The Illusion of No Self: The Ego’s Favorite Escape Route.

[ExploringReality]

The very resistance to being perceived as "superior" can itself be a mask of superiority, an attempt to appear ordinary, while still slipping in metaphysical absolutes. Also, you ask, “Why pay me any mind?” well, because you’re here, engaging, participating in a conversation about the nature of reality. That invites response. But when you challenge others, they’ll challenge you back. That’s the price of the game. Thanks for playing. 

If your intent is genuine conversation and open inquiry, great. But be aware of how your tone lands. You say you don’t mind criticism, but you also call responses to you “vile,” and claim you're being projected onto. Maybe. But maybe not. Maybe people are just reflecting back what they see in your words. So if you want clean, real dialogue then drop all the armor. Don’t posture as "just a regular person" while using language that implies cosmic knowing. Don’t claim to reject labels while subtly reinforcing them. Just speak directly. No paradoxes. No koans.

[Princess Arabia]

1 minute ago, ExploringReality said:

The very resistance to being perceived as "superior" can itself be a mask of superiority, an attempt to appear ordinary, while still slipping in metaphysical absolutes

Not if you see the Absolute as ordinary. I wasn't resisting your perception of me thinking I am superior, I was merely stating that I don't see myself as such and that i'm an ordinary person. If you noticed I also compared myself to the bum on the street and also Osho, so therefore I also view Osho and everybody in between the bum and the guru ordinary. I insinuated that with those references. You only saw I said bum but left out the Osho part. The post is about "metaphysical absolutes" and not about geometry or getting laid, so I was on topic.

[Princess Arabia]

24 minutes ago, ExploringReality said:

“Why pay me any mind?” well, because you’re here, engaging, participating in a conversation about the nature of reality. That invites response. But when you challenge others, they’ll challenge you back. That’s the price of the game. Thanks for playing. 

I welcome challenges. You didn't challenge my metaphysical and existential stances, you challenged me and my character in the beginning. You never once challenged anything I said about reality, only went on to gripe about my challenging yours. We never went back and forth about what we disagreed on and why. I told you my takes, but you got upset and said I think I'm awake.

Edited May 5 by Princess Arabia

[Breakingthewall]

15 hours ago, ExploringReality said:

Your body? Imagined.
Your past? Imagined.
Your identity? Imagined.
The universe? Imagination playing with itself inside you.

What means imagination?

[Princess Arabia]

Your post is screaming anger and resentment, fury and scorn. I can have discussions about the Absolute and reality and all that stuff with others respectfully all the time, but it seems you get upset and furious when I challenge you. Coming back with something to challenge me back may open my eyes but you come back with disgust and personal criticisms and rage. Read the OP you made about me, and you expect for me to not respond the way I did. @Breakingthewalland i discuss this stuff all the time and we can even go back and forth but it's all in good spirits and opening to what each one is saying, and we may ask each other questions back and forth and maybe get nowhere but it's always a good conversation with no hostility. With you however, you attacked me out of no where and slandered me with an ice pick just because i speak or disagree.

[Princess Arabia]

23 minutes ago, ExploringReality said:

But be aware of how your tone lands.

Read the OP.

[ExploringReality]

Fair enough. But notice, every time someone challenges your approach, your tone, or the way your words land, you default to clarifying your intentions rather than owning how your delivery actually sounds. That’s not openness it’s defense wrapped in metaphysical humility.

Yes, you mentioned Osho and the bum, but invoking those figures still plays into a subtle hierarchy "I’m ordinary just like Osho” is ironically not that ordinary. It’s cloaked positioning, whether intended or not. You say you welcome challenges, but every time one’s offered, you pivot away from the content and instead frame yourself as misunderstood. That’s fine. You’re allowed to do that. But don’t confuse that with actually engaging. This isn’t about being right. It’s about being real. And if you truly didn’t care about being seen a certain way, you wouldn’t spend paragraphs defending what you meant by what you said. You talk in circles about not being awake, not claiming anything, not defending anything… while constantly defending your stance, positioning your perspective, and reminding everyone how “open” and “ordinary” you are. It’s spiritual gaslighting, disguising control as conversation.

 

And let’s be real. No one’s fooled. Not even you. That’s why you need so many words to explain yourself. 

[Princess Arabia]

26 minutes ago, ExploringReality said:

You say you don’t mind criticism,

Criticisms to what's being expressed as far as the topic and my pov on things; not my character or personality traits if that's not what the thread is about. I don't mind when my views get challenged, no, not even my personality and character because I can just ignore but that's not what I was referring to here, I mean my views. 

[Princess Arabia]

3 minutes ago, ExploringReality said:

Fair enough. But notice, every time someone challenges your approach, your tone, or the way your words land, you default to clarifying your intentions rather than owning how your delivery actually sounds. That’s not openness it’s defense wrapped in metaphysical humility.

Yes, you mentioned Osho and the bum, but invoking those figures still plays into a subtle hierarchy "I’m ordinary just like Osho” is ironically not that ordinary. It’s cloaked positioning, whether intended or not. You say you welcome challenges, but every time one’s offered, you pivot away from the content and instead frame yourself as misunderstood. That’s fine. You’re allowed to do that. But don’t confuse that with actually engaging. This isn’t about being right. It’s about being real. And if you truly didn’t care about being seen a certain way, you wouldn’t spend paragraphs defending what you meant by what you said. You talk in circles about not being awake, not claiming anything, not defending anything… while constantly defending your stance, positioning your perspective, and reminding everyone how “open” and “ordinary” you are. It’s spiritual gaslighting, disguising control as conversation.

 

And let’s be real. No one’s fooled. Not even you. That’s why you need so many words to explain yourself. 

So, in other words just stfu. Ok got it

[ExploringReality]

I find it interesting that you're so quick to accuse me of anger and attack, when I’ve said nothing about you personally, only pointed to dynamics that anyone identified with ego would fall into. If what I said stung, maybe that’s worth sitting with instead of defending or deflecting.

You say you welcome challenge, yet you consistently interpret disagreement as hostility and call clarity “rage.” That says more about your filters than my intentions.
 

And for the record. No, my posts weren’t about you, until you made them about you. That’s telling. You keep insisting you're ordinary, yet you're deeply entangled in defending a self-image. That contradiction speaks louder than your words. The need to constantly clarify you're “just like a bum or Osho” isn’t humility it’s performance masked as detachment. You say I attacked you, but I never mentioned your name. You volunteered yourself into the crosshairs because something in you recognized itself in what I said. That’s not on me. If disagreement feels like hostility to you, then maybe you’re not as open as you claim. Real openness doesn’t flinch when illusions are exposed. It listens, reflects, and dissolves. You claim you’re not awake, yet speak with the authority of someone correcting others constantly. That tension is the ego still fighting for air. You don’t have to pretend to be a teacher or a victim. Just be what you are, no defense.

[Princess Arabia]

1 minute ago, ExploringReality said:

I find it interesting that you're so quick to accuse me of anger and attack, when I’ve said nothing about you personally, only pointed to dynamics that anyone identified with ego would fall into. If what I said stung, maybe that’s worth sitting with instead of defending or deflecting.

You say you welcome challenge, yet you consistently interpret disagreement as hostility and call clarity “rage.” That says more about your filters than my intentions.
 

And for the record. No, my posts weren’t about you, until you made them about you. That’s telling. You keep insisting you're ordinary, yet you're deeply entangled in defending a self-image. That contradiction speaks louder than your words. The need to constantly clarify you're “just like a bum or Osho” isn’t humility it’s performance masked as detachment. You say I attacked you, but I never mentioned your name. You volunteered yourself into the crosshairs because something in you recognized itself in what I said. That’s not on me. If disagreement feels like hostility to you, then maybe you’re not as open as you claim. Real openness doesn’t flinch when illusions are exposed. It listens, reflects, and dissolves. You claim you’re not awake, yet speak with the authority of someone correcting others constantly. That tension is the ego still fighting for air. You don’t have to pretend to be a teacher or a victim. Just be what you are, no defense.

Ok you're forcing be to go into the filing cabinet. I will

[ExploringReality]

@Princess Arabia This post wasn't about you, yet you are triggered.

[VeganAwake]

Who wants to be awake?

Where does that energy come from?

Look closely 👀 

❤️ 

[Sugarcoat]

@VeganAwake what if you’ve done tons of observing the self , self inquiry , observing thoughts but still the self hasn’t dropped?

*cries in duality*😔

Edited May 5 by Sugarcoat

[Princess Arabia]

You and i know your post was partially about the ways I speak, my challenging your previous thread about the Universe that i dissected and the way I speak about how everything is an appearance and non-duality. You and i know that. You can deny it all you want and come up with some bullshit story that anyone may read and think its the case but your post was screaming this. You know I can't prove it but the way you made your first response to me is also a clue.

I'm done discussing this as I think it's way overdue and if you're going to hide behind a screen and act as if your post wasn't at least partially addressing me while all these responses and comments you've made all throughout the thread is suggesting that then there's nothing more to say on the matter. Anybody that reads your responses will be able to tell because youre saying things to me that's addressed within the post and acknowledging that I do those things. I'm so glad shit is in writing and can be referenced. Yes, your post was partially about me and you know it. I can go to archive and go back to a comment you made when I dissected your previous thread and then said I was breaking your balls and how you didn't take it too lightly that I challenged your stances.  You were obviously upset about it. I'll go dig it up. Then I'll leave you be.

 

Edited May 5 by Princess Arabia

[VeganAwake]

2 minutes ago, Sugarcoat said:

@VeganAwake what if you’ve done tons of observing the self , self inquiry , observing thoughts but still the self hasn’t dropped?

*cries in duality*😔

Who is observing?

What makes up the "you've" that's done tons of observing?

[Sugarcoat]

3 minutes ago, VeganAwake said:

Who is observing?

What makes up the "you've" that's done tons of observing?

It’s like it’s split, im observing myself but im simultaneously the observer … 

[VeganAwake]

Who the fuck wants to become awake?

Show me that motherfucker right now? Front and center!

DO IT!!!!!!

[Sugarcoat]

@VeganAwake You only see selves if you feel you are a self

thats what I think

[VeganAwake]

1 minute ago, Sugarcoat said:

It’s like it’s split, im observing myself but im simultaneously the observer … 

There isn't a you!

There is just a thought about you observing,which seems to be real!