The version of Advaita Vedanta termed “the direct path” refers either to Ramana Maharshi’s teaching or to Sri Atmananda’s. In this case as well as in others, I’m referring to the latter.

One simple way of thinking of the direct path teaching is to see that all it’s doing is deconstructing your conceptual model. Being parsimonious as it is, this approach is exquisitely elegant.

Here’s a simple example: You likely think that your face is experiencing tingling sensations. If I were to tell you–“Go directly to the tingling sensations in your face”–you’d likely believe that there’s a face that’s feeling these sensations, as it were, “from within.” Therefore, you’d have a metaphysical account according to which

• 1.) There are arisings–thoughts, feelings, perceptions, and–in this case–sensations.
• 2.) There are media, conduits, or organs–like the face that has the capacity to experience sensations.
• 3.) And, of course, there is awareness.

Look closely at this “middle layer” to see whether it’s actually there. Go back to the face and feel directly the sensation. Drop the name “face,” and stay only with the sensation. Do you find, in your direct experience, that there’s a face that’s experiencing this sensation? No.

Wow.

Slowly, you deconstruct this conceptual model. In this instance, you experience sensations naturally arising within awareness–without media, without conduits, without channels “through which” experiences have to pass, and so on. You experience freedom, gentleness, clarity.

And what you understand, through inquiries like this one, is that the conceptual model is fine so far as conventional functions are concerned but erroneous when it comes to actual metaphysics. And what, little by little, you really understand is that you’re awareness, not the finite mind.