The text presents a number of concrete contemplative approaches, but they are offered in a very stripped-down, essential form rather than as elaborate systems. The central thread is the sustained turning of attention toward the bare sense of being, the simple feeling of “I am” before it is qualified as “this” or “that.” This “I Am” meditation is described as both a quiet, inward practice and an orientation to be maintained amid ordinary activities. The instruction is to abide in that unadorned sense of existence, returning to it whenever the mind is drawn into stories, roles, or conceptual elaboration. In this way, the book treats meditation less as a special activity and more as a continuous re-centering in the fact of being.

Alongside this, there is a strong emphasis on self-inquiry, understood as a rigorous investigation into who or what the “I” actually is. Questioning “Who am I?” and examining the one who experiences thoughts, sensations, and emotions serves to distinguish the true Self from passing identifications. This inquiry naturally supports the practice of witnessing: thoughts, feelings, and bodily states are observed as objects appearing in awareness, while identity is gradually shifted to the position of the detached witness. Such witnessing is closely related to what is sometimes called choiceless awareness—allowing experiences to arise and subside without judgment or grasping, while recognizing that they are not the ultimate Self.

The text also highlights a form of remembrance (smarana), a deliberate and repeated recollection of one’s nature as pure awareness or as the unqualified “I Am.” Rather than allowing attention to be wholly absorbed in mental content, the practitioner is urged to keep returning to, and remaining anchored in, this fundamental sense of presence. All of these practices are framed as provisional aids: they are to be used earnestly, yet understood as tools for dissolving the deeply rooted belief in being a separate, limited individual. The underlying message is that realization does not consist in acquiring a new state, but in recognizing that what is sought has always been present as the very awareness in which all practices, experiences, and insights appear.