A Question about the mind

[KomanR]

Hello everyone!

I am new to this meditation stuff and I have a lot of questions. I hope this is the right place to post this, if not please can the admins move it to the correct section.

I am just wondering, sometimes in the dialogue in my head there are things like:
"Let's do this..." or "We should blah blah"

The use of "Let's" or "We" suggests there are more than one people(?).
Are there two or is it just something weird going on with the mind?

Can thoughts only arise with the use of the mind? Can what "I" am have thoughts without the mind? How can I differentiate which thoughts are arising out of compulsiveness and which thoughts are really "mine"?

The terminology is really confusing; thanks in advance to anyone who answers!
-K

Thanks a bunch in advance!

[siddharthgode]

The 'I' that the mind perceive keeps changing.

Some times mind thinks the whole of the mind and body is I, sometimes it thinks body is I, sometimes thoughts are I, sometimes feelings are I, sometimes memories are I, sometimes the doer is I, etc... Hence the problem.

[KomanR]

The 'I' that the mind perceive keeps changing.

Some times mind thinks the whole of the mind and body is I, sometimes it thinks body is I, sometimes thoughts are I, sometimes feelings are I, sometimes memories are I, sometimes the doer is I, etc... Hence the problem.

And I guess because these things keep changing they are not the real "I"?

[Mpgkona]

For me the "I" is all the conditioned activities we have accustomed ourselves to doing day in and day out, especially the mundane tasks of everyday life: rolling out of bed a certain way, flossing in the same repetitive pattern for years, putting the left shoe on first, saying good morning to someone at work as a statement rather than as a serious question, etc. This machination (IMO) also rears it's ugly head into most other facets of our life too. It's not just limited to the mundane.  Just like in The Matrix I often feel like I'm not in control of "myself." I feel like a machine that's simply going through the motions, and to me, this is when "I" is in control. I suppose one way to counter the "I" is to try to be mindful, earnest, and honest as much as possible. When we are more aware of what's going on I believe the "I" gets a little bit smaller and the true "me" breaks through this conditioned cycle. Just reading my own post makes me realize just how difficult a concept this is to grasp. Even my slight understanding of these concepts is rudimentary at best, akin to contemplating the curvature of space and time and the vastness of the cosmos. Makes my head spin sometimes, which is what the "I" likes!

[siddharthgode]

And I guess because these things keep changing they are not the real "I"?

Correct, they are not real I. But just by this argument one cant come to the conclusion that there is no permanent separate I.