I get it intellectually, but not sure if I "get" it

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Af42
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2025 7:21 am

I get it intellectually, but not sure if I "get" it

Postby Af42 » Thu Nov 13, 2025 7:23 am

LU is focused guiding for seeing there is no real, inherent 'self' - what do you understand by this?
I understand that the self is sensation, thoughts, etc, and that somehow believing that these amount to a self creates suffering. While I understand this — when looking, I only see thoughts and sensations and no “self” — it still feels like the “self” is just a sum of its parts to me. Like my bike is not wheels, a frame etc but I can still ride it.

What are you looking for at LU?
Right now I can sort of ‘switch’ my perception from seeing things through the filter of self to experiencing sensation and thoughts directly, but only for a few moments before I get distracted and go back to default. I am wondering if this is the experience being pointed to (it seems to be) and if so, how to actually do this for longer than 5 seconds. It feels like I can understand what is being pointed at but it hasn’t made much change in my day-to-day subjective experience, and I don’t feel any more “liberated” or that I’ve gotten the cosmic joke or anything

What do you expect from a guided conversation?
Hoping rather than for intellectual explanations of the logic of not-self, which I buy, but instead how to see it on my end and how to maintain it, and how this actually reduces suffering and makes experience more pleasant and “free”.

What is your experience in terms of spiritual practices, seeking and inquiry?
Lots of meditating, including a 10 day retreat. Read LU book (parts of it), as well as a few other spiritual-ish books. Youtube videos as well. General understanding of Buddhist philosophy.

On a scale from 1 to 10, how willing are you to question any currently held beliefs about 'self? 10

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Elad
Posts: 2996
Joined: Tue Apr 18, 2023 6:25 am

Re: I get it intellectually, but not sure if I "get" it

Postby Elad » Tue Dec 09, 2025 2:13 pm

Hello! I am a guide here at LU. I'd be happy to work with you. Are you ready to start? What may I call you?
With love,
Elad

Keep me away from the wisdom which does not cry, the philosophy which does not laugh and the greatness which does not bow before children.

- Kahlil Gibran

One gets there by being there.

- Master Woof (Gilbert, Ta Hui)


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