Is Our Life Pre-Written? from the media The Importance of Friendship and Community
A man asks if our life is prewritten. Rupert suggests that this idea presumes the existence of time. Analogies, like the complete book read over time, is meant to give a taste to the mind of what is true.
- Duration: 6 minutes and 38 seconds
- Recorded on: Jun 9, 2022
- Event: Seven Day Retreat at The Vedanta – 3rd to 10th June 2022
A woman references an article Rupert wrote about pottery, and she shares that she has struggled with the creative process. Rupert references the comment that Michael Cardew made about how Rupert ‘hadn’t begun to take the shape into himself’. He doesn't know how the creative process works – the meditations are a conjunction of what’s on the inside and what he encounters on the outside. The creative process takes place below the threshold of the waking mind.
A man asks about déjà vu. Rupert suggests our experience is always now. The now is not a moment; it is eternity. Time is what eternity looks like when refracted through the prism of each of our minds. When you hold a book, the whole story is there complete, but you have to access it by reading it page-by-page. However, if a page is particularly transparent, you might read what is on the next page through it.
A man asks if our life is prewritten. Rupert suggests that this idea presumes the existence of time. Analogies, like the complete book read over time, is meant to give a taste to the mind of what is true.
A man relayed an experience of sensation and the absence of distance in meditation. Rupert leads everyone in a contemplation of the space in which sensations take place – it is here, where I am. Here is always the same place for all experience. The placeless place.
A woman asks about different types of samadhi. Rupert suggests that the nature of the screen is the same, whether there is a movie on or not. If you are experiencing being, you don't have to discover anything new. Being is always in the same condition.
A man who said he experienced vulnerability recently and referenced a similar feeling when he encountered a homeless man. Rupert suggests this is a noumenal experience and talks about eye gazing, which is self-enquiry through perception. Looking into the homeless man’s eyes was looking at yourself from his point of view. His gaze took you into yourself and you glimpsed your true nature. This is self-enquiry through perception.
A man asks if there is a connection between vulnerability and uncertainty. Rupert says there are two types of vulnerability. One is of the ego and its fear of being hurt – defensiveness. Then there is the innate vulnerability of our true nature – it is completely open and undefended. The vulnerability of the ego is based on certainty, the vulnerability of our true nature is uncertainty of anything objective. The presence of consciousness is the only undeniable fact.
A man talks about his best friend who has a blind spot in which he does whatever his father expects of him. Rupert suggests that his years in boarding school made him an expert at suppressing feelings. It doesn't help to point this out, it will provoke his defences. The best way to support him is to see and feel his being as it truly is.
A woman asks for a Rupert-style creation story. Rupert suggests that the kingdom of heaven is the presence of awareness, which is within you and spread out everywhere. When we eat of the knowledge of good and evil, we discriminate and then collapse into a point of view. We forget who we are and become confused.
A man shares his feeling of hopelessness. Rupert suggests that what we experience outside of us is awareness’s activity, but awareness is not affected by that experience. The screen is unaffected by the movie. He stresses the importance of connection, friendship and community. Focus on what you can do; not on what you can't do.
A man, who references God’s Dream and his fear of extinction, wonders if creation would still exist in the absence of finite minds. Rupert suggests that if we, finite minds, come to an end, God’s Dream doesn't come to an end. There is just no one there to perceive it. God’s Dream is the activity of consciousness. What we observe is the activity of consciousness through the lens of the finite mind.
A woman says she struggles with getting absorbed in thoughts. Rupert suggests that, at some stage, we realise that thought is just the experience of thinking. A thought is a noun, but thinking is a verb. If you are experiencing thinking, you must be experiencing the stuff it is made of. If you are watching the movie, you are watching the screen. Is there anything in thinking apart from the knowing of it? Thinking is a colouring of knowing.
A woman references an article Rupert wrote about pottery, and she shares that she has struggled with the creative process. Rupert references the comment that Michael Cardew made about how Rupert ‘hadn’t begun to take the shape into himself’. He doesn't know how the creative process works – the meditations are a conjunction of what’s on the inside and what he encounters on the outside. The creative process takes place below the threshold of the waking mind.
A man asks about déjà vu. Rupert suggests our experience is always now. The now is not a moment; it is eternity. Time is what eternity looks like when refracted through the prism of each of our minds. When you hold a book, the whole story is there complete, but you have to access it by reading it page-by-page. However, if a page is particularly transparent, you might read what is on the next page through it.
A man asks if our life is prewritten. Rupert suggests that this idea presumes the existence of time. Analogies, like the complete book read over time, is meant to give a taste to the mind of what is true.
A man relayed an experience of sensation and the absence of distance in meditation. Rupert leads everyone in a contemplation of the space in which sensations take place – it is here, where I am. Here is always the same place for all experience. The placeless place.
A woman asks about different types of samadhi. Rupert suggests that the nature of the screen is the same, whether there is a movie on or not. If you are experiencing being, you don't have to discover anything new. Being is always in the same condition.
A man who said he experienced vulnerability recently and referenced a similar feeling when he encountered a homeless man. Rupert suggests this is a noumenal experience and talks about eye gazing, which is self-enquiry through perception. Looking into the homeless man’s eyes was looking at yourself from his point of view. His gaze took you into yourself and you glimpsed your true nature. This is self-enquiry through perception.
A man asks if there is a connection between vulnerability and uncertainty. Rupert says there are two types of vulnerability. One is of the ego and its fear of being hurt – defensiveness. Then there is the innate vulnerability of our true nature – it is completely open and undefended. The vulnerability of the ego is based on certainty, the vulnerability of our true nature is uncertainty of anything objective. The presence of consciousness is the only undeniable fact.
A man talks about his best friend who has a blind spot in which he does whatever his father expects of him. Rupert suggests that his years in boarding school made him an expert at suppressing feelings. It doesn't help to point this out, it will provoke his defences. The best way to support him is to see and feel his being as it truly is.
A woman asks for a Rupert-style creation story. Rupert suggests that the kingdom of heaven is the presence of awareness, which is within you and spread out everywhere. When we eat of the knowledge of good and evil, we discriminate and then collapse into a point of view. We forget who we are and become confused.
A man shares his feeling of hopelessness. Rupert suggests that what we experience outside of us is awareness’s activity, but awareness is not affected by that experience. The screen is unaffected by the movie. He stresses the importance of connection, friendship and community. Focus on what you can do; not on what you can't do.
A man, who references God’s Dream and his fear of extinction, wonders if creation would still exist in the absence of finite minds. Rupert suggests that if we, finite minds, come to an end, God’s Dream doesn't come to an end. There is just no one there to perceive it. God’s Dream is the activity of consciousness. What we observe is the activity of consciousness through the lens of the finite mind.
A woman says she struggles with getting absorbed in thoughts. Rupert suggests that, at some stage, we realise that thought is just the experience of thinking. A thought is a noun, but thinking is a verb. If you are experiencing thinking, you must be experiencing the stuff it is made of. If you are watching the movie, you are watching the screen. Is there anything in thinking apart from the knowing of it? Thinking is a colouring of knowing.