Infinite Dreams Through Finite Minds from the media Infinite Dreams Through Finite Minds
A woman ponders the nature of God’s dream: is it haphazard like human dreams or a beautiful manifestation of love? Rupert explains that God cannot experience its dream directly. Just as falling asleep in L.A. and dreaming of a Caribbean beach doesn’t mean you are experiencing the beach directly – you are only experiencing it through the dreamed character at that beach, so to speak – God’s infinite nature knows its dream through our finite minds. The infinite cannot know the finite directly; it can only dissolve in it.
- Duration: 7 minutes and 6 seconds
- Recorded on: Jul 27, 2024
- Event: The Understanding – Online Weekend Retreat at Home, 26–28 July
A man asks if meditation involves more than peace and happiness. Rupert explains that meditation involves two aspects: the inner aspect of peace and happiness, and the outer aspect of love and beauty. He references a W.B. Yeats poem, saying feeling blessed means inner peace and joy, while blessing others is sharing this understanding. In Buddhism, these are wisdom and compassion.
A dialogue that explores why the true nature of awareness is concealed in some minds dominated by the belief in separation, leading to suffering, while other minds remain transparent and infused with peace. Rupert explains why some minds are more transparent to the light of awareness than others.
A man seeks guidance regarding his identifying as a separate self. He shares his long-term practices of recognising peace and stillness and using discomfort as a cue to introspection. Rupert suggests a simpler perspective: although experience changes, awareness remains ever-present like the impartial light of the sun, yet it is too close to be observed, much like eyes are not able to see themselves.
A woman shares that while following Rupert’s recommendation to just be has solved all her problems, bringing peace and happiness, but she has trouble understanding his explanations about the One dreaming within itself. Rupert advises her to turn off her computer sound and not look at her screen during meditations, to instead just rest in shared being with the group. He reassures her that logical understanding is not needed and all she needs is her presence.
A woman reports that she has difficulties sharing her understanding of truth in relationships and in her work. She enquires about Rupert’s transition from being a potter to teaching. Rupert says that he had no initial desire to teach but found himself writing and speaking about his understanding. He underscores that teaching must always change to avoid becoming stagnant, likening it to fresh, nourishing food rather than frozen.
A dialogue explores how to bring awareness into action and how to make choices that align with understanding, as a man expresses fear that his choices may lead to suffering. Rupert advises pausing to ask which choice better expresses their shared understanding, saying that all choices either lead towards or come from happiness. He cautions against letting circumstances dictate happiness, reminding the man that happiness is our nature and cannot be dictated by external conditions.
A woman ponders the nature of God’s dream: is it haphazard like human dreams or a beautiful manifestation of love? Rupert explains that God cannot experience its dream directly. Just as falling asleep in L.A. and dreaming of a Caribbean beach doesn’t mean you are experiencing the beach directly – you are only experiencing it through the dreamed character at that beach, so to speak – God’s infinite nature knows its dream through our finite minds. The infinite cannot know the finite directly; it can only dissolve in it.
A man reports struggling with old habits, including drug use, despite his feeling rooted in understanding of true nature. Rupert suggests that his genuine understanding hasn’t fully penetrated the deeper layers. He advises pausing for half an hour before acting on impulses, sitting quietly, and turning inward to let understanding dissolve residual seeking energy.
A man explains his struggle with emotions and sense of a separate self, and he asks how he can be more loving with his sense of fear. Rupert advises that fear should be dissolved in the loving space of awareness, likening awareness to an indiscriminately loving mother, attending to fear gently.
A man asks about balancing the pursuit of goals with trusting the universe. He wonders about the role of visualisation and manifesting. Rupert advises that he consider desires as already fulfilled and acting from a place of inherent happiness. He suggests taking practical steps while maintaining this inner fulfilment, ensuring that his desires arise from happiness, not lack. This approach compels the universe to cooperate and materialise these desires, reflecting an inner state of completeness and happiness.
A woman describes experiencing utter emptiness during meditation, with no thoughts or sensations. Rupert explains that the emptiness was an aware emptiness, not a void, and poetically describes it as ‘luminous emptiness’, explaining that he likens awareness to the sun, the illuminating factor in all experience. He reassures her by saying that she has fallen into herself.
A man asks if the experience of being is imagined. Rupert uses the example of a pink elephant to explain that even if being were imagined, it would have to exist in some medium. He guides the man to realise that being itself is the medium in which all experiences arise and vanish, making it the only certainty. This understanding is so firm that it would even stand against any opposing assertion by the greatest sages.
A woman asks about parallel universes and personal versions of reality. Rupert explains there is only one reality, perceived differently through various filters. He illustrates this using an example of a dog’s mind, which perceives reality due to its unique configuration. All perceived parallel realities are part of a greater whole, the one reality.
A man asks if meditation involves more than peace and happiness. Rupert explains that meditation involves two aspects: the inner aspect of peace and happiness, and the outer aspect of love and beauty. He references a W.B. Yeats poem, saying feeling blessed means inner peace and joy, while blessing others is sharing this understanding. In Buddhism, these are wisdom and compassion.
A dialogue that explores why the true nature of awareness is concealed in some minds dominated by the belief in separation, leading to suffering, while other minds remain transparent and infused with peace. Rupert explains why some minds are more transparent to the light of awareness than others.
A man seeks guidance regarding his identifying as a separate self. He shares his long-term practices of recognising peace and stillness and using discomfort as a cue to introspection. Rupert suggests a simpler perspective: although experience changes, awareness remains ever-present like the impartial light of the sun, yet it is too close to be observed, much like eyes are not able to see themselves.
A woman shares that while following Rupert’s recommendation to just be has solved all her problems, bringing peace and happiness, but she has trouble understanding his explanations about the One dreaming within itself. Rupert advises her to turn off her computer sound and not look at her screen during meditations, to instead just rest in shared being with the group. He reassures her that logical understanding is not needed and all she needs is her presence.
A woman reports that she has difficulties sharing her understanding of truth in relationships and in her work. She enquires about Rupert’s transition from being a potter to teaching. Rupert says that he had no initial desire to teach but found himself writing and speaking about his understanding. He underscores that teaching must always change to avoid becoming stagnant, likening it to fresh, nourishing food rather than frozen.
A dialogue explores how to bring awareness into action and how to make choices that align with understanding, as a man expresses fear that his choices may lead to suffering. Rupert advises pausing to ask which choice better expresses their shared understanding, saying that all choices either lead towards or come from happiness. He cautions against letting circumstances dictate happiness, reminding the man that happiness is our nature and cannot be dictated by external conditions.
A woman ponders the nature of God’s dream: is it haphazard like human dreams or a beautiful manifestation of love? Rupert explains that God cannot experience its dream directly. Just as falling asleep in L.A. and dreaming of a Caribbean beach doesn’t mean you are experiencing the beach directly – you are only experiencing it through the dreamed character at that beach, so to speak – God’s infinite nature knows its dream through our finite minds. The infinite cannot know the finite directly; it can only dissolve in it.
A man reports struggling with old habits, including drug use, despite his feeling rooted in understanding of true nature. Rupert suggests that his genuine understanding hasn’t fully penetrated the deeper layers. He advises pausing for half an hour before acting on impulses, sitting quietly, and turning inward to let understanding dissolve residual seeking energy.
A man explains his struggle with emotions and sense of a separate self, and he asks how he can be more loving with his sense of fear. Rupert advises that fear should be dissolved in the loving space of awareness, likening awareness to an indiscriminately loving mother, attending to fear gently.
A man asks about balancing the pursuit of goals with trusting the universe. He wonders about the role of visualisation and manifesting. Rupert advises that he consider desires as already fulfilled and acting from a place of inherent happiness. He suggests taking practical steps while maintaining this inner fulfilment, ensuring that his desires arise from happiness, not lack. This approach compels the universe to cooperate and materialise these desires, reflecting an inner state of completeness and happiness.
A woman describes experiencing utter emptiness during meditation, with no thoughts or sensations. Rupert explains that the emptiness was an aware emptiness, not a void, and poetically describes it as ‘luminous emptiness’, explaining that he likens awareness to the sun, the illuminating factor in all experience. He reassures her by saying that she has fallen into herself.
A man asks if the experience of being is imagined. Rupert uses the example of a pink elephant to explain that even if being were imagined, it would have to exist in some medium. He guides the man to realise that being itself is the medium in which all experiences arise and vanish, making it the only certainty. This understanding is so firm that it would even stand against any opposing assertion by the greatest sages.
A woman asks about parallel universes and personal versions of reality. Rupert explains there is only one reality, perceived differently through various filters. He illustrates this using an example of a dog’s mind, which perceives reality due to its unique configuration. All perceived parallel realities are part of a greater whole, the one reality.