Okay great.

So the only things that ACTUALLY exist in reality are colour, sensation, sound, smell and thought.

Thought exists, however the STORIES or CONTENT of thought do not. As you’ve now seen, it’s in thoughts nature to add stories to the raw experience of colour/sensation/sound/smell ...

Okay.

So going back to the original exercise, reducing reality down to the raw sensory input only (colour/sound/sensation/smell/thought), what is thought adding to this basic ACTUAL experience?

**previous

Hi rsdavis

Before we move on to any further exploration of how the sense of I is constructed, we need to focus on that precious exercise some more.

Have you been doing the exercise? Did you notice anything about the nature of thought?

Talk soon

Ben

Hi Michael

You are right, this isn’t a standard dialogue as such. What I’ve found works better for most people is rather than answer their questions, which is giving them more information - stories - to contend with, I set exercises and ask questions to encourage them to LOOK and see for ...

Hi Michael

This is the way I have to offer, it does work for a lot of people, but not everyone. If you’re not willing to give it a go, then maybe it’s not for you?

Cheers

Hi Michael

You’ve given a very intellectual answer. Try to forget anything you’ve learnt about the topic because it’s going to get in the way. Information about the self may help you in terms of self-development or if you want to sound clever, but it won’t help you here.

All you need to do is LOOK ...

Hi Michael

My name's Ben and I'm happy to guide you.

Let's get straight into it.

Looking at reality as it is, right now, in the present moment, what does the "I" thought point to?

Good luck,

Ben

Hi rsdavis

You've given a very analytical answer. This is good for self development purposes, but it's not going to help you here. Don't worry, everyone tends to do this at the start and getting the knack of looking at reality DIRECTLY and without labels/stories takes a bit of practice.

If you ...

Hi RSDavis

My name is Ben and I'm happy to be your guide.

Let's get straight into it.

The thought "I", what does it point to?

Look in your direct, immediate experience only.

Let me know what you find.

Ben

Hi Curupira

Admin are happy with your responses, they’ll be in contact with you shortly to add you to the various groups.

Cheers

Ben

Okay great, here you go:

1) Is there a separate entity 'self', 'me' 'I', at all, anywhere, in any way, shape or form? Was there ever?

2) Explain in detail what the illusion of separate self is, when it starts and how it works from your own experience. Describe it fully as you see it now.

3) How ...

Sounds excellent to me, well done getting through this first step.

From here people generally get to a place where they feel the push to keep progressing, as there are of course more subtler layers of self that can still be running. Some people like to find their own way to keep progressing, if ...

Hi Curupira

OK.

So look for the “self” in the same way we did earlier on in the exploration.

Can you find a separate YOU in any way, shape or form?

Ben

Yes, words are really the worst ways to describe WHAT IS.

Look around at what’s around you, objects, trees, people.

Do you feel separate?

How would you describe it?