Caring Too Much About This?

[Riverexe]

LU is focused guiding for seeing there is no real, inherent 'self' - what do you understand by this?
That there's no separate self with a centre, or an outside, or behind thoughts, feelings, or anywhere. Like putting down a backpack of thinking and experiencing everything through the assumptions.
I laughed for a couple of days after a gestalt journey once, and some other clear seeing moments, but Gateless Gatecrashers is more cool and simple!

What are you looking for at LU?
To see through self and make sure I have really seen through self beyond intellect, beyond doubt.
It's such hard work to be a self, imagining life instead of simply seeing it. So much suffering and apparent effort.

What do you expect from a guided conversation?
To find where there is confusion, doubt, and habits that stop all the illusory layers falling away.
Also to investigate lingering shame and grief - like when I decided as a boy to leave being and think more to fit in with everyone else.

What is your experience in terms of spiritual practices, seeking and inquiry?
Louise Hay, then Law of Attraction for a few years... 10 years of Eckhart Tolle, Tony Parsons, Rupert Spira. Then recently the 10 fetters and Gateless Gatecrashers.
Some retreats, some meditation, lots of reading, youtubing and talking about it all with friends - and anyone who will listen!

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

[Steve101]

Hi, My name is Steve and I can be your guide, if you would like.

If 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.. If you need more time, or are unable to post for a couple of 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 Direct or actual experience (DE) - smell, taste, sound, sensation, colour 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 all questions even if I miss using the blue text.

Please answer questions individually, remembering to use the quote function to highlight the question being answered.

Below is a link to the video with instructions on using the Quote Function. Please watch it. Use the PREVIEW button to make sure your text looks right before you hit "SUBMIT."

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=660

What would you like for me to call you? What time zone are you in, please?

[Riverexe]

Hi Steve,
So kind to offer guidance. Thank you. Please call me Stephen.
I'm in London/UK time.

How will life change?

It will be more calm, more still, yet more intense in some ways. More smiley, more waves of exhilaration, but also not that different at all quite a bit of the time. Simpler. More acceptable somehow.

How will you change?

I will be less - or I won't change because I am not here actually. This body will be feeling generally lighter without carrying the backpack of self around and no need to wrestle with it's contents. Just the open - instead of me in here and everything out there. The heart and sensations will be more and more recognised as/by being itself. Simpler.

What will be different?

There won't be difference really, but it will appear to be flatter, lighter, less complex. More immediate and thrilling, more full, yet with a recognised background of emptiness that has no dimension to it. The self thoughts will not be imagining reality outwards and making it into space/time. Effortless happening of everything will be more evident, more noticed, more helplessly carried as the movement/allness of this.

What is missing?

No one is lacking anything because it is all just this, an awe inspiring, almost paralysing amount of happenings all the time, but the character "me" still plays out a role of missing the courage to live openly in/as the heart of being at all times - it plays shutting down and retreating into the illusory separate person.

[Steve101]

Hi Stephen, it’s good to meet you. Your expectations seem perfectly reasonable. We may refer back to them just to clarify certain points but leave them aside for the moment as they will only serve to cloud your vision of what will only ever be available to you in present.

There are many ways I can tell you about the false self so that eventually you will see this for yourself. I will use what we call ‘pointers’ to help you. Sometimes, I will have to repeat myself but that’s ok. There will be times when you don't really hear what’s being said, your thoughts crowd out the very ability to listen to direction.

You may become frustrated with this direction and walk away from our inquiry thinking that the pointer can't be of much use. You assume that the person giving it is just wrong about what it is you need to hear in order to see this.

There's a reason why the ultimate pointer given below in red is the most effective there is. It's direct. Blunt. It leaves no room for discussion, no room for your illusion of self to pick over and critique and my role is to end the discussion entirely.

While a dialogue may help you to UNDERSTAND what's being said, that understanding isn't what's going to get this done. I'll tell you what will and I'll give it my best shot, knowing that it's worked for many people. Here it is, so listen up.

Just Look.

That's it. It's the best and most thorough pointer you're going to find if you could just stop long enough to do what's directed.

Now, you have to ask yourself this... how is it that this pointer can be it? The one. Everything. The KEY? As we progress please just ask that question. Test it out. Tear it up. How is that IT? Question everything! Yes, question everything. Question your own thoughts, beliefs, emotions: Is that true?

As this process unfolds you may find that your answers to my questions and pointers tend to be short and concise but as you begin to get into the habit of looking and questioning what comes up the floodgates start to open. You will even begin to question your own answers extrapolating your own logic and finally seeing one of life’s great truths, there never was a separate self.

When you really LOOK…the truth will come flooding in.

How is that true? In what way is that true?

When the answer comes, just stop and allow it in. Then scan that brain for all of the teachings which say that this is simple. Childlike. Humble. Think of all the accounts of those who've 'gotten it' and said that they couldn't believe how simple it is. And the look of wonder? It's not because they're suddenly seeing pixie dust or rainbows. It's because they stopped to follow the directive, and then they saw the truth of REALITY AS IT IS.

When the realisation of the truth finally hits there may be this huge realisation or most likely it will be just a subtle shift in perception.

Are you ready to begin?

[Riverexe]

Hi Steve,

Are you ready to begin?

Yes! And thank you again.

Just Look.  ...Now, you have to ask yourself this... how is it that this pointer can be it? The one. Everything. The KEY? As we progress please just ask that question. Test it out. Tear it up. How is that IT?

Just look is pure and brilliant - the simplest instruction for recognisiing IT, and following it faithfully stops the mind stories, including what I should be doing or how IT should be achieved. Some teary eyes are happening here.

Question everything! Yes, question everything. Question your own thoughts, beliefs, emotions: Is that true?

Is my thought/feeling story true? No. The feeling of fear and the stories about a me failing are not true. They have no foundation or place to sit and remain intact or held. As "I" look they are contractions of something that's unknown, mysterious empty energy movements jumbling around in the open. Then disappearing. This thought is not true as it just bubbles and cannot be relied upon.

When you really LOOK…the truth will come flooding in. ...How is that true? In what way is that true?

This brings some welling up of tears and relief - a flood of comfort, like finally the cavalry have arrived. But that thought doesn't go anywhere when I look at it because there's not any substance to that lone warrior in need of help... so it just comes back to a shaky sensation of body, sounds, colours, in flux... it's all huge and it can't be dealt with, any sense of me is like a rabbit in the headlights of experience. Helpless in truth. Nothing to know or sort out really. Just the facts of this. The scene this evening. Which is a lot - when I'm looking. Looking feels like finding something very satisfying, but it can't even be found or explained! Smiles and chuckles are happening here 🙂 What is anything actually? It's relaxing, phew! ...what fascinating curtains these are! What a fascinating body this is! Seems like there's an alien looking through these eyes that is trying out this planet - or at least not the usual "me".

[Steve101]

Hi Stephen, thank you for your very open and honest reply, poetic in some parts and actually very touching in others. Let’s begin:

Exploring our Experience

We are born and for the first couple of years we experience the ‘truth’ of the world around us directly. The world is adventurous, beautiful, wondrous, amazing, colourful and tactile.

Is this true?

We are given a name then taught language which we then use to label things and communicate with other people.

Is this true?

We begin to hear words out loud in our heads and look at things, people, events evaluating them using combinations of these word labels.

Is this completely true or were there other times when you would look at a thing, person or event and there would just be ‘knowing’ without word content? In other words there would not be a ‘self’ telling you what to do?

We then begin to have internal mind made conversations and debates using our word language. This makes us assume that there is a person in our heads with whom to have a conversation and that the events in the outside world happen to that someone.

is this true?

What is the real truth of what we are? Is it the word constructed ‘Me’ or ‘I’ that suddenly appeared when we learned language?

Go back in your imagination to when you were a toddler exploring the world. Relax and go back to a time before language when you were maybe nine months or a year old. How does this baby Stephen experience the world? Then report back.

[Riverexe]

Hi Steve,
Thanks for reading this.

We are born and for the first couple of years we experience the ‘truth’ of the world around us directly. The world is adventurous, beautiful, wondrous, amazing, colourful and tactile.

Is this true?

Yes, my son showed this clearly when he was that age. The immediacy and full-on experience is evident in young kids.

We are given a name then taught language which we then use to label things and communicate with other people.

Is this true?

Yes the name is the primary label and language is built upon that name - the name equalling an entity in our minds. It only exists as a thought pattern. All the meanings of the language labels we add to our experiences are derived from or based on the viewpoint of an I. An I that is the subject, apparently located inside a body. Everything including time and space are built from this primary I viewpoint. All the objects are then seen/believed to be out there in that time and space. Until proper looking happens and the constructs of me and corresponding others are questioned.

We begin to hear words out loud in ours heads and look at things, people, events evaluating them using combinations of these word labels.

Is this completely true or were there other times when you would look at a thing, person or event and there would just be ‘knowing’ without word content? In other words there would not be a ‘self’ telling you what to do?

Yes there was knowing without words. When I was about six or seven my parents took me to the doc to check my hearing. The doc said I wasn't deaf, just being in my own world, not paying attention to them. Looking back there's a realisation that I didn't want to hear their harsh words, or buy into their viewpoint completely, so I ignored them whenever possible! It was a way of staying in the beauty. Around seven I remember being in the garden absorbed in nature and the thought came that other people think in words and that I didn't. I was often wordless as I went about my day and liked it that way, but at that moment in the garden I made a decision to think in words more so I could be like other people. Also to please my parents who wanted me to be more fully engaged with them and the world as they saw it. So that was it, the buy in! There are feelings of grief welling up here about that - the moment where I decided that being just wasn't good enough. Sadness... we all do this... saying yes to the separation idea ...and now there's a story being added to the story making the whole thing wrong, as if it should never have happened... This all swirls. As I look it feels tender... brave little one longing for the security of home, of surety, and rightness.
And after a bit these feelings are turning into something else - images, words, feelings with no place to go. There's nothing behind or around them. The thoughts I had back then were so innocent and earnest. And I really believed in the thoughts, and have believed in thoughts all my life. This is shocking how much make-believe there has been, how much buy-in. And now a flash of anger about that, but then seeing it's just another story! Oh what a crazy ride! And this looking leaves nothing, it's a destroyer of past wrongs, and stops them being brought up in the present. Amazing... slight smiles, and quiet.

We then begin to have internal mind made conversations and debates using our word language. This makes us assume that there is a person in our heads with whom to have a conversation and that the events in the outside world happen to that someone.

is this true?

Yes, the above story is an example of this. The alleged person/someone made a decision. The decision was based on the events that had apparently happened to that someone. And it was believed that the someone inside the body had been the author of the deciding thoughts, the decision maker. But there are just thoughts, which may or may not be in the head region - because when it's investigated the thoughts are in the open. There's no inside or location for them. Just a vague association with the happenings of this body.

What is the real truth of what we are? Is it the word constructed ‘Me’ or ‘I’ that suddenly appeared when we learned language?
Go back in your imagination to when you were a toddler exploring the world. Relax and go back to a time before language when you were maybe nine months or a year old. How does this baby Stephen experience the world? Then report back.

No the word constructed me is not the truth. We were there before language happened. That means we were just being, in a simple way. Everything was immediate, nothing was distant or rejected. Then words came and added objectivity, distancing our experience. Bringing seriousness and suffering.
At nine months old Stephen experiences lots of tickles, noticing the slight breeze on the face, even though I'm indoors. But it's not known as a face, things don't have labels. It's just a fairground of stuff happening, There are directions but they are not viewed as directions, up. down, left, right don't matter or mean anything. So much sound but no need to say what or where it is, just variations that are fascinating. Things are physical and yet the shapes and textures kind of float in space, along with this body. No manipulation of what's perceived but these hands and limbs still do stuff. Enjoyable. There's so much going on here that there isn't a need for thoughts of other, or of things being different.

[Steve101]

Hi Stephen, great answers, thank you.

We are given a name then taught language which we then use to label things and communicate with other people.

Is this true?

Yes the name is the primary label

Yes, absolutely and yes it only exists as one thought followed by related thoughts.

I made a decision to think in words more so I could be like other people

We all did this Stephen didn’t we…by allowing the clear beautiful waters of our Direct Experience (DE) of the world to be contaminated by the muddiness of ‘content loaded, labelled verbal thought’ centered around the fictitious thought story called ‘Me.’ How wonderful that you were able to enjoy such a purity of looking until aged 7!

Let’s now look more closely at thought. Content filled thought can obstruct our natural ability experience more directly. Look at the following questions and see what is true and what is not true.

Realization of the nature of thought is very important in seeing through the self illusion. Take your time and really work through the exercise below, it can be helpful to write or type out your answers during the flow of questioning and looking,

Relax and sit quietly for about 15 minutes and notice the arising thoughts. Just let them appear as they appear. Try your best to COMPLETELY ignore what they are saying and just notice how they appear without you doing anything at all:

Where are thoughts coming from and going to?

Did you do anything to make a particular thought or thoughts appear?

Could you have done anything to make a different thought appear at that exact moment instead?

Can you predict your next thought?

Can you select from a range of thoughts to have only pleasant thoughts?

Can you choose not to have painful, negative, or fearful thoughts?

Can you pick and choose any kind of thought?

Is it possible to prevent a thought from appearing?

Can you think two thoughts at the exact same time?

What is a thought made off?

Can you find a thinker of thoughts?

What can a thought do?

Can a thought think?

[Riverexe]

Hi Steve,
Thanks for the support and encouragement.

Where are thoughts coming from and going to?

They well up somewhere in the field of awareness, sometimes like a volcano erupting into space, sometimes sliding in quietly from any direction. Sometimes in clusters. The thought often comes with images and also attaches to feelings which are seemingly in the body. But the feelings have no real place when viewed closely either.
Thoughts/images/feelings just appear mysteriously and go away mysteriously to nothing and nowhere it seems.

Did you do anything to make a particular thought or thoughts appear?

No I didn't do anything to make thoughts appear. It could be assumed that I thought one thought and that made the next one appear as a result, but when observed closely it's unpredictable; a riot of clouds and bubbles, spikes and bangs, whispers and seduction.

Could you have done anything to make a different thought appear at that exact moment instead?

No, it just happened in the sequence it did with no control. It seems like the general theme is chosen, but really the timing of the theme, how well it is adhered to, and where it leads is a wild ride.

Can you predict your next thought?

No, it just mugs me when I'm not expecting it! It sneaks in and molests - if this space can be molested. It's only another thought that can be molested really. And then it is turned into a feeling type of drama.

Can you select from a range of thoughts to have only pleasant thoughts?

No. If so I would have done it long before now and not have been a seeker.

Can you choose not to have painful, negative, or fearful thoughts?

No, it's just whatever comes. Like traffic on the road.

Can you pick and choose any kind of thought?

No, when looked at closely it seems thoughts are choosing themselves.

Is it possible to prevent a thought from appearing?

No. It comes and trying to stop it is always too late.

Can you think two thoughts at the exact same time?

No, Images and feelings can be part of this thought experience and appear simoultaneously, but they are not a separate thought, they seem to be part of the same thought.
Thought is not really a thing with a certain beginning and end, so it's hard to isolate them as thought 1 and thought 2 anyway. They seem to be more of a process, a continuum. Like a world weather system that never stops and never has separate parts.

What is a thought made off?

Energy of some sort. They're pretty mysterious. They seem to have substance until they are looked at, and then they evaporate.

Can you find a thinker of thoughts?

No I can't find a thinker of thoughts. If there's a thinker it's invisible. Around and behind the thoughts there's only the void.

What can a thought do?

It can only appear and move, and disappear. Like a movie, it's scripted.

Can a thought think?

No, it would be like a movie trying to be the scriptwriter. They are just what they are, a product of nature. It seems like nothing can think. There's not a scriptwriter. Only flow and flux.

[Steve101]

Hi Stephen, thank you for your answers.

Did you do anything to make a particular thought or thoughts appear?

No I didn't do anything to make thoughts appear. It could be assumed that I thought one thought and that made the next one appear as a result, but when observed closely it's unpredictable; a riot of clouds and bubbles, spikes and bangs, whispers and seduction.

Did you ‘observe closely’ or did seeing just happen when you ‘Looked’?

Where is this ‘observer’ to be found, can you describe it/him?

Did you really ‘think one thought that made another appear’ or did one thought just come after another?

Could you have done anything to make a different thought appear at that exact moment instead?

No, it just happened in the sequence it did with no control. It seems like the general theme is chosen, but really the timing of the theme, how well it is adhered to, and where it leads is a wild ride.

Where can the chooser of the theme be found? Can you describe it?

Can you predict your next thought?

No, it just mugs me when I'm not expecting it! It sneaks in and molests - if this space can be molested. It's only another thought that can be molested really. And then it is turned into a feeling type of drama

If thoughts cannot be predicted and come and go all the time, why would you take them so seriously so that a word like ‘molests’ is used?

If a child jumped out in front of you and shouted ‘Boo!’ would you take the child seriously?

Can you pick and choose any kind of thought?

No, when looked at closely it seems thoughts are choosing themselves.

Thoughts just happen, this is the simple truth. Even after awakening some old patterns can remain. The trick is to see content filled thoughts directly for what they are….JUST THOUGHTS…no more no less.

Is it possible to prevent a thought from appearing?

No. It comes and trying to stop it is always too late

No, thoughts cannot be controlled. They come and go and come and go one after another in linear fashion. As the nature of thought becomes clearer and clearer to you, you may notice when thoughts occasionally pop into your head you just ‘allow’ them and they flow quickly on.

[Riverexe]

Hi Steve,
Thanks for being there. It's a beautiful thing. I am so glad to see your response each day. The computer wouldn't log on to LU tonight for some reason and there was stress here about not responding each day as per the commitment. Anyway, the other computer logged in and the promise was kept. Looking back at the scenario, these were just thoughts but the content was believed, causing stress in the body. But then something saw it was just thoughts, that were believed, and then became feelings. But nothing was there to do the believing, or to later see they were just thoughts. Nothing awakens - right?!

Did you do anything to make a particular thought or thoughts appear?
No I didn't do anything to make thoughts appear. It could be assumed that I thought one thought and that made the next one appear as a result, but when observed closely it's unpredictable; a riot of clouds and bubbles, spikes and bangs, whispers and seduction.
Did you ‘observe closely’ or did seeing just happen when you ‘Looked’?

Sorry, it got tangled up with words here yesterday. To hopefully be clearer it was meant to convey that if an I is assumed then it can look like thoughts are made to appear by that I, or that one thought is the result of another. But an I couldn't be found. So it didn't observe anything, and looking just happened.

Where is this ‘observer’ to be found, can you describe it/him?

No because there isn't an observer, only the observed - as sensations. It's all just one thingless thing, without a subject or object.

Did you really ‘think one thought that made another appear’ or did one thought just come after another?

No, there was no one who could have made another thought appear - unless an I was assumed. But there wasn't an I to be found.

Could you have done anything to make a different thought appear at that exact moment instead?
No, it just happened in the sequence it did with no control. It seems like the general theme is chosen, but really the timing of the theme, how well it is adhered to, and where it leads is a wild ride.
Where can the chooser of the theme be found? Can you describe it?

No, there isn't a chooser. It's all just stuff appearing as being, as what is. Thoughts were just getting wordy there, rambling on about themes and rides! There is no theme except if the content of thoughts are believed - but there is no one to believe them!

Can you predict your next thought?
No, it just mugs me when I'm not expecting it! It sneaks in and molests - if this space can be molested. It's only another thought that can be molested really. And then it is turned into a feeling type of drama
If thoughts cannot be predicted and come and go all the time, why would you take them so seriously so that a word like ‘molests’ is used?

Good question. It was an overly dramatic way of describing it. Thoughts are just little energy patterns. If the attention of being buys into them they get held onto - and recirculated and turned into emotions so that they become bigger and seem more offensive. Then they could seem like they are molesting - if taken seriously. But there's actually nothing that could take them seriously!

If a child jumped out in front of you and shouted ‘Boo!’ would you take the child seriously?

Hahaha mostly not! My little boy does it often and sometimes when he does it very sneakily it causes a split second serious reaction of fear. But then the laughter comes. The same could happen with all sudden appearances of thoughts - and sometimes does. As this recognition of no-self takes hold (the self drops) this quickly relieved reaction will be the norm.

Can you pick and choose any kind of thought?
No, when looked at closely it seems thoughts are choosing themselves.
Thoughts just happen, this is the simple truth. Even after awakening some old patterns can remain. The trick is to see content filled thoughts directly for what they are….JUST THOUGHTS…no more no less.

Yes, simple.

Is it possible to prevent a thought from appearing?
No. It comes and trying to stop it is always too late
No, thoughts cannot be controlled. They come and go and come and go one after another in linear fashion. As the nature of thought becomes clearer and clearer to you, you may notice when thoughts occasionally pop into your head you just ‘allow’ them and they flow quickly on.

Yes I see that - or put another way, it is just seen. So perfect and obvious! Thank you.

[Steve101]

Hi Stephen, I don’t want you to stress out about the daily posting. I get that the forum can sometimes be temperamental, that is why we recommend typing out answers and then copying and pasting just in case you lose what you have typed.

Daily posting is encouraged to keep things fresh in your awareness but the awakening police won’t know your door down if you miss a day, life happens. I’ll PM you my email address. If you have a problem posting or you want to say, ‘Hey Steve, i just want to let this settle and post tomorrow.’ this is perfectly fine and is sometimes useful and needed.

[Steve101]

Hi Stephen, great looking in your last post and we are moving along nicely. Let’s move on now:

Our conceptual, analytical thought labelling mind ‘thinks’ that it can actually ‘Reach out’ with our senses in order to pick out information for internal processing. Let’s take our ability to process sound for example and explore this further:

The word ‘hear’ is a verb, it implies that this is something that you do....IT’S NOT. The noun ‘hearing’ is perhaps more accurate because ‘hearing’ implies an ongoing activity. Both words are still just labels for an innate human ability that ‘labelled conceptual thought’ can and will get in the way of.

Sit quietly for a moment and read the above statement again Stephen....what thoughts arise? Can this be true?

The same is true of our visual faculty. You have probably heard this phrase before: “We look out into the world.” Do we really? Is that true? Apart from the fact that this is physically impossible (which I’ll prove) it implies that there is something in our heads looking out and we both know that’s just a complete load of bollocks.

When light hits the retina (a light-sensitive layer of tissue at the back of the eye), special cells called photoreceptors turn the light into electrical signals. These electrical signals travel from the retina through the optic nerve to the brain where they are converted into visual images. In other words it is an irrefutable scientific fact that the world comes into us and seeing just happens.....there is no thought controller of vision and never was. In reality we don’t fully ‘ALLOW’ the world to come into us as raw experience because thought usually gets in the way.

What do you think about this....can this be true? or is the guy who just used the word bollocks whistling Dixie somewhere out of his anatomy? Keep questioning, keep looking!


Senses exercise

For this exercise we are going to explore the senses of hearing, looking and feeling (physical touch) Sit quietly and take a few deep breaths, let go and just relax.

1. Let your attention just rest. Allow your visual field to gently open and take in everything in the room, not focusing on anything in particular. Allow your awareness to expand and allow the world of vision to come into you, allow it to fill you, allow it to be you. Do this for about 20-30 seconds.
2. As you continue to look, now allow any sounds that are present in....just allowing without labelling or analysing. Allowing hearing to just happen. Do this for about 20-30 seconds
3. As seeing and hearing continue to happen become aware of anything that you physically feel (feet on ground, hands on lap). Do this for about 20-30 seconds.
4. When you have completed this do the exercise again but this time allocating a full minute for each sense.

NOTE: I have intentionally left out smell and taste for this exercise. Thoughts may or may not come and go but that’s perfectly ok and do not resist them...what we resist....persists. It is the gaps between thoughts where raw Direct Experience enters that we are interested in.

NOTE2: Something just occurred to me Stephen about the visual aspect that may help. I was building a deck and rewiring a really large open terrace in Spain. Honestly, I had loads of tools lying everywhere (messy workman) and I’d sometimes waste a lot of time hunting around for a particular tool that I needed. I had done this a few times and suddenly it occurred to me to relax, allow my peripheral visual field to open up and I would then see the tool I needed almost immediately. I seem to remember I got this from the works of Les Fehmi’s open focus brain. Anyway I hope this helps. I eventually got into the habit of putting tools back in the right place.

Complete the exercise and report back. Thank you Stephen

[Riverexe]

Hi Steve,
Thanks for the reassurance about the awakening police calling off the dogs, and taking a day when needed 🙂 and re having your email as back up.

Sit quietly for a moment and read the above statement again Stephen....what thoughts arise? Can this be true?

The thoughts arising are that innate is right, hearing being a noun is right, and this is true.

The same is true of our visual faculty. You have probably heard this phrase before: “We look out into the world.” Do we really? Is that true? Apart from the fact that this is physically impossible (which I’ll prove) it implies that there is something in our heads looking out and we both know that’s just a complete load of bollocks.
What do you think about this....can this be true? or is the guy who just used the word bollocks whistling Dixie somewhere out of his anatomy? Keep questioning, keep looking!

Yes to "that's just a complete load of bollocks"! The world is seen, but not in a verb kind of way. It's relaxing to "see" that it's a passive process. But as you said, thought and conditioning act as a disallowing filter to turn the electrical signals into visual images that are different to the raw data - something less/more than the raw sense.

Senses Exercise

The senses exercise was about the physical world and not about the added-on/filtered world of thought, so it was enjoyable. By the end I was smiling and feeling full of sensations. Smiling because there was no room for thoughts to intervene, which is like having a short holiday. I repeated it a third time and there were longer gaps between thoughts and the senses were exhilarating. And relaxing.

NOTE2: Something just occurred to me Stephen about the visual aspect that may help. I was building a deck and rewiring a really large open terrace in Spain. Honestly, I had loads of tools lying everywhere (messy workman) and I’d sometimes waste a lot of time hunting around for a particular tool that I needed. I had done this a few times and suddenly it occurred to me to relax, allow my peripheral visual field to open up and I would then see the tool I needed almost immediately. I seem to remember I got this from the works of Les Fehmi’s open focus brain. Anyway I hope this helps. I eventually got into the habit of putting tools back in the right place.

Thanks it does help. I don't know Les Fehmi's work but sounds helpful. As for keeping tools tidy, I have been better at it since a friend told me about a guy who met his end after he tripped and fell over one tool he'd left laying around, and fell onto the upturned drill and drill bit that he'd left sticking up. Can't remember if he said it went in his eye or heart. Anyway, grizzly tales can be beneficial at times eh?!

[Steve101]

Excellent seeing Stephen. Thank you.

But as you said, thought and conditioning act as a disallowing filter to turn the electrical signals into visual images that are different to the raw data - something less/more than the raw sense

Thought with content is an overlay on reality. It’s like watching sports on TV. We have become so conditioned to having a commentator telling us what is going on, we have become conditioned to it. If we were to go to real football match would we need a commentator?

I repeated it a third time and there were longer gaps between thoughts and the senses were exhilarating. And relaxing.

Yes exactly, brilliant! This was partly about ‘allowing’ reality directly without judging or resistance.

At LU we labour this point about ‘labelled thought’ because we know that content filled labelled thought is the currency of the false self. The false self hijacked our own language to perpetuate the myth of it’s own existence! I sometimes like to read novels and it can be entertaining but at the end of the day when I put the book down I know that it’s just a story!

When a tree is seen, many will actually hear the words in their head, “oh what a beautiful tree.” What actually happened was that there was instant recognition and ‘knowing without content’ and then we felt the need to hear the words in our heads. Did we really need to hear the verbal confirmation...No.

INSIGHT

As move further along in this process you will realise at a deep level that the ‘I’, the self the ego loves words, thought stories, analysis, full explanations. However, finally seeing through the illusion of self is not a formula to be written out and fully understood. Awakening to the illusion of the false self is simply experienced as a ‘knowing without content.’

This is why it is good to be aware that as we move through exercises and discussions there will sometimes just be points at which you experience aha moments and just ‘get it.’ This is how ‘insight’ works. We sometimes look at difficult problems or challenges in our lives, get frustrated, back away from the problem, take a break from it and space is created for insight to enter and then there is just a simple ‘knowing’ of the answer. As Einstein said: ‘No problem will ever be fixed at the same level of consciousness that created it’.

Mind Labeling Experience

As you already know Stephen the mind has a tendency to label things that it focuses on. In the course of your normal everyday life you may have noticed that your mind names things and tells stories about them? When we acquire language the mind learns to label actions: “I walk”, “I talk”, “I breathe, “I’m playing football” etc. If you change these labels to “walking,” “talking,” “breathing,” what happens? Is there a real “I” that takes those actions or is it just a case of, walking happening, talking happening, breathing happening, football happening? Is there an “I” in the breathing or doing the breathing?

Here is an exercise which examines the way in which the mind labels experience - it takes about 10 minutes and you will need a pen a paper.

This exercise is broken into two 5 minute lots. For each 5 minute period pay attention to any bodily sensation i.e. is there any tightening, or any relaxing?

For the first 5 minutes write down what you are experiencing right now using the word “I”.

For example:

I am sitting on a chair,
I am hearing a clock ticking,
I am looking at a computer screen,
I am feeling hungry.

Get right to the point, no past or future fantasy, just a plain description of your experience right here and now.

Then for the next 5 minutes continue writing down what you are experiencing but this time without using the word “I”. Just describe the experience as it is happening using verbs.

For example:

Sitting on a chair,
typing,
breathing,
blinking,
hearing the clock.

(Again, watch what is happening in the body.)

At the end of the 10 minutes compare the two ways in which the experience was labelled and answer the following four questions:

1. Is one truer than the other, and If so, which one?
2. What is there without labels?
3. Do labels affect the experience or just describe it?
4. What differences/changes in the body did you notice?