Is Consciousness Volitional? from the media The Essence of the Non-Dual Understanding
‘Is consciousness volitional?’, a man asks. Rupert suggests that you can’t have formless volition, so consciousness would have to have a form – a thought, an instinct – but awareness is inherently without form and, therefore, without volition.
- Duration: 3 minutes and 9 seconds
- Recorded on: Dec 16, 2021
- Event: Webinar – Thursday 16th December 4:00pm, UK
Underlying the multiplicity and diversity of people, animals and things, is a single, indivisible whole—the consciousness, or love, from which everyone and everything derives its apparently independent existence. This is the essence of the non-dual understanding that lies at the heart of all great religious and spiritual traditions, with two implications. One relating to our inner life, and one relating to life in the world. Firstly, recognizing ourselves to be the whole, the sense of lack and fragmentation disappears and leaves us in peace. The fire of seeking comes to an end. Secondly, we understand that in spite of our differences, what we are and everything else is, is the same reality, and therefore has a healing effect on all relationships. Conflict arises in the mind; resolution lies in the heart, in our shared being. Let our single spiritual practice be to continually hold in our heart the remembrance of this one reality.
A man asks about how we know that there is infinite consciousness. Using the analogy of John Smith and King Lear, Rupert suggests that everything in the play is known by John Smith, or infinite consciousness, through King Lear. But there is just one experience, that is, the John Smith’s knowledge of himself does not take place through the faculties of King Lear. It is the experience of being aware of being aware.
‘Is consciousness volitional?’, a man asks. Rupert suggests that you can’t have formless volition, so consciousness would have to have a form – a thought, an instinct – but awareness is inherently without form and, therefore, without volition.
A man asks for comparisons of Christian and Eastern archetypes, like the Virgin Mary and Shakti, and the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Rupert responds that the Virgin Mary is the female aspect of consciousness, and that the Holy Spirit is the pathway, or bridge, from the Son to the Father, and through which the Father gives birth to the Son, which is an extension of the Father.
A woman asks, ‘Why do I keep forgetting the truth?’. Rupert suggests that we have to find our way back to awareness, and that it is natural after decades of conditioning. He uses the analogy of Mary and Jane to elucidate.
A man asks about the balance between the mind and the heart, and if it is an unnecessary division of reality. Rupert responds that it is a valid distinction, but both thoughts of the mind and feelings of the heart are pathways to truth, characterised by understanding and love respectively.
A woman with a long history of addiction is determined to get off, and 'kick' her dependence on pain medications, yet she fears going through withdrawal--both in terms of the pain and what will come up emotionally from 'all the crap' that is attached to her past as an addict. Rupert acknowledges that this process will create a strong reaction of both feelings and sensations, but suggests keeping in touch with this understanding and to take refuge in the peace of your being. There is no 'crap' attached to your being.
We only seem to experience the finite,' Rupert responds to a question about the infinite and the eternal. However, we don't really experience the finite because, as in a dream, finite things don't really exist except as appearances that arise from the infinite, single whole.
A man asks how we experience duration and movement in time. Rupert replies that time is a perceptual overlay on experience, like looking at snow through orange-coloured lenses, or like a virtual reality experienced through a VR headset. What we perceive of the world is a mixture of the activity of infinite consciousness and the finite mind, yet reality precedes the finite mind. The experience of movement occurs due to memory.
A physicist who relays her long search for understanding asks, ‘What is intuition?’ Rupert suggests that intuition is knowledge that comes from a region of the mind that is not usually available to us in the waking state, which percolates into the waking state. Rupert suggests her work in physics is important because science needs this understanding.
A man asks how to deal with dreadful thoughts that create fear. Rupert suggests looking for the one who is afraid – there is the 'I' and there is the fear. The feeling changes but the 'I' is always the same and without fear. He guides him in self-enquiry to investigate the nature of this 'I', encouraging him to stay with that, rather than giving attention to thoughts that arise.
Underlying the multiplicity and diversity of people, animals and things, is a single, indivisible whole—the consciousness, or love, from which everyone and everything derives its apparently independent existence. This is the essence of the non-dual understanding that lies at the heart of all great religious and spiritual traditions, with two implications. One relating to our inner life, and one relating to life in the world. Firstly, recognizing ourselves to be the whole, the sense of lack and fragmentation disappears and leaves us in peace. The fire of seeking comes to an end. Secondly, we understand that in spite of our differences, what we are and everything else is, is the same reality, and therefore has a healing effect on all relationships. Conflict arises in the mind; resolution lies in the heart, in our shared being. Let our single spiritual practice be to continually hold in our heart the remembrance of this one reality.
A man asks about how we know that there is infinite consciousness. Using the analogy of John Smith and King Lear, Rupert suggests that everything in the play is known by John Smith, or infinite consciousness, through King Lear. But there is just one experience, that is, the John Smith’s knowledge of himself does not take place through the faculties of King Lear. It is the experience of being aware of being aware.
‘Is consciousness volitional?’, a man asks. Rupert suggests that you can’t have formless volition, so consciousness would have to have a form – a thought, an instinct – but awareness is inherently without form and, therefore, without volition.
A man asks for comparisons of Christian and Eastern archetypes, like the Virgin Mary and Shakti, and the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Rupert responds that the Virgin Mary is the female aspect of consciousness, and that the Holy Spirit is the pathway, or bridge, from the Son to the Father, and through which the Father gives birth to the Son, which is an extension of the Father.
A woman asks, ‘Why do I keep forgetting the truth?’. Rupert suggests that we have to find our way back to awareness, and that it is natural after decades of conditioning. He uses the analogy of Mary and Jane to elucidate.
A man asks about the balance between the mind and the heart, and if it is an unnecessary division of reality. Rupert responds that it is a valid distinction, but both thoughts of the mind and feelings of the heart are pathways to truth, characterised by understanding and love respectively.
A woman with a long history of addiction is determined to get off, and 'kick' her dependence on pain medications, yet she fears going through withdrawal--both in terms of the pain and what will come up emotionally from 'all the crap' that is attached to her past as an addict. Rupert acknowledges that this process will create a strong reaction of both feelings and sensations, but suggests keeping in touch with this understanding and to take refuge in the peace of your being. There is no 'crap' attached to your being.
We only seem to experience the finite,' Rupert responds to a question about the infinite and the eternal. However, we don't really experience the finite because, as in a dream, finite things don't really exist except as appearances that arise from the infinite, single whole.
A man asks how we experience duration and movement in time. Rupert replies that time is a perceptual overlay on experience, like looking at snow through orange-coloured lenses, or like a virtual reality experienced through a VR headset. What we perceive of the world is a mixture of the activity of infinite consciousness and the finite mind, yet reality precedes the finite mind. The experience of movement occurs due to memory.
A physicist who relays her long search for understanding asks, ‘What is intuition?’ Rupert suggests that intuition is knowledge that comes from a region of the mind that is not usually available to us in the waking state, which percolates into the waking state. Rupert suggests her work in physics is important because science needs this understanding.
A man asks how to deal with dreadful thoughts that create fear. Rupert suggests looking for the one who is afraid – there is the 'I' and there is the fear. The feeling changes but the 'I' is always the same and without fear. He guides him in self-enquiry to investigate the nature of this 'I', encouraging him to stay with that, rather than giving attention to thoughts that arise.