Self and no-self

Michael’s presentation this Sunday drew on Joseph Goldstein’s talk “Busy Life, No Self” (not available on Dharmaseed, alas) in which Joseph offered three 3-minute meditations which one could use daily in the midst of a busy life to cultivate the realization of No-Self. Briefly,

1. Listen to sounds, and ask “Can I find the knower of the sound?
2. Realize that “I am not the body”; deeply take in the fact that all birth inevitably ends in death, and that even at the moment of your individual death, thousands of others are also dying. – OR – experience your sensations, free of the concept that they are happening in a body; just experience the sensations themselves.
3. Become aware of thoughts as they arise, and realize that there is no “I” thinking; just thoughts.

Even in this synopsized form, these reflections can have great power if we give ourselves over to them earnestly.