You Are Not Book.indb - Stephen H. Wolinsky Ph. D.

Questions and Answers & exercises / 63
Student: Let’s say “I” want to go someplace, don’t “I” have
an intention to go before “I” go?
Wolinsky: EACH MOMENT APPEARS AS A NEW MO-
MENT OF NO-TIME NOW. The appearance—
”I” appears after the action has already been put
in motion. The “I” has no say. It appears as part
of the intention wave and then the “I” says “I”
intended or created that. Metaphorically, if we
first have the ocean, then through movement,
the wave (intention), then through wave intention,
a water droplet (“I” appears) and says, “I”
am now deciding to go to the beach. Well, the
wave (intention) pre-appearance—”I” is already
going to the beach. The appearance—”I” did
nothing; the appearance—”I” assumes doership
when it’s already happening. That is the illusion.
It’s already happening and then an “I” appears
and declares its intention. One student said that
when they were in “no time now,” he would be
at the door opening it and walking outside, and
all of a sudden, a thought would say, “I need to
go outside now.”
THE knOWER
Pure intention is pre-verbal and is a movement
that cannot be known until an “I” appears.
Therefore, it cannot be an “I”’s intention. The
intention, like a wave, arose before the “I” (water
droplet) even knew of the wave, the movement,
or that it was.
“Find the knower.” Nisargadatta Maharaj said to me,
“Who is the knower of the knowledge of your birth?” Find
that out.