ego = self = me = you

each of these words only exists within thought. they are all assumed to refer to something real. something that exists as the thinker of the thoughts "ego" "self" "me" "you".

in the immediate experience of right now, what is referred to by these words DOES NOT EXIST.

it's unavoidable that the body will die.
brain function ceased.
no more thoughts.
no more perceptions.
it's unknowable when this will occur.

in the face of these facts, how can you continue to put off looking at what is being pointed at any longer?

there is no you.

when the body dies, there's not going to be a special essence that wafts heavenward.

there is no you.

there is nothing to save. there is nothing to protect.

why not look at the truth now?

the core of the delusion (or dream) is not the perception of differences, but the assumption that those differences are owned by selves.

the delusion involves constant effort on the part of these imagined selves to somehow change their perceptions in order to obtain some state of perfection or happiness or meaning and thereby validate, once and for all, the belief in this existence in the self.

instead of trying to change perceptions, investigate the assumption that there is a self to own perception.

there is no self. there is nothing at the center of this need to change perception. there is nothing at the center of the belief that you are rooted in delusion or dream. there is no person at the center of experience.

the dream IS the delusion that this me exists at all.

if I AM
then all else must be
and thus
the division and separation begins

if there is no me
there is no separation
there is no division
all simply IS

..

from where you stand atop the pile of collected items you are struggling to keep sorted out and attached as proof you exist,
(your preferences sometimes get mixed up with your inherited genetic traits, don't they)
it seems impossible to dive beneath the ever-cascading mass of your identity,
but by dropping the cognitive effort (don't try to ponder your way inside),
just stop THINKING about your self and LOOK at whether there IS that self

something that's so TRUE
so un-blindingly TRUE
that it shakes the assumed foundations of reality to their core
should be known.

a story:
there were two trees in the garden.
one was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil - this tree's fruit was the lie of self.
the other tree was the tree of eternal life.
this tree is the tree whose fruit is offered now.

you do not exist.

is it true? the offering is this -
to look at a truth
deeply within the experience there,
that you call your own.

you do not exist.
does all that's assumed to be yours
truly point to the existence
of a 'you'?

consider the ways it is assumed you exist. list them, test them, and look for 'you'
in each of them.

this calls for great courage and honesty.
it calls for staring into the depths of non-existence and verifying that what does not exist is not true.

you do not exist.

there is a body.
there is a mind.
the universe and that body mind are inseparable.
change is the nature of that universe.
change is the nature of life.
within the totality of life, can this 'you' be found?

the feelings of response to this message -
do THEY lead to a locatable you?

...

i have nothing to offer anyone
because i don't exist.

what DOES exist and can be offered
is a pointing toward this truth;
this truth of no me and no you.

when you see that the single source of suffering in life
is the false belief in your self,
the chains can be broken.

it can be seen that this self is an illusion.

self is in no way required for life to be,
and when looked for, can never be found.


"You'll never find your real self because it doesn't exist."
-stepVhen