The way that a mirror can be both empty and full, being nothing other than what it is reflecting -- and not even that! -- very nicely describes my post-leaf-falling state of mind.

I continue to experience nearly everything that I did before. This includes the wide array of both pleasant and ...

5) What was the last bit that pushed you over, made you look? was there a specific moment when seeing happened or was it gradual? what exactly happened?

Yes. I was writing exactly what you'd asked, what I wanted from liberation.

As I wrote my answers to you, I was staying aware of how my body ...

1. When the mind finally sees that there is neither anything solid in this world that it can grasp, nor anything solid or flexible within its control that it can use to grasp to something with -- it immediately stops grasping. Because in the final analysis the mind is objective, rational and wise ...

How would you describe it to somebody who has never heard about this illusion but is curious about it.

1. Imagine that a hand puppet acts out your whole life story. You approach the puppet and look inside, only to find it completely empty.

2. Imagine you are seeking the source of a river. You ...

"How does it feel to see this? Describe in detail."

It feels like freedom. Like the unclenching of a fist. Like a great long relaxing outbreath. Like one has fallen from a great height, but instead of worrying and fearing an imminent crash, one is enjoying the sense of weightlessness and the pure ...

Hi Ilona,

Cranking on ... ;-)

2. “Is there anything that is separate from everything else?”

No, nothing at all. Everything is part of the endless billowing of spellbinding shapes and forms out of emptiness, then the shrinking of all those forms and apparent solidities -- skyscrapers, billiard ...

Okay, one at a time it is then ... ;-)

1. "Is there a 'me' at all, anywhere, in any way, shape or form? Was there ever?"

No, there is absolutely no me. Not in the sense of a permanent, unique, unchanging personality or soul that abides through eternal time. No such a me ever existed and therefore ...

Hi Ilona,

The questions I haven't yet answered are still germinating. Be sure that I’m watering the remaining seeds with my full attention and will write you when they flower and eagerly so.

I'm very happy that the conversation continues to bloom.

Hi Ilona,

The questions I haven't yet answered are still germinating. I only picked the flowers that had bloomed. Be sure that I’m watering the remaining seeds with my full attention and will write you when they flower, and eagerly so.

I'm happy that our conversation continues to bloom. ;-)

Hi Ilona,

I waited a few days to answer your last questions because I wanted to live with what it is, if anything, that I realized a few days back. I wanted to give this realization -- again, if it is that -- a test drive. How is it working in my daily life? Is it making a difference at all? Is it ...

Wonderful questions, Ilona. Let me live with them for a day or two. Then I'll try to offer words.

Sending love.

Hi Ilona,

But I'm very happy to have the old bastard around!

He's increasingly harmless. He's like an older person that I fought violent battles with a long, long time ago.

I could keep on fighting all those ancient battles with him but why? He's so old and fragile now, he's poses not the ...

Hi Ilona,

I felt cheerful and light-hearted today, floating a couple of inches off the floor. Like a lottery winner I suppose. More accurately, like I won the lottery but still have the ticket in my pocket and I haven’t yet told anyone. Meanwhile all over the TV they are saying “Who won the lottery ...

Ilona, I did it.

The questions that you asked me to answer in the form of a list was all the pointing that I needed. Your request that I list the specific benefits I wanted and expected to get from realization was like asking me which burning hot coals I wanted to reach down and pick up with my ...

Hi Ilona,

Thank you so much for your quick response, for your willingness to walk with me on this path towards freedom from unhealthy habits of mind.

You asked me to spell out what I expect and what I would like to get from our time together in conversation, and also to say what I don’t want.

I ...