Awakening Is Not a State from the media ‘I’ Is the Divine Name
A woman expresses concern that her early experience of awakening and joy has fallen away. Rupert suggests that what was experienced was a state, all of which are impermanent, and so it is good to see through this. Awakening is not an ecstatic state, and to seek it out as such will always be frustrating.
- Duration: 7 minutes and 28 seconds
- Recorded on: Aug 3, 2023
- Event: Webinar – Thursday 3rd August
‘I' is the Divine Name; it is the core aspect of all experience. 'I' is the common factor in everything we experience, perceive and know. The goal is to let go of the content of experience and immerse oneself in the pure 'I', divested of temporary qualities derived from experience. By doing so, we recognise 'I' as unlimited, unconditioned being – the infinite, self-aware aspect of ourselves. This recognition of the essential 'I' leads to true humanness and a connection with the divine. The name 'I' is considered a symbol of our irreducible self, infinite being, God's being. We sound the name 'I' in the mind, drawing us closer to its true nature.
A woman with career burnout, says she’s drawn to software and wonders if these concerns are egoic. Rupert suggests that to be reasonable and rational is not the same as being egoic. He encourages her to use her reason to pursue her goals in software development. Use your understanding in your career.
A woman asks if there is a connection between the 'I' and the heart. Rupert responds that the heart is the seat of the 'I' in the body, although it's not really located in the body or anywhere in particular.
A woman, who was brought up in a very unloving environment, asks how to find love. Rupert suggests she is looking for a feeling. Love is not a feeling. It can be expressed and veiled, but to seek it as a feeling, which can never last, is the source of her frustration. Love is her essential nature: the ever-present background of all feelings.
A man asks if the universe is the activity of the knower and references a Cezanne quote. Rupert then cites Rilke's Sonnets to Orpheus, a poem about fruit, and suggests that this poem is the answer to the question. Love is the taste of being.
Despite decades of therapy, a woman from an emotionally abusive childhood feels trapped in a pit of self-hatred. Rupert encourages her to have a non-judgmental attitude toward herself, regardless of these feelings. Accept and welcome them.
A woman asks about how to deal with others after awakening. Rupert says the most important thing to know about other people is that you share your being with them; you are one with them. This is truer than relative facts, such as your stories about them.
A question is asked about making decisions after awakening. Rupert responds broadly that whenever you're faced with a decision, try to make it align with love and understanding.
After awakening, is it a step backward to question one's beliefs? Rupert responds that if we do question our beliefs about reality, this can lead us to our essential self. Another approach is to go directly to our self, irrespective of our beliefs.
A woman expresses concern that her early experience of awakening and joy has fallen away. Rupert suggests that what was experienced was a state, all of which are impermanent, and so it is good to see through this. Awakening is not an ecstatic state, and to seek it out as such will always be frustrating.
A man asks about incorporating a mindfulness practice in his non-dual approach. Rupert suggests that because most people are lost in the content of experience, a first step in practice should be taking a step back from the content. To focus on breath, or another object, gives some relief, but it’s a halfway step. Rather than being entangled in content, it is vital to stand as awareness and witness experience from that awareness.
A longtime webinar participant comes on to say hi to Rupert after a long absence. She briefly mentions a realisation about shared being, that there aren’t actually other individuals with whom to share. Rupert responds that she is correct, that ‘sharing our being with others’ is a compassionate concession as, in truth, there is no ‘we’, there’s only being.
A man wonders if there’s anything material to a memory, similar to how older cameras recorded images on slide film. Rupert responds that a memory is non-material function of the mind, but in considering the whole, a memory is like a trace in the finite mind of something perceived in the world beyond the finite mind.
Is consciousness changed by events? Rupert responds that consciousness is never changed; it is only the content of experience that changes. He then refers to a previous answer about memories and the finite mind and suggests that consciousness, as its own activity, might also install memories within itself. Rupert further elaborates on whether objects like fossils, which we see in the present but suggest the past, are consciousness’s way of communicating its ‘memories’ to our finite minds.
If there is a gap between thoughts, could the ‘I’ thought be compared to the light of a slide projector on the wall between slide changes? And is memory created by the discontinuity, the gaps between thoughts (the changing of the slides)? Rupert responds that the light between slides would be like the purest expression within the finite mind of consciousness untainted by experience; the pure 'I' thought. Also, memory requires time, but time is a finite mind interpretation of the gaps between thoughts, which are actually eternity.
A man says he feels incomplete because he’s only known intermittent happiness and joy. His obsessively searching the internet for how to be happy has become a problem. Rupert suggests ‘what you are searching for on the internet lives in your self as your self’. No matter how far you search, you will have to come back to your self, to being, the only place it can be found.
A man asks about surrender, and what is it that is surrendered? Rupert responds that you surrender the entire content of your experience and then you surrender the surrenderer. Further, he clarifies the difference between dissociation and introspection; dissociation is generally the ego withdrawing from everyone and everything, while introspection is returning to being.
‘I' is the Divine Name; it is the core aspect of all experience. 'I' is the common factor in everything we experience, perceive and know. The goal is to let go of the content of experience and immerse oneself in the pure 'I', divested of temporary qualities derived from experience. By doing so, we recognise 'I' as unlimited, unconditioned being – the infinite, self-aware aspect of ourselves. This recognition of the essential 'I' leads to true humanness and a connection with the divine. The name 'I' is considered a symbol of our irreducible self, infinite being, God's being. We sound the name 'I' in the mind, drawing us closer to its true nature.
A woman with career burnout, says she’s drawn to software and wonders if these concerns are egoic. Rupert suggests that to be reasonable and rational is not the same as being egoic. He encourages her to use her reason to pursue her goals in software development. Use your understanding in your career.
A woman asks if there is a connection between the 'I' and the heart. Rupert responds that the heart is the seat of the 'I' in the body, although it's not really located in the body or anywhere in particular.
A woman, who was brought up in a very unloving environment, asks how to find love. Rupert suggests she is looking for a feeling. Love is not a feeling. It can be expressed and veiled, but to seek it as a feeling, which can never last, is the source of her frustration. Love is her essential nature: the ever-present background of all feelings.
A man asks if the universe is the activity of the knower and references a Cezanne quote. Rupert then cites Rilke's Sonnets to Orpheus, a poem about fruit, and suggests that this poem is the answer to the question. Love is the taste of being.
Despite decades of therapy, a woman from an emotionally abusive childhood feels trapped in a pit of self-hatred. Rupert encourages her to have a non-judgmental attitude toward herself, regardless of these feelings. Accept and welcome them.
A woman asks about how to deal with others after awakening. Rupert says the most important thing to know about other people is that you share your being with them; you are one with them. This is truer than relative facts, such as your stories about them.
A question is asked about making decisions after awakening. Rupert responds broadly that whenever you're faced with a decision, try to make it align with love and understanding.
After awakening, is it a step backward to question one's beliefs? Rupert responds that if we do question our beliefs about reality, this can lead us to our essential self. Another approach is to go directly to our self, irrespective of our beliefs.
A woman expresses concern that her early experience of awakening and joy has fallen away. Rupert suggests that what was experienced was a state, all of which are impermanent, and so it is good to see through this. Awakening is not an ecstatic state, and to seek it out as such will always be frustrating.
A man asks about incorporating a mindfulness practice in his non-dual approach. Rupert suggests that because most people are lost in the content of experience, a first step in practice should be taking a step back from the content. To focus on breath, or another object, gives some relief, but it’s a halfway step. Rather than being entangled in content, it is vital to stand as awareness and witness experience from that awareness.
A longtime webinar participant comes on to say hi to Rupert after a long absence. She briefly mentions a realisation about shared being, that there aren’t actually other individuals with whom to share. Rupert responds that she is correct, that ‘sharing our being with others’ is a compassionate concession as, in truth, there is no ‘we’, there’s only being.
A man wonders if there’s anything material to a memory, similar to how older cameras recorded images on slide film. Rupert responds that a memory is non-material function of the mind, but in considering the whole, a memory is like a trace in the finite mind of something perceived in the world beyond the finite mind.
Is consciousness changed by events? Rupert responds that consciousness is never changed; it is only the content of experience that changes. He then refers to a previous answer about memories and the finite mind and suggests that consciousness, as its own activity, might also install memories within itself. Rupert further elaborates on whether objects like fossils, which we see in the present but suggest the past, are consciousness’s way of communicating its ‘memories’ to our finite minds.
If there is a gap between thoughts, could the ‘I’ thought be compared to the light of a slide projector on the wall between slide changes? And is memory created by the discontinuity, the gaps between thoughts (the changing of the slides)? Rupert responds that the light between slides would be like the purest expression within the finite mind of consciousness untainted by experience; the pure 'I' thought. Also, memory requires time, but time is a finite mind interpretation of the gaps between thoughts, which are actually eternity.
A man says he feels incomplete because he’s only known intermittent happiness and joy. His obsessively searching the internet for how to be happy has become a problem. Rupert suggests ‘what you are searching for on the internet lives in your self as your self’. No matter how far you search, you will have to come back to your self, to being, the only place it can be found.
A man asks about surrender, and what is it that is surrendered? Rupert responds that you surrender the entire content of your experience and then you surrender the surrenderer. Further, he clarifies the difference between dissociation and introspection; dissociation is generally the ego withdrawing from everyone and everything, while introspection is returning to being.