The One That Became Zero

[barb]

Beautiful <3

Is there something you want to explore together? If not, we have a set of obligatory final questions which I can give you to see if there is something missing... :)

[ShunyaZero]

Is there something you want to explore together?

Yes. There are a few questions. Want to explore these with you.
Would like to know your thoughts/perspective on these.
For the sake of asking these questions - will revert to being "me". (Would appreciate if you do the same as well.)

Practical aspects of this "liberation":
1. How to (/ do you) stay/reside in this state permanently? (Have seen through the illusion quite a few times before as well. But then eventually "ego" took over, and the "truth" was lost.)
2. How to (/ do you) navigate through day-to-day life while being in this state? (Surely, you know this isn't in line with the "conventional wisdom". There's work, relationships, bills to be paid etc.)

Personal development:
There's so much advice out there on living a good "life" - being a better "person".
Given that the concept of "person" is an illusion, does all this advice make sense?

Stoicism:
Do you know about it?
If yes, what are your thoughts on it?

Everything just "is". Just "happening".
No "doer" - just "doing" happening.
"Control" is an illusion. There's no doubt about it.

So what would you say:
Is everything "predetermined" or is there a "free will"?

Disclaimer:
I know in your first post itself you had established that

This is not a "normal dialogue".

So I'm requesting you, for the sake of my curiosity (just for this once), let's take this particular Q&A with a pinch of salt.

Eager to hear your thoughts.

[barb]

Practical aspects of this "liberation":
1. How to (/ do you) stay/reside in this state permanently? (Have seen through the illusion quite a few times before as well. But then eventually "ego" took over, and the "truth" was lost.)

It's not about a state! If a state comes then it will go... It's not about eternal bliss or happyeverafter. There will always be pleasure and pain, but it's all about perspective. If one has really seen through the illusion then a not existing ego cannot take over anymore. How could anything that does not exist do something? Did you ever believe in Santa Claus or similar? Once the illusion dropped, could you ever believe again in it?

2. How to (/ do you) navigate through day-to-day life while being in this state? (Surely, you know this isn't in line with the "conventional wisdom". There's work, relationships, bills to be paid etc.)

Because there was never a separate „I“ in the first place that did something, why should anything change?

Personal development:
There's so much advice out there on living a good "life" - being a better "person".
Given that the concept of "person" is an illusion, does all this advice make sense?

Some advice may attract others not, what preferences are there depends on temperament and character conditioning... Like if you want to cook a good meal and you look for recipe... ;)

Stoicism:
Do you know about it?
If yes, what are your thoughts on it?

I've read a little bit about it. It looks as if it has some good advice to get more equanimity. Again, if one has the pull towards it, then one will look for it. But this all has nothing to do with seeing through the illusion of a separate entity „I“...

Everything just "is". Just "happening".
No "doer" - just "doing" happening.
"Control" is an illusion. There's no doubt about it.

So what would you say:
Is everything "predetermined" or is there a "free will"?

If there is no control, how could there be free will? And who would have this free will? With the word predetermined I like to be a little bit careful, it suggests that there is somewhere a captain who does predetermine.

Try it for yourself:

Lift your right or left arm (or leave it down). While lifting or not lifting a decision happens, at least something happens (or not).

Can you find the exact moment of decision and find the concrete essence which seems to make a decision? Is it really possible to find the moment of decision as well as the apparent "decider"? Or does the idea "I
decided to lift (or not) the right or left arm” emerge only after the actual event?

So I'm requesting you, for the sake of my curiosity (just for this once), let's take this particular Q&A with a pinch of salt.

Haha, this wonderful curiosity... :) I know this, I am also very curious... This is just what happens...

Maybe you want to go in nature, sit there for a bit, and watch how everything moves and wiggles, how the wind blows, how the clouds move. If you can’t go, a view through a window is fine too. People and animals move. Everything is one movement, including body, breath, and thoughts – without controller... Watch the totality, and notice - there is no“noticer” separate from the noticing...
Enjoy it, enjoy the seeing of „there is no I“ ….. it's just one happening going on...

[ShunyaZero]

It's not about eternal bliss or happyeverafter. There will always be pleasure and pain, but it's all about perspective.

We're on the same page here already.

If one has really seen through the illusion then a not existing ego cannot take over anymore.

When one's "born", before "language" happens, it's all a blank state. No separate self.
Then ego takes over, as we know, and it's true for almost all human beings.
If ego could take over back then, then it could take over again.
Although I get your point. So agreed.

Did you ever believe in Santa Claus or similar? Once the illusion dropped, could you ever believe again in it?

All illusions/lies aren't created equal.
Some lies are pretty childish (like Santa/Tooth Fairy), while some are really gripping & extremely believable (like "separate self").
We can not compare these two - this is like comparing Apples and Birds (not even Oranges, they're so different).
If I'm sitting on my roof someday, and get a glimpse of a bearded man riding a sleigh across the sky, my strongly-held belief that "Santa is a lie" might (in fact will) get shaken up a bit.
Similarly, if I'm sitting on my roof someday, and a chain of thoughts just rushes in (which we, it's been established, have no control over) with that "I" attached to it (mostly out of force of habit), then it might sway "me".

Life, as we experience it, is pretty captivating. And with the kind of immersive experiences that we have everyday, ego has a tendency of swaying our focus/attention.
I'm not saying it's easy for ego to do that, but as I said, the possibility can't be ruled out.
I personally know a lot of people who got glimpses of this no-self-reality (during meditations, psychedelic trips, or through self-inquiry). But later it subsided and they came back to the conventional-separate-self-reality. In fact, I've been there myself.

Although, having said all of that (and I said a lot I believe, unnecessarily), I understand where you're coming from.
One (who has seen through the illusion/lie) could be only temporarily swayed by the (non-existent) ego, never permanently. No-self-truth, once seen, will always pull you back from illusion.

Actually when I asked "How to (/ do you) navigate through day-to-day life while being in this state?", I meant to ask if there are any techniques that you personally use to stay in (or bring yourself back to) this state. (Like you sometimes tell me to "take a pause" etc.)

Because there was never a separate „I“ in the first place that did something, why should anything change?

Again, we're on the same page here already. These affairs were being handled earlier - they'll still be handled.
I actually meant how do you "look" at work, relationships, bills to be paid etc (e.g. with detachment).

Maybe you want to go in nature, sit there for a bit, and watch how everything moves and wiggles, how the wind blows, how the clouds move. If you can’t go, a view through a window is fine too. People and animals move. Everything is one movement, including body, breath, and thoughts – without controller... Watch the totality, and notice - there is no“noticer” separate from the noticing...
Enjoy it, enjoy the seeing of „there is no I“ ….. it's just one happening going on...

It is seen.

[barb]

Please answer always all questions and do all experiments which are written in bold. This is very important, as I said this is not a philosophical discursion its all about looking. In one of the questions or experiments could be the key for clear seeing – we don't know in which therefore please answer the questions from the previous post:

If there is no control, how could there be free will? And who would have this free will?

Try for yourself how decisions are happening (do it for real, do not only think about it...)

Lift your right or left arm (or leave it down). While lifting or not lifting a decision happens, at least something happens (or not).

Can you find the exact moment of decision and find the concrete essence which seems to make a decision? Is it really possible to find the moment of decision as well as the apparent "decider"? Or does the idea "I
decided to lift (or not) the right or left arm” emerge only after the actual event?

If one has really seen through the illusion then a not existing ego cannot take over anymore.

When one's "born", before "language" happens, it's all a blank state. No separate self.
Then ego takes over, as we know, and it's true for almost all human beings.
If ego could take over back then, then it could take over again.
Although I get your point. So agreed.

It is not important that you agree... You have to see... :)
What is ego? What of it can be seen-heard-felt?LOOK with your senses, not in thought content!

Did you ever believe in Santa Claus or similar? Once the illusion dropped, could you ever believe again in it?

All illusions/lies aren't created equal.
Some lies are pretty childish (like Santa/Tooth Fairy), while some are really gripping & extremely believable (like "separate self").

You are right: Once seen through the illusion of separation, this is more ridiculous than Fairies or Unicorns or Santas... ;)

Similarly, if I'm sitting on my roof someday, and a chain of thoughts just rushes in (which we, it's been established, have no control over) with that "I" attached to it (mostly out of force of habit), then it might sway "me".

You have already seen with the thought experiment (at least you've said that), that „I“ is also a thought. Can a thought be attached to another thought?

I'm not saying it's easy for ego to do that, but as I said, the possibility can't be ruled out.
I personally know a lot of people who got glimpses of this no-self-reality (during meditations, psychedelic trips, or through self-inquiry). But later it subsided and they came back to the conventional-separate-self-reality. In fact, I've been there myself.

You have seen the „no-self-state“, and you can see the „conventional-separate-self-state“... Look for that which sees both states! It's not about states, it's all about LOOKING and SEEING!
If there is no self, there is also no „no-self“..., do you get me?

Although, having said all of that (and I said a lot I believe, unnecessarily), I understand where you're coming from.

Under-standing is of no use...
It may be somehow like trying to find or reach the separate "I" until you are completely convinced that it is not possible …

One (who has seen through the illusion/lie) could be only temporarily swayed by the (non-existent) ego, never permanently. No-self-truth, once seen, will always pull you back from illusion.

Again: What is ego? Is this more than a thought story? How would it look like if the ego sways one back?

Actually when I asked "How to (/ do you) navigate through day-to-day life while being in this state?", I meant to ask if there are any techniques that you personally use to stay in (or bring yourself back to) this state. (Like you sometimes tell me to "take a pause" etc.)

It is not about a state... If it is crystal clear that there is no separate self then it is clear. That does not mean that no unpleasant thoughts or feelings arise. But it is clear that they are also appearances like rain, wind, sun, clouds and so on. They don't belong to anyone.
Look: What is it that wants to know? What is it that wants security?

I actually meant how do you "look" at work, relationships, bills to be paid etc (e.g. with detachment).

The same way as before the gate, absolutely ordinary life – except there is no search anymore. But the body's needs are stilled as before, and there is also an appearance which we gave the label good sense to go to work and pay the bills to have a roof above the head and food for the body to eat. The bodies survival mechanism is not affected (in my case, don't know how it is for seeming others... ;))

Why is it so important how it is for me? That has nothing to do how it is or will be for you...
If you want to have a safety net then you will never see... The longing for „truth“ must stand above all...

Please answer all questions in bold font, and try to LOOK and don't get caught up in intellectual thinking. Be patient, your search was mostly intellectual, therefore it is maybe not easy to get out of this habit, I'll try to assist you as good as possible...

[ShunyaZero]

I thought we were just exploring these ideas together.

That's why I said in the beginning:

For the sake of asking these questions – will revert to being "me". (Would appreciate if you do the same as well.)

And at the end:

So I'm requesting you, for the sake of my curiosity (just for this once), let's take this particular Q&A with a pinch of salt.

So I carelessly threw around terms like "ego" and "free will" (which led to miscommunication).
This doesn't mean there’s a belief in any of these.
There's no one here to believe in these things.
These are just concepts that exist in philosophy.

Just wanted to talk normally for once. Just to explore these topics.

Anyway, let’s continue.

If there is no control, how could there be free will? And who would have this free will?

There is no Free Will.
Things happen. They’re happening. They’ll continue to happen.
There’s no one to “have” a free will. There’s just “happening”.

Lift your right or left arm (or leave it down).

First, these instructions were read.
Then some “pauses” or “thoughts”.
Something happened (out of the choices presented).
[Very similar to thinking of a number between 1 and 100.]
Can’t point out an “exact moment” when it was decided.
There was no “essence” or “decider”.

For example, in one instance, first there was a pause.
The length of this pause changes (or not) with every instance.
Then a thought “lift right” emerged. Then right arm was lifted.
Don’t know when that thought came, why that particular thought came, or where it came from.
The thought just came, followed by the action. No one acted. There was just action.
Every instance (almost always) ended with the thought “I decided”/“I chose” (or “it was decided”/“it was chosen”), which emerged after the event.

What is ego? What of it can be seen-heard-felt?LOOK with your senses, not in thought content!

It is nothing. Just a “concept”. Just a “label”.

Can a thought be attached to another thought?

No.

You have seen the „no-self-state“, and you can see the „conventional-separate-self-state“... Look for that which sees both states! It's not about states, it's all about LOOKING and SEEING!
If there is no self, there is also no „no-self“..., do you get me?

Got it. Saw it. Both the states exist. They’re just “thoughts”/“concepts”.
When one of these arises the other drops, and so on.
It’s just existence after all. It encompasses all/everything that is (or could be) there.

Again: What is ego? Is this more than a thought story? How would it look like if the ego sways one back?

Nothing. Just a story. There’s no one to be swayed back.

Look: What is it that wants to know? What is it that wants security?

The same “seeker” who wanted to know the “absolute, objective, and undeniable truth” in the beginning of our interactions.
Both of which (the “seeker” and such “truth”) do not exist. Just imagined “concepts” and “desires”.

[barb]

I thought we were just exploring these ideas together.

Let us focus on direct experience in this thread. After deep diving in this topic and gating I would love to explore some ideas with you via PN... :) Gatecrash has not to be an end, it's more like a beginning...

The thought just came, followed by the action.

Throughout your everyday life look for simple decisions. I.e. when and what to eat, drink, stand up doing a few steps, going to the toilet, putting clothes on or of and so on... Is it true that there is always thought before decisions?

They’re just “thoughts”/“concepts”.

It is really good when this is seen, but most important is to really recognize/SEE (and not only to know this intellectually - I don't say that this is the case for you, just for clarification). As long there are subtle beliefs in the truth content of thoughts the illusion is not really seen through.

What we are doing here is to look again and again if thoughts can know anything about truth, and if the "I" is more than just thought.

Let's see what the difference is between the direct experience and what is interpreted into it.

Place an apple (or another fruit) on a white surface in front of you and examine:

Where does seeing take place? Outside or inside?
Is there a border between outside and inside?

Does raw seeing look more like 2D or 3D, if you only actually see and think nothing?

Look closely: do you actually see an "apple" apart from color?
How do you know the name of the color? Notice how thoughts call what is seen.
Does what you see have a name when you see it or is there just seeing something? Notice the gap between seeing and labeling.

Is there someone who sees and the seen, or is there just seeing?
Is there an "entity" that perceives a perceived object or is there simply perceiving?

Do you think the experience or is there only experiencing?

[ShunyaZero]

I would love to explore some ideas with you via PN... :)

What is “PN”?

Is it true that there is always thought before decisions?

Not always. In hand-raising-exercise that we did, there was.
May be because everything was really drilled down to in it.
Generally, decision happens (almost as if) “automatically”.

Where does seeing take place? Outside or inside?
Is there a border between outside and inside?

There is no “outside” or “inside”.
It all seems to be “at one” with each other.
Hence, no border either.

Does raw seeing look more like 2D or 3D, if you only actually see and think nothing?

2D, in fact even lesser. Something like 0D if there could possibly be something like that.
For all practical purposes, all dimensions are perceived though, so the body functions normally.

Look closely: do you actually see an "apple" apart from color?
How do you know the name of the color? Notice how thoughts call what is seen.
Does what you see have a name when you see it or is there just seeing something? Notice the gap between seeing and labeling.

First and foremost, just "seeing" happens - without anything else.
Then starts "perceiving" of physical properties like color, shape, size, depth, etc.
Finally, "labeling" starts and in the end, the color and name of the object (learnt over the course of life, from childhood) appears as a label in thoughts. Or, in other words, "thinking" happens (e.g. “red apple”).

Is there someone who sees and the seen, or is there just seeing?
Is there an "entity" that perceives a perceived object or is there simply perceiving?

No, just seeing. No “entity”, no “object” – just perceiving.

Do you think the experience or is there only experiencing?

No one “thinks” the experience. “Experiencing” happens.
“Thinking” happens within this “Experiencing”.

[barb]

Great job!

What is “PN”?

Sorry, meant "PM" (private message, folder in the right upper corner... :))

Let's now have a further look, if thought can know anything about reality:

Sit at home with eyes closed. In your mind, imagine going to the kitchen and getting a piece of fruit (be sure to choose something you already have in stock, as we will need it after).

Try to fully imagine actually going there, picking it up, the look of it, the color, texture, smell, reflections of light. Then imagine biting into the fruit, tasting it, the texture, sweetness, sharpness, all the qualities. Imagine every aspect, make it as real as possible, and write the descriptions down...

Now open your eyes, and actually go to the kitchen. Take the piece of fruit out for real, and look at it, examine the color, texture, smell, reflections of light. Now actually bite into the fruit and taste it, experience the texture, the sweetness, sharpness, etc.


Then look at your written words and imagine how you would describe the current experience.

Now ask yourself:

Do the descriptions have anything in common with the reality of actual experience?
Can a word, such as sweet or juicy, know anything about the reality of actual experience?
Can thought ever know anything about an experience in general?

Has a thought/word/imagination anything to do with direct experience? Can a thought anything know about truth/reality?

[ShunyaZero]

Thanks to your exercise, got to eat grapes today! (My mother would be so proud of me, and thankful to you if she knew you made me do it :P )

Following are some observations:

Thoughts are nothing but inner monologue - full of words, labels, and concepts.
At best, they lead to misappropriations – as they can’t possibly do justice to the actual experience.
It doesn’t matter how good one’s communication skills are, how “full” one’s vocabulary is, or how articulate one is – one would never be able to “express the experience” in words.

What was imagined & written down was pretty far from what was actually experienced.
In fact, even if it’s written down during/after the actual experience, it still won’t be accurate. (It simply can’t be tied down by expression through any known “language”.)
For instance, the grapes were not the same “Green”, or the same “Sweet” that was imagined. Come to think of it some of them were pretty sour.

But then, every sour thing isn’t the same “Sour” either, is it? Similarly, “Green” means different things depending upon the person using this word and the thing that’s being described.

So, to answer your questions:

Do the descriptions have anything in common with the reality of actual experience?
Can a word, such as sweet or juicy, know anything about the reality of actual experience?
Can thought ever know anything about an experience in general?

No, no, and no.

Has a thought/word/imagination anything to do with direct experience? Can a thought anything know about truth/reality?

Big NO!

[barb]

Thanks to your exercise, got to eat grapes today! (My mother would be so proud of me, and thankful to you if she knew you made me do it :P )

:D:D

Following are some observations:

Thoughts are nothing but inner monologue - full of words, labels, and concepts.
At best, they lead to misappropriations – as they can’t possibly do justice to the actual experience.
It doesn’t matter how good one’s communication skills are, how “full” one’s vocabulary is, or how articulate one is – one would never be able to “express the experience” in words.

What was imagined & written down was pretty far from what was actually experienced.
In fact, even if it’s written down during/after the actual experience, it still won’t be accurate. (It simply can’t be tied down by expression through any known “language”.)
For instance, the grapes were not the same “Green”, or the same “Sweet” that was imagined. Come to think of it some of them were pretty sour.

But then, every sour thing isn’t the same “Sour” either, is it? Similarly, “Green” means different things depending upon the person using this word and the thing that’s being described.

Great insights with the fruit experiment :) Try to compare in your everyday life as often it comes in mind direct experience with thought content. With eating, drinking, showering or whatever. It works also very well with emotions...

Would you like to have a look at some emotions together?

Has a thought/word/imagination anything to do with direct experience? Can a thought anything know about truth/reality?

Big NO

Hold this in mind, this is the case for ALL thoughts... :)

A bit earlier in our conversation, you wrote this, and I've said we will have a look at a little bit later:

I certainly can't see-hear-taste-smell-touch my "self" (or "I"), but it's "felt" (in a very convoluted sense of this word) to be there. May be by "felt", I actually mean "believed".

Where can this sense of self be found? What of it can really be felt in the body, and what of it is thought content?

Let's have a friendly look at the body experience:

Sit or lie down for about 15 minutes with eyes closed. Breathe calm and slow, relax.
Pay attention only to the pure sensations without relying on thoughts or mental images.

Can you tell how big the body is?
Does the body have a weight or circumference?

Does the body have a shape or form in the current experience?
Is there a border between the body and the clothes?
Is there a border between the body and the surface?

Just with feeling: do you know how many toes there are, does the feeling know anything about toes, or is it just a sensation?

Does the body have a name?

Is there an inside or outside? If there is an inside - inside of what?
If there is an outside, the outside of what exactly?

Does the body perceive or is the body perceived?
Does awareness live in a particular location?
Is there something missing when the body is experienced in this way?

[ShunyaZero]

Where can this sense of self be found? What of it can really be felt in the body, and what of it is thought content?

All of it is ultimately “felt”/”believed” in the “thought” only. Just a narrative inside the brain/mind.

Can you tell how big the body is?

No. Not through just sensations. Not without first thinking about it.
And even when one thinks about it - just words arise - trying to describe it (without much success at all).

Does the body have a weight or circumference?

These are just scientific concepts and labels which don’t really exist.
Not until they’re measured using instruments like weighing scale, and measuring tape.

Does the body have a shape or form in the current experience?
Is there a border between the body and the clothes?
Is there a border between the body and the surface?

Defining shape or form requires defining boundaries.
Boundaries are “felt”/“sensed” which, again, are just thoughts – so can't be sure how much value can/should be attached to it.

Just with feeling: do you know how many toes there are, does the feeling know anything about toes, or is it just a sensation?

This one’s very similar to the color-of-my-socks experiment you described earlier in our conversation thread.
One could lose a toe while sleeping. (Let’s say someone severed it under heavy anesthetic.)
Upon waking up, (without moving) one would continue to believe that all toes intact.
Only by trying to move (or by direct looking) would the knowing of the fact, that it’s been removed, happen.
Hence, it seems that it all relies on sensing alone.

Does the body have a name?

Of course not. But there are various names used by various people (including me) to refer to it for convenience.

Is there an inside or outside? If there is an inside - inside of what?
If there is an outside, the outside of what exactly?

There's no inside or outside. No particular boundary where "it all" stops.
It’s all just one. None of it is “me”. All of it is “me”. There is no “me”.

Does the body perceive or is the body perceived?

It doesn't perceive. It isn't perceived either.
There's just perceiving. Perceiving happens.

Does awareness live in a particular location?

No, it can't be pointed out. All “locations” are only in the awareness.
Awareness itself is “nothing” (or “everything”, if you know what I mean).

Is there something missing when the body is experienced in this way?

No. Just the “I” is found to be missing, and that’s because it doesn’t really exist.

[barb]

Very well seen, you seem pretty clear... :)

Here is another great experiment. It is a little bit more extensive, so take your time and dive deep, it can be very revealing :)

Stand in front of a larger mirror.

1. First, close your eyes, relax and feel the sensations called "body."

2. Then open your eyes and look in the mirror while still paying attention to the sensations.
Is there a connection between the perceived sensations and the image in the mirror? Or just thoughts (and/or mental images) that suggest that?

3. While still paying attention to the sensations, move one hand and observe the movements in the mirror.
Is there a connection between the perceived sensation (referred to as the "hand") and the image of movement in the mirror?

4. Now do the same movement with your hand, but this time, look directly at the hand, not in the mirror.
Is there a connection between the perceived sensations (called "hand") and the image of "movement"? Or only thoughts indicate it?

5. Now pay attention only to the picture in the mirror.
Does the picture say on its own that it is "you" or "your body"?
Does the picture in any way say that it is a "body" at all?
Or are there only colors and shapes?

6. Where the mirror ends, some parts of the body (probably legs or feet) can not be seen.
Only through the image in the mirror, is there any "knowledge" that there must be legs/feet or just thoughts and mental images suggesting that?

7. Now turn away from the mirror and look forward (do not look directly at body parts).
Is there a "body" somewhere when all thoughts and images are ignored or are there just sensations?

8. Start walking slowly
Is there a "body" that moves or is it just sensations?
Is there any experience of "walking" at all? Or just THOUGHTS about "going"?
Can something like "body" be found or just thoughts about a "body"?
Can something like "walking" be found?

9. Are the sensations localized in space (as through space), OR is there only one image labeled "space" and ascending sensations without a location?


Be curious and enjoy :)

[ShunyaZero]

2. Then open your eyes and look in the mirror while still paying attention to the sensations.
Is there a connection between the perceived sensations and the image in the mirror? Or just thoughts (and/or mental images) that suggest that?

3. While still paying attention to the sensations, move one hand and observe the movements in the mirror.
Is there a connection between the perceived sensation (referred to as the "hand") and the image of movement in the mirror?

4. Now do the same movement with your hand, but this time, look directly at the hand, not in the mirror.
Is there a connection between the perceived sensations (called "hand") and the image of "movement"? Or only thoughts indicate it?

There’s no actual connection between the “body” and the “image” in the mirror.
The only connection that is “felt”/“perceived” between the two is entirely based on the “concepts” of physics that have been “learned”/“believed” since childhood.
Mirror is just a physical object whose property is to reflect whatever object is in front of it. It doesn’t have any connection with it. It just does what its natural properties dictate.
Both the mirror and the body are real (as in they exist).
What is not real is the “I” that seems to get the feelings/thoughts like “this is my body” and “this is my reflection in the mirror”.

5. Now pay attention only to the picture in the mirror.
Does the picture say on its own that it is "you" or "your body"?
Does the picture in any way say that it is a "body" at all?
Or are there only colors and shapes?

6. Where the mirror ends, some parts of the body (probably legs or feet) can not be seen.
Only through the image in the mirror, is there any "knowledge" that there must be legs/feet or just thoughts and mental images suggesting that?

It’s just a picture. It doesn’t say anything on its own.
The perceptions of the “seer” give birth to what is “seen” in a picture.
And we know we’ve already discussed – there’s no “seer”, no “seen”, just “seeing”.

7. Now turn away from the mirror and look forward (do not look directly at body parts).
Is there a "body" somewhere when all thoughts and images are ignored or are there just sensations?

As discussed after the exercise we did last time, without “thoughts” there are just sensations, nothing else.

8. Start walking slowly
Is there a "body" that moves or is it just sensations?
Is there any experience of "walking" at all? Or just THOUGHTS about "going"?
Can something like "body" be found or just thoughts about a "body"?
Can something like "walking" be found?

9. Are the sensations localized in space (as through space), OR is there only one image labeled "space" and ascending sensations without a location?

Did this one for a long time. Dwelled in it for a while to be sure.
The following might seem a bit weird, but this is just what “came to mind”.
Can’t be put in words, but will try to do as best as possible.

“All” (ALL!) of it just “is”.
Walking “is”, Body “is”, Thought “is”.
All of it’s just “happening” (right here!).
It’s not happening “to” anyone.
It’s not happening “by” anyone.
It’s not happening “for” anyone.

It’s almost as if it’s all happening “by itself” in the “field of awareness” (without any specific centre/location).
So “close” that it’s easy to miss it.
But it’s there. Just there.
Just "existing". Just "happening".
All. Nothing. Both.

Sorry, I realize I’m not making much sense here.
I can just hope that you would understand what all this means.

[barb]

So “close” that it’s easy to miss it.
But it’s there. Just there.
Just "existing". Just "happening".

Absolutely wonderful :)
It is impossible to put the unspeakable into words, but I guess there is the experiencing of it... :)

Would you like to do more experiments? Your words seem very clear, so would you say you've seen through the illusion of a separate entity "I"? Would you say the search is over?

If so, I would like to give you the final questions to look if there is something missing... :)