"Being a witness" to observe the play of life

Often the scriptures emphasize the significance of living life as a witness. A question naturally arises since we are living this life life acting on a stage, how can we be in a witness state while performing our role on the stage. I have been struggling with this question for quite a long. Meanwhile, I attended a few Vipassana camps where the emphasis is on observing the breath and the sensations on different parts of the body. I have also been attending discussions at J Krishnamurti Foundation, where K emphasizes observation of thoughts. Is there a correlation between the two?

If we extend the example of acting on a stage, probably every actor on the stage is being guided by four different factors. The stage, the role that the actor is playing on the stage, the past life experiences of the actor, and the ecosystem such as the auditorium, sound system, music system, orchestra, and lights. The role assigned to the actor is very critical. The actor needs to play within the boundaries of the role. The assignment of a particular role depends upon the capability of the actor and his performance in the past plays. Similarly, the role we get to perform in our lives depends quite a lot on the type of family and society we are born in. However, there are always chances to improvise the role while the play is going on and we also get many chances to improvise our role during our lifetime.

Similarly, the past life experiences of the actor help him a lot to give shape to his performance. Such experiences help him connect to the role. If the same role on the stage is played by people with different experiences, they will play the same role quite differently. Similarly, we all have a storehouse of memories in our unconscious mind that keeps deciding the direction of our lives. It may appear that our life decisions are being taken by us consciously and rationally, however, if we examine our past lives, we will be amazed at the decisions we took in life. Even if we are allowed to replay our lives, we will never be sure whether we will make the same decisions again and there is almost 100% probability that we will make quite different decisions in the same situations because we have grown in terms of experiences.

The third factor that decides the performance of the actor on the stage is the ecosystem such as the auditorium, sound system, music system, orchestra, and lights. Similarly, different life forces help us live in this world. These forces of nature operate within us in the form of Prana. We take the breath and the oxygen in the air helps the body digest the food and give energy to the body. Beyond these three factors, the fourth one is the stage itself in the form of the body. So long as we continue in a particular body, that is the stage we play our role. 

Now coming to the possibility of "being a witness" or "observation" while playing a role on the stage, logically, it would be quite difficult for an actor to "be a witness" to the role that he is playing. Because either an actor can play the role or be a spectator. He can not be both at the same time. I have experienced the same. While playing a role at the office, in the family, or in any other role, it is almost impossible to play the role and be a witness at the same time. 

The actor has two choices always. Firstly, he may lose awareness of being an actor and may get mesmerized by the play and mistake the play to be the entire reality. In that case, he will be so overwhelmed by the role he is playing that his performance will be full of spells of extreme emotions depending upon the scenes on the stage. There would be fear as well as euphoria. Secondly, the actor may retain awareness of being an actor. Thereby, while playing the role, the actor can very well be a witness and observe what is going on on the stage. Not by being a spectator, but by remembering oneself to be an actor who comes to play a particular role, in a certain ecosystem and with specific past experiences. One need not move away from the stage to the spectator lobby to observe. One can always remain aware, while being at the stage, of the changing stages, roles, ecosystems, and experiences. 

Witnessing what is going on inside one's mind is generally quite difficult. So long as an actor is obsessed with the role, he does not observe the role. The first step in the process of observation would naturally be to look at the auditorium, sound system, music system, orchestra, and lights. That will help the actor come out of the fixation on the role. Similar way, concentration on the breath helps us come out of the fixation on the thoughts. The next step for the actor is to recall past performances. Similarly, we witness our past Samskaras in the form of pleasant and unpleasant sensations on different parts of our body. Realization of the temporariness of these sensations helps us come out of fixation with these experiences.

The next step for the actor is to realize that he is just playing a role on the stage. Similarly, the next step in the process of awareness is to realize that all our thoughts are the creation of the role that we are playing in this life. This helps us to be a witness to these thoughts. With this awareness comes the realization of the temporariness of the stage itself. Thus "being a witness" or "observation" is not possible in bits and pieces and either an actor may be lost in the role or may be aware of being an actor.

My feeling and experience is that as the actor comes out of the obsession with the role and regains awareness of being an actor, he starts listening to the instructions of the director who has a far greater role for the actor. The director knows the actor better than himself because the actor sets his limits on his past experiences while the director looks at the potential. The moment the actor has unconditional trust in that director, the director gives all possible guidance to the actor to play the most memorable role on the stage.