Meaning of Terms: Subjective versus Objective Experiences from the media Offer Everything to God
A man queries about Rupert’s use of the terms ‘subjective and objective experience’. Rupert clarifies that others may define these terms differently. Generally, subjective experience refers to a first-person, private experience, while objective experience is our shared experience of the world. In Rupert’s terms, objective experience includes anything with form, such as thoughts, sensations, perceptions, feelings, actions, visions of God, a headache – anything that has a forms in time and space. Subjective experience, in his view, refers solely to awareness’s experience of itself, or the knowledge ‘I am’.
- Duration: 4 minutes and 10 seconds
- Recorded on: Mar 23, 2024
- Event: Seven-Day Retreat at Garrison Institute – 22 to 29 March 2024
A man enquires about Bhakti Marga, the path of devotion. Rupert explains that as the person we perceive ourselves to be, we can do two things: investigate who we really are or totally surrender ourselves to God’s infinite being; these are the highest activities for an individual. In terms of devotion, this means complete surrender of one’s life to God. Even in suffering, you maintain gratitude towards God. Feel that God is your most treasured companion, always with you, and offer everything you do to God.
A man queries about Rupert’s use of the terms ‘subjective and objective experience’. Rupert clarifies that others may define these terms differently. Generally, subjective experience refers to a first-person, private experience, while objective experience is our shared experience of the world. In Rupert’s terms, objective experience includes anything with form, such as thoughts, sensations, perceptions, feelings, actions, visions of God, a headache – anything that has a forms in time and space. Subjective experience, in his view, refers solely to awareness’s experience of itself, or the knowledge ‘I am’.
A man enquires about the meaning of two verses from Rumi: ‘The Beloved is all; the lover just a veil. The Beloved is existent; the lover non-existent.’ He wonders if the duality between the Beloved and the lover is necessary for creation to occur. Rupert agrees and explains that these verses represent two stages of understanding. The first verse acknowledges the presence of both the Beloved and the lover, with the lover acting as a veil over the Beloved, offering a concession to the concept of the lover. The second verse denies the existence of the lover, suggesting that something non-existent cannot act as a veil; hence, there is no separate self to obscure the Beloved.
A man queries about how to communicate with other people at the level of being. Rupert responds that the medium is love. Love is the experience of our shared being, making it the channel through which we can communicate from being to being. Love is the direct communication between beings, while thoughts represent communication between minds.
A man asks about the inner voice that propels us towards experience in the context of this understanding. Rupert replies that it is the stored tendencies and energies that reside in the depths of our minds, constantly expressing themselves, impelling us towards thoughts and actions. It is the fire that initiates our attention moving towards objects, substances, activities, and relationships.
A woman, when struck by beauty, experiences a desire that comes in and disrupts the beauty. In the moment, there is no separation, but when the longing starts, the question arises: how to halt that process and stay connected to beauty, love, or truth. Rupert replies that whatever we found beautiful, or whoever it was that we loved, in that moment we were one with it. It is not the object that is beautiful; the object precipitated the collapse of the subject-object relationship. Love is the absence of relationship.
A man, who desires to release all the energies stored inside himself, asks for a practice Rupert would recommend to help him achieve this. Rupert explains that holding an image of ourselves limits us, and we tend to act in ways that conform to that image, using only the energy needed to maintain it. He suggests that removing this self-image allows a surge of energy, as our beliefs and self-images limit us, preventing us from living fully and freely. To remove the self-image, he advises tasting oneself as one truly is, unlimited; this will dissolve the limited self-image. Don’t focus on limitations; instead, return to your limitless true nature.
A woman asks about the divine intelligence that appears to underpin reality. Rupert responds that being is self-aware; consciousness is formless intelligence. The mind then gives that intelligence form. Being is pure intelligence. He mentions that quantum physics, poetry, music, art represent attempts by the mind to approach this pure intelligence.
A woman asks what Rupert meant when, during the meditation earlier that day, he asked: ‘Are you preparing for the end of the meditation?’ Rupert clarifies that being does not end when the silent sitting ends and lunch begins. The screen exists not only in the absence of the movie but also while the movie is playing. By meditation, Rupert means not just sitting down with eyes closed; meditation is simply the shining of being.
A man, a first-timer at the retreat, requests Rupert to conduct a yoga meditation session during the week. Rupert explains that in the early days, he differentiated between self-enquiry and yoga meditation from the tantric tradition, which involves turning towards the content of experience. Nowadays, these two approaches have merged, and the distinction between them has become much subtler. Rupert will happily fulfil this request.
A man shares his experience of forming a devotional relationship with God through a 12-step program and asks how to reconcile the perspectives of non-dual prayer of simply being and petitionary prayer. Rupert replies that both forms of prayer are valid. The shining of being is the highest form of prayer. However, when we feel like a finite mind, petitionary prayer, which involves surrendering our will to God’s will, represents the highest state of the finite mind.
A woman expresses her gratitude for the retreat and for all friends. She shares a poem by Saint Thomas Aquinas: ‘From my breath I extract God and my eye is a shop where I offer Him to the world.’
A woman shares her experience of witnessing her mother’s passing, a moment when her mother opened her eyes, dissolving all separation between them. This led to an insight into happiness as the end of the conflict with reality, prompting a question about grief. Rupert responds, describing grief as sadness filled with love. He reflects on his own loss, his mother’s death a few months prior, expressing his sadness – deep yet without suffering, poignant, and intertwined with love, highlighting that love is the core of grief.
A man questions contraction, self-consciousness, and the nature of the separate self. Rupert explains that in self-consciousness, we perceive ourselves as a separate self. Initially, we were in the flow of experience until the mind solidified itself into a distinct self, separate from the whole. This contraction of the separate self is likened to movie character believing they are not the screen, similar to King Lear’s belief that he is not John Smith. Essentially, King Lear’s only reality is John Smith. Rupert emphasises that, in truth, separate selves do not exist; they are merely a belief.
A man asks about Rupert’s lived experience of himself. Rupert replies that from time to time he argues with reality. As he gets older, he argues less with reality and the arguments last for less time. His trust in reality deepens; he knows that reality will always win, and he knows it is better to surrender.
A man enquires about Bhakti Marga, the path of devotion. Rupert explains that as the person we perceive ourselves to be, we can do two things: investigate who we really are or totally surrender ourselves to God’s infinite being; these are the highest activities for an individual. In terms of devotion, this means complete surrender of one’s life to God. Even in suffering, you maintain gratitude towards God. Feel that God is your most treasured companion, always with you, and offer everything you do to God.
A man queries about Rupert’s use of the terms ‘subjective and objective experience’. Rupert clarifies that others may define these terms differently. Generally, subjective experience refers to a first-person, private experience, while objective experience is our shared experience of the world. In Rupert’s terms, objective experience includes anything with form, such as thoughts, sensations, perceptions, feelings, actions, visions of God, a headache – anything that has a forms in time and space. Subjective experience, in his view, refers solely to awareness’s experience of itself, or the knowledge ‘I am’.
A man enquires about the meaning of two verses from Rumi: ‘The Beloved is all; the lover just a veil. The Beloved is existent; the lover non-existent.’ He wonders if the duality between the Beloved and the lover is necessary for creation to occur. Rupert agrees and explains that these verses represent two stages of understanding. The first verse acknowledges the presence of both the Beloved and the lover, with the lover acting as a veil over the Beloved, offering a concession to the concept of the lover. The second verse denies the existence of the lover, suggesting that something non-existent cannot act as a veil; hence, there is no separate self to obscure the Beloved.
A man queries about how to communicate with other people at the level of being. Rupert responds that the medium is love. Love is the experience of our shared being, making it the channel through which we can communicate from being to being. Love is the direct communication between beings, while thoughts represent communication between minds.
A man asks about the inner voice that propels us towards experience in the context of this understanding. Rupert replies that it is the stored tendencies and energies that reside in the depths of our minds, constantly expressing themselves, impelling us towards thoughts and actions. It is the fire that initiates our attention moving towards objects, substances, activities, and relationships.
A woman, when struck by beauty, experiences a desire that comes in and disrupts the beauty. In the moment, there is no separation, but when the longing starts, the question arises: how to halt that process and stay connected to beauty, love, or truth. Rupert replies that whatever we found beautiful, or whoever it was that we loved, in that moment we were one with it. It is not the object that is beautiful; the object precipitated the collapse of the subject-object relationship. Love is the absence of relationship.
A man, who desires to release all the energies stored inside himself, asks for a practice Rupert would recommend to help him achieve this. Rupert explains that holding an image of ourselves limits us, and we tend to act in ways that conform to that image, using only the energy needed to maintain it. He suggests that removing this self-image allows a surge of energy, as our beliefs and self-images limit us, preventing us from living fully and freely. To remove the self-image, he advises tasting oneself as one truly is, unlimited; this will dissolve the limited self-image. Don’t focus on limitations; instead, return to your limitless true nature.
A woman asks about the divine intelligence that appears to underpin reality. Rupert responds that being is self-aware; consciousness is formless intelligence. The mind then gives that intelligence form. Being is pure intelligence. He mentions that quantum physics, poetry, music, art represent attempts by the mind to approach this pure intelligence.
A woman asks what Rupert meant when, during the meditation earlier that day, he asked: ‘Are you preparing for the end of the meditation?’ Rupert clarifies that being does not end when the silent sitting ends and lunch begins. The screen exists not only in the absence of the movie but also while the movie is playing. By meditation, Rupert means not just sitting down with eyes closed; meditation is simply the shining of being.
A man, a first-timer at the retreat, requests Rupert to conduct a yoga meditation session during the week. Rupert explains that in the early days, he differentiated between self-enquiry and yoga meditation from the tantric tradition, which involves turning towards the content of experience. Nowadays, these two approaches have merged, and the distinction between them has become much subtler. Rupert will happily fulfil this request.
A man shares his experience of forming a devotional relationship with God through a 12-step program and asks how to reconcile the perspectives of non-dual prayer of simply being and petitionary prayer. Rupert replies that both forms of prayer are valid. The shining of being is the highest form of prayer. However, when we feel like a finite mind, petitionary prayer, which involves surrendering our will to God’s will, represents the highest state of the finite mind.
A woman expresses her gratitude for the retreat and for all friends. She shares a poem by Saint Thomas Aquinas: ‘From my breath I extract God and my eye is a shop where I offer Him to the world.’
A woman shares her experience of witnessing her mother’s passing, a moment when her mother opened her eyes, dissolving all separation between them. This led to an insight into happiness as the end of the conflict with reality, prompting a question about grief. Rupert responds, describing grief as sadness filled with love. He reflects on his own loss, his mother’s death a few months prior, expressing his sadness – deep yet without suffering, poignant, and intertwined with love, highlighting that love is the core of grief.
A man questions contraction, self-consciousness, and the nature of the separate self. Rupert explains that in self-consciousness, we perceive ourselves as a separate self. Initially, we were in the flow of experience until the mind solidified itself into a distinct self, separate from the whole. This contraction of the separate self is likened to movie character believing they are not the screen, similar to King Lear’s belief that he is not John Smith. Essentially, King Lear’s only reality is John Smith. Rupert emphasises that, in truth, separate selves do not exist; they are merely a belief.
A man asks about Rupert’s lived experience of himself. Rupert replies that from time to time he argues with reality. As he gets older, he argues less with reality and the arguments last for less time. His trust in reality deepens; he knows that reality will always win, and he knows it is better to surrender.