The Gate

Any opinions on the Byron Katie video?

This is the only pointer Ilona gave me when I was guided here. i practiced this for about 3 months. I call it:

ButtChair

Please LOOK for any place where your butt ends & the chair begins.

Is there any clear dividing line between them? Or only the Sensation with no clear division?


It is simple direct & nonverbal. Just LOOK.

Then write what is true.

Loving,

Hi Stacy,

The Byron Katie video made it really clear that suffering comes directly from believing thoughts. It really reminded me how important it is for me to recognize that nothing I believe is true. Whatever I believe is true has the power to make me suffer. I do feel it would be beneficial to do "the work" for sure. I can feel that. Just to remind me over and over.

Please LOOK for any place where your butt ends & the chair begins.

Is there any clear dividing line between them? Or only the Sensation with no clear division?

There is no chair and no butt. The sensation is merged with everything, there is no distinct sensation (no distinct location of the sensation). There is no division between the butt and the chair. Neither are directly experienced as real.

That's it!

Kind Regards,

Brian Cassee

All good, Brian.

At www.thework.com you'll find the Worksheet & instructions to do The Work.

I practiced ButtChair for 4 months & then saw clearly there was no self.

Your answers are correct. This is not about correct answers. This is about the experience of looking. So keep looking and doing ButtChair.

Write every day here about weekday is seen, what is true.

Loving,

Hi Stacy,

Did you make a grammatical or typing error with this one?

Write every day here about weekday is seen, what is true.

I'm guessing you mean that I should write about buttchair every day here? let me know if this is not the case and this is a different exercise.

Answer: Thoughts about what this exercise means and what is really happening, simply=thought
Thoughts about there being no end or locality to the sensation of the butt on the chair, simply=thought
Feeling the sensation of my butt on the chair, simply=sensation
Thoughts about the chair being under my butt, simply=thoughts
Seeing a chair and a body when I look down, simply=image/color
Thoughts about "my" body on the chair and the body being "here", simply=thought
Feeling the arms of the chair under my arms and the back of the chair against my back, simply=sensation
Thoughts about the sensation of the chair under my arms and against my back confirming the idea that there is a chair, simply=thought
Feeling sensations, simply=sensation
Thoughts about the sensation meaning something, simply=thought
Thoughts about the sensation being about "my" butt on the chair, simply=thought
Thoughts about a beginning and end to the sensations, simply=thought
Thoughts about a sensation, simply=thought

Is sensation just a thought?

That's all I got for now.

Kind Regards,

Brian

Yes that's a typo. Predictive text often writes weekday and I try to catch it.

So notice how it feels to see that sensation is all there is.

Loving,

Hi Stacy,

So notice how it feels to see that sensation is all there is.

The sensation disappears... I can't find something separate called "sensation". It starts to become just experiencing itself. I don't know that this is entirely consistently true and experiential yet. Just brief moments. Is this correct?

Kind Regards,

Brian

The sensation disappears... I can't find something separate called "sensation". It starts to become just experiencing itself. I don't know that this is entirely consistently true and experiential yet. Just brief moments. Is this correct?

Yes that can happen. Relax into it.

This is said to be a quote from the Buddha:

Thus you should see that
indeed there is no thing here;
this, Bahiya, is how you should train yourself.
Since, Bahiya, there is for you
in the seen, only the seen,
in the heard, only the heard,
in the sensed, only the sensed,
in the cognized, only the cognized,
and you see that there is no thing here,
you will therefore see that
indeed there is no thing there.
As you see that there is no thing there,
you will see that
you are therefore located neither in the world of this,
nor in the world of that,
nor in any place
betwixt the two.
This alone is the end of suffering.

Loving,

Hi Stacy,

Thus you should see that
indeed there is no thing here;
this, Bahiya, is how you should train yourself.
Since, Bahiya, there is for you
in the seen, only the seen,
in the heard, only the heard,
in the sensed, only the sensed,
in the cognized, only the cognized,
and you see that there is no thing here,
you will therefore see that
indeed there is no thing there.
As you see that there is no thing there,
you will see that
you are therefore located neither in the world of this,
nor in the world of that,
nor in any place
betwixt the two.
This alone is the end of suffering.

This really resonates!

I am relaxing into the practice and falling asleep right now. Had a long day! I will come back to this tomorrow if that's okay!

Kind Regards,

Brian

Of course, Bryan, tomorrow is fine. Sleep well!

Loving,

Hi Stacy,

Here are today's observations!

When I relax into the sensation there seems to be a "turning into myself" that doesn't qualify as one of the actual experiencing "senses". This is just a thought so there is no good answer! Saying this does now enliven a new curiosity about the actual experience.

That is all for today!

Kind Regards,

Brian

When I relax into the sensation there seems to be a "turning into myself"

So what IS the Direct Experience of "turning into myself?"

Remember these are your choices:

Direct or Actual Experience is

Seeing
Hearing
Feeling (Sensation, not emotion. Emotion is Sensation plus made-up thoughts & labels)
Tasting
Smelling
Thoughts Arising (but not their content)

Loving,

Hi Stacy,

So what IS the Direct Experience of "turning into myself?"

When I say "turning into myself" I really mean "turning inwards". I don't know if you saw it as me saying "turning into another version of myself". The direct experience is thought and sensation when I "turn inwards". "Turning inwards" is a thought. And there is an accompanying series of sensations in the body. So, "thought" and "feeling" is the actual experience. I'm starting to get the sneaking intuitive suspicion that there is nothing actually happening.

Having said that, I'm starting to feel a subtle happiness. Which is just thought and sensation/feeling lol.

That is all!

Kind Regards,

Brian

What is the true reality of 'actual experiencing' (of what the senses report)?

Yes, I knew what you meant. We just need to focus on DE. That's how you wake up. By being only in this present moment, not in the past & not in the future where content of thought tries to take us.

What is the true reality of 'actual experiencing' (of what the senses report)?

There is no "true reality." I try not to use the word reality. It's slippery. Direct experience is clearer.

If you have to find truth check your gut feelings. It will be open and relaxed.

This is not a philosophical discussion. This is me pointing and you looking in this present moment. Nothing more.

Loving,

Here is how to distinguish truth from lies.


We often lie every day & don't realize it.

For example, the grocery clerk asks, "How are you?" You reply, "I'm fine." While, yes. there is a sense in which we are always fine, even in the middle of suffering, at that moment, you were grieving the death of your dog, you had a slight sore throat & you had a headache, but you didn't feel like sharing all of that with the grocery clerk, so you lied, "I'm fine."

Also, it matters none at all how "distant" the remembered lie is. Besides the fact that time itself is fictional, a kind if lie, as we recall the lie it becomes present in this moment, as if it were happening now. This brings the body Sensation that accompanies lying.

Lies can be intentional or unintentional, conscious or unconscious, even so automatic that we ourselves are fooled.

The story of a separate "self" is a lie.

This is the lie you came here to see through. Therefore, it is helpful to notice the body Sensation of lying as one of the tools for finding the truth of no self.

You want to be in touch with body Sensations & able to clearly express them in words. This will help.

Lies are usually felt in the heart or solar plexus as a contraction that we may label as tight, heavy or tense.

In contrast, truth is usually expansive. We may call it loose, light or relaxed.

First, can you remember a time when you lied to someone you loved?

Here we count anything, lies we think of as "big" or "small" that "matter" or don't "matter."

How are you? I'm fine. No, your knee hurts, but you don't feel like discussing it with the grocery clerk.

It's a lie. A seemingly "bigger" one will work better for this exercise.

Find the lie. I don't need the whole story, just a few key words to refer to it.

Then scan your body for any Sensation (DE or Direct Experience), particularly in the gut or maybe the heart. Check very closely.

What is found?

If you think the memory you used wasn't clear enough, find another one or lie to yourself right now, make something up.

1 + 1 = 14 is a lie.

I love eating worms is (probably) a lie.

Or call up a video of a lying politician & notice what Sensations arise as you listen.

I will give you a clue: it is not that peaceful Sensation you felt before when you omitted "I."

Please report back with what body Sensations (not interpretations) you feel. Bodies can feel hot or cold, heavy or light, contraction or expansion, etc.

"Peaceful" is an interpretation of a body Sensation, not the Sensation itself, for example, which you mentioned.

Do you see that?

Loving,