Philosophical Speculations

I did the exercise, in fact, I've done it many times before. I know, Cleric, you are referring to a "mysterious" intuitive sense of "self-reference" and "self-agency" that most people carry deep in sub-conscious. I lost most of it some time ago. When I do "I think...

I would like to add a clarifying question here. When we take the "I" as something that needs to be defined and explained, it might be difficult to reach agreement. Let's look at something simpler. Eugene, can you think the words "I think" in a meditative manner while feeling the...

Ok, then I'll give an alternate definition of "I" (though I would say it amounts to the same as the one I gave earlier): the "I" is (at least, it might be more) awareness of permanence in what is experienced. I look around the room and see most of it is the same as what I saw ye...

So "awareness-thinking-willing" is eternally existing. If you don't want to say it is an "entity", fine -- that is just a debate over the meaning of 'entity'. It is still an ontological claim, just as my starting point that "there is only ideational activity" is ontolo...

If you look into your direct experience, you will not find any "real I" other than your idea of "I". The idea that there is some "I" behind the actions that cannot know itself "just like an eye that cannot see itself" is only an abstract idea that we have bee...

No it's not a whole different discussion. This mindset reveals the core issue - and duality - from yet another angle. Preliminary philosophical speculation to "clear the (intellectual) way" is arbitrarily kept separate from the direct inner experience that should realize that same way. Th...

Eugene adds the caveat that presence-awareness isn't sufficient and we should also add in the higher cognitive practice, but I can't imagine this concretely means anything. Why? Because he also wrote this to you - " If the "direct method" alone works for you without any reinforcement...

Well, what you are describing is the span of attention, but not the presence-awareness in a sense that Rupert is referring to. Usually in our mundane state of consciousness, be it in children or adults, we completely disregard the presence-awareness. PS: Well, to be more precise, in our mundane mod...

Let me put it this way. If we are walking around the house, thinking about a million things, and stub our toe on some object, you would say this reflects a lack of presence-awareness, right? When navigating the sensory world, we often have an instinctive presence-awareness that keeps us from bumpin...

Correct, my post above wasn't regarding method(s), but more of the simplicity of what is required. Rupert Spira has his 'direct method', and there are techniques of meditation. My work offered a day of Mindfulness Meditation training - I asked the instructor what one should do if left with a sense ...