Seeing through the self-illusion is the first step on the path to awakening – the stream-entry.
It’s the moment when it becomes clear that the self you’ve always taken yourself to be has never actually existed.
Nothing mystical, nothing lofty – just simple, obvious, and entirely real.e streamentry.
What is the Self?
We take it for granted that there’s someone who thinks, decides, and acts.
Someone who has a life, who steers it, who’s in charge.
But when you look closely, you only find thoughts about a self – never the self itself.
This is the first fetter, as described by the Buddha:
the assumption that there is someone who exists independently from everything else –
a separate center that controls life and holds it together.
But that self – this story about a person who experiences life – is just that: a story.
The moment of seeing
When you truly see through the self-illusion, everything becomes crystal clear.
You might want to slap your forehead and laugh:
How did I never see this before?
It’s as ordinary as realizing that Santa Claus doesn’t exist.
He was simply a figure in a story – and you believed it.
The same goes for the self. You recognize it’s never been real.
That’s all.
No ecstasy, no fireworks.
Just simple, obvious seeing – right here, in everyday life.
What happens when you see through it?
You see that everything happens by itself:
seeing, hearing, thinking, feeling – all without anyone doing it.
There’s doing, but no doer.
Thoughts appear, but there’s no thinker.
Just as there’s wind, but no wind-maker.
This recognition doesn’t happen in meditation or in a dream – it happens right in the middle of ordinary life.
Suddenly it’s clear: there’s no one living this life.
And yet everything keeps going, naturally, effortlessly.
How to look for yourself
Seeing through doesn’t happen by thinking about it, but by direct looking.
What does that mean?
In direct experience, we separate what’s actually perceived from what’s thought about it.
You look at what is here – without interpretation.
Example:
When you say I feel my body, look more closely.
What’s really there?
Sensation, pressure, warmth, movement – but no I that feels them.
The I only appears later, as a thought.
A simple experiment
- Sit quietly.
- Close your eyes.
- Notice what is here – without naming it.
- Ask: Where is the self that’s feeling this?
- See what’s truly there.
That’s all.
This simple, honest seeing leads directly to the realization.
The shift – when seeing becomes stable
As long as you still need to go into direct experience, the shift hasn’t yet happened.
When the self-illusion is seen through, what’s clear in direct experience becomes the natural everyday view.
There’s no longer any need to practice.
Selflessness simply is – ordinary, effortless, constant.
If you notice that you can’t move on to the next fetters, it may mean the self-illusion hasn’t been fully seen through.
Then the invitation is: keep looking.
Gently, again and again.
Ask honestly:
Is there a self – right now, in this moment?
How it can feel
The view is free.
The windowpanes are wiped clean.
So clear that you can’t even tell if there’s any glass at all.
That’s how one person described the moment of seeing through the illusion.
At first, the experience can feel strange or even painful – as if control has been lost.
But what disappears is only the idea of control.
Life itself stays – and becomes simple.
Thoughts, feelings, and actions still appear, but without an owner.
Just free.
Just happening.
The apparent loss of the self is the gain of absolute freedom.
No euphoria, no excitement – just space, silence, and peace.
What follows after
When the self-illusion is seen through, the constant self-reference drops away.
Worries, judgments, and doubts lose their grip.
Life doesn’t become perfect – but it becomes immediate.
Simple, quiet, clear.
From here, the path through the remaining fetters begins.
How to begin
There are several ways to start looking for yourself:
- Starter Workbook – an introduction with exercises and examples
- Open Group – monthly online meetings for sharing and questions
- Guidance through the 10 Fetters – individual written guidance with Steffi Mania
It all begins with a simple question:
Is there a self?