Be Interested In that Which Is Aware
- Duration: Video: 1 hour, 58 minutes, and 1 second / Audio: 1 hour, 58 minutes, and 1 second
- Recorded on: Jul 29, 2021
- Event: Webinar – Thursday 29th July 4:00pm, UK
Instead of being interested in what you are aware of, be interested in that which is aware, and in the simple fact of being aware. Let go of the content of experience and simply come back to yourself. Not yourself a person, a body, or a mind. Just your essential, irreducible self; the simple fact of being. Allow the fact of being aware, or awareness itself, to emerge from the background of experience into the foreground and allow the foreground that is the content of experiences--thoughts, images, and feelings--to subside into the background. In the Vedantic approach, we find the peace of our true nature in the background of experience. In the Tantric approach, we find the same peace in the midst of experience. Both lead to the innate peace of our true nature.
A man asks how the teaching through silence works, and if it is a transmission. Rupert responds that there is a subtle suggestion of two, teacher and student, in the idea of transmission, and that it is more a matter of relaxation of attention.
A woman who finds peace illusive asks about the role of trauma in the experience of intrusive thoughts. Rupert responds that trauma does have an effect on the content of experience, but not on that which is aware of experience.
A man refers to an interview he heard with Bernardo Kastrup in which he said that something cannot emerge from nothing, and asks if this is true. Rupert explains that without reference to things, consciousness cannot be thought of as something or nothing, which are conceptual overlays.
A woman asks about the relationship between imagination, thought, and the activity of consciousness. Rupert responds that thought is the activity of consciousness, and that there is no such thing as a thought separate from consciousness.
A woman asks for clarification between states of consciousness, such as awake, dreaming, and deep sleep, and Turiya. Rupert explains further the difficulty of describing consciousness as various states, as opposed to one activity.
A man from Jerusalem speaks of a fear of disintegration in recognition due to previous drug use he had a decade ago, so is now unsure about following the direct path. Rupert explains that though his fear is understandable, the recognition he seeks is not of the same nature as a drug experience, and not to conflate the two.
A woman who experienced violence and abuse in childhood says she still occasionally dissociates as she did then, and doesn't understand on whose behalf this reaction arises. Rupert responds that these reactions lodged themselves in her body when she was a child and are now seeking release.
A man from Bangalore asks about the difference between being aware of objects and being aware in the absence of objects. Rupert replies that prior to objective experience there is only awareness; when an object arises it is perceived, or witnessed, by a subject.
Instead of being interested in what you are aware of, be interested in that which is aware, and in the simple fact of being aware. Let go of the content of experience and simply come back to yourself. Not yourself a person, a body, or a mind. Just your essential, irreducible self; the simple fact of being. Allow the fact of being aware, or awareness itself, to emerge from the background of experience into the foreground and allow the foreground that is the content of experiences--thoughts, images, and feelings--to subside into the background. In the Vedantic approach, we find the peace of our true nature in the background of experience. In the Tantric approach, we find the same peace in the midst of experience. Both lead to the innate peace of our true nature.
A man asks how the teaching through silence works, and if it is a transmission. Rupert responds that there is a subtle suggestion of two, teacher and student, in the idea of transmission, and that it is more a matter of relaxation of attention.
A woman who finds peace illusive asks about the role of trauma in the experience of intrusive thoughts. Rupert responds that trauma does have an effect on the content of experience, but not on that which is aware of experience.
A man refers to an interview he heard with Bernardo Kastrup in which he said that something cannot emerge from nothing, and asks if this is true. Rupert explains that without reference to things, consciousness cannot be thought of as something or nothing, which are conceptual overlays.
A woman asks about the relationship between imagination, thought, and the activity of consciousness. Rupert responds that thought is the activity of consciousness, and that there is no such thing as a thought separate from consciousness.
A woman asks for clarification between states of consciousness, such as awake, dreaming, and deep sleep, and Turiya. Rupert explains further the difficulty of describing consciousness as various states, as opposed to one activity.
A man from Jerusalem speaks of a fear of disintegration in recognition due to previous drug use he had a decade ago, so is now unsure about following the direct path. Rupert explains that though his fear is understandable, the recognition he seeks is not of the same nature as a drug experience, and not to conflate the two.
A woman who experienced violence and abuse in childhood says she still occasionally dissociates as she did then, and doesn't understand on whose behalf this reaction arises. Rupert responds that these reactions lodged themselves in her body when she was a child and are now seeking release.
A man from Bangalore asks about the difference between being aware of objects and being aware in the absence of objects. Rupert replies that prior to objective experience there is only awareness; when an object arises it is perceived, or witnessed, by a subject.