Exploring Identity, Conditioning, and What Remains Beneath the Story

[Saramb]

LU is focused guiding for seeing there is no real, inherent 'self' - what do you understand by this?
My understanding is that much of what we call “self” is shaped by conditioning, memory, emotional patterns, interpretation, and inherited beliefs. I’ve come to see that even emotions and memories can be distorted by past experiences and identification.
Through spiritual inquiry, I’ve started questioning whether the egoic self is our deepest truth.

What are you looking for at LU?
I’m less interested in collecting spiritual concepts and more interested in honestly seeing what is true beneath conditioning and reactive patterns. I’m interested in exploring awareness and authenticity beyond identification with the personal story.

What do you expect from a guided conversation?
I hope for honest inquiry, thoughtful questions, and guidance that helps me look directly at my experience rather than only thinking philosophically about it.

I appreciate approaches that are grounded, compassionate, and clear rather than overly dogmatic.

I don’t expect someone else to give me answers, but I do value mirrors and questions that help reveal blind spots and habitual identification.

What is your experience in terms of spiritual practices, seeking and inquiry?
I've explored spirituality and self-inquiry for many years through meditation, yoga, contemplative practices, and teachings including A Course in Miracles, the Law of One, Kabbalah, Human Design, and nondual inquiry. I've also spent a lot of time reflecting on conditioning, identity, emotional patterns, and observing thoughts and emotions without automatically identifying with them.

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

[Elad]

Hi Saramb,

My name is Elad and I am a guide here. Are you ready to start? What may I call you?

[Saramb]

“Hi Saramb”

Hello Elad :)

“Are you ready to start?”

Thank you for offering to be my guide. I am ready to start.

“What may I call you?”

You may call me Sara.

[Saramb]

“Hi Saramb”

Hello Elad :)

“Are you ready to start?”

Thank you for offering to be my guide. I am ready to start.

“What may I call you?”

You may call me Sara.

Responses will be quicker going forward. Thank you.

[Saramb]

“Hi Saramb”

Hello Elad :)

“Are you ready to start?”

Thank you for offering to be my guide. I am ready to start.

“What may I call you?”

You may call me Sara.

Responses will be quicker going forward. Thank you. Can this be accomplished without the quotes? Learning will come.

[Saramb]

“Hi Saramb”

Hello Elad :)

“Are you ready to start?”

Thank you for offering to be my guide. I am ready to start.

“What may I call you?”

You may use the name Sara to refer to me.

Responses will be quicker going forward. Thank you. Can this be accomplished without the quotes? Learning will come.

[Elad]

Hello Sara, great, let's start!

A few pointers and practicalities to begin with:

1) 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 beliefs (yours or anybody else's), analysis and imagination. Try to approach these 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 there and what is not.

2) 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 already not there, and what is the nature of what is there and what is not - it is this clarifying of NORMAL DIRECT EXPERIENCE that this is all about.

3) 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" and "growing up" and "healing", beside "waking up", in other words learning to love and function wholesomely in normal life...

4) 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

You asked if we can do the work with quotes - yes, if the tech is really hard for you, we can make it work without. But please try watching the video and see if you can learn to use the quote function. It does make it easier to navigate the conversation.

5) 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.

6) 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.



Let me know if you have any questions, reservations or anything else I should know with regards to the FAQ and the rest of this message!

[Elad]

I meant:

You asked if we can do the work WITHOUT quotes - yes, if the tech is really hard for you, we can make it work without.

[Saramb]

Hello Sara, great, let's start!

Hello Elad, great, let's start!

The basics of how this works

Thank you... I understand better now

This is not about creating any special experience

Thank you... I understand better now

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

Completed

When you reply to a questions, please use the quote function to highlight the question being answered.

The video helped and I think I can work this way

copy and paste questions asked into Word

I will keep this in mind and use this as best practice

Let’s try to post daily, if we can.

I will try to do this and keep you updated - I will email you if it's been more than 2 days - thank you

[Elad]

Hi Sara.

Lovely! And looks like you got the quote function totally down :)

Lets start here:

Read the following sentence many times, sometimes quietly inside, sometimes out loud -

"There is no separate self in control, choosing and doing things. There never were and never will be".

While reading and after reading the sentence experience what happens. Let go of expectations of any particular thing to happen or trying to make something happen or trying to experience something in particular, that will only distract attention. Stay in the space of just "what actually happens and can be observed".

Then report what has been felt, seen, observed...

[Saramb]

Read the following sentence many times, sometimes quietly inside, sometimes out loud - "There is no separate self in control, choosing and doing things. There never were and never will be". Experience what happens. Then report what has been felt, seen, observed...

There is a sense of giddiness, complete peace, love, and relief. There is an openness in my chest and clearness in my head. There is a thought of laughing at the illusion of control and a thought that it was never "me". A thought of wait and observe, and the actions have always just happened and will continue to happen, and to be open and present.

Sometimes when life gets difficult, there is forgetting this, or an illusion of having to control.

[Elad]

Hi Sara

There is a sense of giddiness, complete peace, love, and relief. There is an openness in my chest and clearness in my head. There is a thought of laughing at the illusion of control and a thought that it was never "me". A thought of wait and observe, and the actions have always just happened and will continue to happen, and to be open and present.

:)

Sometimes when life gets difficult, there is forgetting this, or an illusion of having to control.

Next time (or the next times) this happens, pay attention to it:

What is actually there? Is there a self there choosing it? Or it just happens?

And what does this experience actually consist of?

And how does it feel, if you drop labels and just stay with/breath with the feeling?

If it hasen't happened at all a day from now, then just check in here anyhow, and write what was seen/felt/experienced that seems relevant for this process.

[Saramb]

What is actually there? Is there a self there choosing it? Or it just happens?

There was no self choosing the reaction. Sensations appeared. Thoughts appeared. Emotions appeared.

And what does this experience actually consist of?

Sensations appeared. Thoughts appeared. Emotions appeared.

And how does it feel, if you drop labels and just stay with/breath with the feeling?

Without labels, there is simply breathing, pressure, tightness, movement, seeing, hearing, and thoughts coming and going.

In interaction with another person, the sensations and thoughts become more intense, and attention is pulled into the story. Looking closely, however, there is still only experience unfolding. I cannot find a separate self controlling it.

[Elad]

Right, so even the "sense of self" (i.e. self-thoughts, self-story) is just spontaneously emerging, without control, without self...

Before we continue, I wanna check in on agreements about how we communicate here. From my last post it took 3-4 days until the answer came. That is not a problem in and off itself, but it is a divergence of the initial agreement to write daily or communicate here in advance when that is not possible or something else is needed.

I like to guide in processes with commitment and clear communication, that honors mutual agreements, and where no-one dissappears for days or out of the process without clear communication before.

I wanna check in if that feels like a match to your preferences and needs?

[Saramb]

I wanna check in if that feels like a match to your preferences and needs?

I can post daily, thank you. Missed opportunity without next instructions.

I request that even when we need to clarify participation and agreements, we include the next steps. Thank you!