A Neurosis, 20000 years in the making

Life was never yours to carry.

Settle in for a moment. Observe where you are. If you are outside, notice how the trees sway in the wind. If you are inside, observe the movement of air in the room, the subtle shifts in sound, and the sensations of sitting.

Everything is happening automatically. The clouds drift, the birds fly, the heart beats, and the lungs expand and contract. Even thoughts appear and disappear on their own. There is no effort behind any of this. It moves as it must, without hesitation, without interference.

Yet, somewhere in the mind, a small voice arises: "I am doing this."

It claims ownership over the breath, thoughts, and movement. It insists that it is making choices, controlling actions, and directing life. But did it ever truly exist in the way it claims? Or is it simply a reflexive afterthought—a label applied to something already happening?

If you look closely, the dividing line between what is automatic and what is "willed" begins to dissolve. What you assumed was controlled was always moving on its own. The thought "I am choosing" is just another automatic occurrence—no different from the wind blowing or a bird taking flight.

The Emergence of 'I'

Before language, before memory, before identity, there was only movement. The body moved, the mind reacted, the world unfolded, and no separate "I" was overseeing any of it.

At some point in evolutionary history, this changed. The brain developed a self-referential loop—a capacity to reflect upon itself. It became aware of its own movements, thoughts, and processes. From this, an idea was born: "I am."

But this was not a discovery of truth. It was an adaptation—a function that made survival easier. This internal model allowed humans to plan, anticipate, and narrate their actions in a way that created cohesion in groups. It helped track the past and predict the future. It allowed for social positioning, the concept of reputation, and the illusion of agency.

But evolution does not prioritize truth. It only selects what is useful. And so, the idea of 'I' persisted—not because it was real, but because it was effective.

The Fundamental Misunderstanding

The sense of 'I' is an epiphenomenon—a secondary effect, like a shadow cast by a moving body. The shadow shifts stretches, and changes as the body moves but does not cause the movement; it merely follows it.

Likewise, the 'I' does not initiate action. It simply arises after the fact, claiming ownership over what was already happening.

• A hand reaches for a cup. A moment later, the mind says, "I reached for the cup."

• A thought arises. The mind says, "I thought this."

• A decision is made. The mind says, "I chose this."

But did you? Or did it just happen? Look closely. Was there a moment when an independent 'you' stepped in to initiate the process? Or did everything move, as it always does, without any actual author behind it?

This is not simply a debate about free will. It is something far more fundamental: the realization that there was never a doer to begin with.

A Civilization Built on an Illusion

Now, imagine an entire world built upon this misunderstanding. Laws, morality, religion, ambition, shame—all of it assumes that there is a separate self-making decisions, acting freely, and being responsible for its successes and failures.

• People are praised and blamed as if they were the actual authors of their actions.

• Anxiety arises from the belief that choices must be made correctly, as if there is an 'I' separate from life's unfolding.

• People resist and fight against what already is, believing they must impose their will upon reality.

But this is why human life is so difficult—not because reality is against you, but because you are living with a false assumption. The weight of individual responsibility, guilt, and control rests upon a foundation that was never real.

So, every generation believes it is standing at the edge of disaster, that things are getting worse, and that its time is uniquely chaotic. But this is not insight—it is simply aging.

When you are young, the world and your mind move together. The world moves forward as you age, and the mind lags behind. It feels unfamiliar, and so it mistakes misalignment for decline. But nothing is collapsing. The world is not unraveling. It is simply moving forward, as it always has.

The End of the Illusion

So what happens when you truly see this? When is the illusion of 'I' no longer assumed? Does everything fall apart?

No. Nothing changes—except that the struggle disappears.

• The breath still moves, but no 'I' controls it.

• Thoughts still arise but are no longer mistaken for an independent self.

• Life still unfolds, but the impossible weight of authorship is gone.

A dog barks. A car passes. A thought arises that says, "I am."

All of them are just occurrences in awareness—equally automatic, equally transient. One of them claims ownership. But why? What makes the thought of 'I' more memorable than the sound of the wind or wave movement?

It isn't. It never was.

And once this is seen, the burden lifts. The false responsibility, the impossible weight of control, the unnecessary suffering—all of it dissolves.

There was never a problem. There was never a struggle. Life is, and has always been, whole.

Not because you found the answer—

but because there was never a question.

Let this sit.

Nothing more needs to be done. Nothing needs to be achieved.

Everything is already happening. Automatically. Effortlessly.

As it always has.

Are you distressed?

Of course, you are. But do you know why?

Your mind is full of borrowed ideas—handed to you before you could validate or question them. These ideas started creeping in before you could even speak, accelerated under the guise of "educating" you, and continued piling up long after there was no space left.

Over time, they’ve dug in deep. Now, you can’t differentiate between what’s true and what’s merely a belief. All you can see is what these beliefs allow you to see—and that’s not much.

Dragged down by the weight of these beliefs, you’re exhausted. You’re like a computer running a phantom, useless, endless program that consumes all your power but achieves nothing of value. Overloaded with problems that aren’t even yours, your vision grows cloudier by the day.

Nothing will ever feel great again because we’re getting older. If aging is real, it’s not just the years—it’s the burden of memory, the sheer weight of the incongruent, inconsistent things we carry.

These are facts. Depressing facts. But this message isn’t meant to depress you.

Because now, we’ve outed the villain: a whole mess of uncurated, unexamined junk that was placed in your mind without your permission. What did we call it? Borrowed belief. Good term, isn’t it?

So, What’s Your Escape?

It all comes down to one moment of clarity. One essential skill:

The ability to distinguish between what’s truly there and what you’ve been made to believe is there.

Write them down. Almost everything you hold as truth is second-hand information. Country, religion, man, woman—well, almost everything you believe should make it to this list.

What do you truly know for yourself? I’ll answer for myself: Nothing. (Except for some technical knowledge I value, like operating a computer or using language.)

But here’s the promise: Once you see these beliefs for what they are, they’ll lose their power. They’re like paper dragons—intimidating until you recognize them for what they are. And once you do, you’ll never be impressed by them again.

Here’s Another Truth:

No one can help you with this. Not a teacher, not a guru, not a practice. All they can do is add to your burden and throw you into a newer, more novel hole.

Just trust me for a moment here—don’t trust anyone. And now that we’ve cleared that up, don’t trust me either.

Final Thoughts:

Everything said here is 100% true—a simple, undeniable fact of our current predicament. With that, and with a heart full of compassion, I wish you all the best. Thanks for your time.

Treetop Manifesto

This is a manifesto for the already free, a rebellion against the tyranny of effort and belief.

• Effort is a Delusion: Life effortlessly unfolds. Effort is a delusion, the imaginary self's futile attempt to control the uncontrollable. When death comes, the absurdity of effort is revealed. Wisdom is recognizing this now.

• Effort is Futile, Ceasing Futility is Freedom: To exert effort against the effortless is the source of misery. It's like a child with a toy steering wheel, believing they control the car. Society urges us to escape the predicament created by effort, with more effort! This is absurd. Recognizing the futility of effort is freedom. It is the instant cessation of struggle, liberation from the illusion of control.

• Truth is Obvious: Everything worth understanding is apparent. It requires no preparation, no knowledge, no guru. Complexity obscures the simple truth.

• Knowledge is the Smokescreen: This complexity is knowledge—the innumerable "facts" we carry, clouding our perception. Knowledge cannot clarify; it can only obscure.

• The Gurus are Naked: Gurus and experts prey on the vulnerable, offering solutions to non-existent problems. They add to your knowledge, obscuring the truth. There is no secret knowledge, no hidden path. If you are searching, you are lost. Stop searching, and you have arrived. This requires autonomy—disregard all guidance and trust yourself.

• Truth is Universal; You Are Already Free: Truth operates in you as in everything. You are already free. Liberation is not achieved; it is your reality. You are like the sun shining, always free. But you insist otherwise because you know—or rather, what others told you—that you are not. This insistence, fueled by uncritical knowledge, blinds you.

• Education as Enslavement: Education, as it exists, is a potent mechanism of enslavement. It strips away autonomy, leaving individuals unable to trust their perceptions and formulate their understanding of the world. Instead, they are left-leaning on "experts" to provide interpretations of what only they can indeed observe.

• Time is the Enemy of Insight: Knowledge tells us that progress happens in time – that mastery, understanding, and even liberation are achieved through gradual accumulation and dedicated practice. But what practice do you need to see what is already there? This belief creates the illusion of a gap between you and reality, a distance that needs to be bridged through effort and learning. Even when presented with undeniable truth, the mind, conditioned by the illusion of time, seeks to delay, analyze, and "meditate on it later." This is how you get lost in the mires of complexity and miss the immediacy of liberation.

• The Pavlovian Loop of Society: Most people are stuck in a Pavlovian loop, climbing one mountain peak after another, driven by a false sense of progress. They chase external goals, seeking validation and happiness in achievements that ultimately leave them empty. True wisdom would allow them the foresight to know that what lies after the next peak is simply the next valley and that the cycle of striving and dissatisfaction will inevitably continue. Yet, they fall for it repeatedly, hoping the next peak will be different and the next time will be the ultimate.

• Question Your Heroes: A person who has successfully climbed thousands of mountains, accumulating vast illusory wealth, and never learned that it's not the answer is not a successful, genius man. A genius would have recognized the fallacy of climbing mountains without even climbing a single one simply by observing others.

• Beyond Belief: The mind clings to beliefs, mistaking them for truth. But belief, by its very nature, is an assumption, a mental construct. It is not grounded in direct experience but in interpretations, opinions, and second-hand knowledge. True seeing requires the ability to discern belief from direct experience, to recognize the limitations of thought and the immediacy of what is. When you can see the difference, the grip of belief loosens, and the truth reveals itself. This should be the fundamental role of education: cultivating the capacity for critical thinking, self-awareness, and direct experience, empowering individuals to break free from the chains of belief, and embracing the freedom of truth.