No separate self, Conscious Being

One assumption I encounter quite often is that recognizing no separate self should somehow change the ordinary functioning of life.

A person hears:

"There is no separate self."

Then another conclusion quickly appears.

"Therefore there should be no anger."

"There should be no hurt."

"There should be no reactions."

"There should be no discussions."

According to what?

How does the absence of a separate self suddenly become the absence of functioning?

That seems to add something that was never part of the original observation.

An insult appears.

A reaction appears.

A response appears.

The absence of a separate controller does not automatically remove the appearance of a response.

The absence of a thinker does not remove thoughts.

The absence of a feeler does not remove feelings.

The absence of a chooser does not remove what is called choice.

Functioning continues.

Again and again the same movement seems to occur.

Something is observed.

Then a philosophy is built upon the observation.

No self becomes no emotion.

No self becomes no response.

No self becomes no discussion

really.....

Why?

An insult may still be followed by anger.

Or laughter.

Or indifference.

Or sadness.

Or confusion.

The reaction appears.

What remains difficult to find is the separate owner of the reaction.

Those are not the same claim.

The same confusion appears around communication.

Some imagine that if there is no separate self, there would be no point in speaking.

No point in writing.

No point in questioning.

Yet that conclusion itself arrives as speech.

As writing.

As questioning.

😂

Words affect words.

Ideas affect ideas.

Events affect events.

A conversation changes a belief.

A book changes a perspective.

A sentence changes a life.

Whether there is a separate controller behind those movements is a different question altogether.

Again and again, the absence of a separate self is transformed into a new philosophy about how life ought to function.

A new ideal.

A new spiritual personality.

A new expectation.

But where did that expectation come from?

The original observation seems remarkably modest.

A separate self cannot be found.

A separate manager cannot be found.

A separate owner cannot be found.

Life continues

Conversations continue.

Arguments continue.

Preferences continue.

Reactions continue.

Coffee continues.

Tea continues.

Facebook comments continue.

😂

The functioning is obvious.

The separate entity supposedly standing behind the functioning remains remarkably absence

Perhaps that is all that was ever being pointed toward.

Everything added afterward may simply be another conclusion.

And there we go again

The Promise (Conscious Being)

The Promise

There seems to be a fascination with promises

Not just any promise.

A promise of arrival.

A promise of completion.

A promise of freedom.

The more clearly the destination is defined, the more attractive it often becomes.

Peace.

Awakening.

Enlightenment.

Liberation.

The end of suffering.

finding "your" true self 

A result is offered.

A future is imagined.

A path appears.

Soon there is someone who may arrive.

Someone who may attain.

Someone who may finally become what they are not yet.

This is not a criticism.

The promise appears.

The attraction appears.

The longing appears.

Like any other appearance.

The question is different.

Why do promises seem to carry such weight?

Perhaps because a promise does something.

It organizes the future.

It gives direction.

It gives meaning.

It gives hope.

A vague promise attracts.

A precise promise often attracts even more.

The clearer the destination, the easier it becomes to imagine oneself there.

Again and again the same movement appears.

A future is described.

Then a self is imagined moving toward it.

The destination and the traveler seem to arrive together.

Yet every promise is also a description.

Every destination is a description.

Every end state is a description.

This does not make them false.

The question remains What exactly is being promised?

And to whom?

Sometimes the promise is wrapped in beautiful language.

Poetic language.

Mystical language.

Language capable of inducing wonder, longing, and certainty.

The words may be different.

The movement often feels familiar.

There is something missing.

There is somewhere else to arrive.

There is something to attain.

Then another description appears:

"There is only what is happening."

A new ground.

A new resting place.

A new slogan.

Soon it too may be repeated.

Quoted.

Defended.

Believed.

Until another sentence appears.

Then another.

Then another.

Again and again the same movement.

A description appears.

A certainty gathers around it.

Then the certainty fades.

Another description appears.

Perhaps this is why no sentence seems able to hold its position for very long.

Not because it is wrong.

Not because it is right.

But because the next sentence is already arriving.

The next explanation.

The next promise.

The next ground.

As long as there is a functioning body, there seem to be thoughts, tendencies, preferences, longings, aversions, interests, and the absence of interests.

All appearing.

All disappearing.

None announcing themselves as the final word.

Perhaps that is what makes the search for the final description so fascinating.

The sentence arrives.

The sentence feels complete.

Then another sentence arrives.