Committed

[Yano]

LU is focused guiding for seeing there is no real, inherent 'self' - what do you understand by this? That the 'self' is a conditioned construct that eventually falls away.

What are you looking for at LU? A sense of completion. There has been an expansion in my field of experience with many small shifts. However, there is a general disorientation of mind and I have no clarity about what is obscuring me. I can sort've sense a self-structure but it's very subtle and shifty.

I'm also not sure whether I should be letting my thoughts come and go, or be pushing into the head-space where thoughts are stopped before they arise.

What do you expect from a guided conversation? I expect them to be able to feel into where I am and be able to poke and prod at what's there. I don't mind how they go about it. I'm really just happy to be here and I'm happy this website exists, and I'm grateful there are guides and teachers.

What is your experience in terms of spiritual practices, seeking and inquiry? No spiritual practices aside from intermittent meditation in the past few months. A couple of LSD trips several years ago.

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

[Alless]

Hello Yano

Welcome to Liberation Unleashed.

And thank you for waiting so long. Sometimes there are not enough guides to go around. But here we are now!!

My name is Alan and I’m very happy to help you see through the notion of a separate self.

As I read what you write of your experience I do notice that you say there has been no specific spiritual practice. That you don't have "allegiance" to any tradition or philosophy means there is less of that to set aside. That is helpful as is pointed to below in asking you to leave aside all that has been learned up till now. We will be depending on your present moment experience only in this exploration

So if you would like to look deeply together, here are some suggestions to help make the best use of this opportunity:

As pointed to above (and yes, this is a repeat but it is really important) leave aside all other “spiritual” related resources- books, teachings, models, theories, philosophy and the like for the duration of our investigation. This a chance to have a completely fresh look. Here we are going to depend on your Actual Experience, not from what you have read, heard, learned or believed so far in life. Only what you yourself can observe directly in the moment - looking at what is here right now - is what will be the focus.

Be 100% honest. And write as much as you can about what you are experiencing. We avoid philosophy and theory. This is about honest exploration and we are not looking for what appears to be “right” answers. Just report as best you can only what you are experiencing in the moment.

Post daily to keep up the momentum. Life continues to happen and if for some reason you find you cannot post on a particular day, or need more time, just let me know. And I’ll do the same.

Also now is a good time to ask you to read through some important links and let me know if you are OK with everything before we get started.

1) The LU Disclaimer http://www.liberationunleashed.com/register/disclaimer/
2) The LU Terms and Conditions http://www.liberationunleashed.com/register/terms/
3) What LU is not https://www.liberationunleashed.com/about/faq/#faq-1041

Are you OK with everything covered here or do you have any questions about what is covered?




Also, please watch this short video to learn how to use the Quote function which will help in our conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCbZYSvnTpc&t=1s

Sometimes system glitches happen so it’s recommended that you copy and paste into Word, answer them there and then copy and paste them to your thread.

So if you'd like to get started just let me know.

Do you have any burning questions?




Alan

[Yano]

And thank you for waiting so long. Sometimes there are not enough guides to go around. But here we are now!!

My name is Alan and I’m very happy to help you see through the notion of a separate self.

Hi Alan :) Totally understandable. Thanks for being here.

Are you OK with everything covered here or do you have any questions about what is covered?

All good. I've done a lot of browsing and I know what to expect.

Do you have any burning questions?

No burning questions. I'd love to get started.



Yano

[Yano]

You can also call me Adam, if you'd like.

Thank you!

[Alless]

Great to hear back Adam

In case you haven't already spotted it, please subscribe to this thread by clicking the little wrench icon above (dropdown says ‘subscribe topic’). This way you will receive an email when I reply.

OK. So let’s get started.

This exploration is based on questions and exercises. I will ask questions as a means of pointing, but the questions aren’t about finding something unknown. The questions refer to what is already actually known. And what is already known? Sound, smell, taste, thought, sensation and colour. So, questions are not answered through thinking/thoughts (theories) but by LOOKING. The key is that you really have to LOOK. Why? Because it’s the act of actually LOOKING and not finding an “I” that brings about the realisation of there being no separate self.

CLEAR SEEING is ALL that is needed for the work to be done.

What is LOOKING? ‘LOOKING’ is just plain looking at what is here right now. It is moving from the conceptual to actual experience (AE). The term “Actual Experience” (AE) is used to refer to your current experience ‘right now,’ without the thought stories. So, actual experience (AE) is image/colour, sound, smell, sensation, taste and the simple knowing of thought at face value. What thought says ie, the content of thought in and of itself does not contain any experience. This is evidenced by the fact that you cannot taste the word 'sweet'. So, when looking at actual experience (AE), you are looking at raw experience WITHOUT what thought says ABOUT the raw experience.

One thing I would really like you to talk about is what you expect from this investigation. Give yourself time to ponder these points then send me what comes.
How do you expect life to change? What will be different?




How will you change?




What do you hope to gain?




Is there anything you fear losing?




What is missing now?




And one more thing for today. Let the following statement really sink in.

There is no separate self, never has been and never will be. That there is, is all just a made up story, a figment of the imagination.

What reactions - from none to subtle to strong - come up when you read that statement?




What's the first thought to pop into your head?




Do you feel any emotion(s) rising at all?




Any other reactions - subtle or strong?



As you may have noticed I will highlight questions for you to respond to in blue text so that they are easy for you to spot.


BTW I am in the eastern time zone in Australia – AEST
What time zone are you in ……….?



With love

Alan

[Yano]

How do you expect life to change? What will be different?

I think there would be no sense of distancing from it. Life will feel lighter and more apparent. Total clarity without doubt and an abiding sense of love. There would still the full breadth of emotions and sensations, just with nothing for it to attach to.

How will you change?

"I" will be seen through as a subtle cluster of sensation and thought, and there will be no identifying with it. Any movement to create a narrative around events happening will be seen through.

What do you hope to gain?

Gain feels like the wrong word. I've heard others talk of this as a subtraction, and it feels like that. I can feel there's a resistance or something in the way, like background sensations behind the eyes and chest/solar plexus, and I'd like to look at it fully. I know there's an identification somewhere.

Is there anything you fear losing?

There were some sensations in the solar plexus that came up when I read this question. I think there is a fear of losing the self because I don't fully know what will happen.

What is missing now?

This question made me smile. I don't think anything is missing right now.

There is no separate self, never has been and never will be. That there is, is all just a made up story, a figment of the imagination.

What reactions - from none to subtle to strong - come up when you read that statement?

Something I would describe as a small amount of anticipation in the solar plexus. A small amount of fear. Deeper breathing. A sensation in the gut.

What's the first thought to pop into your head?

There was the thought that I've read this a number of times.

Do you feel any emotion(s) rising at all?

The anticipation steadily rises.

Any other reactions - subtle or strong?

None that I can tell. There's been an undercurrent in my body for the last week, and it brings an awareness to it.

What time zone are you in ……….?

I'm in England and we are currently on BST.



Thank you,

Adam.

[Alless]

Ah so you are in England Adam. The country of my birth many moons ago 😊

Thank you for your responses. Instead of working through a couple of exercises first (we can come back to those later) we'll dive right in and I'll get you to tell me a little more about a couple of aspects of what you report.

Your description of the sensations you are feeling is so important. The mind will tell us stories but the body tells the truth.

I can feel there's a resistance or something in the way, like background sensations behind the eyes and chest/solar plexus, and I'd like to look at it fully.

OK let's look at this fully straight away.
Describe what you're feeling when you say there's a resistance. Use the most basic description of what is the most fundamental aspects of what is being experienced - as though you were feeling this for the very first time




How do you know it is "resistance"?




Is there a tendency to push away this "resistance"?




What is there if you don't label it resistance?

I think there is a fear of losing the self because I don't fully know what will happen.

What is the origination of this fear? What is its source?



Are you willing to fully accept "I don't know what will happen"?

I know there's an identification somewhere.

Tell me more about identification. What is it for you? What do you experience when identification happens? What does the identifying?




And finally, where did you go for the "answers" to these questions? To the mind? Or are you ACTUALLY reporting what you SAW in your direct experience in the moment when you LOOKED?




With love

Alan

[Yano]

Hi Alan,

I wanted to post earlier but I also wanted to spend a little more time with this.

Describe what you're feeling when you say there's a resistance. Use the most basic description of what is the most fundamental aspects of what is being experienced - as though you were feeling this for the very first time

It's is a mixture of tiny sensations and half-thoughts. There is frustration when I try to look at it because it's very subtle and I can't grasp it.

How do you know it is "resistance"?

I'm not sure that it's what's referred to as "resistance", and I had just assumed I used the correct word.

Is there a tendency to push away this "resistance"?

Yes

What is there if you don't label it resistance?

It's hard to describe, but it's also like emotions broiling together. As I look at it, it becomes a whole body feeling and it's uncomfortable. It's been happening on and off for a few weeks now.

What is the origination of this fear? What is its source?

I'm not sure about the origination or source, but it is more anticipation than fear. I think I have an expectation of change.

Are you willing to fully accept "I don't know what will happen"?

Yes :)

Tell me more about identification. What is it for you? What do you experience when identification happens? What does the identifying?

When I look for a self, I can't locate it, so it was a thought and an assumption that I must be too closely associated with what I'm trying to look for, and that the identification is what "I" am. I don't know how identification happens.

And finally, where did you go for the "answers" to these questions? To the mind? Or are you ACTUALLY reporting what you SAW in your direct experience in the moment when you LOOKED?

I definitely used my mind a lot here.


Thank you.

Adam.

[Alless]

I definitely used my mind a lot here.

That is very true Adam.

To recognize this is a good starting point. And this points to what the illusion is all about. We live life through our thoughts. It is thought that creates the veil of what is referred to as "illusion".

So rather than respond to each point in your post we will first build a foundation to help explore your experience and discern between truth and falsehood.

And now I am going to ask that you do your best to lay ALL expectations and assumptions about this notion of no-self aside !

The paradox here is that we come to this inquiry because of expectations and then we're asked to lay them aside ! Why is that? It is because they arise and exist in the realm of thought which is the domain of the illusion we are looking to see through.

Now while it is easier said than done, just do your best to leave all your expectations aside. Typically all these expectations are really beliefs about what should or should not be happening. The pointers that we will use help us see through these beliefs. Again CLEAR SEEING of these beliefs is ALL that is needed for them to collapse.

And if we look honestly there is even this over riding desire to "awaken." We even ask to lay that aside as well as it typically carries with it many assumptions and beliefs about what awakening is.

If there is such a thing as a valid expectation it is this - the desire to see the truth of what is actually happening in this moment. And typically included in that is the desire to see whether there is such a thing we call a "me" or not.

This notion of an "I" is the shakey (non existent) foundation on which so many of these expectations and beliefs are built. This is what robs us of the peace we yearn for.

And another thing to be aware of. While we yearn to find the truth within us, it is every bit as important to find that which veils the truth. Becoming aware of what veils the truth is what this inquiry is all about. It's important to be acutely conscious of expectations and the thing to really be aware of is that expectations can cloud our investigation through having some preconceived notion about how we BELIEVE this will unfold. Expectations (and in particular the subtle, unconscious ones) can seem to exert a power in and of themselves which keeps us bound to the illusion we are subject to in the "conventional dualistic" way of living. The one certainty in this endeavour at LU is that what unfolds is never as we expect it to.

To find the truth of "no self" the approach here is to deconstruct the idea of the separate self. It is an unlearning, an undoing and for this reason the best way to approach this is to put aside everything you think you know or expect and just be with this exploration with an openness and a willingness to LOOK directly.


By applying the exercises and questions given throughout this exploration in your day to day living - not just sitting and pondering or imagining what we are exploring - but actually applying the pointings to your life and seeing them in reality…actually doing the work (practical application) every day, day in and day out, you will then be able to LOOK and see that even though the separate self seems to appear over and over, the truth is that it actually can never be found. It is this continual ACTUAL EXPERIENCE that is the key. Eventually it won't matter that the sense of a separate self still appears...there is simply a knowing that it is a concept - a fictitious imaginary character.

This exploration is not about getting rid of the separate self or getting rid of anything, but seeing that there was never a separate limited self to start with.

All that is asked is that you LOOK every day and LOOK diligently…not for anyone’s sake but for your own – for you to be 100% committed to yourself (as we have talked about already) in order to see through the idea of being the separate self. It is through this diligent LOOKING that realizations happen. On the flip side, being gentle with one self is also necessary. Many years of thinking one is a limited separate entity with ingrained beliefs and conditioning isn’t necessarily going to disappear overnight. So being gentle with yourself and having compassion for yourself is very necessary.


So let us now look at one of the keys we will use in this exploration.


Direct or Actual Experience (DE or AE for short)

So many of us humans believe we are seeing clearly when in fact we are seeing through what might be described as a fog of thought (labels, beliefs, concepts, assumptions, perspectives and many other attributes of what we call mind) This can come as a bit of a shock and also a great relief to truly see the ways - especially the subtle unconscious ways - in which we do this.

So what is this Direct or Actual Experiencing? For practical purposes we can identify 6 aspects of experiencing. It is PURE

Seeing
Hearing
Feeling Sensation, (not emotion. Emotion is Sensation plus made-up thoughts & labels)
Tasting
Smelling
Thoughts Arising (but not their content)
We are depending totally on DE to LOOK for no self.

Now here are a couple of exercises that help us experience what it is like to get out of our heads and see what is really going on in present moment experience - Direct or Actual Experience. (DE or AE)

If I was to ask you what color is the heel of your left sock or shoe, there are at least two ways to answer. One is you could answer from memory or alternatively you could go and LOOK.
What color do you think the heel of your left sock or shoe is? (Write it down BEFORE you look)




Can you be 100% sure?




Now actually LOOK DIRECTLY ...... is the colour EXACTLY what you thought it was?




Do you see that you can only be 100% certain by looking rather than going to memory (thought)?




One of the traps we can fall into without even noticing is going to memory (thought) for an answer rather than LOOKING directly.

Going straight to DE EVERY TIME to EXPERIENCE an answer - no matter how simple - cuts to the core of this exploration so much faster.


One of the things that veils DE is the phenomena of labeling

Here is something Ilona wrote about labeling
https://markedeternal.blogspot.com/search?q=labels
Does anything in particular from that article resonate?




Let’s use DE with seeing and hearing for a start

As you are sitting responding to this post describe……
What are you are actually seeing without conceptualizing or interpreting through the mind? (consciously avoiding any labels where at all possible - – use just the most basic descriptive terms possible.)



What are you are hearing seeing without conceptualizing or interpreting through the mind?? (consciously avoiding any labels where at all possible – use just the most basic descriptive terms possible.)





Notice what the mind is doing as seeing and hearing is happening. Is it silent or just doing what is usually does - chattering away and labeling stuff?




With love



Alan

[Yano]

Now while it is easier said than done, just do your best to leave all your expectations aside

Thank you. I can do that.

And another thing to be aware of. While we yearn to find the truth within us, it is every bit as important to find that which veils the truth

Yes please. I've been meditating for months, and I'm still in the mind many times during the day, and it seems to just happen suddenly.

What color do you think the heel of your left sock or shoe is? (Write it down BEFORE you look)

Sockless!

Can you be 100% sure?

I cannot.

Now actually LOOK DIRECTLY ...... is the colour EXACTLY what you thought it was?

It's looks a lot different than the thought of it.

Do you see that you can only be 100% certain by looking rather than going to memory (thought)?

I do.

Does anything in particular from that article resonate?

Yes, it definitely resonates.

"Until I looked. It really was just one look, it took a few seconds and all the search was over. The search for clarity, the quest of 'who am I?' was seen as cosmic joke."

"Just one look" feels very present and available right now. It feels like a hairs breadth away.

Also, when she mentions tension when using "I" to describe events, I can feel the difference when not using it, and it feels more relaxed and open.

What are you are actually seeing without conceptualizing or interpreting through the mind? (consciously avoiding any labels where at all possible - – use just the most basic descriptive terms possible.)

I am seeing colour, shapes and movement.

What are you are hearing seeing without conceptualizing or interpreting through the mind?? (consciously avoiding any labels where at all possible – use just the most basic descriptive terms possible.)

Whirring, buzzing, beeping, some sounds are quieter than others

Notice what the mind is doing as seeing and hearing is happening. Is it silent or just doing what is usually does - chattering away and labeling stuff?

Yes, there are moments without thought and then my mind will jump in to frame it a certain way.


Thank you,


Adam.

[Alless]

Sockless!

Oh Adam. The question needs to be more "inclusive" on my part ! But you got the point anyway. 😊

Also, when she mentions tension when using "I" to describe events, I can feel the difference when not using it, and it feels more relaxed and open.

That's great. Keep doing this when you can. It will pay dividends as you continue. In fact there is an exercise I'll include at the end of the post to take this a little further. These exercises can seem very "basic" however they are the very core of seeing through the illusion of a "me"

I am seeing colour, shapes and movement.

Colour and movement - yes. Ponder it this way. A new born baby opening its eyes for the first time. What would it see - colours and movement definitely (and we know those two words are concepts which a baby doesn't know about but necessary to use here as we communicate) Shapes? I sense it's safe to stay with colour - either changing/moving or still. Some folks may say that this is splitting hairs but shapes may be invoking a concept. but you've clearly got the point.

Yes, there are moments without thought and then my mind will jump in to frame it a certain way.

Beautiful ! Now we are not trying to rid ourselves of thought in this investigation - just to see when we are believing them. This clear noticing in itself helps the mind settle right down.


Here is the exercise mentioned earlier to help dive deeper into Direct Experience (DE) as you go about your day This will be very helpful in our exploration.

You will see we use the terms Actual Experience (AE) and Direct Experience (DE) interchangeably.

Here are the aspects of AE again from an earlier post

• color/image,
• sound,
• smell,
• taste,
• sensation, (not emotion. Emotion is Sensation plus made-up thoughts & labels)
• thought(s). (but not their content)


Direct Experience - Labeling Daily Activities
In this exploration I would like you to try as many times as you can throughout the day to label daily activities in their simplest form as one of the aspects of AE - whether you are experiencing either color or sound or smell or taste or sensation or thought.

So let's use the activity of having breakfast as an example.

You're sitting down having breakfast and you see a cup in front of you. As you look what are you simply experiencing here? You are experiencing colour.

So that would be described thus:

Seeing a cup, (you would label it as) simply = image/color

Then, for example, you find yourself wrapping your hands around a hot cup of coffee. Which aspect of AE are you experiencing here? It would be sensation. It is then described this way.

Feeling the warmth of the coffee cup, simply = sensation

So for example, when having breakfast, the complete experience would be described this way:

Activity: Having breakfast
Seeing a cup, simply = color
Smelling coffee, simply = smell
Feeling the warmth of the coffee cup, simply = sensation
Tasting the coffee, simply = taste
Hearing the spoon stirring the coffee, simply = sound
Thought about drinking the coffee, simply = thought

On the left of = is a made up story, content of thought, the way we normally think.

On the right of = is only one of the 5 Senses. That's still a story, but it's as simple as we can make it & still communicate.

This shows you to ignore thought stories & focus only on Direct Experience.

Why? Because "I" is a made up thought story that you cannot See, Hear, Touch, Smell or Taste. It does nor exist.

Let’s take another example. This time it could look like this:

Activity: Vacuuming
Seeing metal vacuum cleaner, simply = color
Smells of dust, simply = smell
Feel of smooth, slippery (electric) cords, simply = sensation
Tasting (nothing to report) = taste
Sound of “whoosh”, loud, ringing, simply = sound
Thought of “is this clean enough?” simply = thought

Just choose some daily activities ( brushing teeth, washing dishes, taking a shower and the like) and break them down into these aspects / categories (which are all Actual/Direct Experience) and report back with lists exactly like the one above.

Post several of your own observations of daily activities in a list *exactly* like the one above, please. Same word forms. Same order. EXACTLY.




What happens thoughts as you experience the senses directly?




With love


Alan

[Yano]

Post several of your own observations of daily activities in a list *exactly* like the one above, please. Same word forms. Same order. EXACTLY.

Activity: Using my laptop
Seeing laptop screen, simply = colour
Smells of rainfall through an open window, simply = smell
Feel of fingers tapping keyboard keys, simply = sensation
Tasting the pizza I ate 30 minutes ago, simply = taste
Sound of "whirring" laptop fan, simply = sound
Thought of “I can still taste the pepperoni”, simply = thought

Activity: Petting a cat
Seeing cat, simply = colour
Smells of wet asphalt, simply = smell
Feel of wind against my face, simply = sensation
Tasting (nothing to report), simply = taste
Sound of cars going by, simply = sound
Thought of “where does this cat live?”, simply = thought

Activity: Drinking water
Seeing transparent water bottle, simply = colour
Smells of kitchen cleaning fluid, simply = smell
Feel of cold, smooth bottle, simply = sensation
Tasting (nothing to report), simply = taste
Sound of throat gulping and ears crackling, simply = sound
Thought of “I can't taste this water at all”, simply = thought

What happens thoughts as you experience the senses directly?

As I experience the senses directly, thought vanishes.


:)


Adam.

[Alless]

As I experience the senses directly, thought vanishes.

Interesting !

Thought vanishes but do YOU vanish?



Can you find an entity separate from what is happening, a separate me in all of this that is running the show?



Now let's compare what a new born would be experiencing to that which a five year old is experiencing.

If you asked a five year old what they are seeing, would what they describe be any different to what a baby actually is seeing?



If no, why not?



If yes, how would it be different and why?



Now let's take labeling a bit further

Labeling is one "overlay" of reality that is happening so instantaneously that it happens for most people automatically without them realizing it. Labeling pervades thinking. The aim is not to rid ourselves of labels (we have to use them to communicate in conventional daily living) but to see them for what they are. Labeling is sometimes described as at least one step removed from reality.

Here is an exercise to help see how labeling can cloud AE. (I’ll use AE/DE as short for Actual Experience or Direct Experience)
It actually can often demonstrate very nicely how AE can be hijacked by the mechanisms of the mind so instantaneously without us having a clue that it is happening.

Label-Reality Correlation

There is a belief that labels have a one-to-one correspondence with ‘reality’. But they don't. Just like it is a generally accepted belief that labels like ‘good’ and ‘bad’ are inherent characteristics of ‘things’. But actually, they are not.

As you look at the word label ‘GREEN',
What is your actual experience right in the moment your eyes landed on it?




You are seeing green, right?




Or as you look at the word green are you actually seeing red but believing you are seeing green because of the minds interpretation of the word green?





Does the label ‘GREEN’ have a one-to-one correspondence with ‘reality’? Or does the label suggest something else other than what is here now (red colour)?




Is 'green' associated in any way with the experience of the colour red; or is green just a label that overlays/hijacks the actual experience of red if believed?




If the label ‘GREEN’ is replaced with the label ‘GOOD’ or ‘BAD’, is the redness affected in any way as the labels suggests?




Does redness become ‘good’ or ‘bad’, or do the labels have no affect whatsoever on ‘reality’?




Can you see it is not that thoughts arise which is the illusion but that it is the contents of the labels (thoughts) that are not real and create illusion when believed?




Let me know what is SEEN.




Next time you go for a walk practice looking without labeling.
I’d love to hear. What happened?





With love


Alan 

[Yano]

Thought vanishes but do YOU vanish?

There is still an inner voice but it's full of half-thoughts, although it's quieter and sometimes it's very quiet if I'm more in my senses. There is still an "experiencer" present, although I can look at that too.

Can you find an entity separate from what is happening, a separate me in all of this that is running the show?

The distinctions between separation have become a lot more blurry, and I'm finding it hard to answer this question.

If you asked a five year old what they are seeing, would what they describe be any different to what a baby actually is seeing?

Yes

If yes, how would it be different and why?

I think a five year old might have a conceptual overlay, and as they're more "experienced" in the world might have a level of conditioning that wouldn't be present in the baby.

As you look at the word label ‘GREEN',
What is your actual experience right in the moment your eyes landed on it?

I saw the colour red and the word "green" and then a tension as the idea of green interferes with the colour red.

You are seeing green, right?

Or as you look at the word green are you actually seeing red but believing you are seeing green because of the minds interpretation of the word green?

Yes

Does the label ‘GREEN’ have a one-to-one correspondence with ‘reality’? Or does the label suggest something else other than what is here now (red colour)?

It suggests something else other than the actual colour of red.

Is 'green' associated in any way with the experience of the colour red; or is green just a label that overlays/hijacks the actual experience of red if believed?

It is not associated, and the label of "green" hijacks the actual experience of red.

If the label ‘GREEN’ is replaced with the label ‘GOOD’ or ‘BAD’, is the redness affected in any way as the labels suggests?

No

Does redness become ‘good’ or ‘bad’, or do the labels have no affect whatsoever on ‘reality’?

The labels have no affect on the actuality of the colour.

Can you see it is not that thoughts arise which is the illusion but that it is the contents of the labels (thoughts) that are not real and create illusion when believed?

Yes, thank you. This is something I've been having trouble with. There was a belief that I needed to suppress thoughts, but I see now that it's not the thought, but believing in the reality of a thought.

Let me know what is SEEN.

Thought can be transparent and seen through as just another appearance.

Next time you go for a walk practice looking without labeling.
I’d love to hear. What happened?

Without labels, it is a more open-ended experience. Yesterday, there was the experience of becoming the environment and everything was very clear. It also felt like I'd have the "wrong" thought or an ego-identified thought and then experience tension in my head as if it was causing a narrowing.


Thank you :)


Adam.

[Alless]

There is still an inner voice

This is the "trickster"
When it's talking turn your attention to it and simply wait. What happens?

The distinctions between separation have become a lot more blurry, and I'm finding it hard to answer this question.

Good ! And just keep looking for the "me".

I think a five year old might have a conceptual overlay,

Yes. I've recently watch a two year old pick up his toys and name each one. "this is a cow" "this is a tractor" Quite delighted with himself that he "knew" what each one was when in fact it was a lump of plastic shaped like a cow or a tractor. (And yes that is concepts too) There is satisfaction in cognitive "knowing" that clouds the truth.

It is not associated, and the label of "green" hijacks the actual experience of red.

Spot on !

Yes, thank you. This is something I've been having trouble with. There was a belief that I needed to suppress thoughts, but I see now that it's not the thought, but believing in the reality of a thought.

Lovely. No need to suppress thoughts. In fact the paradox is that repression increases identification.
Can you see how repression creates identification Adam? Do your best to describe how this comes about. Don't go to concepts - take a real good look and see if you can detect what happens directly in your experience. (This is pretty subtle but definitely worth a look and attempting to describe what is experienced when it happens)

Yesterday, there was the experience of becoming the environment and everything was very clear.

Just rest in the stillness as best you can when this happens. Beautiful !

It also felt like I'd have the "wrong" thought or an ego-identified thought and then experience tension in my head as if it was causing a narrowing.

Oh yes the old tension in the head phenomena. I know all about that one. Had intense pressure in the head myself. It's a real indication that thoughts are doing their best to "have their say" Simply watch it happening. ONLY LOOK and FEEL the tension. CLEAR SEEING AND FEELING OF THIS IS ALL THAT"S NEEDED



Now we are going to take PURE SEEING a step further.


In the light of what has now been seen......... here is a sentence from the Label-Reality Correlation exercise again

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If the label ‘GREEN’ is replaced with the label ‘GOOD’ or ‘BAD’, is the redness affected in any way as the labels suggest?

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As you LOOK at the sentence above and without any reference to thought, what is actually SEEN? What is your Actual Experience here?





Just this simple exercise for today.


With love


Alan