The Gate

Hi Soul,

Look forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes,

Jon

Hello Jon,

I apologize I took so long to reply, I finally got around to watching the whole video you sent me. Thank you for sharing that with me.

Yes, do you notice that thoughts of 'me' and 'I' still suggest themselves every so often? If self is looked for it can be very clear that one cannot be found but even so, thoughts come along and habitual assumptions of 'me' and 'my' continue to pop up, don't they? The main thing is to recognise that these thoughts and the 'reality' they seem to project are an illusion .Do you see this?

Yes, I recognize that the thoughts I have about reality are simply thoughts that hold no reality. I thought the self will vanish once it was clearly seen through, but that is the self attaching itself to the idea of a self that isn't real in the first place.

Well, there is reality. Direct experience right now ,isn't there? The appearance I mentioned was really only to do with there not being a 'self' (that could 'be in the world'). Does this make sense?

Yes, I was referring the world I perceive with my mind, that is a real illusion. It seems real, but it holds no reality.

Please listen to this talk on the myth of Free Will by Sam Harris. https://youtu.be/zZLyYq_QQ3g (the talk rather than the Q&A).

The talk made complete sense, and it affirmed what we have been speaking about deeper.

Thank you Jon,

Blessings.

Hi Soul,

Nice to hear from you.

. I thought the self will vanish once it was clearly seen through, but that is the self attaching itself to the idea of a self that isn't real in the first place.

Great! Yes. But so often there is an idea from somewhere or other that it's about 'getting rid of self' or 'getting rid of thought' and thus follows a very common expectation that realisation must be like this. As you say, the real insight is that there never was a 'self'.

. The talk made complete sense, and it affirmed what we have been speaking about deeper

Good. So is the issue of no 'free will' 'choice' and 'decisions' resolved?

Do 'you' make anything happen?

Is there a chooser or a decider?

Is there anything about these ideas that feels wrong to you or about which there are doubts? We can look more at this area if it doesn't make sense?

Best regards,

Jon.

Hello Jon,

Great! Yes. But so often there is an idea from somewhere or other that it's about 'getting rid of self' or 'getting rid of thought' and thus follows a very common expectation that realisation must be like this. As you say, the real insight is that there never was a 'self'.

Yes. There is no self to be rid of. The self will continue to be shown, just seen through clearer and clearer.

Good. So is the issue of no 'free will' 'choice' and 'decisions' resolved?

Do 'you' make anything happen?

Is there a chooser or a decider?

Is there anything about these ideas that feels wrong to you or about which there are doubts? We can look more at this area if it doesn't make sense?

It is clear that there is no me. I am nothing and everything.

Thank you Jon,

Blessings.

Hi Soul,

I want to ask you a few quite specific questions now. Please answer these, each one in turn if you will, not from thinking them out much but from looking directly at immediate experience.



Have you been able to find, a ‘self’ that is the ‘experiencer’?

Or a self that is the doer, or can control what happens?

Or a self that ‘makes’ decisions?

Or a self who ‘does the thinking’?

Is the "body" just another thought label for sensations (namely tactile & kinesthetic)?

Are the five body senses made to arise or experienced by this ‘self’?

Is there a self ‘in here’ which is separate from the world and others ‘out there’?

Is there doubt or unclarity that in all these cases the ‘self’ is nothing other than a mental fabrication?

And finally:

Are there any doubts about seeing through the illusion of separate self?


All the best,

Jon.

Hello,

Have you been able to find, a ‘self’ that is the ‘experiencer’?

There is no self. Self may be experienced in thought, but it is experienced by no one.

Or a self that is the doer, or can control what happens?

Doing happens on its own, I am in control of nothing.

Or a self that ‘makes’ decisions?

It may seem like I make decisions, but choices are made on its own.

Or a self who ‘does the thinking’?

Thinking happens on its own. I can not think thoughts, thoughts just arise.

Is the "body" just another thought label for sensations (namely tactile & kinesthetic)?

Yes, the word body separates, but in reality there is no separation.

Are the five body senses made to arise or experienced by this ‘self’?

I am not quite sure what you mean but the 5 body senses are experienced by no one.

Is there a self ‘in here’ which is separate from the world and others ‘out there’?[/quote]

All is one.

Is there doubt or unclarity that in all these cases the ‘self’ is nothing other than a mental fabrication?

Michael only exist in thought, it is a story created by the mind.

Are there any doubts about seeing through the illusion of separate self?

There are no doubts, the illusion of a self may seem real, but it is like looking at a movie knowing it is just a movie.

Only question that arises is what now? I know the next step is going to be made on its own, but I can't help but to wonder what's next?

Thank you.

Blessings.

Hi Soul,

Only question that arises is what now? I know the next step is going to be made on its own, but I can't help but to wonder what's next?

Can this be known? To say so implies a 'future', doesn't it but in experience is there anything other than NOW?

That's one thing to consider. The other is that looking and not finding a 'self' is something that can be done again and again. This is only the start.

Some people go on to inquire into ideas such as 'time', 'space' 'body', 'objects' and 'others'. There is also quite a thriving and growing online community of people who have seen through 'self'.

At this stage I would like to ask you six specific questions that we ask everyone, before inviting other guides to look at our conversation. Depending on how you answer these the guides may or may not suggest further questions. Are you ready for the first three of these?

Regards.

Jon.

Hello Jon,

Can this be known? To say so implies a 'future', doesn't it but in experience is there anything other than NOW?

No the only kNOWledge that can be found is of the Now. There is No Other Way. I can remind myself that there is no self, but all I need to do is look in direct experrience. The Present requires your Presence.

Yes, I am ready.

Ok Soul,


Here are the first three of the six questions:

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

2)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.

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.

Please try to answer these questions, (as always from immediate experience).


All the best,

Jon

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

There is no separate self. There is only the belief in a separate self.

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 is the idea that there is a self that exist independently from reality. There is no separate self that starts or end there is only an unexamined belief. I use to believe that I was separate from you, but in reality I never was. The self is the whole. I am what the universe is doing right 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.

Liberating and captivating. I can let go and hold on, it is all life moving through me. It also feels assuring. Doubt and fears carry no weight, there is no one to be scared and there is no one to doubt. Love is all there is.

Hello Soul,

Thank you for these answers. Here are the second three of the six questions;

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

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

6) Anything to add?

Jon.

Hi Soul,

How is it going? I'm wondering how you respond to these last three questions?

Jon.

Hello Jon,

I will be posting a reply very soon.

Thank you.

Thank you for letting me know, Soul.

Jon

Hello Jon,

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

Well I saw it before we had this talk, but constantly coming back to our conversation help me accept the realization that there is no self. You can say that I saw the onion, I even smelled the onion, I knew it was an onion, but I wanted to be sure; So I peeled the onion layer by layer until I affirmed there was nothing hiding within the onion, it was an onion the whole time. Almost makes me want to cry. Haha.

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

My fate was established, the day I was born. There is cause and I am the affect. I am just a witness of the holy one. The body moves on its own, the mind thinks on its own, things happen on its own. I don't make any choices, these choices have been made before me, now they are moving through me.

Anything to add?

Need I say thank you? I am forever grateful. Thank you for guiding me through this process.

Bless you.