Clare,


to the question "where do thoughts come from" you reply: From nothingness to nothingness .

Yes!

- I would believe there is some kind of randomness to it - a mix of recent activities (especially tv, reading...), near past activities / conversations, and far past interactions, /quote]

We ...

Hello Clare,


Your response to the question how it feels to not be there you say: Direct experience is nice, kind of blissy, kind of nothing, dissolving ... being.

And this is from your very first post: LU is focused guiding for seeing there is no real, inherent 'self' - what do you understand by ...

Hello Clare,


sorry for the late reply.

I know that when I focus on direct experience - there is no me.

Very good, how does that feel? Does it feel good not to be there? Or does it engender a feeling of loss of control and fear?

I see there is no me and yet the realisation of it drifts away ...

Clare,

I was a bit fast pushing the send button.

Direct experience is always happening even if I overlay it with a gazillion different theories.

Yes your direct experience before labelling, shows you reality at it is: it is no-thing appearing as everything.

Love,

Phil

Hello Clare,

'there is no me' is an incredibly gentle and simple statement, and so incredibly transforming to my foundational perspective of life.

Can you elaborate on that? Tell me what happens in as much details as possible.

For me it is the fact that it comes gently without a complex set of ...

'Claimed' is a good description of what 'me' does - always voraciously searching to exist and matter, and do key & important things, be integral.

The me wants to exist and wants to be special. Once we stop believing in it, we stop giving it power. And it can no longer claim any of our experiences ...

Hello Clare,


Who - what - consciousness experiencing life / this / now

There is no me

Very impressive Clare!

Why when I see this for a moment is it not the earth shattering aha that might accompany this realising? How can I see and not see?

The mind wants this enlightenment business to ...

Hello Clare,


Thank you for all the hard work and honest work! I like working with you.

No listener can be found.

Would you agree that this is the same for all the senses? No hearer, no smeller, no taster, no seer? Can you find a 'me' at all behind these perceptions? Who is having them? Or are ...

Clare,


In addition to my question 'can you find the listener?', I would like you to try this exercise which examines the way in which the mind labels experience - it takes about 20 minutes and you will need a pen a paper.

This exercise is broken into 10 minute lots. For each 10 minute period pay ...

Hello Clare,


No it's not really possible to localise it - it is not any of those places but somehow it is. Perhaps it is actual experience rather than a sound that is listened to by a listener listening.

Everything we focus on is actual experience, which is either sensory information coming ...

Clare,


I want you to get a sheet of paper and draw a line that divides that sheet in half. Label one half 'self' and the other side 'other'. Sit down and start a timer for 5 minutes. Every time you have a thought make a mark on the sheet. If that thought is about the self put a mark on the self ...

Hello Clare,


Yes that needs to be my focus - that I am shifting to seeing more what is in the present moment via actual
experience. Freely switching to this is something to feel happy about.

Totally on the same page.

They don't exist. Direct experience is hard to put into words and putting ...

Clare,


Have a look at an apple. If you have a ‘real’ apple, you can use it for this exercise. If not, here's an image of an apple from the Internet. http://www.maryshomestead.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/fruit.gif

When looking at an apple, there's colour; a thought saying ‘apple ...

Dear Clare,


Yes it is possible to remember, not necessarily to stop the resistance though and then I feel super disappointed with myself but I don't very often remember and continue to resist.

Why so hard on yourself? Can you see this is what causes suffering? Let's focus on what is happening ...

Sit quietly and relax, take your time just looking at what is in front of you for awhile. Observe how the mind is dividing and labelling every thing into objects and is embellishing them with stories about what they are.

Give it some time. Then, stop watching the objects as labelled objects. Just ...