How are you feeling today? Are there any doubts or burning questions?

Peace and joy, no doubts, no burning questions. There is some diminution of the excitement I felt initially and I have experienced longer periods of getting caught up in thought. But it is fundamentally different in that there ...

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

No, there is no "self", "me"' or "I"' at all, anywhere, in any way, shape or form and there never was.

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

What else are you noticing?
One thing that is really big is I often used to get into long internal monologues, the theme of which was "I am not good enough and I can't do this." This monologue would occur at least once a week, make me ineffective and put me in a foul mood. It hasn't happened once ...

Hi Ilona,

Things are going well. I can answer with a big fat "YES". I can say unequivocally, that a separate entity I is an illusion.

I've had a full day, I'll write more tomorrow.

Kind regards,
- Otto

Tell me what you see when you observe other people, is there a separate entity running them?
There is no separate entity running other people, they are also without self.

How does it look fro your point of view?
This is an interesting observation. With mindfulness, I have a sense of the other ...

How does it feel to see this?
It is more peaceful. There is also a feeling of liveliness and excitement about the novelty of it.

What has changed and what hasn't?
One big difference is my relation to mindfulness. As I mentioned earlier, I used to put quite some effort into becoming mindful and ...

Oh yes! That's what I wanted you to see. Nothing to protect. So seeing that, does the fear still need to protect nothing?

If there really is no i as a separate entity, does it need to be protected?

No, it's clear that there is no need to protect my self. The experience of fear is absent. My ...

Look around, is there inside and outside the view? Is sound happening inside or outside? Taste, smell, touch, is it inside or outside? Just play with this to drive the point home.

Yes, touching, tasting, hearing, seeing, thinking, smelling awareness is unbounded. The object of the awareness is a ...

Now let's take a look, is there a line that separates inside and outside?Close your eyes and find the line. Is bird singing inside or outside? Are thoughts heard inside or outside?
In my experience, when I close my eyes and listen, there is only the perception, there is no line between inside or ...

The thought arises. Is there i thinking it? Is I thought a thinker? Is there a thinker? Take a look in experience and answer each question.

No, there is no I thinking the thought. The "I" thought is just another thought. Thoughts arise without a thinker. In experience "I" thoughts arise along ...

Is there I, as a separate entity in charge of a piece of life? - ask this and write to me exact LU what comes up as it comes up.

There is not "I". What comes up are thoughts and feelings. Thoughts of "my". My story, my family, my things. And there are feelings as the thoughts arise. Feelings of ...

From Gateless Gatecrashers, p 17:
So now look at the real possibility that there is no “you” in real life. That all is happening by itself, without a manager. Look inside and tell me what feeling comes up; do you recognise fear, resistance, frustration, what is it?

There are many, many thoughts ...

LU is focused guiding for seeing there is no real, inherent 'self' - what do you understand by this?
The idea that "there is no real, inherent 'self'" means that the concept of me is baseless, that thoughts of self are just thoughts, and not connected to an distinguishable thing.

What are you ...