- Self and ego are used almost interchangeably here.
- When people have an "ego-death" experience, induced by psychedelics, meditation, or otherwise, there may be a deep misunderstanding.
- This misunderstanding is created by taking a perspective that presupposes a self to be real.
- One simply notices the self is often absent. Not confused by stories or even subtle sensations suggesting a presence of self.
- Noticing a lack of self, one does not get fearful because the ego is dying, one gets fearful because one notices the ego isn't actually there. In a sudden, deep experience of seeing clearly the emptiness or letting go, fear is an expression of forcefully trying to reconstruct an ego.