Walking the talk

[Hannah]

Hellow Allan

Let me answer your question: and yes my fear has deminished considerately. However, it is hard for me to know if it is a result of being very busy and doing quite interesting stuff.
I feel more open and more villing to let everything and everybody I meet pass and just let it flow.
I would like for you to give me something to work with as yuo suggested.
Thank you

[Alless]

Hello Hannah,

I feel more open and more villing to let everything and everybody I meet pass and just let it flow.

Lovely ! This willingness and openness is what is so helpful in this investigation. Just let me know if fear arises which distracts you from what we're doing

I would like for you to give me something to work with as yuo suggested.

Let's do that.

It is always helpful to keep reminding ourselves what this exploration is all about. It simply is seeing that the notion of a separate self is not real, that it is a story we've made up from a very early age.

This exploration is not about getting rid of the separate self or getting rid of anything, but seeing that there was never a separate limited self to start with.

So let us now look at one of the keys we will use in this exploration.


Direct or Actual Experience (DE or AE for short)

So many of us humans believe we are seeing clearly when in fact we are seeing through what might be described as a fog of thought (labels, beliefs, concepts, assumptions, perspectives and many other attributes of what we call mind) This can come as a bit of a shock and also a great relief to truly see the ways - especially the subtle unconscious ways - in which we do this.

So what is this Direct or Actual Experiencing? For practical purposes we can identify 6 aspects of experiencing. It is PURE

Seeing
Hearing
Feeling (Sensation, not emotion. Emotion is Sensation plus made-up thoughts & labels)
Tasting
Smelling
Thoughts Arising (but not their content)
We are depending totally on DE to LOOK for no self.

Now here are a couple of exercises that help us experience what it is like to get out of our heads and see what is really going on in present moment experience - Direct or Actual Experience. (DE or AE is the abbreviation we'll use as we continue)

If I was to ask you what color is the heel of your left sock or shoe, there are at least two ways to answer. One is you could answer from memory or alternatively you could go and LOOK.
What color do you think the heel of your left sock or shoe is?




Can you be 100% sure?




Now please LOOK DIRECTLY ....... is the colour EXACTLY what you thought it was?




Hopefully you would agree that you can only be 100% certain by looking.

One of the traps we can fall into without even noticing is going to memory (thought) for an answer rather than LOOKING directly.

Going straight to DE EVERY TIME to EXPERIENCE an answer - no matter how simple - cuts to the core of this exploration so much faster.


One of the things that veils DE is the phenomena of labeling

Here is something Ilona wrote about labeling
https://markedeternal.blogspot.com/search?q=labels

Is there anything in particular that resonates from that article?






Let’s use DE with seeing and hearing for a start

As you are sitting responding to this post describe……
What are you are seeing? (using the most basic descriptive terms possible.)




What are you are hearing? (using the most basic descriptive terms possible.)



And Hannah you mentioned about keeping messages short. If you would prefer to break up a post and respond in a couple of parts then that will work too. Also I can keep posts shorter too if you prefer that.
So in that context do you feel this is too much for one post?




With love


Alan

[Hannah]

Dear Allan

Thank you for your latest answer. It is very helpful. I reached me at a point in the process where I was totallaly lost in a fog of thinking and labelling emotions such as anger, irritation, rebellion, and many more in that area. Not fear. I was considering giving the whole project up. Feeling I am not the right person for this.

Reading (several times) what you wrote helped - and saved me from myself. I like your long answer.

I read the text by Ilona and is impressed, I see that it is useful. I shal be reading it quite a few times more, and then I will let you know what I think about it.

For now I find what you wrote me of the most importance. And I shall start the “work” of trying to stick wth direct experiencing. Particularly hearing and seeing. It is not going to be easy, since I am a person of many thoughts and a very good memory. So if fx I hear ar blackbird sing I experience and enjoy the song, but then my mind work back to some of the occations when I have memories of it.
I have my work cut out for me. But I feel hopeful now. So thank you again.

All the best andd love
Hannah

[Alless]

Lovely to see your post Hannah.

I'll start with what you wrote about the "work" with direct experience. While staying with direct experience is important the thing is not to make it a burden. Please don't expect to stay in DE 24 hours a day. For a start taking a few minutes during the day from time is often helpful. Say every couple of hours take 5 minutes or so, if you can.

Now coming back to the questions that are highlighted in blue in each post, it is important to answer each question individually to really feel into what is being pointed to - in this case direct experience. Yes, they may seem simple but they help point to what is fundamental about DE. When you see questions in blue please answer each individually.

So let's go back to the first of those questions in the last post. Here they are again so you don't have to look for them. Please answer each one separately.

If I was to ask you what color is the heel of your left sock or shoe, there are at least two ways to answer. One is you could answer from memory or alternatively you could go and LOOK.
Before you look, what color do you think the heel of your left sock or shoe is?




Can you be 100% sure?




Now please LOOK. When you LOOK DIRECTLY do you find the colour EXACTLY what you thought it was?




Hopefully you would agree that you can only be 100% certain by looking.


Just this for today Hannah


With love


Alan

[Hannah]

Hi Allan

I think that the sock on my left foot is offwhite.

I look at it -carefully - and it is off-white with a touch of grayishness.

Obviously looking is better than thinking.

I have been watching the sky and trees and stopped to listen a few times as you suggested.

For now all the best
Hannah

[Alless]

That's good Hannah

It seems such a subtle difference when you looked carefully and saw the grayishenss. It is this subtlety in seeing that will stand you in good stead as we dive deeper in.

And yes good to hear that as you go for a walk you watch and listen to what's happening in the moment. There is more that will become apparent as we continue to explore.

Now we will take another look at the way labeling overlays everything we see.

Language itself is a labeling phenomenon and every word but a symbol. And we are left with no choice but to use language to communicate. So in using language to report experience to each other what we are looking for in this exploration is to reduce the description of experience down to the most fundamental, simple descriptor. That is, describing our experience with minimal interference from the mind - without adding any unnecessary content of any thoughts or interpretations. (Mind is the term we use for streams of thought. While some would challenge that such a thing as a mind exists, for practical purposes here we will use the term “mind”)

Imagine what a baby sees when they first open their eyes.
What would you say they are seeing?



Do they have any labels in their mind?



If you asked a five year old what they are seeing, would what they describe be any different to what a baby actually is seeing?



If no, why not?



If yes, how would would you say it is different?



With love


Alan

[Hannah]

Hi Allan

Here are the short answers to your questions:

Babies see shapes and have no labels at all.

Five years old children have long ago learned to label, and sees the world accordingly.

In half an hour my grand hild from <germany is arrieving here, and she stays for a week. I’ll try to keep up, but some delay may occur.

All the best

Love

Hannah

[Alless]

Hello Hannah

Yes babies have no labels. You say they see shapes. We will look at this shortly but for now ponder this......
Can a baby know what a shape is?



And yes a five year old is relating to the world largely through labels.

Labeling is one "overlay" of reality that is happening so instantaneously that it happens for most people automatically without them realizing it. Labeling pervades thinking. The aim is not to rid ourselves of labels (we have to use them to communicate in conventional daily living) but to see them for what they are. Labeling is sometimes described as at least one step removed from reality.

Here is an exercise to help see how labeling can cloud AE. (I’ll use AE/DE as short for Actual Experience or Direct Experience)
It actually can often demonstrate very nicely how AE can be hijacked by the mechanisms of the mind so instantaneously without us having a clue that it is happening.

Label-Reality Correlation

There is a belief that labels have a one-to-one correspondence with ‘reality’. But there isn’t. Just like it is a generally accepted belief that labels like ‘good’ and ‘bad’ are inherent characteristics of ‘things’. But actually, they are not.

As you look at the word label ‘GREEN',
What is your actual experience?


You are seeing green, right? Or as you look at the word green are you actually seeing red but believing the minds interpretation of the word green?



Does the label ‘GREEN’ have a one-to-one correspondence with ‘reality’? Or does the label suggest something else other than what is here now (red colour)?



Is 'green' associated in any way with the experience of the colour red; or is green just a label that overlays the actual experience of red?



If the label ‘GREEN’ is replaced with the label ‘GOOD’ or ‘BAD’, is the redness affected in any way as the labels suggests?



Does redness become ‘good’ or ‘bad’, or do the labels have no affect whatsoever on ‘reality’?



Let me know what is SEEN.



And do not feel you have to rush this Hannah - do this in your own time with your grandchild coming.

Enjoy her stay to the full



With love



Alan

[Hannah]

Hello Allan

A baby ceratainly cannot know what a shape is.

I see a red word/label

The word suggests nothing to me but a label for a colour

Changing hte label to bad or good does in no way effect that I see a red wood. In order for that to change I would have to start interpretating. Quite another matter.

Have a nice weekend

Love Hannah

[Alless]

Seeing red is exactly what this is about Hannah.

And as you also say once interpreting starts that is quite another matter.

This all seems pretty straight forward. However it is fundamental experiencing that will be of utmost importance as we find ourselves deeper into this exploration

Now we are going to take PURE SEEING a step further.


In the light of what has now been seen......... here is a sentence from the Label-Reality Correlation exercise again

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If the label ‘GREEN’ is replaced with the label ‘GOOD’ or ‘BAD’, is the redness affected in any way as the labels suggest?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As you LOOK at the sentence above and without any reference to thought, what is actually SEEN? What is your Actual Experience here?




Just this simple exercise for today.


With love


Alan

[Hannah]

Hi Allan

In a world of pure seeing it should make no different if the red word is good, bad or green.

In my reality it is a little more difficult to stay focused on red. Good and bad are more loaded words than green - to me.

Love to you
Hannah

[Alless]

Hello Hannah,

In my reality it is a little more difficult to stay focused on red.

Yes it seems to be more difficult to stay focussed. That is likely because the act of focussing typically is an attempt of control from the mind and has much to do with the mind seeking specificity so it can interpret.

What happens when you are just seeing without focussing? Try this to see.

For ease of reference here is the sentence again

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If the label ‘GREEN’ is replaced with the label ‘GOOD’ or ‘BAD’, is the redness affected in any way as the labels suggest?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As you LOOK at the sentence above and without any reference to thought, what is actually SEEN?



So, looking at the sentence again what do you actually SEE?

What is directly seen here is red, black and the white background on which the text appears is it not? It can actually feel like a trick question because while it's such a simple exercise, it can powerfully demonstrate how quickly interpretation kicks in and thoughts can sabotage and hypnotize what is actually being seen directly.

As a side note (and you may have experienced this already) if you show someone the page of any book and ask them what they see, invariably they will say something like words or letters. Rarely does anyone say "I see the white of the page." And yet the white is what takes up most of the page and we could not read the words without it!

And I'll ask you to look again because in fact what is really SEEN when we are looking at the sentence in this exercise, we also see green (lines delineating the sentence) and also blue (the color of the text in the question) even though we are not focusing on it per say, it is still SEEN.

Now hold your gaze on the sentence again and without moving your eyes or your head.
Are you not also aware of the oranges, greys, blacks of the LU website background behind the white text panel?




Now again without moving your eyes or head let your gaze soften even more and be aware of your peripheral vision.
Can you see more colors which are part of your computer screen or device and out into the room where you are?




Take a couple of minutes with a soft gaze to simply be open all that is seen in this moment.
How would you describe what you are experiencing if thought is not entertained?





As you let your gaze soften and your eyes de-focus, what happens to thoughts?



With love


Alan

[Hannah]

Hi Allan

When I follow your guiding the following happens:

First I am aware of the colors surrounding the red words: notably the blue in your underlining, and two green stippled lines.

I see more colors if I soften the gaze and let myself become aware of my peripheral vision.

I see a blur of shapes and colors and the thoughts slow down and become less persistent.

Love Hannah

[Alless]

Hello Hannah

Lovely !

Now going yet another step with the visual experience....

First of all, let’s remind ourselves what this exploration is all about. It's about finding out whether this notion of a “me” is actually true or not. For the purposes of this exploration we define this "me" as an independent entity that exists separate from the flow of life.


Now, rather then paying attention to what you are looking AT, turn your attention to the SEEING itself, to what you are looking FROM, as you LOOK.
Can you find a specific place from which SEEING arises?




As you continue to look can you find a “me” that is in control of the SEEING?





Can you choose to stop SEEING?





While what we are LOOKING AT is continually changing does the SEEING ITSELF change in any way?




Going back to the moment when you became conscious of the white background (and then the other colors) which was not noticed till it was pointed out, what changed to bring that realization about?




Was there any figuring out to be done or was it simply SEEING what was there?





So explore the SEEING that is happening with these questions in mind and tell me anything else about your DIRECT EXPERIENCE that you are noticing




We are not inducing anything here that is not already happening. All we are doing is taking a close LOOK at what is actually happening in the visual experience. And in doing so are starting to reveal and investigate some of the assumptions we have made about our visual experience.

Next time you go for a walk check in with what is happening with labeling and interpreting as you walk. Just look with curiosity as to what is happening as you pay close attention to visual experiencing.
I’d love to hear. What happened?



No need to rush. If you feel you need extra time please just let me know.

And let yourself be curious with all this without trying to figure anything out !!!!


With love


Alan

[Hannah]

Dear Allan

Thank you for your latest task. I have been enjpying paying attention. Even though I have been very busy enjoying my grandchild, who left yesterday.
So now I have more time to think. Seeing I do all the time. Luckily.

1. Seeing arise from the sense of seeing: the eyes.

2. There is no me in control of seeing. It is just going on.

3. I can close my eyes though.

4. Seeing itself does not stop.

5. Observing the difference between looking and seeing.

6. As soon as I look at something the look is choosing the the focus and the mind figuring out where, what, and why the specific attention.


Doing the exercise make me realize how “addicted” I am to labelling. I also find that nature: the sea and forest make my eyes and mind more restful: letting go.

Thats all for now.


Good day to you
Love Hannah