Who am I?

Seeing through the illusion of the self -- that is one statement of the goal of Buddhist practice. Many teachers advise pondering the question, "Who am I?" Not theoretically, but via direct experience, exploring one's sense of one's self, as in Kenneth Folk's "second gear" practice. I've been practicing this on and off for a few weeks, and in particular the past 48 hours.

When I ask myself, "Who am I?", I find that the felt sense of "I" shifts around. Typical locations are the back of the throat, the back of the head, the backs of the arms, and the chest. When I first started this practice it took some time to even realize I had a felt sense of "I". It seems that when I locate it and put my attention upon it, it shifts location. It seems that "I" is the observer, but if I begin observing "I", then the observer has to become something other than the sensations being observed--thus the shift.

Most writings on this topic are hard to follow, and now I understand why, because my own writing here seems obtuse to me, even though the phenomenon I'm trying to describe is very simple in my experience.

I didn't log any meditation over Saturday, Sunday, or Monday, because the weekend was consumed with an orienteering road trip, and Monday I felt physically, emotionally, and mentally weary. I did meditate 1.5 to 2 hours per day over the weekend, mostly in the car. I did metta, noting, and observing "I".