The Gate

LU is focused guiding for seeing there is no real, inherent 'self' - what do you understand by this?

There is no real I - there is no one who suffers, there is no one who judges, there is no one who is afraid.

What are you looking for at LU?

I am looking for a guide who will help "turn off" the mind, see the illusion, dispel doubts. I want to connect with those who are looking for opportunities to go beyond their ideas about reality, find like-minded people, and understand how the transition occurs. I want to remove the limitations of the mind that prevent us from accepting people as they are.

What do you expect from a guided conversation?

I expect guided conversation to teach me to be honest with myself in the first place, after which I can remove conventions in relationships with other people. Learn to look deeply into ourselves, to understand myself essence.

What is your experience in terms of spiritual practices, seeking and inquiry?

My experience is retreats, audiobooks by Osho, Eckhart Tolle, Sadhguru, vipassana. The last audiobook - " Gateless Gatecrashers"

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

Hello Polet
Welcome to the forum and thank you for your enthusiastic response to the questions, I can see you are keen to gain some clarity.

I am here to point you in the right direction so that you can see for yourself that there is no entity behind the word 'I'.

The first thing we should clear up, is your expectations.

There is no real I - there is no one who suffers, there is no one who judges, there is no one who is afraid.

Can you please provide more detail to your statement above?

I expect guided conversation to teach me to be honest with myself in the first place, after which I can remove conventions in relationships with other people. Learn to look deeply into ourselves, to understand myself essence.

What do you mean by...
honest with myself?
&
understand myself essence?

I'll look forward to your reply
🙂
Sid

Hello Sid!
Glad to hear from you!Thanks for becoming my guide.

There is no real I - there is no one who suffers, there is no one who judges, there is no one who is afraid.
Can you please provide more detail to your statement above?

Accept events as they are.
To stop judging about anything is to take it as a lesson.
Remove the fear that something will go wrong, something will not work.

What do you mean by...
honest with myself?

I have a grandson, he is 3 years old. I watch him and see how the child does not hesitate to answer the question of what he likes and what does not, he is not afraid that he will offend someone or hurt someone's pride. There are no conditions for him in relations with people. It turns out that He makes a decision from the heart, not from the mind (without thinking). And that's fair to yourself.

understand myself essence?

understand the reason of my fears - fear of making decisions, fear of acting.

Whith thanksfull, Polet

Hi Polet
Thank you for your clear response.

It's perfectly understandable to have expectations about the results of this process, why else would you do it in the first place? But if we are not careful, expectations can take us to where we think we should go, rather than being open to new answers.

Please watch this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahg6qcg ... =dothetest

How do you think this video might relate to, having expectations in the context of our enquiry?




We need to dismantle 'no-self' as a concept. So before we start direct looking, I think it's worth reading this FAQ page. This will help to direct our focus.

http://www.liberationunleashed.com/about/faq/

🙂
Sid

Heloo, Sid!

How do you think this video might relate to, having expectations in the context of our enquiry?

Yes of course! We must be everywhere and be here at the same time. I understand this as expanded attention, expanded consciousness.

I think it's worth reading this FAQ page. This will help to direct our focus.

I read the page, thanks for the reminder. I need to remove any expectations, just focus on looking.

Whith thanksfull, Polet

Hi Polet,

I read the page, thanks for the reminder. I need to remove any expectations, just focus on looking.

Maybe we cannot remove the expectations, but as we focus on looking, the expectations may drop on their own. 🙂

As we go through this process, aim to be open, like you are looking with a fresh perspective, with no goals or objectives.

Yes of course! We must be everywhere and be here at the same time. I understand this as expanded attention, expanded consciousness.

Nothing needs to be expanded. You don't need to do anything special, just seeing. If we focus on what we think we should see, we can often miss what is there.

If I asked you what colour socks you are wearing you could choose your answer one of two ways
Option One. An educated guess from memory - perhaps from when you put them on, or maybe you know what colour socks you usually wear
Option Two. You look down and you have a look.
We need to look using option two, always. We have to ignore the assumptions, guesswork and thoughts, and we do this by simply looking.

Activity - Direct Looking
Part 1
Write for me what you are experiencing now using the words I and me. Get right to the point, no past or future fantasy, just plain description of here now. Like this: I am lying in bed. I am hearing rain. I am typing these words. Do this for 10 minutes. Watch the body; what physical sensations are happening? I am feeling tired/confused/hungry. What thoughts are happening? This is stupid/I wonder what's for dinner?/Should I scratch my leg? - Complete this part of the activity before reading the next part.

Part 2
Now for the next 10 minutes write what you are experiencing without the words I and me. Just describe the experience as it is happening in the moment, using verbs: Waiting for next thought, typing, breathing, blinking, hearing rain. Again watch what is happening in and out of the body. Whatever you become aware of...

After completing the two parts.
Think about, and compare these two ways to label experience. What do you notice?

Sid

Thank you Sid! Very interesting and new method for me.

We have to ignore the assumptions, guesswork and thoughts, and we do this by simply looking.

Part 1.
I press the computer keys. I watch my hands move. My body is sitting on a chair and I am thirsty. My hand scratches my nose. My head is empty. I don’t know what to write. My breathing is even and calm. I'm thirsty. My eyes read the text on the screen. I sigh and stare at the screen. I watch the clock on the computer. I comb my hair with my hand. My brain is in a stupor.

Part 2.
lack of thoughts, emptiness in the head, breathing evenly, there is a desire to drink water, anticipation of a drink, expectation of action, hearing sounds outside the window, typing text on a computer, pressing keys, moving the head, moving eyes, feeling a speck in the eye.

It is difficult to describe in words: after the description of the second part, emptiness and silence appeared in the body, the sounds around became clearer and as if louder, a feeling of apathy.

With tanksful, Polet

Hi friend
We are making progress!

Let's extend this exercise with further investigation.

As you go through your day today, try and use descriptions without I, my, me or mine (pronouns)

examples - thoughts coming up, frustration building, anger rising, birds singing, birds flying, car engines in the distance, feelings of heat, sensations of aches and pains coming and going, thinking about words to say, thoughts about tomorrow, feeling confident, thoughts and feelings of doubt, etc.

At times you may forget and go back to using descriptions with I and me, etc. don't worry, just gently refocus on using descriptions without these pronouns.

How did you get on?
At the end of the day, jot a few of the examples down and describe if there is anything different in the way you are seeing things. Don't worry about how you feel or the big picture. Try to describe what you see - Are the things you describe the same as before when you used I? Do these things miss the label of self?

Looking forward to hearing how your investigation goes
:)
Sid

Hi Sid!

In the morning I read your instructions. During the day there was observation, watching, but sometimes the attention slipped away, the thoughts about work were captured.

When the observation returned, there was a feeling of slight dizziness, as if I were watching frames from a film.

Driving, turning the steering wheel, watching the road, getting out of the car, watching a person work at the post office, the appearance of thoughts about lunch, preparing food, watching like a spoon go into the mouth. The movement of fingers on the keys, the noise of the train outside the window.

At the moments of observation, lightness appears in the body, as if it were a dream in reality. This feeling is the main sign of observing events from the outside, a very pleasant state, there is a desire to remain in it always.
How to stay in this state always?

With tanksful, Polet

Hi Polet

Try to describe what you see - Are the things you describe the same as before when you used I? Do these things miss the label of self?

It's really important that we notice the labels of self. Do things behave differently when you don't use I or my?

Is there a difference between you breathing, and breathing happening?
or is there a difference between you having a desire for a particular state, or is desire just happening?

If there is a difference, what is it? If there is no difference, please explain.

Thank you
Sid

Thank you Sid for the tip.
No difference. Everything happens regardless of whether I use I / mine or find that desire has arisen and is happening independently of me. Everything that happens flows by itself, like a river - sometimes smoothly, sometimes quickly - thoughts, desires, sensations, events.

Polet

No difference. Everything happens regardless of whether I use I / mine or find that desire has arisen and is happening independently of me.

Excellent Polet - It doesn't matter whether or not we attach an 'I', these 'things' happen!

Let's take a closer look at these 'things'.

Activity
The goal of this activity is to see the difference between different types of experience in awareness. We have wonderful ways of perceiving the world.

Write down these column headings
Seeing Hearing Smelling Taste Sensation Thoughts

Spend some quiet time looking and then recording examples of 'things' that come up in your awareness. Do this until you have 3 or 4 examples for each heading. You can do this with your eyes open or closed, but not while driving!

Examples
Seeing - lights, movement, birds, shadows, dog, images, shapes, buildings, trees shaking
Hearing - engines, thunder, sirens, clicking, unknown, high pitch
Smelling - smokey, paint, food, unidentified
Taste - sweetness, salty. bitter, dry, unknown
Sensation - tenseness, agitation, itch, acute pain, numbness
Thoughts - Inner voice, labels, concepts, beliefs, opinions
With thoughts please note, strictly speaking, once you give something a name, it is already a thought. These experiences in awareness need to be passed through thought to create descriptions, which are required for communication. But we don't have to worry about that for now.
More examples of thoughts - Inner monologue "How long do I have to do this?", Inner Coach "Come on you can do this!" Inner Saboteur "This is bulls**t", Inner narrator "Well that was OK" and then of course, you may have a billion other types of random thoughts!

Then as you go through your day. Spend some more time looking.
Whenever you can, take a mental note of whatever is in your awareness, and then place into one of the categories above.

You may notice that something may appear as one thing, but then on closer inspection, you can see that it is a combination of different elements, falling into more than one category above.

Take your time and then please describe your experience and insights
Sid
:)

Okay, Sid, please give me one more day to realize these observations.

I'll write tomorrow, Polet :-)

Hi Polet
Thank you for your update. Much appreciated.
Take your time.
I will wait to hear from you.
😁
Sid

Hi, Sid! I miss you!

Today in St. Petersburg it is very cold, but beautiful weather.
Seeing: snow is falling from the sky, frost on the trees, the train is "floating" on the rails, white snow is all around.
Hearing: snow creak at every step, dog barking, clap, clicks, voice.
Smelling: soup, soap, baked goods, shampoo.
Taste: salty, spicy, delicate, sweet.
Feeling: pleasure, mild pain, anticipation, cold, hot.
Thoughts: an internal judge: "She will ruin everything", a monologue: "I'll go to the store, I need to buy bread", "I'll go to a concert today", the narrator: "add salt, throw spices and everything is ready".
A whole tangle of thoughts that must be untangled.

In the process of observing and "looking", images arise: for example, I hear a sound, but I do not see where it comes from - an image of the sound source will appear, I smell and define and imagine this object or food, or even a person.
And more, sensations and feelings can be either one category or different: pain, annoyance, expectation, bitterness, etc.

In the process of comprehending the categories came the understanding that everything is one and indivisible and at the same time each sensation is unique and special. I have no words to convey this KNOWLEDGE.

With tanksful, Polet