Seeking the truth

[yotambru]

LU is focused guiding for seeing there is no real, inherent 'self' - what do you understand by this?
My understanding that there is no real, inherent “self” — meaning something fixed and unchanging — comes from the understanding that everything is empty.
In other words, whatever thing we take in the world, whatever we choose to look at, we won’t find within it any core essence, idea, or substance that exclusively makes it what it is.
Self, as well

What are you looking for at LU?
I’m looking for a space where I can share my thoughts about emptiness and anattā within the context of everyday life — where I can bring together this deep philosophy with psychology, with the psychological impact it has on me, and with the reality of day-to-day experience.

What do you expect from a guided conversation?
guidance around the areas where I tend to see things as fixed or closed — guidance that can help me deepen my understanding of this whole perception, this way of seeing emptiness and the absence of self.

What is your experience in terms of spiritual practices, seeking and inquiry?
I’ve been engaged with spiritual practice and inquiry for about a decade, mainly through Buddhism, meditation, and teachings on emptiness, dependent origination, and anattā.

For me, the practice is both contemplative and psychological. I’m interested in seeing where I make things solid — where I experience myself, others, or situations as fixed, closed, or absolute — and how that creates suffering.

My inquiry is about bringing these insights into daily life: relationships, emotions, fear, desire, creativity, and the ordinary moments where the sense of self becomes very convincing. I’m looking to deepen this understanding in a grounded way, not only intellectually, but through direct experience.

On a scale from 1 to 10, how willing are you to question any currently held beliefs about 'self?
11

How did you find Liberation Unleashed?
Through a friend. Please - i want to be guided by Elad.

[Elad]

Hello Yotambru :) Welcome! What do you want me to call you here? (Some people prefer an anonymous, symbolic or playful name).

Let's start!

For the next day, please pay attention to when the sense of self becomes solid, or as if there is a fixed and real self, in control of things and responsible for them. Write me what you observe.

Also I will send you the more or less standard message I write people here when we begin. Just as a little more input for starting out.

[Elad]

Some general points for consideration:


The basics of how this works is that I’ll give you questions and exercises to help you investigate whether there is a separate self. Your task is to look directly at your alive experience in the here and now and report on your experience without resorting to belief, intellectual analysis and imagination (yours, mine or anybody elses, including Buddhist philosophy). Try to approach all questions and exercises with “beginner’s mind,” setting aside everything you know about spiritual teachings, science and philosophy. Use all questions and exercises as a door to LOOK AT what is actually here and what is not. Also, this is not about creating any special experience or dissolving any part of normal experience - including "selfing" or "ego". Rather, the questions and exercises will help you to see what is already there in normal experience and what is not, and what is the nature of what is there and what is not. It's all about looking closely at ordinary experience.

Please read through “Liberation Unleashed is not …” in the FAQs of LU.

http://liberationunleashed.com/about/faq/#faq-1041

Importantly, the FAQ points out not to expect this process to be cure for or replacement for ordinary life challenges, mental health issues, everything that has to do with "cleaning up", "growing up" and "showing up" and healing, beside "waking up", in other words growing in the capacity to love and function wholesomely in normal life...

When you reply to a questions, please use the quote function to highlight the question being answered. This will make our dialogue easier to follow. Please watch the video below to learn how to use the quote function.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fAToDNh9hQ


The website goes down at times. To avoid losing your work, you may find it helpful to copy and paste questions asked into Word, answer them there, and then copy and paste them to your thread.

Let’s try to post daily, if we can. Of course, life happens, so if you need more time, just let me know. I’ll do so as well. If I don't seem to answer for more then 2 days, write to eladexplore1111@gmail.com - maybe there is some system error, it happens from time to time.

Let me know if you have any questions, something to share about your reaction, expectation or experience with regards to the FAQ, or anything else coming up wanting attention, in relation to this message and the FAQ!"

[yotambru]

For the next day, please pay attention to when the sense of self becomes solid, or as if there is a fixed and real self, in control of things and responsible for them. Write me what you observe.

I wonder how i should treat this - sense of self becomes solid. i feel that my legs have kind of anxiety in them, in small portion. i feel that i have on a lot of work and projects that im on, and a lot that is going on through. and its all through me.
im trying, for myself to clarify this question of sensing when the self becomes solid.

[Elad]

Hey Y,

What should I call you here?

Any questions or reservations to the longer "standard mail"?

I wonder how i should treat this - sense of self becomes solid.

Good question - what are we talking about here really?

i feel that my legs have kind of anxiety in them, in small portion.

Anxiety in the legs is sensations plus mental interpretation.. Where is the self in any of that?

i feel that i have on a lot of work and projects that im on, and a lot that is going on through. and its all through me.

How do you experience this "me" that it is all through?

im trying, for myself to clarify this question of sensing when the self becomes solid.

Yes. What self can become solid? What exactly is experienced as self?


Rememeber - this is not questions to think about. It is questions meant to trigger looking for what is actually there and what is not in raw direct experience here and now.

[Elad]

Ps. Notice I will not go into the psychological aspect of challenges in our work here. In sessions, for example, I would take an interest in getting a clearer picture of what you experience is going on in your life, and how it is effecting you, and what you wish for yourself, etc etc etc.

Within the contemplative exploration we do here the focus is narrower. All questions are supports to truly and experientially see through unconsciousness that maintains subtle or not so subtle lostness in a thought created world with a thought created separate endangered self in the center of it.

[yotambru]

Hey Elad, im sorry for the delay.
Im going through some challenges at the moment, and feel that its not the best time for me to dive in to this process.
Im sure that it will happen in the future in this way or another.

Thanks a lot, and sorry again.

Yotam

[Elad]

Hi Yotam,

Okay, I see. Wish you clarity and heart with whatever is happening. You are welcome to return for this, when it feels truly aligned. And/or seek me out for more open-ended sessions in the future, should that feel more apporpriate.