The Heart of Prayer from the media The Ocean of Love
A woman describes the loss of a young relative and how it made her think more about prayer. She is interested in bringing back prayer to the world. Rupert mentions his most recent book, The Heart of Prayer, which came straight from his heart. He says he used to talk about meditation, now he talks about prayer. He wonders if it's too inflammatory to speak of God and prayer to the general public.
- Duration: 8 minutes and 49 seconds
- Recorded on: Oct 25, 2023
- Event: Seven Day Retreat at Mercy Center, CA – 22nd to 29th October
A man describes a realisation of bringing his mind to an end, which brought up the question, how does being knows what is being? Rupert asks, can he say from experience that 'I am'? He answers 'yes' and then begins speaking again. Rupert asks what took place between the question and the answer 'yes'? He says he simply knows that he is.
A man asks about love and the 'I' and the 'you', and states that even though he dissolves in love, sensations still return. Can what he's experiencing still be called the recognition of love, of shared being? Rupert responds that if you love your wife and you feel that peace, why even worry about sensations? Objective experience comes back, but it doesn't obscure your shared being. The sensations are the foam that remain on the surface of the ocean of love.
A woman asks for clarification of the subsidence of attention, and how it seemed to take her to a place where there was no perception. The experience of attention going out in the world, is that through the gates of perception? Rupert responds that the only way its possible to experience the world is through perception. All perception is impersonal, but is sometimes accompanied by the thought 'I perceive' which is attributed to a personal self. There is just perception, no separate perceiver.
A woman speaks of being drawn to the threshhold that is crossed from being to objects of the world. Rupert says that is beautiful and doesn't need to comment except to say just keep exploring that threshold.
A woman asks about the use of the word and the idea of God from the perspective of Christian devotional conditioning. She is experiencing sadness in regards to the world right now having to do with interpretation of the word 'God'. Rupert responds that if he expressed himself without consideration as to whom he was speaking, he would use the word 'God' all the time.
A woman asks about the idea of loving, without needing to like, everyone, which she finds disturbing as it feels like a personal attachment. Rupert elaborates that preference, such as favourite ice cream flavour, belongs to the finite mind. That preference doesn't come from the sense of separation. When it comes to people, the response comes from the conditioning of the finite mind. It's not the person you dislike, but the behaviour.
A woman seeks clarification on the word 'threshold'. Rupert says he doesn't ordinarily use the word, but an answer in which he used it earlier was to a woman who had a particular experience, so he doesn't have much else to say about it.
A man shares that there is no discussion about ethics and morality in non-duality, as there is in Buddhism. Rupert elaborates that there are no prescriptions for behaviour in non-duality, and he prefers St. Augustine's philosophy which is: 'Just love and do what you want.' There is a place for the discussion of morality, but not what we're focused on here.
A man says he has noticed a subtle change in Rupert's realisation and asks how he can improve on his own intuition and trust. Rupert responds that he can only share his own process, which is ongoing. There is just sinking more and more deeply into this understanding.
A woman describes the loss of a young relative and how it made her think more about prayer. She is interested in bringing back prayer to the world. Rupert mentions his most recent book, The Heart of Prayer, which came straight from his heart. He says he used to talk about meditation, now he talks about prayer. He wonders if it's too inflammatory to speak of God and prayer to the general public.
A woman describes a dream that indicated that the whole group at the retreat had raised their consciousness. She asks how can we get there faster, with more people knowing? Would Rupert do a Ted Talk? Rupert responds that he would. He mentions a convention like Davos where politicians gather, and they have asked him to speak. He would emphasise that all politicians should understand the truth of shared being.
A woman says, 'In me, there are two selves'. And she asks about the form of that 'I'. Rupert leads her in self-enquiry to see if she can find this 'me' and the two selves. The 'I' doesn't have a form.
A woman asks, if she doesn't understand what Rupert says, why is she here? Rupert suggests that sometimes the teaching bypasses the intellect completely, so the understanding by the finite mind isn't necessary.
A woman explains that when she prays she says, 'I am a piece of you, and you are all of me. So the piece prays to all'. She asks what Rupert thinks of this. Rupert says the second part of the prayer is a more advanced understanding in that there is no part of me; the me dissolves in God. He suggests sticking with the prayer, the feeling is right. Rupert recites a prayer familiar to him.
A woman shares a quote from Martin Luther King's Letter from Birmingham Jail: 'I would rather die than to hate you.' Rupert states that hate is the veiling of love.
A woman describes early morning dark nights of the soul from which she fears she may never come out from under. Rupert suggests that in the middle of the night, when the feeling takes hold, she should take the image of a person that she hates and hold the image in mind, allowing the person's image to provoke your intense dislike, and then hold it until you can see through the layers of dislike and hate. If you look for the 'I', you will come to the same being.
A man describes a realisation of bringing his mind to an end, which brought up the question, how does being knows what is being? Rupert asks, can he say from experience that 'I am'? He answers 'yes' and then begins speaking again. Rupert asks what took place between the question and the answer 'yes'? He says he simply knows that he is.
A man asks about love and the 'I' and the 'you', and states that even though he dissolves in love, sensations still return. Can what he's experiencing still be called the recognition of love, of shared being? Rupert responds that if you love your wife and you feel that peace, why even worry about sensations? Objective experience comes back, but it doesn't obscure your shared being. The sensations are the foam that remain on the surface of the ocean of love.
A woman asks for clarification of the subsidence of attention, and how it seemed to take her to a place where there was no perception. The experience of attention going out in the world, is that through the gates of perception? Rupert responds that the only way its possible to experience the world is through perception. All perception is impersonal, but is sometimes accompanied by the thought 'I perceive' which is attributed to a personal self. There is just perception, no separate perceiver.
A woman speaks of being drawn to the threshhold that is crossed from being to objects of the world. Rupert says that is beautiful and doesn't need to comment except to say just keep exploring that threshold.
A woman asks about the use of the word and the idea of God from the perspective of Christian devotional conditioning. She is experiencing sadness in regards to the world right now having to do with interpretation of the word 'God'. Rupert responds that if he expressed himself without consideration as to whom he was speaking, he would use the word 'God' all the time.
A woman asks about the idea of loving, without needing to like, everyone, which she finds disturbing as it feels like a personal attachment. Rupert elaborates that preference, such as favourite ice cream flavour, belongs to the finite mind. That preference doesn't come from the sense of separation. When it comes to people, the response comes from the conditioning of the finite mind. It's not the person you dislike, but the behaviour.
A woman seeks clarification on the word 'threshold'. Rupert says he doesn't ordinarily use the word, but an answer in which he used it earlier was to a woman who had a particular experience, so he doesn't have much else to say about it.
A man shares that there is no discussion about ethics and morality in non-duality, as there is in Buddhism. Rupert elaborates that there are no prescriptions for behaviour in non-duality, and he prefers St. Augustine's philosophy which is: 'Just love and do what you want.' There is a place for the discussion of morality, but not what we're focused on here.
A man says he has noticed a subtle change in Rupert's realisation and asks how he can improve on his own intuition and trust. Rupert responds that he can only share his own process, which is ongoing. There is just sinking more and more deeply into this understanding.
A woman describes the loss of a young relative and how it made her think more about prayer. She is interested in bringing back prayer to the world. Rupert mentions his most recent book, The Heart of Prayer, which came straight from his heart. He says he used to talk about meditation, now he talks about prayer. He wonders if it's too inflammatory to speak of God and prayer to the general public.
A woman describes a dream that indicated that the whole group at the retreat had raised their consciousness. She asks how can we get there faster, with more people knowing? Would Rupert do a Ted Talk? Rupert responds that he would. He mentions a convention like Davos where politicians gather, and they have asked him to speak. He would emphasise that all politicians should understand the truth of shared being.
A woman says, 'In me, there are two selves'. And she asks about the form of that 'I'. Rupert leads her in self-enquiry to see if she can find this 'me' and the two selves. The 'I' doesn't have a form.
A woman asks, if she doesn't understand what Rupert says, why is she here? Rupert suggests that sometimes the teaching bypasses the intellect completely, so the understanding by the finite mind isn't necessary.
A woman explains that when she prays she says, 'I am a piece of you, and you are all of me. So the piece prays to all'. She asks what Rupert thinks of this. Rupert says the second part of the prayer is a more advanced understanding in that there is no part of me; the me dissolves in God. He suggests sticking with the prayer, the feeling is right. Rupert recites a prayer familiar to him.
A woman shares a quote from Martin Luther King's Letter from Birmingham Jail: 'I would rather die than to hate you.' Rupert states that hate is the veiling of love.
A woman describes early morning dark nights of the soul from which she fears she may never come out from under. Rupert suggests that in the middle of the night, when the feeling takes hold, she should take the image of a person that she hates and hold the image in mind, allowing the person's image to provoke your intense dislike, and then hold it until you can see through the layers of dislike and hate. If you look for the 'I', you will come to the same being.