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

No, not in any shape of form, other than thought. I don't know if there ever was since all I can observe is 'now'.

2) Explain in detail what the illusion of separate self is, when it ...

Hi Bananafish,

The illusion has been seen. It's clear that it will take a good deal more practice to keep returning to the insight though. I'd be happy to answer any final questions now and move on.

Many thanks for your guidance.

Oliver

Is that understanding an experiential one, or rather an intellectual one?

I looked again to check. Same result, just thought, loads of them. Nothing actually concrete.

Oliver

Is there an 'I,' 'me,' 'self' in any form other than a mere thought?

No. Just thought, labels, concepts, building one on top of another. So familiar and absorbing that they almost appear concrete. A 'self' belief accompanied by beliefs about 'other', which can slip through the net unless looking ...

Hi Bananafish,

Just wanted to let you know that I'm still looking for clear answers. It sounds strange, but I'm not sure what to look for. I know it's meant to be a 'me', 'self', or 'I', but I'm what does that actually look like. I'll take it slow and see what is seen. For now it's mostly been ...

Hi Bananafish,

Now, is the thought 'I' different from other thoughts?

After much looking, no, it's just another thought, only frequently recurring. It mostly seems to be narration, but there's also labelling.

Oliver

Hi,

Actually LOOK at thoughts that appear and disappear. Can they function in any way other than labels or narration?

Thoughts appear to function only as labels and narration. At first it seemed that thoughts were necessary to inform subsequent actions, e.g. when solving a challenging problem ...

Hi Bananafish,

I've not yet had time to satisfactorily look into the questions, so will try for a while longer then get back.

Thanks

Oliver

Hello Bananafish,

Something changed a little. There was a realisation that instead of looking, there was merely thinking about looking! With more effort to actually look there is a significantly different feeling.

When thoughts and beliefs take hold, to whom is that a problem?

It’s difficult to ...

Hi Bananafish,

Please be 100% honest when answering. If you are still unsure, that's perfectly ok.

Now that you mention it…

The problem is that I logically believe there is no self, no free will, only the ‘now’ etc, but it’s difficult to directly see it on demand.

Putting aside the fact that ...

Who is the one that directly looks at "I?"
Is it the same "I," or is it something different?

This is getting interesting. When looking for what is looking, nothing is found. Awareness of thought just seems to ‘be’.

Can the thought "I" look at something?

It doesn’t seem that a thought can ...

Where is the 'I' that is paying attention, or losing it?
Can you locate it?

I can't actually find an 'I', let alone locate it.

In what kind of form does this 'I' exist?
Would it be possible to show it to me if we met in person?

It appears to just be a thought pattern. Which disappears when ...

Did you clearly see that thoughts aren't locatable nor graspable? Do they seem more phantom-like now?

They definitely can't be grasped. They seem like genuine experiences, but not part of the 'external' or 'real' world.

what can thoughts do other than just appearing and disappearing?

They ...

please try to grasp (literally!) the thoughts
with your hand(s).

Could you do it?

Ha! No, I can't assign a physical location to thoughts, unless I resort to thoughts about thought, which I think is cheating :-)

Oliver

Hi Bananafish,

Can you point at the place where thoughts appear?
Where did you point at?

First I pointed at my head. Then I paused... because although thoughts clearly appear, it's hard to actually locate them in space without a suspiscion that I've just made up their location with another ...