Hi Aragon,
I've answered the guides' questions, and then yours, below:

1: Are you willing to notice what is happening in direct experience at any cost? Even if it means that every thing you have heard ‘should’ happen may not happen? Are you willing to give up every idea of how it should be in ...

Thanks Aragon - they're some great questions. Nothing gets past the guides :-)
I may not get to writing an answer tonight but certainly by tomorrow night.
All the best,
Mark

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

No, there isn't. It's a mirage. There never was an 'I'.

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

Thanks Aragon. I'll have a crack at the questions so, and we can take it from there. This evening got away from me between one thing and another so it'll have to be tomorrow night if that's ok.
Funny thing, I was in a bit of a bad humour this evening, and it was the sort of humour that would ...

Basically, how does one know if seeing has really happened?
Thanks Aragon.

Hi Aragon,
Thanks for checking up :-) I've been sitting with the questions for the weekend, letting them roll around, like loose shot on deck.I'd like to tell you what's been going on, before I answer them, if that's ok.
We talked a little about doubt.It still comes up, and it's hard to ignore. What ...

Hi Aragon,
Thanks for that. As you say, there's nothing to fear, either way. If you think it might be useful, let's try the questions.
Mark

Hi Aragon,
So, what is doubt? A thought. Mental images and stories about other people's experiences, and thoughts like "it's not like that for me", "shouldn't it be more like this, or that?"
The thing is, if I'd never heard of their stories, if I'd never been a Buddhist and didn't have all that ...

Thanks Aragon. I'll sit with doubt and check in again tomorrow.
Thanks again for your patience.
Mark

Well there's the million dollar question. There are a lot of preconceptions about what "seeing" should feel like. On the basis of those, the experiences of my friends and people I've heard talk about it, I would say no.
- You mean it is not seen?

I'm not sure, Aragon. I mean, I can't see an 'I ...

Well there's the million dollar question. There are a lot of preconceptions about what "seeing" should feel like. On the basis of those, the experiences of my friends and people I've heard talk about it, I would say no. Having said that, I cannot find an 'I', and it seems much simpler now. Certainly ...

Don’t worry, we’re not there yet….

You can say that again :-)

Foot' points to these beautifully-shaped ends of our legs. Our actual experience of sensation there arises, and the thought 'foot' jumps in automatically. So while the label points to something which physically exists,

You describe ...

'Foot' is an idea, a label. Given to describe something which is real in as much as it can be seen and touched.

How do you mean? What is the label describing?

'Foot' points to these beautifully-shaped ends of our legs. Our actual experience of sensation there arises, and the thought 'foot' jumps ...

So, what is 'foot'?

'Foot' is an idea, a label. Given to describe something which is real in as much as it can be seen and touched. But the label just points to it and the thing itself... In experience it's far more mysterious than 'foot'. It's just a word, a thought. A veil which covers the ...

I think thought causes sensation,

Go back to your foot, where it touches the floor. Does thought really cause sensations, or do sensations just arise?

Look closely.

When I said that thought causes sensation, I was referring to those sensations felt as part of “emotion.” If I imagine a ...