After the retreat I went ahead and summed-up all my contemplations and shared them with Mae Yo and Neecha. I had a few additional questions. Here you will find my questions in purple and Mae Yo’s responses in green below:

1)So this is really the first time that self has jumped out at me. I wanted to ask if there are pieces I am missing or more mechanics I should be contemplating? Anything at all you want to offer on the topic? Sometimes even if I don’t fully understand your responses now they really hit me like a ton of bricks later.

When contemplating self/identity, we typically apply the same techniques. Look at how it was created (3s and 4s working hard here), what are the puzzle pieces that form the whole picture of “self” and where did those pieces come from? How do we reinforce them? How does maintaining them cause us happiness or suffering? What are the consequences, Tuk Toht Pie, of this self? 

Usually though, we contemplate other issues and it leads us to see our identity, how we’ve defined ourselves. Lessening our degree of identity is usually more a result than it is the focus of contemplation.

2) Where should I go from here? My instinct is to go back to my old stories and plug-in my new thoughts on self and self belonging. Also, I think I should more closely consider the relationship between preserve and control.

Self in terms of self-belongings is more doable; this is self in terms of tangibles, so you’re really contemplating tangibles, how you view tangibles, and it’ll lead you to identity. You can do this by focusing on the self that is derived from or that exists in tangibles. Tangibles are the foundation for our suffering, after all. 

3) What is the relationship between self and desire? Between desire and becoming? I wrote the question before I finished all the contemplation above, so perhaps I already answered it. Still, if Mae Yo has any pithy response for me to keep in mind?

Self and desire are what make us reborn. We see ourselves a certain way, want to maintain that or have another go at it, and that’s why we are reborn.