I hope you're having a pleasant Saturday.
I've just returned home from a walk. Things unfolded a bit differently than I expected. I'm still a bit weakened and the weather is damp and cold, so the plan for a longer forest hike didn't work out. Instead, I took a stroll through a cemetery, which is quite expansive, though, and resembles a huge overgrown park, densely wooded, ending at a lakeshore. Anyway, I gained some insights that I'll try to use while answering your questions.
No, there's nothing separate from everything else. The apparent 'separation' exists solely within thought. During my walk, I directly perceived the interconnectedness of everything, or rather, that everything is 'made of the same material.' For a few brief moments, it became intuitively clear to me that ultimately everything comes from the same 'source,' even if the composition of elements might seem different to the mind. Initially planning to practice in "nature" rather than a human-made cemetery, I realized that labels like "natural" and "artificial" stem solely from thought and aren't directly perceivable. For a moment, it made absolute sense to me that there's no difference between what thought labels as "my body," "trees," "gravestones," "crows," "benches," "bushes," etc. Also I could not perceive any difference between the sound of cawing crows and the distant noise of cars.Is there anything that is separate from everything else?
In that direct experience described earlier, there was no border. However, shortly after, thought intervened with the question: "If there's no difference between what thought labels as 'my body' and all other labeled 'objects,' why don't I have sensations of how the top of the tree up there feels?"Is there a border that divides “me” and “my body” from everything else, or is it just a thought?
No, it permeates everything entirely (although in direct experience, there can't truly be 'movement' or an 'inside' or 'outside').Is that interdependent movement outside of you?
No, there isn't.Is there an “inside” and an “outside”?
No, there's only being, which, so to speak, 'owns itself.'Is there an owner of being?
To be honest, answering this question is a bit more challenging for me. In direct experience, there's only perception of sensations, but no existence of 'others', just as there isn't the perception of 'my own body' or 'myself.' Anyway, I was wondering: Could sensations themselves be a delusion? After all, I would have an entirely different 'direct perception' if I were, for instance, a bat or a whale... However, I'm aware that this is where conceptual thinking steps in and begins to weave stories... ;) Yet, I'm curious about your thoughts on this.Are there others? Is there an “I” in others?
No, thought constructs various artificial models, like 'body,' 'space,' 'time,' and, above all, the 'I', which is then projected onto 'others' as a 'you.' However, in direct experience, none of this exists. It was a bit strange to grasp this while walking in a cemetery where thousands of people are buried, their names written all over on the tombstones, all of whom surely never doubted themselves to be an 'I'. ;) Also, I had an encounter with a crow. I was sitting on a bench observing it. At first, it paid no attention to me, but when I stood up, it got startled and flew away. I wondered how it experiences such situations. It must differentiate between itself and me, otherwise, it wouldn't keep a safe distance, right? (Well, here I'm delving more into assumptions again...) ;)Is there a 'you'?
Love and kind regards from the other hemisphere,
Lennart

