Bring up that moment. One of those “bad habit” scenes.
Let the guilt come. Let the thoughts say “I chose this. I failed.”

Now freeze. Stop right there.

Where is the “I” that made the choice?
Scan body, breath, gut, throat—not the thought content, but the direct, raw sensation of being a self who ...

Hi Vince,

A good way to keep this alive is to guide (pay it forward) Tell me if this interests you.

As you can see I have a tendency to reply rather sporadically. I don't think that's a helpful quality in a guide. So I'd rather not take on that responsibility for now. And I want to deepen my ...

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

No, never.


2) Describe how the illusion of an independent, self came into being by giving examples from actual experience.
Then give some experiential examples of how life changed for ...

Hello again Vince.

1. Right now—can you find a self in direct experience?

No, I cannot find a self. My throat and neck muscles contract when I sit with this question.

2. When a thought arises, who is it for? Who’s listening?

There is just the experience of the thought. Nobody is listening ...

Hello again Vince. I've been following your instructions to look.


Where is “you” in sensation?
Not the word. Not the idea.
The thing. The self.

Is it there?

Don’t explain. Just look. Report what’s actually here.

In the visual field there is color and movement. No self to be found there.
There ...

To start with, thoughts have no validity. They are stories. They may or may not reflect accuracy, but that is not what we are looking for here.
Thoughts that describe experience are ok, but no deductive conclusions.

I think (heh) that this is what I get stuck on. I keep jumping into deduction.

I ...

Hi vince,

I got your message today. Sorry for not responding sooner.

I am replying from instinct here, the first answer that comes up. I can reason myself into seeing things differently, but as soon as I let go of the inquiry this is what my beliefs default to.

Do you think that an inherently ...

Hello Vince. Thank you for taking time out of your day to help me.


Right now, where is "you"? Not as a thought, not as an idea, but in direct, raw experience? Look carefully. Don't settle for an intellectual answer.

There isn't "me" here - that much is clear. There are just sensations, thoughts ...

LU is focused guiding for seeing there is no real, inherent 'self' - what do you understand by this?
My understanding of 'self' is the idea that there is some concrete "thing" that owns all of experience, makes decisions, and controls the body and the thoughts. That "thing" is refered to when I ...