The key point of a contemplative science is
the awareness knowing oneself.
Who am I? This is one of the cursed questions. Most people never ask it, never go beyond what is written in their documents. They are too busy with their life to question who is the one who lives that life. But for those who have a chance to raise one’s head, to look inside and around this question may become extremely important because otherwise life can lose its meaning. Why do we need to work every day, create families, accumulate wealth etc.? Is it just for avoiding immediate suffering of hunger, poverty, loneliness? What is a bigger picture and which place in it is mine? Why am I doing what I’m doing? Why do I believe what I believe? Why do I feel what I feel? Thinking can look as an option to solve these questions but why do I think what I think?
Modern cognitive science describes various types of so-called “selves”. “Volitional self” — the one who looks like an actor, an agent of one’s both physical and mental movements. “Experiential self” — the one who senses, perceives, feels. “Perspectival self” — an observer behind any experience, the very core of existence, a quintessence of the Cartesian thinker, an Atman. “Narrative self” — an individual remembered record of all true and imagined events related to our life. And finally, “bodily” or “corporeal self” — what needs to be protected at all times. There can be different types of selves but these five are rather representative of various aspects of our existence. Science explores them externally, but the only one who has direct access to all these selves is ourselves. Developing meditation skills and making introspective experiments we can discover astonishing things about ourselves that can hardly be expressed in words.
A contemplative course «The Nature of “Self”» invites you to make an explorative journey towards something we’ve never been separated from.
The Nature of the "Self"
In this course, are applying contemplative and introspective methods to explore various aspects of so called “self”, or “I”, or “ego” mentioned in modern cognitive science such as bodily self, experiential self, narrative self, volitional self, perspectival self. We’ll place the issues of self-identity and peer-pressure into the context of contemplative practice. We are also dealing with so-called “trap of a witness”, an illusory feeling of freedom experienced as a separation from all occurring phenomena, a feeling that may arise from applying certain contemplative practices.
The course is meant for those who already have some contemplative experience and who have at least a minimal skill of stably maintaining the focused attention as well as non-focused open monitoring.
In a world that is sick with the stench of decaying culture as the facades that hid it, in the west at least, collapse and is clear to see for anyone who dares to look, it's a joy for me to sit in your courses where I don't feel like I need to apologise for being a straight, white male. Where not only is political correctness shunned but it's also laughed about. Where it's clear that these concepts and narratives have no place or importance when undertaking these practices.
In a world gone mad you and your courses are a touchstone of sanity. Interestingly, I also seem to enjoy and get more out of the "secular" courses. I've got no idea why. Maybe because this one was a little smaller I felt more free to express myself during the course.
Anyhow, I must go now Igor as my cat is walking in front of my screen and insisting on sticking his arse in my face.
michael di tullio, australia
thank you very much for the course.
I am happy to give you feedback and because I have attended Nature of Self and Shine lhagtong as well, I will give you feedback to both together.
I increased my self confidence to enter the contemplation through an ordinary presence. I learned to be aware of awareness even in daily situations and with open eyes.
Because of that now I am able to experience a calm state by just noticing the awareness of the thought.
Thanks to your instruction "remain in this freeze" now I am experimenting with this and because of that I am able to enjoy even the freezes caused by reaction of my amygdala.
I also continue to be aware of the movement in my body during the contemplation and it still makes me laugh.
Sometimes I don't have to be aware of any movement (tension). I just sit in meditation posture and I am laughing. :)
Tomáš nutil, Czech republic
If you are studying and practicing the Dzogchen Teachings and hence exploring your capacity to remain aware in the presence of phenomena as they arise, Igor’s experiential exploration of aspects of self (as described by modern cognitive science) is a ‘skillful means’ worth considering. This course gave me very useful insights into how I fall into dualism in the presence of phenomena.
Philip Brown, australia
Thank you so much Igor, what a difference it is making to my daily experience 😊🙏🏼
julia harrold, UNited Kingdom
It complements perfectly my practice of Dzogchen.
dieter kirchner, australia
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