Investigating Direct Experience & Self-Realization, Awakening, Enlightenment.

[Phil]

The aim is for this thread to be a collection of exercises for going about inspecting direct experience such as to see that there is (just a few examples):

No inner & outer.

No separate self. 

No separation. 

No time & space.

No past, now or future. 

Only Infinite Self. 

 

To see that reality is apparent, and therein, pure magic if you will. 

 

Feel free to articulate your own inspection method or what worked for you as it were, to copy & paste from anywhere online (please credit with a link), and or to share on point inspection videos etc. 

 

This thread will be have a slightly atypical housekeeping manor with the intention being to keep it free of conversation & misc comments, such that a new member to the site can peruse the suggestions without having to sort through or skip past comments. So if you do make a conversational comment and it is deleted, please don’t take it personally, it’s just to keep the resource as ‘clean’ as possible. 

 

Thank you in advance for contributing!

[Jonas Long]

On a piece of paper draw a circle for your feelings.  Then another circle around it for your thoughts, then another for your mind, then one for your body, one for your immediate environment, another one for for the larger environment etc. Until you've drawn all the circles you can think of what would make up the universe.  Can any of the circles exist without any of the others?

[Orb]

Something that worked like a charm last night: 

 

1. First sit down however you'd like and just breathe.

 

2. When you start getting lost in thoughts immediately put focus on the sense of awareness or aka the witness. 

 

3. As this goes on for a few minutes thoughts will begin to feel like they're farther away and it'll become obvious that you're not the thoughts arising. You'll likely notice that thought is just another phenomena, along with the sound of trees and cars, and will feel relief in no longer being entagled in them.

 

4. Now that it's become clear that you aren't the thoughts, it's time to focus on the sense of witnessing itself, keep focusing on the witness sense. If you are unfamiliar with the witness sense simply investigate who/what is aware of the thoughts (the answer will not be in the form of a thought).

 

5. Similarly with thought, it may become more clear that the witness sense is also another phenomena like thoughts, trees, sounds of cars, etc. Thus, awareness  becomes disentagled from the witness sense.

 

6. Stay in this sense of ineffableness for as long as you'd like.

 

I'd do this at least once a day whenever you feel inspired to investigate. Can be done anywhere in any posture.

Edited March 14, 2023 by Orb

[Blessed2]

In Daoist literature, there is a peculiar way to represent Yin & Yang ☯.

 

Yin is represented as "broken"; two separated lines:  ⚋

 

Yang is represented as "unbroken"; one singular line:  ⚊

 

Yin; broken; ⚋

 

Yang; unbroken; ⚊

 

What is not-two?

[Blessed2]

Why is Pi exactly 3.14159... And not just 3 or 9.71582 or literally anything else?

 

Why is every circle such that the ratio of its circumference to its diameter is 3.14159... ?

 

 

 

 

 

Why is The Golden Ratio exactly 1.61803... And not just 2 or 7.18362... ?

 

 

 

Could there be a universe where Pi was not 3.14159... And The Golden Ratio was not 1.61803... ?

[Phil]

Appreciate the contributions, this is a decent start. 

[Blessed2]

Intentionally train yourself bit by bit to not see the ego, but the True Nature, infinite being. Starting with what seems to be "others".

 

"Seeing the ego" means you see a limited, localized personality, a body, a thinker, a judger, a chooser, a doer; a separate self.

 

"Seeing the True Nature" means you see unlimited, un-localized "filling up the room", innocent, pure, unconditional, loving, inseparable spirit; True Nature, which you share.

 

Do this whenever: Before going to sleep while bringing someone to mind... While walking through a shopping center... While feeling triggered on an online forum... Or feeling the road rage driving your car... Or feeling insecure and lacking when someone you're attracted to doesn't seem to feel the same way... Etc.

 

Note the feeling of ease, love, kindness, connection, expansion, abundance and friendship that naturally follows.

[Joseph Maynor]

What experience is indirect?

[Jonas Long]

14 minutes ago, Joseph Maynor said:

What experience is indirect?

One you hear about/read about, and imagine 

[Phil]

No inner & outer.

No separate self. 

No separation. 

No time & space.

No past, now or future. 

Only Infinite Self. 

 

Look at your hand.

Notice, ‘look’, ‘at’, ‘your’ and ‘hand’ are thoughts which arise, which seem to label separate things of or in perception.

The separate things seem to be: you, seeing, and your hand. 

 

Propose the question, “am I aware?”

And the question, “Am I aware, that I am, aware?”

 

As awareness, question the separations implied by the thought ‘look at your hand’.

Look for the exact, precise separation between:

Awareness.

Knowing.

Seeing & hearing. 

Hands.

What actual separation is found?

 

 

Now wiggle your fingers. 

Reading the suggestion to wiggle your fingers could be said to prompt the wiggling of the fingers. 

But investigate direct, or actual experience more closely. 

Was there any actual, direct experience of neurotransmitters, neurons, electrical impulses?

Was there any actual, direct experience of commands going from a brain through the arms, to the fingers?

Were there any commands about how fast or slow to wiggle the fingers, and in which direction(s), and to what degree?

 

 

Now inspect for the ‘I’ which ‘did’ that. 

The ‘I’ which ‘does’. 

The alleged ‘doer’. 

 

Notice, as awareness, direct experience is of thought(s), perception (seeing, hearing, etc), and sensation. 

Scrutinize. Try to ‘find’ that which is not: a thought, perception, or sensation.

Be acutely aware this can not be done. 

Say aloud & affirm: “Direct experience consists of thought, perception and sensation”.

 

Take a deep breath and relax. 

‘Be where you are’ by noticing the absurdity of the notion of being where you are not. 

‘Place’ attention on feeling breathing in the stomach, and look straight ahead. 

Again take a deep breath and relax. Let any expectations that something is going to happen go simply with the recognition that the direct experience is of, thoughts, about something happening. 

Be acutely aware of thoughts arising, and as well, acutely aware of thoughts vanishing.  

Mentally draw a line from whatever is in front of you so to speak, such as the wall, to you. 

Allow the thought, ‘wall’, to arise and be recognized as, a thought, and bring attention back again, to perception, to “the perception of” the wall. 

 

Now distinguish where the object seen ends, and the knowing of the seeing begins. 

Distinguish exactly where the knowing ends, and the awareness of the knowing begins. 

If the thoughts arise… “I don’t know”, or “I can’t find a separation”, recognize those are thoughts, and freely allow them to vanish, without believing them.

Don’t believe the thoughts, simply by directly experiencing that thoughts appear & vanish. 

Be acutely aware of the fleeting nature of thoughts. 

 

Now distinguish exactly where the awareness ends, and you begin. 

As it is found that there is no actual separation, affirm aloud, “no actual separation is found in direct experience”. 

Affirm aloud: “Only awareness is aware”. 

 

 

Close your eyes and take a deep breath and relax. 

Notice the direct experience of, the presence of, sensation. 

Notice, ‘body’, is a thought, and is directly experienced as, a thought.

Notice sensation is directly experienced. 

Notice the thought, ‘sensation’, points, yet does not in any way define what the thought points to. 

Notice the experience of ‘body’ is actually the experience of the thought - ‘body’.

Notice the actual experience is of - sensation. 

 

Exploring ‘inwardly’, directly ‘into sensation… find the actual beginning, end, and therein dividing edge, of sensation. 

Affirm aloud what is found. 

If a beginning, end, or edge of sensation is not found, affirm this aloud.

”No beginning is found within me”. 

“No end is found within me”.

”No edge, divide, or separation is found within me”. 

 

Now inspect & attempt to find any separation between: awareness & thoughts, perception, and sensation. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Orb]

A good self inquiry question: "If thoughts aren't believed, what is known for certain?" 

[Phil]

There’s lots of experiences like photos, videos, movies, reflections, mirrors, music, beautiful sunsets, all kinds of delicious foods and great conversations to be enjoyed.

But notice in direct experience, you don’t have eyes, ears, a mouth, or a face. 

[Phil]

While ultimately undefinable, every one directly experiences a spectrum of sorts. As a pointing to it, it might sound like a dream or vision and believing it’s possible, believing in yourself, and conversely… doubt, second guessing or the like. 

 

Yet, no one ever actually experiences randomness, luck, or odds. 

[Phil]

It’s impossible for a seeker to find what’s sought. 

What’s sought already is what’s appearing as the thought or belief that there is someone seeking. 

What’s appearing can not be found in appearance. 

 

Water can not be found in bubbles.

Water is already what’s appearing as bubbles. 

 

God can not be found in water.

God is already what’s appearing as water. 

 

Nothing can not be found in thoughts.

Nothing is already appearing as thoughts. 

 

That which does not know separation can not be found in thoughts about there being, separation. 

[Orb]

A cool thing that was very fulfilling a few days ago:

 

At any moment in the day, consider how you would behave if you finally realized truth. Imagine how you'd feel, how would you conduct yourself? 

 

What would you do right now if you had already self realized? 

 

And then just be that Now. 

 

It seems very counter intuitive because it's like fake it till you make it, but surprisingly enough this method slows down the discord in thought and relaxes the body. 

 

Its also Law of Attraction, feeling what is wanted, acknowledging that feeling is here already, and being what you want already.

Edited April 11, 2023 by Orb

[Phil]

The entirety of direct experience, is ‘now’. 

That there is anything other than now, in accordance with direct experience, is the content / implication of a thought. 

 

Notice in direct experience:

Thoughts are now.

Perception is now.

Sensation is now. 

 

The experience of:

Memories, are now. 

Ideas, are now.

Concepts, are now. 

Plans, are now. 

Thoughts about what’s being said now, are now. 

 

These phenomena, these experiences, only seem separate in language. In the naming of ‘separate things’, by the saying of. 

All separation is the content, or implication of thoughts… that there is… separation. 

If there are thoughts experienced about separation, the thoughts, are now. 

 

A thought can arise that there is awareness, and experience. 

The separation is only the implication of the thought. 

A separation does not happen.

A thought about separation appears.

In accordance with direct experience, a thought is not a thing - though there can appear thoughts about things. 

 

Therein, the whole of experience, transpires within awareness, and awareness is not in experience. 

 

Thoughts arise, ‘this happened, or is happening to me’. 

Thoughts arise, ‘this I did, this I’m doing’. 

 

And therein lies the Great Relief, The Cosmic Joke.

The Truth. 

 

[Orb]

Feel into perception and ask "Who is feeling this?"

[Phil]

The simplest, most fundamental & most overlooked aspect of the materialist’s paradigm is that there is a materialist, which knows that there is material, as in matter.

 

What’s overlooked is the implication of there being (some thing such as) material or matter.

 

The direct implication is that there is; some thing.

The indirect implication is; which is not me. 

 

The direct implication is, that there is; some thing which is known. 

The indirect implication is that I am; the knower. 

 

What’s implied is the duality of; a knower and known. 

What’s overlooked is this duality transpires only in thought, and never in perception (seeing & hearing) or sensation. 

 

That thoughts appear is; an appearance. 

Therein the materialist and matter are; apparent. 

 

The deeper implication of the belief in things, is that you are a thing. 

And more so, that you share the fate of things. 

 

Question; what then, is appearing?

[Phil]

In accordance with direct experience, there isn’t other-than, direct experience. 

Nothing hidden, nothing on the other side of, nothing behind, nothing beyond… such as a world, universe or someone else’s experience.

In accordance with direct experience, there is no experience of an experiencer, and therein, no direct experience. 

[Orb]

Good questions to ask during self inquiry:

 

-In direct experience can any boundaries be felt? 

 

-Who is feeling/experiencing this moment?

 

-Where am I? 

Edited July 5, 2023 by Orb