Self-Inquiry- Process of Elimination

[TDW1995]

I find self-inquiry challenging in that I'm not always certain on what I should put my attention on.  Right now, I use this "process of elimination" technique where I eliminate thoughts, sensations, body parts, etc. as possibilities of who I am.  However, it feels like I'm questioning the same aspects of who I could be every day I do my sit, thus creating the sense of me getting nowhere in this work.  I know that during the "How to do Self-Inquiry" video from December 2018 Leo says to place awareness on awareness, but right now I feel like I'm just scratching the surface of dis-identifying with the body, thoughts, sensations, etc.  My main question is the following; Is using this "process of elimination" method a prerequisite to placing awareness on awareness?  I want to make sure I'm not taking any shortcuts.

[erik8lrl]

@TDW1995 You are not, keep going.

[Lento]

How long are the sits? In my experience, longer durations, preferably preceded by meditation, play a huge factor in the dis-identification process. I think that a 30-minutes sit per day won't be enough for creating the momentum required for a breakthrough.

[TDW1995]

Sits are typically 30 minutes to an hour. I have been trying to push myself for 60 consecutive mintues. I'm just concerned about asking the same questions to dis-identify with the same "things" every day. It makes me hard to believe a breakthrough could happen. Sure don't want to do this process mechanically. 

[VeganAwake]

@TDW1995 Hey there.. this guy is real ?...thought you might like his material. ❤

 

[cetus]

14 hours ago, TDW1995 said:

It makes me hard to believe a breakthrough could happen. Sure don't want to do this process mechanically. 

Don't allow that simple process to deceive you. One day it may all turn on a dime. Keep at it and at some point you will stumble upon it by chance. And in that moment it will become quite evident that there was always something there that you were previously blind to.

Imagine for a moment that there is a color that your eyes have never perceived. How would you know that color even existed? But you have heard others talk about this illusive color. So you look for it hoping to see it. But you really don't know what your looking for. Is it something like red? Or is it more like blue or yellow? So you keep searching. Then one day by chance you catch a glimpse of this illusive color. And in that moment you realize why you never saw it before.  Because it is a color far different then anything you ever expected to perceive. Yet it was always there.

[TDW1995]

@cetus56 Very well said. Extremely paradoxical what we're after.