Practice

Self-Inquiry Exercises

Look, don't think. These exercises are for doing, not reading.

Before You Begin

These exercises come from the Liberation Unleashed methodology. They're designed to help you look directly at your experience — not to understand intellectually, but to see.

Important: Don't rush through these. Pick one, spend time with it. The goal isn't to complete a checklist — it's to actually look.

Exercise 1: Direct Experience Labeling

Duration: 10-15 minutes | Do daily

Instructions

Go through your daily activities and break them down into direct experience only:

  • Seeing a cup → color, shape
  • Smelling coffee → smell
  • Feeling warmth → sensation
  • Tasting coffee → taste
  • Hearing the spoon → sound
  • Thinking about drinking → thought

Write down several observations in exactly this format. Notice how everything reduces to these six categories.

What this reveals: The "cup" is a concept. The "coffee" is a concept. What's actually in direct experience is color, smell, taste, sensation, sound, and the arising of thoughts. Where is the "experiencer" of these?

Exercise 2: The "I" Removal

Duration: 20 minutes | Do until it clicks

Instructions

Part 1 (10 minutes): Write what you're experiencing using "I":

"I am sitting. I am breathing. I hear a car. I feel my hands."

Part 2 (10 minutes): Write without "I":

"Sitting. Breathing. Sound of car. Sensation in hands."

Notice any difference in the body between these two modes.

Questions to consider:

  • Which description is more accurate to actual experience?
  • Does the "I" add anything, or just describe?
  • Is there more tension or less when using "I"?

Exercise 3: Finding the Gap

Duration: 5-10 minutes | Do daily

Instructions

  1. Sit quietly. Close your eyes.
  2. Notice the current thought that's present.
  3. Watch it pass.
  4. Wait for the next thought to come.
  5. Notice the gap between thoughts.
  6. Repeat.

In that gap between thoughts — what's there? Is there a "you" in that gap? Or just... awareness?

What this reveals: Thoughts come and go. Between them, there's no "thinker" — just open awareness. The "self" only appears when thought claims ownership of experience.

Exercise 4: Looking for the Looker

Duration: 5 minutes | Do repeatedly throughout the day

Instructions

Right now, there's seeing happening. You're reading these words.

Try to find the one who is seeing.

Not the eyes. Not the brain. The "you" that's supposedly behind the eyes, experiencing through them.

Look. What do you actually find?

Common findings: More seeing. Sensation. Thought about looking. But the "looker" itself? Unfindable. There's seeing, but no seer separate from the seeing.

Exercise 5: The Lemon Exercise

Duration: 5 minutes | Do once to understand

Instructions

Look at a lemon (or any fruit). Or imagine one clearly.

What's actually in direct experience?

  • Color — yes, that's known
  • Shape — yes, that's known
  • Thought "lemon" — yes, that arises

But is a "lemon" actually there? Or only color, shape, and a thought about "lemon"?

What this reveals: The word "lemon" points to something, but the thing itself can't be found in direct experience. Only color, shape, smell, taste, sensation — and thoughts about "lemon."

The "self" is the same. The word points to something, but can it be found in direct experience?

Exercise 6: Butt-Chair

Duration: 2 minutes | Do once to understand

Instructions

If you're sitting, look in direct experience for the place where your butt ends and the chair begins.

Is there a clear dividing line? Or only sensation with no clear division?

Don't think about it. Just look.

What this reveals: The boundary between "you" and "not-you" is a concept. In direct experience, there's just sensation — no clear line where "self" ends and "world" begins.

Exercise 7: Dissolving the Decider

Duration: 10 minutes | Do once carefully

Instructions

Lift your left hand. Move your fingers randomly.

It seems like "you" are doing it. But consider:

  • How did you send the signal from brain to hand?
  • How did you move each individual muscle?
  • Did you decide which neurons to fire?

The hand moves. But where is the "decider" who makes it move?

What this reveals: The body moves. Decisions happen. But the "decider" who supposedly controls it all can't be found. There's just... movement happening.

Exercise 8: Emotions = Sensations + Stories

Duration: When emotions arise | Ongoing practice

Instructions

Next time you feel an emotion (anger, sadness, joy, fear):

  1. Find the sensation in your body — where is it? What does it feel like?
  2. Notice the story — what is thought saying about this sensation?
  3. Can you feel the raw sensation without the story?

What this reveals: "Anger" is a label for sensation + story. The sensation is just energy in the body. The suffering comes from the story. When you see this clearly, emotions lose their grip.

How to Use These Exercises

  • Don't rush. Pick one exercise and spend real time with it.
  • Do, don't just read. Understanding isn't seeing.
  • Repeat daily. Like going to the gym — repetition builds insight.
  • Write down what you find. Journaling deepens seeing.
  • Don't expect fireworks. The insight is often quiet, ordinary.

When Something Clicks

At some point, one of these exercises may produce a shift. You might suddenly see that the "self" you've been looking for... isn't there. Never was.

This isn't a big dramatic experience (usually). It's more like: "Oh. It's so obvious. How did I miss this?"

When this happens, the first fetter (Self-View) has been seen through. This is called Stream Entry.

Life continues. But something fundamental has shifted.

Want Guided Practice?

The Fetters app provides AI-guided inquiry based on these exercises. It asks you questions, you look, and insight unfolds.

Download the App