A Quiet Joy
- Duration: Video: 1 hour, 56 minutes, and 15 seconds / Audio: 1 hour, 56 minutes, and 15 seconds
- Recorded on: Sep 16, 2021
- Event: Webinar – Thursday 16th September 4:00pm, UK
A wise person is one who has ceased investing in the desire for peace and happiness in the content of experience and has come to rest in the depths of their own being. When we come to rest in the depths of our own being, this is the essence of meditation or prayer. The silent presence of awareness, compared to the colourful content of experience, is the beloved for which we long. This silent presence in the background of experience may seem, at first, to be neutral with respect to experience but if we abide there, it begins to reveal that its nature is peace and, in time, it is a quiet joy. This search for peace and happiness in the content of experience begins to wind down, and we are increasingly reluctant to leave the peace of our true nature. We begin to be established there as that background; we begin to live as that.
A woman asks about the relationship between emptiness and consciousness because she has experienced complete emptiness due to trauma. Rupert describes emptiness as the experience of consciousness knowing itself, not coloured by the content of experience.
A questioner asks whether awareness has depth during meditation. Rupert uses the analogy of John Smith and King Lear to describe a fluctuation between the separate self and consciousness
A man who has experienced insomnia for years asks if self-enquiry is useful for relief from the thoughts that keep him awake. Rupert suggests that if self-enquiry is helpful then continue, as long as the questions take attention away from thoughts and depression. He also suggests reading poetry.
A woman asks about what is required for thoughts to completely subside. Rupert responds that thoughts subside when it is understood that they do not need to subside. He leads her in self-enquiry to help her discover the peace that is already here behind the thoughts.
A man says that after studying non-duality for years he feels stuck, and he's noticing various troubling bodily sensations. He asks if non-duality is just food for the mind. Rupert responds that the content of the mind has been enriched by this study, but what is being pointed to is beyond the mind.
A woman who is in the process of separating and divorcing her husband says she is noticing thoughts that tend to turn it into a story. Rupert suggests we not attempt to make this, or any event, into an identity by telling stories about it, and to let it be as it is.
A man who is in a twelve-step program for drug addiction has been asked to share his story publicly, but he has a deep fear of public speaking. Rupert suggests he speak spontaneously and, if fear arises, be completely honest with the audience.
A woman, whose family background is in Advaita, says she has an intellectual understanding of the teaching but not an experiential understanding. Rupert responds that we are not trying to overcome our intellectual understanding but to recognise what is already here, prior to the understanding.
A woman asks if it is possible to share this understanding to help another without being 'fully realised'. Rupert suggests that we can share the process, and it may or may not be received. It is our being that shares the teaching, not the words.
A question is asked about chronic pain and if it affects stabilisation or awakening. Rupert suggests that the pain may or may not be caused by a belief in separation and is not necessarily a deterrent to stabilisation.
A question is asked about the Tantric and Vedantic Paths and where to direct attention when in pain. Rupert responds that it is possible to have this recognition when in pain, but it could eclipse our knowledge of our self from time to time, and that it's okay to lose our self in pain.
A man who had an experience with ayahuasca says he now has confusion in regard to the 'I', which causes anxiety. Rupert suggests exploring the 'I' that feels the anxiety rather than attending to the anxiety itself, and suggests engaging in physical activity.
A wise person is one who has ceased investing in the desire for peace and happiness in the content of experience and has come to rest in the depths of their own being. When we come to rest in the depths of our own being, this is the essence of meditation or prayer. The silent presence of awareness, compared to the colourful content of experience, is the beloved for which we long. This silent presence in the background of experience may seem, at first, to be neutral with respect to experience but if we abide there, it begins to reveal that its nature is peace and, in time, it is a quiet joy. This search for peace and happiness in the content of experience begins to wind down, and we are increasingly reluctant to leave the peace of our true nature. We begin to be established there as that background; we begin to live as that.
A woman asks about the relationship between emptiness and consciousness because she has experienced complete emptiness due to trauma. Rupert describes emptiness as the experience of consciousness knowing itself, not coloured by the content of experience.
A questioner asks whether awareness has depth during meditation. Rupert uses the analogy of John Smith and King Lear to describe a fluctuation between the separate self and consciousness
A man who has experienced insomnia for years asks if self-enquiry is useful for relief from the thoughts that keep him awake. Rupert suggests that if self-enquiry is helpful then continue, as long as the questions take attention away from thoughts and depression. He also suggests reading poetry.
A woman asks about what is required for thoughts to completely subside. Rupert responds that thoughts subside when it is understood that they do not need to subside. He leads her in self-enquiry to help her discover the peace that is already here behind the thoughts.
A man says that after studying non-duality for years he feels stuck, and he's noticing various troubling bodily sensations. He asks if non-duality is just food for the mind. Rupert responds that the content of the mind has been enriched by this study, but what is being pointed to is beyond the mind.
A woman who is in the process of separating and divorcing her husband says she is noticing thoughts that tend to turn it into a story. Rupert suggests we not attempt to make this, or any event, into an identity by telling stories about it, and to let it be as it is.
A man who is in a twelve-step program for drug addiction has been asked to share his story publicly, but he has a deep fear of public speaking. Rupert suggests he speak spontaneously and, if fear arises, be completely honest with the audience.
A woman, whose family background is in Advaita, says she has an intellectual understanding of the teaching but not an experiential understanding. Rupert responds that we are not trying to overcome our intellectual understanding but to recognise what is already here, prior to the understanding.
A woman asks if it is possible to share this understanding to help another without being 'fully realised'. Rupert suggests that we can share the process, and it may or may not be received. It is our being that shares the teaching, not the words.
A question is asked about chronic pain and if it affects stabilisation or awakening. Rupert suggests that the pain may or may not be caused by a belief in separation and is not necessarily a deterrent to stabilisation.
A question is asked about the Tantric and Vedantic Paths and where to direct attention when in pain. Rupert responds that it is possible to have this recognition when in pain, but it could eclipse our knowledge of our self from time to time, and that it's okay to lose our self in pain.
A man who had an experience with ayahuasca says he now has confusion in regard to the 'I', which causes anxiety. Rupert suggests exploring the 'I' that feels the anxiety rather than attending to the anxiety itself, and suggests engaging in physical activity.