Meeting Loved Ones in Near Death Experiences from the media Stabilising In Being
A woman asks about near-death experiences and the reported feelings of oneness, love and meeting loved ones, which doesn't fit with non-duality and the idea of others. Rupert says these accounts don't conflict with the non-dual understanding. He elaborates on the way that infinite consciousness localises as finite minds, and how the body is how the finite mind appears from the outside. Death doesn't necessarily mean that this contraction ceases at death.
- Duration: 7 minutes and 24 seconds
- Recorded on: Jun 6, 2023
- Event: Seven Day Retreat at The Vedanta – 3rd to 10th June 2023
A woman references Rupert’s earlier meditation and asks for clarification. Rupert suggests that the finite mind that perceives the universe determines the way it appears. It exists, it is, but not in the way our minds perceive it. And the idea of God is only meaningful in relationship to something that is not that. God doesn't know it is God, because in order to know that it would have to stand apart from itself.
A woman asks about near-death experiences and the reported feelings of oneness, love and meeting loved ones, which doesn't fit with non-duality and the idea of others. Rupert says these accounts don't conflict with the non-dual understanding. He elaborates on the way that infinite consciousness localises as finite minds, and how the body is how the finite mind appears from the outside. Death doesn't necessarily mean that this contraction ceases at death.
A woman asks about the role of prayer. Rupert suggests that prayer is the Western name for meditation. There are three types of prayer. Objective prayer, praying to an object. Subjective prayer, when we pray to God in the depths of ourself. Then there is resting in being as being – the practice of the presence of God.
A man shares that on his path dream yoga, and lucid dreaming, are measures of where one is on the path. Rupert suggests that if we want to measure our progress then look to the extent that we experience imperturbable peace and causeless joy. In response to a question about the importance of dreams in our lives, Rupert responds that dreams allow us to access what is normally unavailable to us in the waking state – impersonal and personal layers of consciousness.
A man asks if aware being not going anywhere is analogous to a wave in the ocean. Rupert suggests that we could say that. When Mary wakes up from a dream, the dream doesn't take up any time or space in Mary’s mind, only in Jane’s. Consciousness doesn’t go anywhere.
A woman asks about the time between deaths and bardos. Rupert suggests that time is clear cut in the waking state, but as the mind unravels, time and space is much more elastic, in the same way it is when we have a dream or are in a bardo state.
A woman asks if the body is that portion of the mind that is visible, why do we see the body when someone dies and the mind has withdrawn. Rupert suggests that there is a certain stage where the mind no longer appears as a body but that body disintegrates slowly, which is the vanishing of the body from our perceptions.
A woman asks about losing loved ones to death in a painful way. Rupert suggests that while not everyone’s death is peaceful, the important thing is that when we are with someone who is dying, we know that at the deepest level that their being is whole, at peace and is not dying. So we are sad, but at a deeper level, we are not sad.
A woman, who had a sense that her work life was not in alignment with her understanding, left her job, but life has been difficult ever since. She still desires to find the causeless peace she once knew and wants to come to rest. Rupert suggests that our conditioning doesn't just automatically disappear. It takes time for our life in the world to catch up. Old patterns have been shaken up and may be uncomfortable and messy, but it's a good thing.
A man asks if resting in being is required, or whether it is ignorant to not investigate being like his friend who is otherwise quite happy. Rupert suggests that to allow being to permeate your life without having to rationalise or conceptualise the process is fine. Being is more than enough.
A woman asks about seeing through the 'I am'. Rupert suggests seeing through the concept 'I am' to know and experience 'I am.' It is a symbol that refers to something that is absolutely real. He elaborates on ways to practise with the 'I am' as a powerful thought.
A man asks about suffering due to craving as it relates to Rupert’s teaching. Rupert suggests that suffering is the turning away from being just as darkness is the Earth turning away from the sun. There is only happiness or the turning away of happiness, but there is never the absence of happiness. The pathway includes saying ‘yes’ to our current experience.
A man asks about how to work with difficult emotions and thoughts. Rupert suggests that we don’t wrestle one cloud with another. What are the clouds to the sky? They are nothing to it at all. If you fail to bring yourself back to your being because you are agitated or upset, just say to yourself, ‘I am upset’ and emphasise the ‘I am’.
A man asks about nirvana. Rupert suggests that nirvana is just resting in the ‘I am’. Nirvana is also what we experience briefly upon the fulfilment of a desire. The seeking activity has come to an end. Nirvana is when we experience happiness not because we got an object, but because the mind came to an end.
A man asks about preferences when we rest in being, as there seems to be a preference for the qualities of being. Rupert suggests that it is simplistic to say that preferences come to an end. The preferences that die down come from a sense of lack or separation. Preferences come from a deep desire to see love and understanding expressed in all realms of life.
A man asks about how to stabilise resting in being. Rupert suggests his self-enquiry practice brings his attention from the object to his self. That placeless place feels like a void to the mind because there is no content there, which is a kind of death. To reassert itself, the mind turns around and puts its attention on an object. Keep coming back. In time, there will be self-abidance. Eventually, the object-going tendency of the mind will subside.
A man shares how he feels more and more touched by music and poetry Rupert suggests that his heart is opening.
A woman references Rupert’s earlier meditation and asks for clarification. Rupert suggests that the finite mind that perceives the universe determines the way it appears. It exists, it is, but not in the way our minds perceive it. And the idea of God is only meaningful in relationship to something that is not that. God doesn't know it is God, because in order to know that it would have to stand apart from itself.
A woman asks about near-death experiences and the reported feelings of oneness, love and meeting loved ones, which doesn't fit with non-duality and the idea of others. Rupert says these accounts don't conflict with the non-dual understanding. He elaborates on the way that infinite consciousness localises as finite minds, and how the body is how the finite mind appears from the outside. Death doesn't necessarily mean that this contraction ceases at death.
A woman asks about the role of prayer. Rupert suggests that prayer is the Western name for meditation. There are three types of prayer. Objective prayer, praying to an object. Subjective prayer, when we pray to God in the depths of ourself. Then there is resting in being as being – the practice of the presence of God.
A man shares that on his path dream yoga, and lucid dreaming, are measures of where one is on the path. Rupert suggests that if we want to measure our progress then look to the extent that we experience imperturbable peace and causeless joy. In response to a question about the importance of dreams in our lives, Rupert responds that dreams allow us to access what is normally unavailable to us in the waking state – impersonal and personal layers of consciousness.
A man asks if aware being not going anywhere is analogous to a wave in the ocean. Rupert suggests that we could say that. When Mary wakes up from a dream, the dream doesn't take up any time or space in Mary’s mind, only in Jane’s. Consciousness doesn’t go anywhere.
A woman asks about the time between deaths and bardos. Rupert suggests that time is clear cut in the waking state, but as the mind unravels, time and space is much more elastic, in the same way it is when we have a dream or are in a bardo state.
A woman asks if the body is that portion of the mind that is visible, why do we see the body when someone dies and the mind has withdrawn. Rupert suggests that there is a certain stage where the mind no longer appears as a body but that body disintegrates slowly, which is the vanishing of the body from our perceptions.
A woman asks about losing loved ones to death in a painful way. Rupert suggests that while not everyone’s death is peaceful, the important thing is that when we are with someone who is dying, we know that at the deepest level that their being is whole, at peace and is not dying. So we are sad, but at a deeper level, we are not sad.
A woman, who had a sense that her work life was not in alignment with her understanding, left her job, but life has been difficult ever since. She still desires to find the causeless peace she once knew and wants to come to rest. Rupert suggests that our conditioning doesn't just automatically disappear. It takes time for our life in the world to catch up. Old patterns have been shaken up and may be uncomfortable and messy, but it's a good thing.
A man asks if resting in being is required, or whether it is ignorant to not investigate being like his friend who is otherwise quite happy. Rupert suggests that to allow being to permeate your life without having to rationalise or conceptualise the process is fine. Being is more than enough.
A woman asks about seeing through the 'I am'. Rupert suggests seeing through the concept 'I am' to know and experience 'I am.' It is a symbol that refers to something that is absolutely real. He elaborates on ways to practise with the 'I am' as a powerful thought.
A man asks about suffering due to craving as it relates to Rupert’s teaching. Rupert suggests that suffering is the turning away from being just as darkness is the Earth turning away from the sun. There is only happiness or the turning away of happiness, but there is never the absence of happiness. The pathway includes saying ‘yes’ to our current experience.
A man asks about how to work with difficult emotions and thoughts. Rupert suggests that we don’t wrestle one cloud with another. What are the clouds to the sky? They are nothing to it at all. If you fail to bring yourself back to your being because you are agitated or upset, just say to yourself, ‘I am upset’ and emphasise the ‘I am’.
A man asks about nirvana. Rupert suggests that nirvana is just resting in the ‘I am’. Nirvana is also what we experience briefly upon the fulfilment of a desire. The seeking activity has come to an end. Nirvana is when we experience happiness not because we got an object, but because the mind came to an end.
A man asks about preferences when we rest in being, as there seems to be a preference for the qualities of being. Rupert suggests that it is simplistic to say that preferences come to an end. The preferences that die down come from a sense of lack or separation. Preferences come from a deep desire to see love and understanding expressed in all realms of life.
A man asks about how to stabilise resting in being. Rupert suggests his self-enquiry practice brings his attention from the object to his self. That placeless place feels like a void to the mind because there is no content there, which is a kind of death. To reassert itself, the mind turns around and puts its attention on an object. Keep coming back. In time, there will be self-abidance. Eventually, the object-going tendency of the mind will subside.
A man shares how he feels more and more touched by music and poetry Rupert suggests that his heart is opening.