realizing selflessness

[whoknows]

P.S. I just realized that how you actually phrased it most recently was "the lack of separation between you & the chair," not "between your butt and the chair." So I'm hoping I can go with the "MeChair" reframing.

[Anastacia42]

Changing the exercise is unlikely to help.

Maybe you should go work with Angelo, attend his retreats, etc. or maybe guide yourself?

[whoknows]

Changing the exercise is unlikely to help.

But I get what it would mean to look for "the lack of separation between me and the chair," and it seems to be that this might be mainly a change in the description of the exercise (instead of "the lack of separation between butt and chair"), not any significant change in what the exercise is about. Or am I wrong about that?

[Anastacia42]

This is the point at which your Zen master would hit you over the head with a stick.

Stop worrying about descriptions and do the exercise.

Loving

[whoknows]

This is the point at which your Zen master would hit you over the head with a stick.

:-) Maybe so.

Stop worrying about descriptions and do the exercise.

OK, OK. I'll continue with this:

That's why I'm pointing to the lack of separation between you & the chair. Ignore your thinking & just feel & look

[Anastacia42]

Good.

[whoknows]

Used my regular afternoon meditation time to first settle into attending to butt-meets-chair sensations and then try to see non-separation (or let go of “self”-illusion-based sense of separation.

This is the point at which your Zen master would hit you over the head with a stick.

(Imagined my first Zen teacher shaking his head with a bemused expression on his face, repeating my name in a mock-scolding tone, and perhaps miming whacking me with a stick. So, yeah.)

[whoknows]

Should I keep on doing seeing/hearing/feeling also?

[Anastacia42]

*Bops your head with a stick*


ButtChair

Please LOOK for any place where your butt ends & the chair begins.

Is there any clear dividing line between them? Or only the Sensation with no clear division?


It is simple direct & nonverbal. Just LOOK.

Then write what is true.

That's it.

[whoknows]

*Bops your head with a stick*

Not sure what that particular bop was for . . . ?

Anyhow, will continue with attending to butt-meets-chair sensations and looking for (non)division between me and chair.

Should I be continuing with seeing/hearing/feeling(/smelling/tasting) also?

[Anastacia42]

Watch this & see what answer your body gives you.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=n6RnrkOD7 ... uBphAoK764

Let me know.

[whoknows]

Watch this & see what answer your body gives you.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=n6RnrkOD7 ... uBphAoK764

OK, so I understand the "body yes" and "body no" to be detectible bodily sensations regarding what you want and don't want when you need to make a decision (even if you have doubts in your mind about it), right?

And you want me to see what answer my body gives me about . . . whether there's a clear dividing line between butt and chair or only sensation with no clear division?

[Anastacia42]

You can do that. but I want cou to check this:

Should I be continuing with seeing/hearing/feeling(/smelling/tasting) also?

[whoknows]

Oh, OK. I don't think I need to continue with seeing/hearing/feeling.

I'll just continue with attending to butt-meets-chair sensations and looking for (non)division between me and chair.

[Anastacia42]

Excellent