In direct experience, is there an entity called thought that can make up stories, tell stories and be happy about it?

No, saying "thought makes up stories" was just a manner of speaking.

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

No. Not at all. There never was. It was always an illusion, a thought. There never was, is or could ever be a self.

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

What is this ‘me’ that “a wide open space can be felt around”?
With which of the 5 senses this can be felt?
Can this be felt at all?

Or “I am beginning to feel a sense of a wide open space all around me” – is just the content of an arising thought that are believed?

No, it’s just a thought. It’s ...

Sorry for the hiatus! I'm back.

Is it necessary or even useful for the I-thought to go away?
Or is it ‘enough’ to see that the ‘I’ is nothing more than a thought that doesn’t point to anything real?

This is an important sticking point for me. When I see it now, it seems like, no, of course it’s ...

I'm sorry to be MIA here, but it's been very busy with the birth of my new nephew and a lot of family in town. I don't want to rush my responses, so I'll be back to reply more thoroughly as soon as I'm able.

Thanks!
R

How is this known that “the words made the arm raise”?
Is it possible that raising the arm happen by ‘itself’ then thoughts came interpreting the experience “the words made the arm raise”?

Here is another example, how thoughts jump in to try to give ‘meaning’ and interpretation on the experience ...

P.S., I may not be able to reply again until Friday, as I'll be going out of town tomorrow. Just letting you know.

Has it been CLEARLY seen that the ‘I’ is only a thought, or it is rather a logical conclusion at this moment?

It's still a little fuzzy on the clear-seeing level. There has to be focus to see it clearly and then it fades.

Choose one of your arms - It doesn't matter which.
When you have done ...

What is this ‘I’ exactly that could feel a “quality of warmth”?
Does the sensation itself imply in any what that “this is warmness” or “this is softness” or only mental labels suggest this?

There isn’t an I experiencing the sensation. There’s just the sensation. And no, warmness and softness are ...

Thank you for this reply. It's been a busy day, so I'm going to return to this tomorrow with fresh energy.

Thought is based in language and language can be very confusing as it presumes a subject and an object at all times.
So the language suggest that there is an ‘I’ (subject) that is doing (looking) the computer (object).

Yes, this does make reporting on the whole thing a little tricky. This all ...

Has this been CLEARLY seen, or is this rather an intellectual understanding now?
I just would like to know where you are at now.

I’m want to be very careful about not fooling myself here, but I do seem to see this pretty clearly. Since yesterday, something just seems...gone….and I’m not trying to ...

Thanks a lot for the reply.

There is no ‘you’ that could see the mirage. The ‘you’ that supposedly see or not see is the mirage itself.
There is no ‘you’ that could feel that the mirage is real or not. The ‘you’ that supposedly feel the mirage is the mirage itself.

My initial response to this ...

Hi Viven,

I just got home and realized I wrote this reply earlier today and never pressed 'send!'

Anyway, here it is. More soon...


Thanks so much for the reply.

I'm definitely up for the exercise. But I have a pretty busy day today and I don't want to rush through my responses. So I'll dive ...

Quick followup:

I experienced a residual effect of this exercise, and of conceptualizing fear as a reverse magnet pushing me away from the void.

I felt--on a distinct feeling level, not a thought level--that the only way through the fear is by relaxing into it rather than battling against it ...