Unknowing

[VeganAwake]

LU is focused guiding for seeing there is no real, inherent 'self' - what do you understand by this?
there was a recognition about a year-and-a-half ago that there was no self... the mind got very quiet and I had an experience that I would describe as snapping out of The Matrix... basically I saw that my mind had been controlling me.

What are you looking for at LU?
I'm fairly sure I've had a deep Awakening experience but I'm just curious if there's more to Liberation than what is being experiencing now. seems like the apparent ego comes back every now and then so I'm wondering if this oscillation period May finish up.

What do you expect from a guided conversation?
To be honest I'm not really sure I'm just wondering if I can go deeper into actually embodying this Awakening experience a little more.. I would consider myself fairly Advanced so I'm hoping I can find somebody to help me embody liberation deeply.

What is your experience in terms of spiritual practices, seeking and inquiry?
I was meditating a lot for about a year... the Mindless quieting down a lot and then I had something what I refer to as the samadhi type Awakening experience where I recognize the self was an illusion but I seem to be oscillating back and forth. I think it was called beginner's luck..

On a scale from 1 to 10, how willing are you to question any currently held beliefs about 'self?
11

[Anastacia42]

Good morning (here in Colorado),

My name is Stacy and I can guide you through some additional aspects of seeing no self and being awake, if you would like.

Reading what you have written, it seems you may have seen no self, at least to some degree.

f you haven't already read the disclaimer, please read it now and just confirm to me that you have read it. Here is the link.

http://liberationunleashed.com/disclaimer-2/

Also please read “Liberation Unleashed is not …” in the FAQ’s of LU. Here is the link.

http://liberationunleashed.com/about/faq/#faq-1041

Some housekeeping guidelines:

1. Post at least once a day, or every second day. If you need more time, or are unable to post for several days, just write a quick post on your thread to let me know please.

2. There is no one judging answers given, so please be 100% honest in your answers and inquiry.

3. This exploration is based on actual experience (AE) - smell, taste, sound, sensation, color and observed thoughts. Long-winded analytical and philosophical answers are best avoided and may even hinder progress. This is not a self-improvement process. There is no ‘self’ to improve.

4. Put aside all other teachings, philosophies, rituals, practices, books/reading and so on for the remainder of this investigation. Really put all your effort and attention in to seeing this reality, as it is. If you have a daily meditation practice, it is fine to continue that but is not necessary for this exploration.

Technology is not perfect and sometimes there is a glitch which can wipe out your responses. It is advisable that you copy and paste questions asked into Word, answer them there and then copy and paste them to your thread. Always save a copy of what you have done, it will save time in the long run!

To begin with, so that we both become aware of what your expectations are about this exploration. In your own words (not from actual experience, but just honest answers), could you please answer the 4 following questions:

How will life change?
How will you change?
What will be different?
What is missing?

Throughout this exploration I would like you to answer all questions that I have written in blue text. Please answer questions individually, remembering to use the Quote function to highlight the question being answered. Watch the video at the top of this forum to see how the Quote function works, please.

When we fully see no self, seeking drops away. You are seeking something "more." So, yes, there may be more to see. For example, who is the "I" who is so "Advanced" and capitalizes "Advanced," to show how important that is?


It is good to be thorough in your investigation and thank you for showing up to see what else there is.

Much love,

[VeganAwake]

Hi Stacy,
Thanks for your assistance...


How will life change?
"Not really expecting life to change, its already everything"

How will you change?
" maybe there won't be searching for any more answers"

What will be different?
" probably not much because they're already isn't a me, but maybe a feeling of it not being about someone"

What is missing?
" a sense of being finished seeking"


When we fully see no self, seeking drops away. You are seeking something "more." So, yes, there may be more to see. For example, who is the "I" who is so "Advanced" and capitalizes "Advanced," to show how important that is?
" yes I use voice most of the time, it may have capitalized advanced I'm not sure... There was a very hard core seeking energy here dedicated to finding the truth, so I studied a lot about the ego, duality, non-duality, it feels like I recognized the self was more of just an idea or a story than a real entity... feels like the seeking energy loosened up a lot, but I still seek to understand what had happened... like I watch non-duality videos and enjoy hearing different perspectives still... there's still something apparently seeking it's just not believed as an actual 'I'...so strange lol"

Thanks again...I also read the disclaimer..
Talk with you soon Stacy..
Travis (California)

[Anastacia42]

Please learn to use the Quote feature.

There's a video at the top of the main Gate page that gives complete instructions & demonstrates it.

Thanks. I'll try to figure this one out, but the Quote feature is required.

Like this, you quote what you are replying to.

What would you like for me to call you?

Much love,

[Anastacia42]

Hi again, Travis. I stopped to write about the Quote feature & didn't finish reading till after my reply.

I hear you about not quite feeling done. This can take years to completely unravel, but we can look at some things here.

Okay, so the next thing is about how to LOOK & reply here. You're somewhat doing it, replying from SEEING. not thinking, but just to clarify...

Colored Socks


There is a big difference between knowing that there is nothing to give up and seeing that there is nothing to give up.

Here is an example to illustrate the difference:

If I ask you what color socks you are wearing right now you have two ways to come up with an answer:

• You can think about it, you can think back to this morning and try to remember putting your socks on, and you can probably tell me what color you think they are.

• Alternatively, you can take a quick look at your socks and tell me what color they actually are!

Hopefully you would agree that you can only be 100% certain by looking.

For the purpose of seeing this "no self" idea, it is very important that you are clear about this difference.

Knowing is about knowledge which is all in the mind and we are not interested in that. We are only interested in looking at and seeing what is actually going on in your present moment-to-moment experience. We are only interested in your Direct Experience in the moment.

Direct or Actual Experience is

Seeing
Hearing
Feeling (Sensation, not emotion. Emotion is Sensation plus made-up thoughts & labels)
Tasting
Smelling
Thoughts Arising (but not their content)

Please let me know if you are clear about this or if you would like any further clarification.


Loving,

[VeganAwake]

What would you like for me to call you?

Travis is fine 😃

Hopefully you would agree that you can only be 100% certain by looking.

Yes I see what you mean.

Please let me know if you are clear about this or if you would like any further clarification.

I am clear...that makes sense..thanks

[VeganAwake]

Hi Stacy
Hippy Easter

Please let me know if you are clear about this or if you would like any further clarification.

I wasn't sure if you meant altogether or just about your last message 😃
Definitely interested in exploring a little more with your guidance... I'm totally new on this site so I don't know what's going on hehe...😂

[Anastacia42]

Hi Travis,

Mostly just to make sure you understand how to LOOK and not report the content of thinking. Our first exercises will help clarify that for you. So, the exercises I will be offering you will help you sort out some ramifications of recognizing that there is no self. At the end, I'll ask you some final questions to see if you have understood, clarifying where needed.

Direct Experience - Labeling Daily Activities

Here's an exercise that I would like you to try as many times throughout the day as you can. Label daily activities simply color/image, sound, smell, taste, sensation, thought.

So for example, when having breakfast, become aware of:

Seeing a cup, simply= image/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

Just break down daily activities into these categories (which are all Actual/Direct Experience) and report back with a list like the one above. Post several of your own observations in a list like the one above, please.


Refer to the green list of Actual/Direct Experience in the prior post if that helps.

Loving,

[Anastacia42]

PS - Thank you for learning the Quote feature and I want to mention that your replies to those firs 4 questions are quite reasonable. You seem to have minimal expectations and that is good. Only 2 things can get in the way here: fear and expectations. Since you are somewhat into already seeing there is no self, you will have less trouble with these than someone arriving here who has not had that experience.

Happy Easter!

Loving,

[VeganAwake]

Hey Stacy....Hippy Easter..

Since you are somewhat into already seeing there is no self, you will have less trouble with these than someone arriving here who has not had that experience.

Hi Stacy yes thank you so much you mentioned this unraveling can take years and I can definitely understand this... I think it's been unraveling here for a little while...

Everything you have mentioned it's completely resonated with here...

I'm sure it's against guidelines but due to the coronavirus and slow internet quality I was curious if you would be interested in speaking with me over the phone have been in the Navy for 18 years stationed here in California... you won't get any abuse over here as in you can call my command and tattle on me haha..
More or less just like to hear stories of other individuals experiencing the no self... there was a conditioned body here that had very low self-esteem in the past so it's unclear whether Awakening has occurred or not I was hoping someone could help me clarify...

Not trying to skip through anyting as in it's all good practices...

Hoping this message finds the no self there..

Also mostly because your local in Colorado my phone number is 805-612-5450...
Nothing recognizes these things can't be described and it's hard enough talking let alone texting...

No expectations either way thank you so much
Ps... Due to the coronavirus you can call anytime haha or not 😃 ❤

[Anastacia42]

Hi Travis,

Direct contact is allowed. Usually, when I'm working, I prefer to be able to just reply on line at my convenience, but then again, I do like talking about these things (or I would not be guiding).

So, yes. Remember this is a public forum and you just posted your phone number. I would have suggested to do it in a PM (top right - that's also a place to watch when we are finished). If you like, I can ask the computer administrator to delete the post containing your phone number.

It is 11:30 am in Colorado. We could do an initial chat now.

I do want to keep exercises here on the forum. One reason is that when we are complete or nearly complete (or now) I will post some standard final questions we use to see how it's going for you. I believe you might be able to answer them now, and either way, they will tell me which exercises will benefit you most. I'll put those in another separate post

Much love,

[VeganAwake]

It is 11:30 am in Colorado. We could do an initial chat now

Oh cool yes call when it's convenient 😃

Don't worry about deleting my number I'm not concerned... I get calls all day anyways... I just don't answer haha ...promise I will answer yours though

[VeganAwake]

It is 11:30 am in Colorado. We could do an initial chat now.

I didn't realize Colorado is an hour ahead sorry got your message a little later..

[Anastacia42]

Hi again, Travis,

It has been an oddly busy day. My family did an Easter Zoom chat and there has been a lot of other online activity.

it's hard enough talking let alone texting...

And, you will notice that hundreds of people have done it. We just have to do what you're doing - allow the "I" or find ways around it verbally, which is happening. That mostly means using passive voice, to use a grammatical term.

It's almost 2:30 now and I have been enjoying afternoon naps. It would be nice to set a time and call at that time. Would you like to use a video conferencing app? Skype, Zoom (I'm not a subscriber, so it would limit me to 40 minutes), Facebook, Jit.si, or whatever?

Accounting for me being an hour ahead of you, when would work for you? I'd prefer between maybe 3:30 pm and maybe 6 pm my time, not later. That would be between 2:30 and 5 pm your time.

Also, consider whether you would like to attempt the final questions before going into exercises?

Much love,

[VeganAwake]

I'd prefer between maybe 3:30 pm and maybe 6 pm my time, not later. That would be between 2:30 and 5 pm your time.

Hi Stacy,
Awesome is 3:45 your time okay? Is Skype okay..most familiar with it...