Hello
Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2017 12:41 am
LU is focused guiding for seeing there is no real, inherent 'self' - what do you understand by this?
That there is no experiencer of experiences - just experience. Experience is a bad word to use since (grammatically) it presupposes an experiencer, but I cannot think of any alternative. There is no discrete entity which exists to which the word "self" refers - rather, there is a fluid set of experiences some of which are identified with, some not.
What are you looking for at LU?
I want to reach a state where I feel clearly, as a matter of direct experience, that the self does not exist. Currently, I understand this in a theoretical way, but as a matter of direct experience still feel like the self exists - like any doubt I have about its existence is a delusion. I want it to be the other way around - to feel that the self is the delusion, not the doubts. I want this because it seems like stepping closer to reality in this way will allow me to end the suffering caused by this delusion - even though that will be a separate process.
What do you expect from a guided conversation?
I expect to be asked to look with the senses and report what exists in experience honestly, with no theorising or interpretation or attempts to rationalise. I expect a friendly commitment to participating in my thread regularly (daily where possible).
What is your experience in terms of spiritual practices, seeking and inquiry?
I started meditating (mindfulness) about three months ago after reading the book Waking Up by Sam Harris, which approaches meditation in a secular way as a path to understanding the nature of the mind and its place in the universe. Before this, I had always been an atheist who had no interest in anything commonly considered 'spiritual', and never considered meditation as anything other than religious effluvia. My mind has been changed by my experience meditating.
I have always, however, had an interest in philosophy and had encountered the arguments against free will, finding them rationally convincing. Since staring mindfulness meditation, my understanding that there is no free will is not only conceptual, but a matter of direct experience. When not meditating, I still feel the same sense of freedom I did before I'd even encountered the arguments against it, but when I pay attention, it is certainly clear to me, without doubt, that the thing I call "me" (the nature of which I can't clearly perceive) gives no consent to any of my experiences, actions or thoughts.
I answered 10 to the question below since 10 is described as being "most ready", and as such, the answer "11" would have to refer to something less than "most ready", and I consider myself to be as ready as I'll ever be.
On a scale from 1 to 10, how willing are you to question any currently held beliefs about 'self?: 10
That there is no experiencer of experiences - just experience. Experience is a bad word to use since (grammatically) it presupposes an experiencer, but I cannot think of any alternative. There is no discrete entity which exists to which the word "self" refers - rather, there is a fluid set of experiences some of which are identified with, some not.
What are you looking for at LU?
I want to reach a state where I feel clearly, as a matter of direct experience, that the self does not exist. Currently, I understand this in a theoretical way, but as a matter of direct experience still feel like the self exists - like any doubt I have about its existence is a delusion. I want it to be the other way around - to feel that the self is the delusion, not the doubts. I want this because it seems like stepping closer to reality in this way will allow me to end the suffering caused by this delusion - even though that will be a separate process.
What do you expect from a guided conversation?
I expect to be asked to look with the senses and report what exists in experience honestly, with no theorising or interpretation or attempts to rationalise. I expect a friendly commitment to participating in my thread regularly (daily where possible).
What is your experience in terms of spiritual practices, seeking and inquiry?
I started meditating (mindfulness) about three months ago after reading the book Waking Up by Sam Harris, which approaches meditation in a secular way as a path to understanding the nature of the mind and its place in the universe. Before this, I had always been an atheist who had no interest in anything commonly considered 'spiritual', and never considered meditation as anything other than religious effluvia. My mind has been changed by my experience meditating.
I have always, however, had an interest in philosophy and had encountered the arguments against free will, finding them rationally convincing. Since staring mindfulness meditation, my understanding that there is no free will is not only conceptual, but a matter of direct experience. When not meditating, I still feel the same sense of freedom I did before I'd even encountered the arguments against it, but when I pay attention, it is certainly clear to me, without doubt, that the thing I call "me" (the nature of which I can't clearly perceive) gives no consent to any of my experiences, actions or thoughts.
I answered 10 to the question below since 10 is described as being "most ready", and as such, the answer "11" would have to refer to something less than "most ready", and I consider myself to be as ready as I'll ever be.
On a scale from 1 to 10, how willing are you to question any currently held beliefs about 'self?: 10