Hi Vivien,

One of the guides asks:
Please give an example of how a decision happens.

There is no how, no decision or decision maker happening .

Everything just happens...

Computer turned on, typing words, fingers type, correct words with an arising thought / more words...

The thought arises ...

Dear Vivien,

So here are the six questions. Please answer as clearly as possible and with as much detail as needed. Don’t forget to add everyday examples from your experience for question 5.
1) Is there a separate entity 'self', 'me' 'I', at all, anywhere, in any way, shape or form? Was there ...

Dear Vivien,

Has it been clearly seen that there has never been an ‘I’ that could control or own life or anything?
Yes, it has been clearly seen that I (me and mine) are a thought, and cannot control or own anything

Is there any chooser or decider of any kind?
No

Is there an 'I' of any kind ...

Dear Vivien,

there isn’t, seeing and the seen are one and the same, awareness and the experienced are not separate from each other, there is only awareness…

If there is no separation between awareness and experience, and they are actually the one and the same, then how is it possible that there ...

Dear Vivien,


Myself? It’s more that there is looking into the eyes of the same life / awareness. uhh...In "standard daily view" I can look into the mirror and see my eyes looking back...but this is more looking into the awareness that encompasses everything...uhh...give me a few days on this one ...

Dear Vivien,

A “strange” day today…, loads of thoughts arising….couldn’t see the forest for the trees, or is it the other way around… always lose it before a full moon…DE full moon…

OK, just to clarify this. So… there is an actual experience of an appearing thought (label)… but separation as such ...

Dear Vivien,

Great stuff Vivien!


You say: “without that label (sitting / contacting) there is no separation between objects (label).” – and with labels are there REALLY separation, or it just SEEMS to be?
Yes, saw it after it was published; a label it just a label, the word “separation” is a ...

Dear Vivien,

Thanks for this...

Does the pure sensation itself suggest in any way that “it’s temperature”?
Does the pure sensation have ANY attributes or characteristics?

No it does not suggest it, I had stopped just looking, words / content arose, first there was just pure sensation (good ...

Hi Vivien,

Sit with eyes closed for about 15 minutes. With only the input from the pure sensations, and without relying on thoughts or mental images:

Can it be known how tall the body is?
no

Does it have a weight or a volume of the body?
no

In the actual experience does the body have a ...

Hi Vivien,

Great stuff....

Since you used a painting the questions would be equated:
Is there a painting as a painting?
??

Just because there is an appearing painting (image), the ‘content’ of the painting (what it’s about) are ‘real’?
the content is not real

Or is it ‘real’ only as a ...

Dear Vivien,

Thanks for the exercise, quite a revelation…I could think of the cup, but could not visualise it at all, sometimes there seemed to be a misty image, but only a flash. There is the understanding why frustration has been experienced with visualisation therapies in the past, and why I ...

Dear Vivien,

Yes, it seems to be a paradox, but this is just another story about it. :)
There was a strange reaction to this, a direct experience ( DE ) of something...

An arising thought is ‘real’ only as an arising thought, but NEVER its ‘content’ (what it’s about).
What is your reaction to ...

Hi Vivien,

Thanks for the mail, I appreciate your comments.

Story / thoughts
On reading my own text I can see that I’ve thrown “standard view, stories, commentary, textual emphasis on story and direct experience commentary all together, sometimes in a single paragraph. I’ll attempt to make it ...

Hi Vivien,

Thanks for your reply and sharing those tips...

Where thoughts come from?
I can’t say for sure, it would be easy but not helpful to say nowhere, it’s more a depth of something, it’s not a void (not that I have any idea how a void could be perceived). No words arise from it that ...

Dear Vivien,

Thanks for the questions, great questions to keep you awake, and I guess to fall a sleep with…

“The standard view”
that’ll be useful reference point.

Feel free to reject what I have suggested if they don't match what you currently believe yourself to be.
I’d agree with some of ...