Awareness Is the Constant, Illuminating Factor in All Experience

Notice you are effortlessly aware of whatever is experienced, irrespective of content. Whatever is experienced – thoughts, feelings, pleasant or unpleasant sensations – you are effortlessly aware of all of these. Awareness does not need to be turned on or off, maintained or modulated in any way. Thoughts, images, feelings, sensations and perceptions come and go, varying in frequency and intensity. The fact of being aware is the constant, illuminating factor in all experience. Even deep depression is lit up, or known by, the light of ever-present awareness, constantly shining brightly as the field within which all experience arises. Enlightenment has nothing to do with changing our experience but with recognising the nature of the awareness with which all experience is known. If we do anything in meditation, we simply notice the nature of awareness, as it is now and always, without effort, practice or discipline. Abide in and as that.

A man asks if acquiring knowledge is counterproductive to exploring true nature. Rupert suggests that the knowledge we take in from the outside doesn't tell us anything about our essential self, but that doesn’t invalidate external knowledge. It is legitimate to acquire that knowledge for a different reason. Exploring your true nature and acquiring knowledge are not mutually exclusive.

A woman says she has chronic pain and financial difficulties, and wonders if she should just accept it. Rupert suggests that we do what can be done, but if there is nothing to be done then we have to accept it. Some of this is a natural result of ageing, so it helps to become aware of that which doesn't age. Make your home in being.

A man wonders about why he seems to insist on being unhappy, Rupert suggests that while he has taken one step back, he needs to go back to the awareness behind the unhappiness. The separate self and happiness or peace are mutually exclusive in the same way that the moth and the flame are mutually exclusive. When the moth is not with the flame, it is unhappy, but when the moth touches the flame – which is the experience of happiness – the moth is no longer there to experience it. It becomes the flame.

A woman feels there is a karmic humour in accepting what is, but when she is in difficult circumstances she loses touch with knowing she is being. Rupert suggests that knowing you are being does not bring the karmic cycle to an end. When King Lear gets lost in his role he wants his karma to end, but when he remembers in the midst of the play that he is John Smith, he doesn't need the play to come to an end. The recognition has an effect on how we act and relate to the world.

A man relays his struggle with his awakening experience. Rupert suggests that he find someone to speak with on a regular basis, a therapist who shares the non-dual understanding. Just using self-enquiry isn’t enough when the mind is overactive and intrusive. Help at a relative level is required.

A woman says she suffers from childhood PTSD and situational depression and has difficulty dealing with her family. She felt some relief from all of this after hearing Rupert on YouTube. Rupert suggests that maybe it was the 'I am', the innermost being whose nature is peace.

A woman asks for clarification about going inward and outward. Rupert uses the analogy of John Smith and King Lear. The suggestion that King Lear turn away from the activity in the play and go back deep inside to his self, is not really a turning around, which is metaphorical, but a remembering of what you are essentially. The fact of being aware lies behind experience. You can turn away from experience without rejecting it, but you need not get lost in it.

A man asks about the modulation of awareness. Rupert suggests the mind doesn’t take up any space – we can’t locate it. However, it appears in the form of the dream world when we fall asleep at night, and that world seems to take place in time and space. Consider that what appears as time and space in the waking state doesn't take up any time or space in consciousness. Knowing is consciousness.

A woman asks about the phrase 'seeing one and hearing as two' which she relates to. She asks if love is the absence of separation. Rupert responds 'yes'.

A man asks about whether listening to different teachers muddles meditation technique. Rupert suggests that he trust his understanding and follow his intuition.

A woman asks 'Who is the chooser?' Rupert responds by asking if she wants a cup of coffee or tea, suggesting that we can find the hearing and the answering of the question and thoughts, but see if we can find an experience of 'I', the chooser. She responds that she doesn't know how to find the chooser. Rupert guides her in finding various experiences, including a pink elephant, of which there is no experience. We look for the chooser between thoughts in the same way, and we cannot find it because it is not there. Search for the separate 'I'. What do you find? There is no personal chooser; choices simply arise.

A man shares that he says ‘I am’ when his mind is overactive to remind him that he is being. Rupert suggests that the thought ‘I am’ is in the mind, but if we follow it to that to which it refers, it takes us out of the mind to the experience of being, which is prior to the mind. Emphasise the 'I am' aspect of experience without qualifying it.

Rupert asks a Brazilian man about the impact the death of Pelé, the great soccer player, has had on his country.

A woman, who suffers from mental health problems including psychosis, asks if that is an impediment in her exploration of non-duality. Rupert responds that exploring your true nature and your mental health are not mutually exclusive, but there can be a danger to your mental stability. In that case, he wouldn't recommend the non-dual path, but help from a psychotherapist. Go back to non-duality when stability is no longer an issue.

A man asks Rupert about the best order for reading Rupert’s books. Rupert suggests, You Are the Happiness You Seek, Being Myself, Being Aware of Being Aware, and if you are philosophically inclined, then The Nature of Consciousness.

A man asks about integrating the insights that he finds when going inwards when he then goes outwards. Rupert suggests Transparent Body, Luminous World, which is a series of meditations that explore the body and the world.

A woman who is leaving a long-term Gurdjieff teaching asks about the direct path. Rupert responds that the direct path is the core of many traditions such as Hinduish and Christianity. He describes the experience of being inclined toward Christianity, but in studying Sufism and other traditions he found it was always about studying experience. Gurdjieff and Ouspensky had an intuition of the direct path. Ouspensky later asked Shankaracharya about the direct path. Rupert realised that 'self-remembering' is the same as self-abidance, the simple experience of being, the awareness of being.

Notice you are effortlessly aware of whatever is experienced, irrespective of content. Whatever is experienced – thoughts, feelings, pleasant or unpleasant sensations – you are effortlessly aware of all of these. Awareness does not need to be turned on or off, maintained or modulated in any way. Thoughts, images, feelings, sensations and perceptions come and go, varying in frequency and intensity. The fact of being aware is the constant, illuminating factor in all experience. Even deep depression is lit up, or known by, the light of ever-present awareness, constantly shining brightly as the field within which all experience arises. Enlightenment has nothing to do with changing our experience but with recognising the nature of the awareness with which all experience is known. If we do anything in meditation, we simply notice the nature of awareness, as it is now and always, without effort, practice or discipline. Abide in and as that.

A man asks if acquiring knowledge is counterproductive to exploring true nature. Rupert suggests that the knowledge we take in from the outside doesn't tell us anything about our essential self, but that doesn’t invalidate external knowledge. It is legitimate to acquire that knowledge for a different reason. Exploring your true nature and acquiring knowledge are not mutually exclusive.

A woman says she has chronic pain and financial difficulties, and wonders if she should just accept it. Rupert suggests that we do what can be done, but if there is nothing to be done then we have to accept it. Some of this is a natural result of ageing, so it helps to become aware of that which doesn't age. Make your home in being.

A man wonders about why he seems to insist on being unhappy, Rupert suggests that while he has taken one step back, he needs to go back to the awareness behind the unhappiness. The separate self and happiness or peace are mutually exclusive in the same way that the moth and the flame are mutually exclusive. When the moth is not with the flame, it is unhappy, but when the moth touches the flame – which is the experience of happiness – the moth is no longer there to experience it. It becomes the flame.

A woman feels there is a karmic humour in accepting what is, but when she is in difficult circumstances she loses touch with knowing she is being. Rupert suggests that knowing you are being does not bring the karmic cycle to an end. When King Lear gets lost in his role he wants his karma to end, but when he remembers in the midst of the play that he is John Smith, he doesn't need the play to come to an end. The recognition has an effect on how we act and relate to the world.

A man relays his struggle with his awakening experience. Rupert suggests that he find someone to speak with on a regular basis, a therapist who shares the non-dual understanding. Just using self-enquiry isn’t enough when the mind is overactive and intrusive. Help at a relative level is required.

A woman says she suffers from childhood PTSD and situational depression and has difficulty dealing with her family. She felt some relief from all of this after hearing Rupert on YouTube. Rupert suggests that maybe it was the 'I am', the innermost being whose nature is peace.

A woman asks for clarification about going inward and outward. Rupert uses the analogy of John Smith and King Lear. The suggestion that King Lear turn away from the activity in the play and go back deep inside to his self, is not really a turning around, which is metaphorical, but a remembering of what you are essentially. The fact of being aware lies behind experience. You can turn away from experience without rejecting it, but you need not get lost in it.

A man asks about the modulation of awareness. Rupert suggests the mind doesn’t take up any space – we can’t locate it. However, it appears in the form of the dream world when we fall asleep at night, and that world seems to take place in time and space. Consider that what appears as time and space in the waking state doesn't take up any time or space in consciousness. Knowing is consciousness.

A woman asks about the phrase 'seeing one and hearing as two' which she relates to. She asks if love is the absence of separation. Rupert responds 'yes'.

A man asks about whether listening to different teachers muddles meditation technique. Rupert suggests that he trust his understanding and follow his intuition.

A woman asks 'Who is the chooser?' Rupert responds by asking if she wants a cup of coffee or tea, suggesting that we can find the hearing and the answering of the question and thoughts, but see if we can find an experience of 'I', the chooser. She responds that she doesn't know how to find the chooser. Rupert guides her in finding various experiences, including a pink elephant, of which there is no experience. We look for the chooser between thoughts in the same way, and we cannot find it because it is not there. Search for the separate 'I'. What do you find? There is no personal chooser; choices simply arise.

A man shares that he says ‘I am’ when his mind is overactive to remind him that he is being. Rupert suggests that the thought ‘I am’ is in the mind, but if we follow it to that to which it refers, it takes us out of the mind to the experience of being, which is prior to the mind. Emphasise the 'I am' aspect of experience without qualifying it.

Rupert asks a Brazilian man about the impact the death of Pelé, the great soccer player, has had on his country.

A woman, who suffers from mental health problems including psychosis, asks if that is an impediment in her exploration of non-duality. Rupert responds that exploring your true nature and your mental health are not mutually exclusive, but there can be a danger to your mental stability. In that case, he wouldn't recommend the non-dual path, but help from a psychotherapist. Go back to non-duality when stability is no longer an issue.

A man asks Rupert about the best order for reading Rupert’s books. Rupert suggests, You Are the Happiness You Seek, Being Myself, Being Aware of Being Aware, and if you are philosophically inclined, then The Nature of Consciousness.

A man asks about integrating the insights that he finds when going inwards when he then goes outwards. Rupert suggests Transparent Body, Luminous World, which is a series of meditations that explore the body and the world.

A woman who is leaving a long-term Gurdjieff teaching asks about the direct path. Rupert responds that the direct path is the core of many traditions such as Hinduish and Christianity. He describes the experience of being inclined toward Christianity, but in studying Sufism and other traditions he found it was always about studying experience. Gurdjieff and Ouspensky had an intuition of the direct path. Ouspensky later asked Shankaracharya about the direct path. Rupert realised that 'self-remembering' is the same as self-abidance, the simple experience of being, the awareness of being.