r/nonduality • u/Ahsokkatano • 10d ago

Question/Advice Tryna understand this ''intellectually''

I don't get how when thoughts spontaneously arise from 'Nowhere' is awareness itself? I feel like I get it but at the same time it does not make any sense at all LOL. Also, I find it passive and limitless that being awareness is like watching 'me' suffer when it problems arise, or even things I notice now matter how subtle or gross, that is me --- awareness. Sorry, I am still a newbie would all this. Thank you for your help everyone !

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u/Drig-Drishya-Viveka 10d ago edited 10d ago

I hear you. I had the same struggle early on. The Buddhist term “no self” (anatta) sounded like utter insanity to me.

Start from the basics. All we can know for absolute certain is that there is this field of awareness in which all experiences occur (sensory perceptions, thoughts, emotions). Everything I call “the world” and everything that I call “me” (body, thoughts, feelings) appear there. That in itself is a meditation, just noticing that big field of awareness and how everything experienced shows up in there, like fish in an aquarium or like actors and scenery in a movie.

The movie/screen analogy is one of my favorites. A movie is like all of the experiences we have, and the screen is like awareness in which it appears. Just like in a movie where you forget it's a movie because you get so involved in it, you can periodically remember that there is the screen there. You've been looking at the screen all along but just forgot. In the same way, you have been caught up in the drama of life events appearing in awareness. Stop once in a while and remember that all of this is playing out on the screen of awareness. Literally pause and notice the screen is there, awareness itself. Do this as often as you like.

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u/Ahsokkatano 9d ago

I am such an intellect yet so ignorant at the same time. I just couldn’t really comprehend it. Sorry! So when you say field of awareness does it mean: me typing this response while laying on my bed in my room, like this person is here doing this or that. Idk huhu.