" From the beginning this “self” does not exist, yet because we’re so firmly attached to the idea of it, we spend much of our lives defending or enlarging or satisfying this imaginary self. Meditation helps us to see its conceptual nature, to see that in reality it does not exist, that it is simply an idea, an extraneous projection onto what’s happening in the moment. "

― Joseph Goldstein , The Experience of Insight: A Simple & Direct Guide to Buddhist Meditation (Shambhala Dragon Editions)