Dear Nona,
a good part of the forrest ride there was focus on direct experience and especially seeing. Things happening automatically has been seen many times, so I think it is a good time to answer the questions.
1) Is there a separate entity 'self', 'me' 'I', at all, anywhere, in any way, shape or form? Was there ever?
No, none at all. There is a body and a mind that creates thoughts, and a separate 'I' or 'self' exists only in thoughts, not in reality.
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.
The illusion of a separate self is the belief that there is an entity 'I' that can control things, i.e. make decisions and influence events independent from its environment. It probably starts in very early childhood when kids are taught to say 'I', 'my', 'mine' when they refer to their body, thoughts or even 'their' toys. Later kids are held accountable for 'their' actions and praised for 'their' successes which further reinforces the 'I' thought.
The illusion is maintained by mental images and spoken thoughts. The mind often constructs "video sequences" of events from the past or a imagined future. In these "videos" the imagined "not me" characters and the "me" observer (from whose camera perspective the video is seen) interact, often in emotional ways even leading to bodily reactions. Another way of reinforcing the illusion is the labeling of actions with "I did it" after the fact that the action happened. It requires quite a lot of thought to cover the fact that things happen by themselves as there are thousands of events per day where this can be seen quite clearly.
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.
It doesn't feel much different. The main difference is that many thoughts about 'me' are labeled as 'just thought content' and focus shifts back to direct experience.
4) What was the last bit that pushed you over, made you look?
All in all it was relatively gradual. The time out in nature with focus on seeing things happening by themselves was where things became clearer.
5) Do you decide, intend, choose, control events in Life? Do you make anything happen? Give examples from your experience.
This was the part where mind just didn't want the truth to be seen.
There is no control or intention or decision. Things just happen, events just flow.
There can be an illusion of control because sometimes mind thinks "I'll raise my left arm" and shortly after the arm really lifts. But first, when the arm lifted this happened by itself without a controller. Second, mind often thinks something like "I'll raise my left arm" and nothing happens. And third, that thought came all by itself and was not controlled by an entity 'I' either.
6) Anything to add?
Yes: Expectations were in the way all along. There are still thoughts like "this isn't the real deal" or "where is all the terror and joy" and in "mind world" those thoughts are coherent with and reinforced by other thoughts and mental images. But in reality life just flows on without any controller or 'I' and without anything to "get" except what actually is.
I hope the explanations are understandable, writing still shifts focus into thought world and things become a little "muddy" sometimes...
With warmth
Martin