softlyblossoming

Great line of inquiry and conclusions, thank you for sharing. Great replies too, everybody else . Shouldn't we disregard the blank as just more thoughts/wrong answers? Why is resting enough? Cheers, @WelcometoReality That is just avoiding the question. You haven't actually understood anything. An empty mind is not Awakening. A curios imposition, @Leo Gura. How should we continue to contemplate once the mind is empty of thoughts? I've heard that such a thing is only to spoil a good blankness with further proliferations of inherently deceptive hogwash (thoughts), but I'm dying to know how and why it isn't, if you'd be so inclined as to share a bit more about how you deal with mental silence and why you navigate it the way you do. Thank you for sparking this line of dialogue, fascinating stuff.

@VeganAwake Stupendously helpful, sir! My overall take-away from what you said was: no asker, no question, no problem. @Nahm Thank you, man, thank you! I think I'm starting to grok what you're telling me: I focus on the feeling of being me with a silent mind, but then I have the thought "let's unceasingly whittle this little bad boy down" and proceed to make myself forget whatever I had been feeling and refocus on a "more refined version of it," which in actuality is just another thought that came up very shortly after I'd 'refocused', so it's like I'm sorta unnecessarily refocusing for no reason (because all the reasons I do it for are more distractions from feeling the feeling). Heck, I think I might actually be starting to wrap my silly little head around this technique (for better or worse ). I'll be sure to check out Mrs. Hicks work. @Wilhelm44 The one true "doer," I like it. Thank you, Wilhelm, I'm experimenting with this right now haha. A few questions for all three of ya's (I'm sorry, I know I'm being a total free advice whore right now): Is self inquiry a type of glimpse practice/pointing-out instruction? Or is this at least what it ought to become like eventually? Is the feeling of being "me" the same as awareness the same as śūnyatā? What is the usefulness, in your honest opinion, of using the feeling of being "me" instead of some other object? How is it more direct? Why won't any old meditation object work the same?

Everything you ever interact with is a thought in your own mind, @ChrisZoZo. Everything you ever get to perceive is 'all in your head'. The reality of 'your' situation cannot be described or imagined because it's that which is not a thought; i.e., it is not anything that you (the ego) will ever interact with/experience/perceive; i.e., capital letter (meaning Absolute) Reality, Enlightenment or Anything Else cannot and will not ever exist to you. Tl;dr not only did the tree not make a sound, but it never fell and there is no tree. A great practice I've found helpful in getting this point across to myself is to recognise all of our enlightenment experiences and deep insights did not ever happen and they were not real. This is because if we think about them, which is the only means by which they 'happened' or 'are real', that's just thinking, so by definition it just simply is not the truth of the situation, period. Tl;dr if it exists, it's an illusion. If you want, see if you understand Nahm's replies better after reading this. Much love and hope it helped.

@Jakuchu He's so selfish he's Selfish! Thomas Leroy's oversized head sculptures are all pretty spot on.

@The0Self Ah yes, a mighty fine and chunky playlist fit for any a dedicated seeker.

Awakening for the benefit of all sentient beings, I see. Very good, carry on. Just kidding, I have a question: how much consciousness and joy do you think will be needed to manifest optimal results? I ask out of curiosity and because I've contemplated this myself with regards to my own life purpose. Cheers, @ChrisZoZo.

@Nahm @The0Self I know I've said it a bunch, but thanks so much to both of you, honestly. I've been really pushing myself to learn this technique and clocked over 20 hours of formal practice last week, so this has all really made my day! I know I haven't stopped asking either of you questions all bloody week, but... What do you think about trying to get closer to the feeling of "me" to derive the nature, or essence, of it? Good idea or am I overcomplicating things again? Are there any significant teachers, technique variants, videos or books on self inquiry that you'd highly recommend I take out for a spin?

Impeccable distinction drawing, I hadn't noticed that I was sneakily manipulating the advice to go about expecting things from myself and my practice. Do you, by chance, know of a list of other hidden seeker expectations? I feel like that could be a game changer. ??

Cheers again, @Nahm. Before I forget, how fast do I need to notice the feeling of being "me"? Only asking because Daniel Ingram (in his book, Mastering The Core Teachings of The Buddha) told me I have to notice experiential reality really really fast to get enlightened. Should I even care about noticing it fast? Wishing you a nice mid week. Thank you!

Thanks for such an in-depth elaboration, @VeganAwake. Oh my gosh, the illusion is so strong! Should I steer clear of the good or only the bad attributes of the ego? Yes, but gosh darn it moves too fast to notice! I also feel a sensation that I'm making the movement happen at the exact same time while it happens. How the heck do I even begin to notice that things are just happening on their own? Is just remembering this and strongly holding it as a belief enough to count as a recognition of no self? If not, how should I go about this recognising business? Are repeated recognitions enough to reach enlightenment? P.s. Have a wonderful hump day

Hi, @Nahm. First of all, thank you for sharing your technique with me. I have a few questions in regards to it, if that's ok. I thought I was supposed to treat the feeling of being "me" as merely yet another wrong answer to the question (and the same with any sensation), so when it came up, to look for who is observing it, then who is observing that observation, and so on and so forth. Why is just keeping attention on the feeling of being "me" enough in this version? Isn't this just concentration? Can keeping the mind one-pointed like this with no further effort to investigate really lead to enlightenment? What's the difference between suppressing thoughts and holding the mind in silence?

@Nadosa Thank you!!! You got me good with ^ these ^ pointers

@Nahm Thanks

@Loving Radiance I have a Muse 2. For me, maybe 1 connectivity issue per 5 25 minute sessions.

@Nahm Can you explain the joke for me, please?

Amen to that, @Bazooka Jesus . Can't lie, I do sometimes get discouraged by my lack of Buddhahood.

Sometimes, but it's never everlasting happiness. Sometimes I feel bad for seeking happiness in my thoughts about the past and future, because I'm not seeking happiness in the simple act of doing meditation itself. Sometimes I tell myself that holding this attitude of opposition to finding pleasure in such thoughts is a good thing, telling myself that I'm 'seeing the impermanence and inherent unsatisfactoriness of going out to objects for a source of well-being, instead of sourcing my pleasure in the act of meditating, or better yet, relying not on any reason at all to be happy (though how I'd actually put this latter example into practice, I don't know).' I don't know how to feel about all of this. What do you think, @Nadosa?

Thank you for your reply, @VeganAwake. Intellectually, I am well acquainted with the knowledge that the ego is an illusion, but identification with the illusion remains and I still suffer. However, sometimes when I get taken over by a particular state of reactivity, after a while I remember (believe) that it's an illusion and subsequently let go of some of my attachment to it. What methodologies/techniques/schools of thought do you recommend for someone at this stage of practice? As an aside, how important do you think just simply being good at concentration or being a very relaxed person is?

@Bazooka Jesus Amazingly helpful my friend.

Happiness I don't have to keep working my ass off to maintain. Is it wiser to investigate who is investigating than other things? Thank you again for the support, @Nadosa

@BenG Wow, I had no idea. Really interesting.

@BlueOak Thank you, that's wonderful. @BipolarGrowth Did you ever do a self inquiry phase during your own path, Brandon?

@Girzo What great value! I'll buy the app. Would it be ok if I discuss my results with you via PM?

@Nadosa Thank you. Can this practice of feeling 'done already' lead to enlightenment? Don't we also have to investigate into our thoughts, such as how they are inherently dualistic or imply a separate self?

@Girzo Is the app free? Where did you learn how to use neurofeedback to train specific absorptions? How does and do you use it to improve vipassana also? I would be very curious to talk to you about this, as I have a Muse 2, but haven't been able to see many results using it.