The Experience of Past Lives from the media Integrating Realisation with Experience

A man asks about the process of surrender in moments of anxiety. Rupert elaborates on the two approaches to addressing the separate self: the path of surrender and the path of investigation into the self by asking 'Who am I really'?

A woman says she hears the words 'I am' and wonders if awareness declares itself as such or whether it is the separate self. Rupert responds that awareness doesn't need to declare itself, but we may make that statement and then go through that portal to the experience of self.

A questioner asks about resisting the desire to fall asleep during meditation and at night. Rupert responds that when we fall asleep, when thinking and perceiving cease, the sense of being a separate self also ceases, which is why we love sleep. Still, this dissolution may pose a threat to the separate self because it feels like death.

A woman says she can watch loneliness dissolve, but needs help with fear. Rupert suggests that emphasising the 'I am' when fearful can be an avoidance of the fear, and instead we can try to welcome the fear into the open, empty space of awareness.

A woman says she feels between two worlds because she experienced herself as outside herself whilst doing the dishes. Rupert elaborates on the impersonal witness perspective as the experience of separating from thoughts, feelings and actions.

A questioner asks about the existence of the higher self. Rupert responds that it is not a term he uses or refers to in his teaching and offers the analogy of John Smith and King Lear, which points not to a higher self, but to the non-existence of King Lear.

A man says that he has been on the path for a long time, and feels established as the witness, but he hasn't yet experienced being divested of objective experience or knowing pure awareness. Rupert asks him if he is aware right now and leads him in self-enquiry to the experience of pure awareness.

A woman asks about her 20-year experience of seeing everything as glowing. Rupert suggests that this may accompany the experience of the dissolution of the sense of separation.

A woman describes having a quiet mind that is accompanied by a quiet voice and asks where that voice comes from. Rupert responds that when the mental noise subsides, we may hear the still, small voice of God arising on behalf of the presence of awareness.

A questioner asks about the experience of time, whirlpools and past lives. Rupert explains that he uses examples within time and space because when expressing or evoking the experience, we must use language, which necessarily limits the discussion.

A man asks about non-duality and psychotherapy and the limits of integrating them. Rupert replies that he does not negate the value of psychotherapy but is not certain that it will help to discover one's true identity.

A woman from Lithuania asks about integration of self-knowledge, because she feels like John Smith recognised himself but still lives as if he is King Lear, which feels like madness. Rupert gives examples of how this might look at work and in social situations when standing as awareness rather than as a separate self.

A woman describes the experience of overwhelming sensations and asks if it is appropriate to breathe into them. Rupert responds that this is a practice used in some of the yoga meditations available on his website.

A man asks how he can reduce his desire for anxiety to go away and whether that involves acceptance. Rupert suggests that acceptance with the intention of hoping it will go away is not acceptance. He elaborates that whilst we cannot make our mind accept what it does not like, the nature of awareness, which is what we are, is inherently allowing.

A questioner asks what we are doing in meditation. Rupert responds that we are returning to the space of awareness that allows whatever is happening.

A woman speaks of an expansive experience evoked by a poem that she read 30 years ago and asks about how to get back to that experience. Rupert describes the release of the contraction in the body that is a side effect of a glimpse of reality and is often mistaken for reality itself, which is our true nature now, with or without the expansive experience.

A man who has been diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia, asks about integration of the understanding considering the difficulty he has in focusing and his own generally negative tendencies. Rupert responds that something more practical might be necessary, such as an external structure and discipline around exercise, diet, and so on.

A man asks about the process of surrender in moments of anxiety. Rupert elaborates on the two approaches to addressing the separate self: the path of surrender and the path of investigation into the self by asking 'Who am I really'?

A woman says she hears the words 'I am' and wonders if awareness declares itself as such or whether it is the separate self. Rupert responds that awareness doesn't need to declare itself, but we may make that statement and then go through that portal to the experience of self.

A questioner asks about resisting the desire to fall asleep during meditation and at night. Rupert responds that when we fall asleep, when thinking and perceiving cease, the sense of being a separate self also ceases, which is why we love sleep. Still, this dissolution may pose a threat to the separate self because it feels like death.

A woman says she can watch loneliness dissolve, but needs help with fear. Rupert suggests that emphasising the 'I am' when fearful can be an avoidance of the fear, and instead we can try to welcome the fear into the open, empty space of awareness.

A woman says she feels between two worlds because she experienced herself as outside herself whilst doing the dishes. Rupert elaborates on the impersonal witness perspective as the experience of separating from thoughts, feelings and actions.

A questioner asks about the existence of the higher self. Rupert responds that it is not a term he uses or refers to in his teaching and offers the analogy of John Smith and King Lear, which points not to a higher self, but to the non-existence of King Lear.

A man says that he has been on the path for a long time, and feels established as the witness, but he hasn't yet experienced being divested of objective experience or knowing pure awareness. Rupert asks him if he is aware right now and leads him in self-enquiry to the experience of pure awareness.

A woman asks about her 20-year experience of seeing everything as glowing. Rupert suggests that this may accompany the experience of the dissolution of the sense of separation.

A woman describes having a quiet mind that is accompanied by a quiet voice and asks where that voice comes from. Rupert responds that when the mental noise subsides, we may hear the still, small voice of God arising on behalf of the presence of awareness.

A questioner asks about the experience of time, whirlpools and past lives. Rupert explains that he uses examples within time and space because when expressing or evoking the experience, we must use language, which necessarily limits the discussion.

A man asks about non-duality and psychotherapy and the limits of integrating them. Rupert replies that he does not negate the value of psychotherapy but is not certain that it will help to discover one's true identity.

A woman from Lithuania asks about integration of self-knowledge, because she feels like John Smith recognised himself but still lives as if he is King Lear, which feels like madness. Rupert gives examples of how this might look at work and in social situations when standing as awareness rather than as a separate self.

A woman describes the experience of overwhelming sensations and asks if it is appropriate to breathe into them. Rupert responds that this is a practice used in some of the yoga meditations available on his website.

A man asks how he can reduce his desire for anxiety to go away and whether that involves acceptance. Rupert suggests that acceptance with the intention of hoping it will go away is not acceptance. He elaborates that whilst we cannot make our mind accept what it does not like, the nature of awareness, which is what we are, is inherently allowing.

A questioner asks what we are doing in meditation. Rupert responds that we are returning to the space of awareness that allows whatever is happening.

A woman speaks of an expansive experience evoked by a poem that she read 30 years ago and asks about how to get back to that experience. Rupert describes the release of the contraction in the body that is a side effect of a glimpse of reality and is often mistaken for reality itself, which is our true nature now, with or without the expansive experience.

A man who has been diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia, asks about integration of the understanding considering the difficulty he has in focusing and his own generally negative tendencies. Rupert responds that something more practical might be necessary, such as an external structure and discipline around exercise, diet, and so on.