found out where i believe i am located.

[spiritualryan]

i've been doing self inquiry for a couple months now, and recently i've begun to become more honest with myself. i don't believe my self to be awareness, i believe i am located in the head. my mind's logic for this assumption makes sense too, because there are three main senses that are the most prevalent in my direct experience. my eyes, my ears, and sensation. TWO of these three correlate to me being somewhere in the skull. eyes lead back to the head, ears lead back to the head. plus there is always a pretty subtle sensation in the center of my skull. thus that is my minds proof of why i am the head. i would appreciate it if anyone has any tips to help me break out of this belief.

[Osaid]

Where are you located in a dream? Why are you so easily able to adopt some dream character identity, and then immediately wake up and go back to believing that you are in the head? Your idea of "you" is so flexible.

I am sure you experienced those 3 senses in your dreams as well, so which one are you? Your dream character, or the real life one?

Let's say 90% of your reality you were stuck in a dream, and then the other 10% you would be in the waking state. Is this where you would decide that your "true identity" is the dream character?

Edited May 30, 2021 by Osaid

[Anahata]

Just now, spiritualryan said:

i've been doing self inquiry for a couple months now, and recently i've begun to become more honest with myself. i don't believe my self to be awareness, i believe i am located in the head. my mind's logic for this assumption makes sense too, because there are three main senses that are the most prevalent in my direct experience. my eyes, my ears, and sensation. TWO of these three correlate to me being somewhere in the skull. eyes lead back to the head, ears lead back to the head. plus there is always a pretty subtle sensation in the center of my skull. thus that is my minds proof of why i am the head. i would appreciate it if anyone has any tips to help me break out of this belief.

Well, think about this.. When you dream at night the character you're playing can have the same body configuration as the human one. The eyes appear to be are located on the head, you think you have ears and it seems like you are seeing and hearing, perceiving stuff. You are experiencing pure imagination but yet you seem to be hearing sounds, as soon as you open your eyes the world magically appears in front of you, if you cover your 'eyes' the world dissapears but you think everything's still there in an objective way, behind the curtains, waiting for you to look at it again. If you dream about putting earplugs in your 'ears' the sound will magically vanish as if the earplugs were blocking out sounds. But the only way to become conscious that you are dreaming you have to awaken to the truth and then you lucid dream. Same thing here in the 'waking state'.

Edited May 30, 2021 by Anahata

[Zeroguy]

@Anahata Someone actually awake, wow. 

@Osaid Location =nowhere=here. 

For all eternity you never actually moved anywhere. 

Still made up guy talking here. 

[Zeroguy]

Infinity can't move, can only imagine movement, locations, "others" etc. but it is always staying Infinity. 

So in truest possible sense there is no life, experience, conversations etc when it's always One for all eternity. 

Now what that Infinity is? 

What can it be? 

 

Edited May 30, 2021 by Zeroguy

[Tim R]

@spiritualryan If you are located inside your head, then how come you can experience things which are outside your head?

Think before you answer, it's not as obvious as it might seem. Language is a very tricky thing. 

Edit: and after that, observe what "inside" and "outside" your head actually are and whether such places even exist. 

Edited May 30, 2021 by Tim R

[VeganAwake]

The ME character is like a bundle of conditioned memories, knowledge, ideas and beliefs. Its more like an assumed identity than anything else, and it seems so damn obvious that its rarely ever inspected closely.

If that body had been born and raised in Moscow Russia for example, it would have a totally different bundle of conditioned memories, knowledge, ideas and beliefs.

So in that sense the apparent individual is its conditioning.

But is there a real individual there inside the body?

LOOK closely...

 

 

 

 

[mandyjw]

Why do you want to break out of this belief? 

[Batman]

Perception is inherently indirect. By definition, you have no real perception of the thing perceived, because perception is a process by which 'data' is gathered and filtered by the senses to the mind. You believe that you are located in the head, because you identify your self mostly in the location where it seems that you control and interact with the environment (The eyes, the ears, the nose, speaking ability and facial recognition and expression).

However, you do have sensations in other parts of your body. In fact, you have sensations all over your body, including inner body sensations. Why are you not being identified with being located there? When you generate a thought, where is it "located" in your experience? Do you perceive the thought being inside your head, or is it just being perceived regardless of any location, as an abstract conceptual sound that actually isn't located anywhere but only you are privy to it? Is it possible that you identify only with perceptions that seems to be in your "personal" and "immediate" control, such as mind and body? Why would a form distinguish itself from other forms by creating insular identity? Is awareness itself distinct from the thing that you are aware of? Is it possible that the assumed location of our awareness is somewhat of a red herring, distracting us from our original "place" of Being?

[snowyowl]

" i believe i am located in the head"

in conventional psychology and brain science, there's something called Executive Function which is sort of the control centre of the brain, associated with the pre-frontal cortex at the top front of the brain (behind your eyes). Could be this is what feels like 'me' although it's just another brain function. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_functions

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prefrontal_cortex

The prefrontal cortex is a modern development in human evolution; compared with other areas which we share with other species like the brain stem ('reptilian brain') that's responsible for more automatic functions like fight-flight-freeze mechanism, that feels like is happening to us, rather than by us.  

[WelcometoReality]

@spiritualryan Is it really a belief or is that what you are currently experiencing?

First there might be an apparent division between experiencer and experienced which is the normal state of humans.

Once realization happens there is no division between experiencer and experience.

Just stick to your practice until realization happens.

You can use this practice to lead sensations back to it's source. See if it's helpful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-7LXHjGHfM

Edited June 5, 2021 by WelcometoReality

[Mason Riggle]

What is often mistaken to be 'the experiencer of experience' is just more experience.  The 'thinker of thoughts' is just more thought. 

There is no separate 'you' inside your head, or body.. you are the experience of your head and body.. but more than that, you are everything in experience.  There is no line between 'you' and 'that which is not you'.  When a bird is chirping, that is who you are, the experience of a bird chirping. 

"I have no other self than the totality of things of which I am aware." - Alan Watts

The truth is, you can't even say where reality itself is, let alone where 'you' might be. Where is the Universe? 

[Mosess]

@spiritualryan Thats a great leap, you can try contemplating that you got no head. Your currently headless.