Being Is Never Really Veiled
- Duration: Video: 2 hours, 4 minutes, and 18 seconds / Audio: 2 hours, 4 minutes, and 18 seconds
- Recorded on: Feb 18, 2021
- Event: Webinar – Thursday 18th February 4:00pm, UK
In this meditation, Rupert explores how content of the mind always changes whereas the essence of the mind never changes. Instead of trying to change the the content of experience to alleviate suffering, come back to yourself where it is peaceful regardless of the content of experience. The being we essentially are, shines as knowledge, I am, and is always present. The mind veils itself with the activity of the mind, but experience only has the power to veil if you allow it. Being is never really veiled. In the gap between the episodes of activity of the mind, is where the infinite being shines.
A woman tries to place her understanding of the consciousness-only model, and concludes that it is she that thinks, feels, and perceives, so if she were to die, the world would end. Rupert elaborates that it is the death of whatever appears in a movie but the screen is still there. That which doesn't appear cannot disappear and that which does appear, must disappear.
A man asks if the experience of awareness is conceptual since the experience of awareness comes and goes in time and space it must be conceptual like all experience. Using the John Smith and King Lear metaphor, Rupert explains that it is not awareness that comes and goes but that it seems to be obscured by experience, and recognition does not take place in time and space.
A man describes the experience of awareness seeming to come and go, explaining that he has trouble with the word 'experience' in that being aware of awareness is not an experience. Rupert confirms that the experience of our being is never really obscured; it only appears to be because it is not an experience and does not take place in time and space.
A woman describes her struggle, after the death of her grandfather when she was seven years old, with the realisation of the inevitabilty of death, and asks if there is experience after death. Rupert suggests that it is not what happens after death that she's interested in but rather her fear in the face of death experienced at such a young age.
A woman from Surrey, whose husband recently died, is experiencing difficult emotions, and feels she has closed her heart. She asks about how to open her heart following the end of a difficult relationship, and find the connection to awareness. Rupert suggests that it was not a shutting-down, but a protective measure.
A woman asks, in reference to a previous question that had to do with recognising a repetitive pattern in one's life, if recognising her own patterns, specifically addiction, would be enough to bring an end to the pattern. Rupert suggests she get to the root cause, the belief in separation, behind the addiction.
A man who has practised Tantric Buddhism says it was taught with an accomodation of the separate self, and asks if the original intention was the purification of the body, with or without the recognition of one's true nature.
A man asks about the Buddhist teaching that is meant to prepare one for the moment of death, and whether there is no fear of death with the recognition of one's true nature. Rupert replies that the Direct Path helps us to face this fear here and now.
A man asks if it is important to practice disidentifying with the mind or with the body. Rupert explains that it is more appropriate to see the mind and the body as one, and that disidentification is a preliminary practice that is a concession to the separate self.
A self-proclaimed religious man from Rome asks about the resurrection as the point of death that can happen now, rather than waiting for some event in the future. Rupert says that the true meaning of the resurrection is the demise of the separate self and emergence of the infinite being.
A woman who is interested in Rupert's relationship with his teacher Francis Lucille, with whom Rupert used to spend his days, asks Rupert to describe what their days are like, and then asks what Rupert does every day in Oxford.
A man describes the experience of recognising his true nature and witnessing the 'I am' from nothingness. Now he finds that doubts arise, and he wonders if the shift was real. Rupert guides him to look for the belief behind the doubt.
A man, who has had a huge shift in perception and recognition of his true nature, speaks of it as being a shock and wasn't sure how to deal with it. Rupert explains that yes, it can be a shock to the system.
In this meditation, Rupert explores how content of the mind always changes whereas the essence of the mind never changes. Instead of trying to change the the content of experience to alleviate suffering, come back to yourself where it is peaceful regardless of the content of experience. The being we essentially are, shines as knowledge, I am, and is always present. The mind veils itself with the activity of the mind, but experience only has the power to veil if you allow it. Being is never really veiled. In the gap between the episodes of activity of the mind, is where the infinite being shines.
A woman tries to place her understanding of the consciousness-only model, and concludes that it is she that thinks, feels, and perceives, so if she were to die, the world would end. Rupert elaborates that it is the death of whatever appears in a movie but the screen is still there. That which doesn't appear cannot disappear and that which does appear, must disappear.
A man asks if the experience of awareness is conceptual since the experience of awareness comes and goes in time and space it must be conceptual like all experience. Using the John Smith and King Lear metaphor, Rupert explains that it is not awareness that comes and goes but that it seems to be obscured by experience, and recognition does not take place in time and space.
A man describes the experience of awareness seeming to come and go, explaining that he has trouble with the word 'experience' in that being aware of awareness is not an experience. Rupert confirms that the experience of our being is never really obscured; it only appears to be because it is not an experience and does not take place in time and space.
A woman describes her struggle, after the death of her grandfather when she was seven years old, with the realisation of the inevitabilty of death, and asks if there is experience after death. Rupert suggests that it is not what happens after death that she's interested in but rather her fear in the face of death experienced at such a young age.
A woman from Surrey, whose husband recently died, is experiencing difficult emotions, and feels she has closed her heart. She asks about how to open her heart following the end of a difficult relationship, and find the connection to awareness. Rupert suggests that it was not a shutting-down, but a protective measure.
A woman asks, in reference to a previous question that had to do with recognising a repetitive pattern in one's life, if recognising her own patterns, specifically addiction, would be enough to bring an end to the pattern. Rupert suggests she get to the root cause, the belief in separation, behind the addiction.
A man who has practised Tantric Buddhism says it was taught with an accomodation of the separate self, and asks if the original intention was the purification of the body, with or without the recognition of one's true nature.
A man asks about the Buddhist teaching that is meant to prepare one for the moment of death, and whether there is no fear of death with the recognition of one's true nature. Rupert replies that the Direct Path helps us to face this fear here and now.
A man asks if it is important to practice disidentifying with the mind or with the body. Rupert explains that it is more appropriate to see the mind and the body as one, and that disidentification is a preliminary practice that is a concession to the separate self.
A self-proclaimed religious man from Rome asks about the resurrection as the point of death that can happen now, rather than waiting for some event in the future. Rupert says that the true meaning of the resurrection is the demise of the separate self and emergence of the infinite being.
A woman who is interested in Rupert's relationship with his teacher Francis Lucille, with whom Rupert used to spend his days, asks Rupert to describe what their days are like, and then asks what Rupert does every day in Oxford.
A man describes the experience of recognising his true nature and witnessing the 'I am' from nothingness. Now he finds that doubts arise, and he wonders if the shift was real. Rupert guides him to look for the belief behind the doubt.
A man, who has had a huge shift in perception and recognition of his true nature, speaks of it as being a shock and wasn't sure how to deal with it. Rupert explains that yes, it can be a shock to the system.