Hi I've gotten a little confused about what is the best way to let go especially during daily life practice. I'm looking at passing away phenomenon exclusively throughout the day. Pardon me if it's too simple a question but when I meditate now I find the self EVERYWHERE when I think, and I often go back to the breath after looking at the self arising and waiting for it to pass away. The problem I find is that I have trouble thinking without using a conceptual self in different scenarios. I see the craving cause a "self" to appear in some fantasy of completing the desire or to push away aversion then when I stay in awareness (which is a relief) it comes back again and again in all kinds of thinking scenarios with tons of craving and clinging. Yet I don't want to let go of thinking but I also don't want to think with that graspy "self" quickly interfering.

My question is what is a way some of you prefer to let go during daily life? Do you put attention on the body when a selfing occurs (about future past, whatever) or do you just watch it until it naturally passes away? Self arisings happen so quickly that it's hard to get on with your life at the speed of life.

A quick note: sounds like you are seeing the tail end of sensations. This is characteristic of third vipassana jhana/Dark Night. Surrendering and letting go sounds like good strategy to me, anyway. Maybe what you are experiencing is a bit too much to handle in noisy, fast-paced everyday life. Not to say that you cannot eventually figure it out that way. But moving things along in a quiet, conducive setting, like formal meditation, might be just what you need.

With an attitude of acceptance, surrender and letting go, which you seem to have, it seems highly probable to me that you can move this along quickly by doing some formal meditation.

EDIT: Reading your post again, I realize my post doesn't answer your question.


Attentiveness to 'selfing', real-time investigation/self-moderation (don't indulge in everything you think of doing/saying), confidence that "it will pass" and patience with myself.

Okay so it's not really repression it just seems like it because of how overwhelming the work I have to do. It's like you get squeezed into a pancake of the present moment and then all these hinderances arise very strongly and quickly. I want this arising to fall away and not come back but of course that could take months and years. I suppose I'll have to look at it like Thich Naht Hanh in that you must garden the brain and do weeding. After reading that Willpower book it seems that I'll have to focus on one habit at a time and even if it arises 10,000 times I'll have to be non-reactive and enjoy when it goes away. Or I don't see the enjoyment as good enough compared to indulging the hinderances yet but when that reverses it'll get easier.