The Gate

Your not you're.

Typo.

Stacy,

Stop believing your thinking.

Yes, I have a problem with doing this in daily life. I feel like I've built my entire life on my thinking, so it's difficult to let it go. I'll be more mindful in seeing thinking for what it is: just thoughts passing by.

But the actual seeing is a mystery like anything else. It cannot be forced. Relaxing and allowing is the way.

:) We can till the soil and plant the seed, and in time, the plant will grow. No use in me screaming at the seed to hurry up, right?

Keep practicing & reporting here.

Will do--thank you! I have some time off from work this week so I will hopefully be able to dedicate more time to looking.

Gratitude,
E

Yes, everyone has built their lives on thinking. Yet, they do these pointers & see. Yes, like planting a seed.

This pointer illustrates how unnecessary thinking is.

Sports Exercise

Please note that you will have to check the link when using this exercise, to make sure it is still viable, as sometimes they are removed from Youtube.

The following link is a 7 minute clip of a soccer game. If you prefer another sport…please feel free to find one to do this exercise with.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy5pL-myDzw

1. Watch one minute with the sound turned OFF, watching ‘people’ messing about with a round thing on a field, up and down, up and down. Let it sink in, the whole experience.

2. Once the first minute is completed, now watch another whole minute with the commentary turned ON.

Notice the differences.

Notice how the commentator (thought) offers lots of know-how, even advice. It seems to feel as though they can influence, somehow, what is going on, as though one outcome is much preferred to the opposite outcome. The commentary may seem to heighten any supporter feelings which are there, and call for an identification with one team or other, and with the importance of the game itself.

3. Now turn the volume OFF AGAIN and just watch the action with NO audible commentary, the shapes moving around on the screen etc. Again notice all the differences in what is appearing as experience.

4. Now turn the volume ON again and ignore what you think you know thought is talking about, and just notice it as sound.

What did you find when doing this exercise? Is the commentary on the soccer game a necessity for the play to happen?

And in the same way, is the inner narration of thought a necessity for the play of life to happen?

As always, relax & have fun!

Loving,

Morning, Stacy!

What did you find when doing this exercise? Is the commentary on the soccer game a necessity for the play to happen?

Things were much calmer without the commentary, in large part because the commentary overlaid drama onto whatever was happening. Without the commentary, there was just what was happening.

I found that when I first turned it off, it was unsettling at first, but then I became accustomed to the silence and focused more on what was happening.

When I turned it back on, I was unsettled again because it added unnecessary drama and narration over what was already happening even without the commentary.

When I turned it back off, I settled back into what was happening.

When I finally turned it back on and tried to ignore it, it was difficult to ignore it at first, but then I realized that what was happening was still happening. If I got caught in the commentary, it would suck me into its drama. If I focused on what was happening and treated the commentary like background noise, it made it much easier to see what was going on without engaging in the commentary.

And in the same way, is the inner narration of thought a necessity for the play of life to happen?

It is not. Much like the commentary, it is an unnecessary overlay of dramatic narration. Yes, it makes things interesting and has a lot to say on what is happening, but it also takes up a lot of unnecessary energy and causes unnecessary strife. It seems like just staying with "what's happening out there" without engaging thoughts is much more effortless.

With that said, thoughts/commentary will constantly be providing doors to engage with them. They will be enticing doors, but to step into them would be to get caught up with them and their never-ending flow.

Thank you--this helps. It's a useful exercise to refer back to.

Gratitude,
E

That's great.

Keep looking with ButtChair & the DropBox pointers (do you have those? )

Post daily to keep up momentum.

Let me know when you are 100% certain there's no separate "self"and you want to attempt our traditional "final" questions.

Loving,

Here are some additional pointers:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/tsa5fvgq7gx2 ... TEMfa?dl=0

Loving,

I should have shared IAM Complete

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ksba3zhi9uuz ... hsk1a?dl=0

It's just in better order.

Stacy,

Thank you for the Dropbox pointers. I'll listen through them and will continue to post in order to maintain momentum.

Gratitude,
E

Stacy,

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ksba3zhi9uuz ... hsk1a?dl=0

I've just finished 1. Introduction, 2. All It Is, and 3. Beginning Thinking. I enjoyed Beginning Thinking and will try to do that when I notice thoughts coming up. I felt relaxed while doing them but I don't think I "got it" in the way that the people in the recordings "got it."

There was a persistent thought that was present throughout it, though: it was a memory of how my first glimpse felt like to me the first time I had it a few months ago. I think that this persistent memory--this expectation of what "this" should feel like--that constantly appears is preventing me from fully resting.

I'll continue listening to the rest of the DropBox pointers and practicing ButtChair. While practicing ButtChair today, I feel like I didn't "see" the absence of an "I" as clearly as I did a couple days ago. This results in a tiny bit of frustration, but I'm able to relax into the frustration knowing that seeing comes and goes in waves, just like Ilona and Lisa said in those videos.

Gratitude,
E

Very good!

Keep me posted here.

Much love,

Stacy,

Keep me posted here.

The belief in thinking is weakening. More recently during my regular meditation practice, thoughts seem to be a bit more distant than they were before. They're still there, but I feel like I am able to see them as thoughts rather than indulge in their contents. The "tracing thought back to their origins" exercise in the DropBox pointers helped with that as well as the announcer exercise.

Another helpful pointer has been the question "What is here now when there is no problem to solve?" that I remember from Loch Kelly. This helps me to cut through all the thoughts and relax.

I listened to 4. Perceiving Receiving and I enjoyed it. So far I am drawn to "All it is", "Beginning Thinking", and "Perceiving Receiving" as exercises. I began listening to 5. Release Receive, but it didn't do much for me. I may come back to it.

I hope to listen to 6 and 7 soon.

Gratitude,
E

This is good. Let me know how it's going each day.

Loch Kelly is good.

I'm particularly interested in your experience with "Where Is I?"

Loving,

Stacy,

ButtChair Observation:
There is no dividing line between my butt and the chair. Another thing noticed is that there are no edges of the sensation, either. There is no chair or butt in the sensation, just the sensation itself.

I’ve just listened to 6. Dissolving Complete. I enjoyed this one more than the other ones. It reminded me of my ButtChair practice. I liked dropping the inside/outside label. It helped me see that there was no inside or outside. I saw that it was kind of absurd to separate an inside from an outside–to separate “my self” from “the world” because this “self” is a part of "the world.” It’s not some separate existence, but is inextricably within all that exists.

The actual practice of this was interesting. I could make all my body parts feel fuzzy, but then I couldn't "be the part that wasn't history" so to speak. I feel like I keep falling into a "pocket" that I think he's referring to, but I suspect that I'm just resting in a part of mind or my mind is getting in the way somehow.

I’ll listen to 7. Where Is I? later in the day and will report back.

Gratitude,
E

That all sounds very good.

I'm looking forward to your next report.

Much love,

Stacy,

I listened to "Where is I?" yesterday. I couldn't find the "I" anywhere. There was no location of it wherever I looked. At first I had found it just behind the eyes, but when the person on the recording said "who is feeling that location? where is that awareness?" I didn't know. I'm not entirely clear on the "thinking about the past and future and reaching out to it" thing, maybe I was doing it wrong.

Anyway, I listened to the whole thing and could not find where the "I" was, but I still FEEL like an "I" in my mind. I am trying to see that this is just another thought, but I'm having some trouble doing that.

I'll keep on practicing & listening to the pointers :)

Gratitude,
E