If I were new to the world, the way things would be perceived would just be as they are. Because there are no preconceived thoughts or stories to filter experience. There is no identity.
Yes. For a baby, there is no identity, there is only world. There is no "I" seeing, hearing, doing. And this experience is
still there. As you found out before, there are no boundaries in direct experience. There is only world, there is unity.
So how did this YOU come onto the stage? Your parents talked to a
Helena who seemed to be someplace behind you. This
Helena got praised for some happenings and scolded for others, and because you believed everything your parents said, you believed also this. There were many other "facts" you came to believe in, like: e.g. that things fall down from tables when the hand made a certain movement. That Santa brought presents for Christmas.
What we are doing now is sorting out what is fact and what is fiction. Things still fall down from tables, that you can verify easily. The Santa Hypothesis has (hopefully) been falsified.
Here is a little exercise for you: Close your eyes and imagine you are taking a lemon out of your pocket and hold it in your hand. You feel the texture, imagine the smell. If you imagine biting in it you might even get water in your mouth. Try that, as vividly as you can. Does it feel real? But when you open your eyes, there is no lemon.
And now consider that everybody you ever met takes the imaginary lemon in their pocket for real. Of course you would think that you have a lemon, too. The same is happening with self.
Is the character
Helena real?
