Request for Guiding

[JussiL]

Do labels affect the experience or just describe it?

But also: I am not sure if labels affect how we experence the experience. If you see the sign "Watch out, angry dog!" and you see the dog in the same moment, label "angry" affects on your experience or not?

[Anastacia42]

Yes. This is not easy in any language. Language supports the illusions, not the truth.

Now let's look at those body Sensations:

The phrase “I write” also causes a slight tightening in the stomach.

Here is how to distinguish truth from lies.


We often lie every day & don't realize it.

For example, the grocery clerk asks, "How are you?" You reply, "I'm fine." While, yes. there is a sense in which we are always fine, even in the middle of suffering, at that moment, you were grieving the death of your dog, you had a slight sore throat & you had a headache, but you didn't feel like sharing all of that with the grocery clerk, so you lied, "I'm fine."

Also, it matters none at all how "distant" the remembered lie is. Besides the fact that time itself is fictional, a kind if lie, as we recall the lie it becomes present in this moment, as if it were happening now. This brings the body Sensation that accompanies lying.

Lies can be intentional or unintentional, conscious or unconscious, even so automatic that we ourselves are fooled.

The story of a separate "self" is a lie.

This is the lie you came here to see through. Therefore, it is helpful to notice the body Sensation of lying as one of the tools for finding the truth of no self.

You want to be in touch with body Sensations & able to clearly express them in words. This will help.

Lies are usually felt in the heart or solar plexus as a contraction that we may label as tight, heavy or tense.

In contrast, truth is usually expansive. We may call it loose, light or relaxed.

First, can you remember a time when you lied to someone you loved?

Here we count anything, lies we think of as "big" or "small" that "matter" or don't "matter."

How are you? I'm fine. No, your knee hurts, but you don't feel like discussing it with the grocery clerk.

It's a lie. A seemingly "bigger" one will work better for this exercise.

Find the lie. I don't need the whole story, just a few key words to refer to it.

Then scan your body for any Sensation (DE or Direct Experience), particularly in the gut or maybe the heart. Check very closely.

What is found?

If you think the memory you used wasn't clear enough, find another one or lie to yourself right now, make something up.

1 + 1 = 14 is a lie.

I love eating worms is (probably) a lie.

Or call up a video of a lying politician & notice what Sensations arise as you listen.

I will give you a clue: it is not that peaceful Sensation you felt before when you omitted "I." (refers to an exercise I gave before this one)

Please report back with what body Sensations (not interpretations) you feel. Bodies can feel hot or cold, heavy or light, contraction or expansion, etc.

"Peaceful" is an interpretation of a body Sensation, not the Sensation itself, for example.

Do you see that?

Loving,

[JussiL]

Find the lie. I don’t need the whole story, just a few key words to refer to it.

Hi Stacy

I dug up a text message where I told my boss that I had a fever, even though I was just very tired. The text message still causes tension throughout my upper body, especially in my stomach. Still, I don't necesserily feel that lie-feeling when I say or thing word "l". I quess (or hope) that it's because the word doesn't mean to me that much anymore.

“Peaceful” is an interpretation of a body sensation, not the sensation itself, for example.
Do you see that?

Yes. I see that a sensation only becomes a named emotion through naming. For example, fear or excitement can have similar heightened sensations, but it is the labeling that makes it “real.”

[Anastacia42]

Just now saw this:

If you see the sign "Watch out, angry dog!" and you see the dog in the same moment, label "angry" affects on your experience or not?

Every word of that sentence is a made-up concept. It affects your thinking, yes. But it doesn't create or change the experience. Can you see that it is only your thinking that is affected?

Let's say you knew nothing about "anger" or "dogs." You'd just stand there, right? Nothing to respond to without the thoughts you have about anger and dogs.

Can you see that?

Fear/excitement is my favorite example of similar Sensations with different labels/thinking associated.

Still, I don't necesserily feel that lie-feeling when I say or thing word "l". I guess (or hope) that it's because the word doesn't mean to me that much anymore.

That might be. If you don't believe it, it may not feel as strong in the body.

Loving,

[JussiL]

Every word of that sentence is a made-up concept. It affects your thinking, yes. But it doesn't create or change the experience. Can you see that it is only your thinking that is affected?

Yes, I see this. It's just thinking.

Let's say you knew nothing about "anger" or "dogs." You'd just stand there, right? Nothing to respond to without the thoughts you have about anger and dogs. Can you see that?

Yes, I can see that, too. Usually, I don’t have need to label things at home. Thinking rolls slowly without being connected to the next thought, and so on. At work, it is harder to keep it that way. It is so easy to compare your writings with the work of colleagues, and so on.

[Anastacia42]

Very good.

This next one is fun.

Palm Flipping Exercise

1. Hold a hand in front of you; palm turned down.

2. Now turn the palm up. And down...and up and so on.

Watch like a hawk.

Don't go to thoughts – examine your direct experience.

Do this as many times as you like, and each time inquire:

How is the movement controlled?

Does a thought control it?

Can a ‘controller’ of any description be located?

How is the decision made to turn the hand over?

Track any decision point when a thought MADE THE DECISION to turn the hand over and the hand turns over immediately.

Who or what ​ chose which hand - the left or right hand for the exercise?

Can you find a separate individual or anything that is choosing when to turn the palm up or down?

Loving,

[JussiL]

Hi Stacy, here we go:

How is the movement controlled?

This is a hard one. At first, I think that I made a decision to flip the hand. And also that it is my decision to do this exercise to make my life better. It seems to be because I consciously think about it. But then I do the exercise, I search for myself and cannot find it. It feels like it is just like anything else: it happens without my decision. If I were not doing it, it would also happen without my decision. I really cannot prove it either way.

Does a thought control it? No, the thought just explains it, justifies it.Can a ‘controller’ of any description be located?

No. I cannot find a controller. That is the key to the question.

How is the decision made to turn the hand over?

I don’t know. It just happens.

Track any decision point when a thought MADE THE DECISION to turn the hand over and the hand turns over immediately.
Who or what chose which hand - the left or right hand for the exercise?

If I think about it, I think the choice fell on the right hand because I am right-handed. Maybe that is the case, but it does not mean that I made the choice. I can't find any prove of it by direct experience.

Can you find a separate individual or anything that is choosing when to turn the palm up or down?

No.
Today, I also thought about my tendency (everyone’s tendency?) to compare myself to others. A sentence came to my mind: “Everyone fails every moment all the time.” For some reason, it pulled me even more strongly into the “now” and even caused a surprising feeling of empathy towards people. Somehow, that sentence builds a bridge for me between the absence of self and the ever-arising reaction. The thought could also be phrased as: “Everyone fails and succeeds every moment all the time,” but it does not work as well for me.

[Anastacia42]

Good. You're LOOKING.

Can you say 100% that there is no separate self anywhere?

Loving

[JussiL]

Hi Stacy

Can you say 100% that there is no separate self anywhere?

Yes, I can.

Love, Jussi

[Anastacia42]

Lovely.

We have some traditional checkpoint questions. Please answer fully but succinctly from looking (not thinking.)


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

2) Explain in detail what the illusion of separate self is, when it starts and how it works from your own experience. Describe it fully as you see it now.

3) How does it feel to see this? What is the difference from before you started this dialogue? Please report from the past few days.

4) What was the last bit that pushed you over, made you look?

5) Describe decision & give examples from experience.

Describe intention & give examples from experience.

Describe free will & give examples from experience.

Describe choice & give examples from experience.

Describe control & give examples from experience.

What makes things happen? How does it work?

What are you responsible for? Give examples from experience.

6) Anything to add?

Loving,

[JussiL]

Hi Stacy. A bit busy at work but I get back to questions during a weekend.

Peace

Jussi

[Anastacia42]

Sure. Take your time.

[JussiL]

Hi Stacy, here we go again:

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

No, there is not and never has been.

Explain in detail what the illusion of separate self is, when it starts and how it works from your own experience.

Describe it fully as you see it now.

It starts very young, when a child hears themselves repeatedly called by their own name, is compared to others, and is treated as a separate individual, even rewarded for it. The idea of self becomes the basis of all other thoughts, stories, and identities. Later, suffering and various adversities reinforce the need to experience pleasant things as one’s own, to experience compensation. At some point, separation is experienced as the only possible, natural state, and any deviations from it are rare.

How does it feel to see this? What is the difference from before you started this dialogue? Please report from the past few days.

I feel normal, no euphoria, no “fireworks.” However, I am happy with the feeling of balance, and sometimes I also feel lightness. I have noticed more clearly how things proceed without control. It is also easier for me to get to grips with the remaining unpleasant things, such as comparison and envy. I have not noticed nihilism.

What was the last bit that pushed you over, made you look?

I can’t say, it felt like that, the feeling of not-self first felt possible, then probable, then natural. Probably a big significance was that when I read the correspondence, the understanding of direct experience became clearer. Communication with my own guide, Stacy, confirmed this. It may also be significant that I have once experienced a satori-like presence experience, but I cannot know that for sure. It is possible that fetterwork I used to do has softened the ground as well.

Describe decision & give examples from experience.
Describe intention & give examples from experience.
Describe free will & give examples from experience.
Describe choice & give examples from experience.
Describe control & give examples from experience.

There is no self that has free will to make decisions, choices, or control life. Life lives, things happen. The body probably functions as a result of fluctuations in the brain’s neurotransmitters and hormones, and the mind explains the action afterward, almost simultaneously, though. However, becoming aware of things changes the programming, at least in the long term. Things also rise from the subconscious to consciousness, which may break the pattern. This, however, remains unproven; it cannot be observed through direct experience. It does not matter much to me: what happens, happens.

What makes things happen? How does it work?

I don’t know.

What are you responsible for? Give examples from experience.

I cannot be responsible for anything. I act as I act, possibly according to changing programming. However, acting is supposedly often lighter, more fun.

Anything to add?

I don’t really feel like I can say 100% that there is no self. No one can. There is no such degree of certainty about anything, not even this.

It is such a beautiful weather in Helsinki now. The temperature is minus one, the trees are white, large snowflakes are floating… it looks like a fairy tale, but it’s just life.

Love

Jussi

[Anastacia42]

Glad you're enjoying the weather.

[Anastacia42]

We are looking for a shift in perception. Something very different from the way you saw things before. Sometimes it happens all at once and sometimes it's very gradual

Until you're 100% certain, we're not really finished.

What is missing for you to say 100% that there is no separate "self?"

Loving,