in order to “spot” awareness, can you find awareness out in front? (No, awareness, in the mode of attention, is doing the turning.)