What is real?

[Madhura]

Hi Vince,
I can see where you are pointing to with the questions.

There is no thinker, no doer, no perceiver, just thinking, doing, perceiving is happening.

It is seen while looking for any of them.

Nevertheless in daily life it seems to me that unconsciously there is still the idea of someone thinking, doing etc, either myself or the socalled other.

How to let this truth penetrate daily life?

[vinceschubert]

Hi Madhura,

How to let this truth penetrate daily life?

This is the core split.
You see through the illusion—but it still plays out in the body, in daily reactivity.
So now you train where the illusion still hides: reflex, sensation, and habit.
Here’s how:

1. Catch the contraction.
Every time the sense of “me” or “them” arises, stop and scan the body immediately.
Where is the contraction?
Throat? Gut? Chest? Shoulders?
What does it feel like?
Sharp? Tight? Hot? Pulling?

2. Interrupt the loop.
The moment you notice story forming—freeze. Label it:
“This is thought claiming ownership.”
Then drop the label.
Return to raw sensation. Not “I feel angry”—just heat, tension, pressure, flicker.

3. Flip the roles.
When “others” seem like independent agents, look again.
Where is the assumption that they are separate doers living behind faces?
Can you find a “self” inside them—or is that just more labeling and projection?
What happens when you drop the idea of “other” and treat them as appearances—like weather, like birdsong?

4. Use real-life triggers as firewood.
Every time daily life creates tension, treat it as a bell.
“Here’s the next illusion. Good. Time to look.”
Do this in the heat—not afterward. In traffic. In conflict. In boredom. In intimacy.

5. Keep questioning in real-time:
“Who just made that decision?”
“Where is the one reacting?”
“What moved first—me, or life?”

This is not integration. This is exposure. Let the illusion burn everywhere it still hides.
No more safe zones.
Now:
Tell me what triggered you today—emotionally, socially, physically.
Pick one moment where the “self” reasserted itself.
We’ll dissect it, live.

much love

vince

[Madhura]

Hi Vince,

as I live mostly on my own there are not many triggers right now. Or they might pop up and are done in a short time.

What triggers myself sometimes a bit at the end of the day is that, I spent more time with unimportant things like internet than I wanted and took not more time to meditate. But who is deciding and doing or not doing it?

[vinceschubert]

Hi Madhura,

What triggers myself sometimes a bit at the end of the day is that, I spent more time with unimportant things like internet than I wanted and took not more time to meditate. But who is deciding and doing or not doing it?

ChatGPT said:

Excellent. Right here is your living laboratory.

You say: "I spent more time on the internet than I wanted."
Pause right now. Look directly at that sentence.

Who is the “I” that wanted something different?
Where is the one who should have meditated instead?
Can you find the place where the choice was made?

Internet happened. Meditating didn’t. That’s all.
Where’s the chooser? The decider? The one responsible?

Now look at the frustration:
Where in the body do you feel that twinge of regret or judgment?
Gut? Chest? Face? Shoulders? Find it.
What is its texture? Tension? Heaviness? Buzz?

This is the core of the remaining identity loop:
The belief in an “I” who could have done better.

But when you drop the label, what remains?
Only this: sensations + thoughts arising. No doer. No failure. No success.

Do it now:
Close your eyes.
Replay that exact scene: internet instead of meditation.
Watch the sequence: thought, urge, action, story, regret.

Where was the “I”? Where was the choice? Where is it now?

Describe exactly what you find in the body and mind. No stories—just raw data.

much love

vince

[Madhura]

Hi Vince,
I have a problem to see your last post. I only see until 28 of April.

[vinceschubert]

is there another page? (look down the bottom right)

[Madhura]

ChatGPT said:

:-))


Excellent. Right here is your living laboratory.

You say: "I spent more time on the internet than I wanted."
Pause right now. Look directly at that sentence.

Who is the “I” that wanted something different?
Where is the one who should have meditated instead?
Can you find the place where the choice was made?

Internet happened. Meditating didn’t. That’s all.
Where’s the chooser? The decider? The one responsible?

Now look at the frustration:
Where in the body do you feel that twinge of regret or judgment?
Gut? Chest? Face? Shoulders? Find it.
What is its texture? Tension? Heaviness? Buzz?

I can't say where the choice to not meditate came from and who the one is who should have meditated.
It is only a thought.

A kind of frustration is felt in the heart center. It feels a little tight. And yes, in the face too a bit. It feels a bit heavy.

This is the core of the remaining identity loop:
The belief in an “I” who could have done better.

But when you drop the label, what remains?
Only this: sensations + thoughts arising. No doer. No failure. No success.

Do it now:
Close your eyes.
Replay that exact scene: internet instead of meditation.
Watch the sequence: thought, urge, action, story, regret.

Where was the “I”? Where was the choice? Where is it now?

Describe exactly what you find in the body and mind. No stories—just raw data.

There is no choice doing any different.
Replaying it I am more relaxed about it. It is just the way it is. I feel more open and loving towards myself. I can let go of the story of how it should be and just accept the moment as it is.

[vinceschubert]

Hi Madhura, Checking Questions
1) Is there a separate entity 'self', 'me' 'I', at all, anywhere, in any way, shape or form?
Was there ever?

2) Describe how the illusion of an independent, self came into being by giving examples from actual experience.
Then give some experiential examples of how life changed for you after seeing through this illusion.

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

4) Can you remember any specific inquiry that resulted in an epiphany? ..a before and after seeing the actuality of the Self. Was there a point when you ‘got it’?

5) a) Describe decision, intention, free will, choice and control. What makes things happen? How does it work?
Give examples from your own recent experiences to how these things happen and how they work.

b) What are you responsible for? Give examples from your own recent experiences to how this works.

6) Anything to add?

much love

vince

[Madhura]

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

No, there is none.

2) Describe how the illusion of an independent, self came into being by giving examples from actual experience.
Then give some experiential examples of how life changed for you after seeing through this illusion.
I took my emotions, feelings and thoughts for myself.
I thought, that there is an I which can control thoughts etc. and with this life.


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

I remember faster and more often that the I is illusionary and with that I can let go any mental disturbance faster.

4) Can you remember any specific inquiry that resulted in an epiphany? ..a before and after seeing the actuality of the Self. Was there a point when you ‘got it’?

No, nothing special.

5) a) Describe decision, intention, free will, choice and control. What makes things happen? How does it work?
Give examples from your own recent experiences to how these things happen and how they work.

From my experience there is no free will, choice or control. Actions are happening, maybe colored by latent tendencies over which I have no control, often maybe even no knowlegde about which all together weave the tapestry of life. Life seems like a big spider web where everything is connected, is one. Normally we indentify with one tiny spot.
What makes things happen? I don't know.

b) What are you responsible for? Give examples from your own recent experiences to how this works.
I am not responsible for anything. If something is happening it is happening without a me. Nothing in that very moment could have happend in any other way.
Yesterday I've got triggered by the information that this week handymen will come from Thursday on to paint the whole flat. A rush of heat was arising in my heart and belly, resistance was firstly felt strongly. Thoughts were comimg up that I will already have so much work to do the next 10 days. And none of this emotional disturbance could have been otherwise. In the same way the watching of this disturbance. And the acceptance which followed it.
6) Anything to add?

[vinceschubert]

Hi Madhura,A question arose..

check for the experience of bliss in service and love in meditation, and how it arises now. I'm not sure how to frame this as a question. Might be useful for further integration, and reducing future doubts or comparisons.

Good. Here’s the question—surgical, precise, and designed to pierce through lingering nostalgia or subtle seeking:
"When you recall past experiences of bliss during service or love in meditation—stop and look now:
What exactly was present in those moments? Was it truly ‘bliss’ or ‘love’—or the absence of resistance, the collapse of the story of self?
Now—right now—without memory, without comparison:
– Is there any part of that same quality here? Even subtly?
– What does this moment feel like in the body—without the filter of ‘not good enough’?
– Can bliss or love actually be separated from the absence of the one chasing it?
Look directly. Is anything missing now—or just the thought that it should feel like it did before?
What do you find? In the body. In sensation. In thought. Now.

much love

vince