Hi :) Can somebody scratch me

[Sarah7]

Morning Mac O! Lol
So - just to Sum up can you answer these in as much detail as you feel is necessary. Theres no rush! :) and I'm sending you a private message too. Ok! :)

Is there a separate entity 'self', 'me' 'I', at all, anywhere, in any way, shape or form? Was there ever?
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.
How does it feel to see this? What is the difference from before you started this dialogue? Please report from the past few days.
What was the last bit that pushed you over, made you look?
Do you decide, intend, choose, control events in Life? Do you make anything happen? Give examples from your experience.
Anything to add?
Hugs Sarah xxx

[Mac2]

Hi Sarah

Is there a separate entity 'self', 'me' 'I', at all, anywhere, in any way, shape or form? Was there ever?

No, there is no separate “ I “, “ Me “ or “ Self “. There never was, only thought saying there was.

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 arises from multiple pieces of sense data occurring. The minds over view of all this information being received by the brain, has somehow created a fictitious entity, a separate self (driving the car so to speak) that all this is happening to. “I see the tree”, “ I hear the car “, “I am doing x or y” but there is just “seeing”, “hearing” and “doing” happening by themselves without a seer, hearer or doer. The thought process then labels, overlays concepts, from memory, past experience, emotion etc... onto all the little pieces of information to create a mental image. This also gives rise to the feeling of an “I”, a fictitious thinker of thought. When these things are looked at individually and seen for what they are, it is seen that the separate “I” is built only of the content of thought and the culmination of sense data.

How does it feel to see this? What is the difference from before you started this dialogue? Please report from the past few days.

A little traumatising, lol. Before starting the dialogue I assumed (arrogantly) I was already through the “gate”. I had read quite a few LU articles before joining, and it all rang true to my own experience. I still had a nagging, a questioning, a searching. I also had fear arising whenever I went to fill out the application to join, which intrigued me. Why is there fear ?, Who is afraid ?, Where am I still hiding ?. Everything is the same as it always has been, although now there is a sense of relief, the constant searching for an answer is gone. Not because I have found an answer, but because there is no question.

What was the last bit that pushed you over, made you look?

I just didn't know where to look, I thought I had already burned everything I could find. Then out of the blue, reading the separation of senses experiment revealed immediately “I” was hiding as awareness. Pretending to be this “I” the senses are reporting to. Awareness was my safe space to hide, but you found it :)

Do you decide, intend, choose, control events in Life? Do you make anything happen? Give examples from your experience.

No, there is no “I” or “me” that exists to do anything. The use of language becomes problematic here. Everything just “is”, things are just happening by themselves, creation is just creating without a creator. To give an example, I'm sitting here now, typing is happening, the thought process is running thinking what to say next, coffee is being drunk. This is all just happening without a separate director or controller, the body/mind is just doing what it's doing without any input from an “I”. There is no separate “I” to have any input. “I” is only a thought.

Anything to add?

Not really, just to say thanks again :)
Cheers, Mac

[Sarah7]

Thanks for that Mac
I'll be with you as soon as poss.
Hugs Sarah xxx