Old man shouts at himself

[OldGuy]

LU is focused guiding for seeing there is no real, inherent 'self' - what do you understand by this?
I ‘believe’ that I have no permanent self, that my brain concocts a history and a narrative to make it seem like I do, but I fully recognise that I am not the same man as I used to be. Of course, this constructed self is useful in a lot of mundane situations, but I recognise it as a ‘costume’ that I can put on.

What are you looking for at LU?
Making the realisation of no-self more ‘real’. I want to get to the place before words come and start naming things. I want to make it more experiential. I can very easily talk myself into thinking I’m having an experience without actually having it.

What do you expect from a guided conversation?
‘A finger pointing at the moon’ as they say. I’d like to engage with another human who can ask the questions I need to consider. It’s very hard to do this without religious things getting mixed up with it. I would hope that I could be guided to a more grounded realisation of being awake.

What is your experience in terms of spiritual practices, seeking and inquiry?
I am well read. I have explored many spiritual practices, most recently zen, but I am not attached to any of them deeply. I actually think the idea of ‘seeking’ is a problem. I am sure that I am already all I seek but it’s a bit like seeing it through a fog.

On a scale from 1 to 10, how willing are you to question any currently held beliefs about 'self? 11

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