Nothing to Do, Yet Much to Be Done

When the self is seen through, the real work begins

“Hi Shiv, Thanks for your posts. I have a question about The Self-Loop and discernment. Who or what recognizes bypassing? Since the character isn’t real, I understand that recognition simply arises in and out of awareness. Yet, body-mind traits seem to affect that recognition (e.g., ADHD and numbing dissociation as trauma response). Is the identification with past stories what holds those characteristics together, reinforcing patterns? Do they change once identification is gone? At the end, once there is no controller, does it matter at all? Otherwise, it sounds like there is something else for the character to do. Does this make sense?”

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I am going to break your questions down as they present as a series of tangled assumptions which appear reasonable on the surface but will reveal themselves as creating a somewhat circular logic.

Here are some assumptions I am reading in your query that I will address in sequence:

• Trauma is caused by identification with “stories”

• This trauma inhibits our capacity for self-awareness

• So it stands to reason that removing all forms of identification will release trauma

• Once identification is gone - does bypassing (i.e. maladaptive behaviour based upon misinterpretation) even matter?

• If awareness is free from identification with a character - then wouldn’t any effort to remediate traumatic responses only cause awareness to reidentify with the character - thereby reopening the pandora’s box once again?

This is the kind of trap of flawed reasoning many followers of contemporary non-dual teachings fall into - and one that becomes exposed once we discover that the real purpose of self-realization is not merely freedom from the false identity - but something far more profound.