Living Without Attributes

Have you ever paused to wonder who you truly are beyond the labels and qualities you use to define yourself? We often think of ourselves through attributes like our roles, feelings, thoughts, or even our physical appearance. But what happens when we strip these attributes away?

Imagine a practice where you deliberately remove every attribute and quality from your sense of self. You’re left without any labels, feelings, or ideas. You’re neither happy nor sad, neither successful nor failing. You’re simply present, alert, aware—but completely unidentified with anything that arises within your experience. This is the essence of living attributelessly.

Practicing being without attributes is about staying empty yet fully mindful. When you’re in this state, you don’t latch onto any quality, thought, or sensation. You exist in pure freedom, untouched by the illusions of your everyday experiences. This state of freedom is not easily described because it exists beyond words and concepts. As the ancient sages put it, it’s “not this, not that,” or “neti-neti.”

read more…