Hi Lilla,
Good. This is very honest looking.
First, something important…
Honestly, sometimes these inquiries bring up a lot of frustration. Thought says I don't understand, and another thought says it's hard to stay with the simplicity. Another thought says 'I' feel like I'm doing an exam. And so on.
It may feel like every word is being inspected — because in this inquiry,
language shows where thought is still smuggling in a self, a doer, an owner, a looker, or a body. That is not to make speech perfect. It is to expose how the
illusion works. Ordinary language is fine. Speak naturally. We are just using the words as clues. Thoughts say a lot of stuff but what is actually true?! :)
When a phrase suggests a self, we check whether that self is actually found - that is how a new story is formed (one without a self). Now let’s look at a few places.
Sometimes it is seen that thoughts just appear. In those moments there is some distance from thoughts and a sense of relief. But when it isn’t, thoughts are responding to one another, alongside body-map sensations. In those moments, there is a sense of being one with thoughts, no distance from them.
Look very closely.
What is “one with thoughts”? Is there an actual one that becomes merged with thought?
Is there a separate Lilla who sometimes has distance from thought and sometimes loses it?
Or are there thoughts and sensations, (e.g. familiarity, intensity) — and then thought says, “I’m one with this”?
Also check “
distance.”
Is distance from thoughts actually found? Do thoughts appear over there, while someone is over here?
Or is “distance” a label for less identification, less intensity, less pull - subtle sensations uncommented on before? (still language but different story - DE labels vs ordinary language)
NB!!!Remember…
Sense of, seems like, feels like = thought content (cup of coffee exercise)
So…
when there is "distance,” what is actually here? Maybe subtle sensations? Maybe some thoughts about “distance”? Have thoughts shifted their “place” to come closer? “No distance”/"distance" from where – where is the center/refence point from which it is measured?
Is there someone trapped inside thought?
This inquiry is not about changing direct experience –
can it be changed? Thought content (new or old) is not DE. We are not trying to create "distance" from thoughts.
We are checking whether the one, who needs distance/no distance, exists.
Whether thoughts are loud or quiet, whether there is relief or frustration, distance or no distance…
Is there a thinker? Is there someone identified? Someone frustrated or misunderstood in the first place? Is there someone who needs to get free from thought? Someone succeeding or failing? Or is thought simply appearing, with more thought commenting, “I’m caught,” “I’m clear,” “I need distance,” “I’m one with thoughts”?
I can assure you there are no medals or certificates at the end :)
We can explore "frustration" in a bit more depth if you want? (please answer these questions so I know what you need)
… thoughts are responding to one another
Can it actually be found that one thought responds to another?
Or is there simply thought appearing, then thought appearing, then thought saying, “this one responded to that one”?
Cause and sequence may be useful language, but in direct experience, can the mechanism be found?
Were there ever actually two things — looker and looking?
How could these merge if they never existed in the first place?
Looker and looking are both labels added by thought. Looker isn't found. It's thought responding to sensation.Shift in perception happens when I say the word 'sight' for what is seen with the eyes, and the experience shifts immediately. Before acknowledging seeing being a direct experience, thoughts claim a looker for what is perceived through the eyes.
Good observation. Now let’s separate two words carefully.
Seeing is direct experience - colour, shape, light, shadow.
Looking (in LU context) is a label thought adds. It suggests direction, effort, intention, observation, and often a looker.
The
word “
sight” may interrupt the usual story and bring attention/commentary to seeing. But now check:
Does seeing actually shift? Do colours change because the word “sight” appears? Does DE change if there is “looking” (the word ”sight”) involved? Or does the commentary on what is happening change?
At first thought says: “I am looking at an object. – I am over here and that is over there/ I am perceiving.”
Then the
word “sight”/LOOK! appears, and the
commentary may quiet or simplify to just: “seeing”/”peace”/”being”/”this” (still
labels). Commentary may shift to subtle or more pleasant sensations...
But what about seeing itself? Was seeing already happening before the word “sight” / ”LOOK!”?
So is there really a change in perception? Or a change in thought’s story about perception?
Seeing does not need to become “direct.”
It already is. It always has been.
What changes is the thought
overlay: "object, distance, looker, body, me, doing, progress, improvement."
So check:
Does the word “sight”/ “look” change anything? What is there before, what is there after the word? Did seeing itself become more seeing? Did it need to be acknowledged so it can happen? Or did thought simply stop claiming it for a moment?
Is “looking” found? Is “acknowledging” found? Is “shift” found? Is a looker found?
Or are these all labels thought adds to what is already happening?
for what is seen with the eyes
Let’s check “
see with eyes”, “looker”, “seer”, “observer”, “being” and all possible
entities with this exercise…
Close your eyes :)
With eyes closed, you will now experience '
blackness'. There may be other things you can find going on, sure. If you are looking at a bright light, there may be a red glow. There may be sparkly bits or cloudy flecks appearing and disappearing - It really doesn't matter about the specifics. Just to make things simple, whatever you can see with eyes closed, I'm going to refer to it as '
black' or '
blackness' just for simplicity.
1) With eyes closed, can you confirm that what is experienced is 'blackness' as I mentioned?
2) Is there anything else in 'seeing' other than 'blackness'?
3) Can what is seeing/witnessing the blackness be found?
4) Can a pair of eyes, an 'I' / 'me'/Lilla/being/emptiness/awareness/a person/anything be found that is witnessing the blackness? Or is there just 'blackness' to be found?
What do you find?
Can an INHERENT SEE-ER be found?
Would anything that is suggested as the see-er/observer/experiencer/…, be anything other than a concept/idea/thought?
So keep on checking...
What is actual before the story appears?
And especially:
When thought says “I am caught,” “I am clear,” “I am frustrated,” or “I understand” — is that I ever found?
Love
Rali
“Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in.”
― Alan Alda
"The moment I am aware that I am aware I am not aware. Awareness means the observer is not"
― Jiddu Krishnamurti