Inspired by Jed

[Bananafish]

To clarify, I meant I realize right now there is no watcher, just a "watching" happening without a watcher.

Thanks! When there is watching, what is the display on which this thread appears?
The question may seem somewhat vague, but please freely describe it.

[Merrick]

That questions was one I find myself asking during all of this lol. What is the display? This is another really weird thing...

I cannot point to anything that the display is happening on. So here's my process of exploring this:

The display again feels like from my head lol. Like my field of vision is the "display". And I can see things nearer to me better than things far away. Why can't I see that corner of the room as clearly? Cause the display is HERE and not THERE. So if I move my head to the corner, then I can see that part more clearly.

But I realize, this whole display is in my head is part of what is being watched. Everytime I try to LOOK at the display, I just end up with a perception of the display that is being WATCHED.

There isn't such a thing as the display is HERE and not in THAT CORNER of the room.

I have no freakin idea... It is impossible to think about this. I am resorting to thinking, because in my direct experience, there is nothing again. There is just a 'watching' happening. I cannot find a display. I don't see one. There isn't one. Reality is weird.

[Bananafish]

Well, when I used the word "display", I meant the computer display ... the monitor.
See how you are trying to make it somewhat conceptual again? :)



You can see the computer monitor, right?



What is it, in relation to what you realized?

[Merrick]

OH LOL whoops...

Ok I need a rested brain for this, I will sleep now and try this tomorrow lol

Thanks for everything so far!

[Bananafish]

LOL!

I hope you have a good night's sleep, Merrick.
See you tomorrow ... :)

[Merrick]

To clarify, I meant I realize right now there is no watcher, just a "watching" happening without a watcher.

Thanks! When there is watching, what is the display on which this thread appears?
The question may seem somewhat vague, but please freely describe it.

Ok so let's try this again. I was pondering this for quite a while, but I am pretty stuck so I will just blabber whatever comes into my mind. Hope that's ok lol

In relation to what I said about watching and the watcher. The screen and the thread are dependent on each other... The screen allows things to be seen, and if there is nothing to be seen, the screen doesn't apply in any way. The screen and the thread are one and the same.

The watching in where our everyday awareness happens, and the 'world' it is watching are one and the same.

In both situations, there is no 'watchER' because that implies a separate self but the contents and the display in both situations mutually depend on each other.

But what about when the computer is turned off. The screen is TECHNICALLY there. What about when I am in deep sleep. Is this like if the computer was off?

This whole thing was hard to wrap my head around

[Bananafish]

Umm ... what you wrote seems all theories and I wonder if you just thought about it
and didn't actually observe the computer display with care (sorry if I'm wrong).


Again, this is not a game of intellect, so let's simplify this ...


Watch the computer (smartphone, tablet or whatever hardware you're using to see this thread) display
and please tell me where the watcher of .

Then, tell me what the "watcher" of the display is.

[Merrick]

Yeah it was all theories and I was wondering myself, why I am being given an intellectual exercise to do. It appears I misunderstood the exercise again... I thought you were asking for some computer analogy for some reason... lol sorry about that.

ok so I did it right this time

As I am watching the display, I cannot pinpoint where the watcher is in space or in the mind (or anywhere).

The "watcher" is, again, I have no word to describe what it is in this moment in my experience. It's nothing. There is awareness, but I cannot make/feel/identify anything of it. It's just "happening". It's very empty, like an empty cup. The space inside the cup. (I'm not trying to use the cliche analogy of the empty cup, it really is what it feels like right now). In the same way, I cannot make anything of the empty space, I can't do the same for the "watching/watcher/awareness" right now as "I" look at this display. But "I" still know that it's 'there'.

[Bananafish]

"I" still know that it's 'there'.

Where is "here" and where is "there"?
Can you point at both?


When a certain knowing is there, where's the knower?
Do the pointing for this, as well.

[Merrick]

"I" still know that it's 'there'.

Where is "here" and where is "there"?
Can you point at both?

I should have put "I still know that it's present". This is because, it's empty. Emptiness is not here nor there, it's nothing. There's nothing I can make of this other than that it's just 'present'. So no, I cannot point to both.

When a certain knowing is there, where's the knower?
Do the pointing for this, as well.

When there is knowing, there is no knower. This knowing is empty too. The same thing. I'm not even sure I am experiencing a "KNOWING". To me, in my experience, it seems a more apt word would be "being". I may be taking a popular word from spiritual texts, but whether that word has influenced me in the past or not, it seems to be the most fitting word right now. There is just a subtle 'beingness'. It fits better than 'knowing'. I don't really see a "knowing".

[Bananafish]

There's nothing I can make of this other than that it's just 'present'.

How do you know that it's present?

There is just a subtle 'beingness'. It fits better than 'knowing'. I don't really see a "knowing".

How is this "beingness" felt or recognized?

[Merrick]

Hi Bananafish, I just wanted to update you on stuff

Something came up so I am not able to reply on a daily basis anymore. I want you to know this is not a sign of lowered interest, but just simply that my schedule just got immensely busier. I will have time to go out somewhere nice tomorrow and genuinely explore this so I can do this properly instead of rushing it and answer tomorrow.

I will be answering whenever I have time to genuinely explore the things you tell me, which may cause delays for few days but I still am exploring and interested in this just as much as before so I am still taking this seriously.

Sorry for not updating you sooner. Hope you're well! Thanks!

[Bananafish]

Hi Merrick. :). Thanks for letting me know.
Yes, there's no rush. Just keep on investigating. It might help to just review the whole thread and try the experiments again.

[Merrick]

There's nothing I can make of this other than that it's just 'present'.

How do you know that it's present?

There is just a subtle 'beingness'. It fits better than 'knowing'. I don't really see a "knowing".

How is this "beingness" felt or recognized?

When I explore this, I cannot tell if it's present directly.

This 'beingness' is hard to feel or recognize. I only know its presence through the awareness of sensations/contents of awareness. It's as if awareness and the 'things' being aware of are one. I also recognize it through a subtle energy of just being alive.

[Bananafish]

This 'beingness' is hard to feel or recognize. I only know its presence through the awareness of sensations/contents of awareness. It's as if awareness and the 'things' being aware of are one. I also recognize it through a subtle energy of just being alive.

Why aren't they just sensations, things, and energy?


What makes you recognize the "I" behind it?
Is it possible for you know it without using imagination or guessing?