Being What We Are

On the Pathless Path, meditation is no longer considered something that we do with the mind. It is understood simply to be what we are. Meditation is simply being, not doing. Having understood this, we allow any residual effort to do anything to subside in this understanding. When our being is divested of all the qualities that it borrows from the content of experience, our being is revealed as infinite being, God's being. Thus, to simply be is to surrender oneself utterly to God's presence. Simply being is the experience to which we refer, when we say ‘I am’. It's not necessary to touch or change experience in any way. Just discern the ‘I am’ that shines brightly in its midst. See in this way that meditation is neither something that we do, nor is it something that we cease doing. It is simply what we are.

A man asks about the relationship between the one, the finite mind and the existence of things. Rupert suggests that we presume there are things and that they are related to each other. However, it is relationship itself that brings things into apparent existence. The ultimate reality of all things is infinite consciousness. It is the interaction between infinite consciousness and the perceiving finite mind that draws things out of infinite consciousness.

A man asks if reality is created through our finite minds. Rupert suggests we don't create the reality of the world because the reality of the world, which is infinite consciousness, precedes its being perceived. The reality of the world does not depend upon being perceived by a finite mind. However, how that reality appears depends upon the limitations of the mind through which it is perceived.

A man asks how the understanding impacts relationship. Rupert suggests that relationship comes to an end in this understanding. That’s what we seek in all relationship, the end of separation, the common name for which is ‘love’. We seek relationship to precipitate this collapse of self and other.

A woman asks about Rupert's reference to grace as 'a reeling in', because it feels like a long, difficult journey of giving in. Rupert asks, ‘How long is the journey from your self to your self, and how difficult is it?’ He then reads a Sufi poem by Lalleshwari.

A man shares his struggles and asks, ‘What is the best way to come back to my self?’ Rupert asks him if he is having the experience of being. When he says, ‘yes’, he is aware of being, Rupert suggests that in that pause, he went back to being.

A man asks if the psychological layers, which are coming up in him, are part of a disidentification process. Rupert says that these are provisional in your condition and are a part of his psychological makeup.

A man asks if he can do whatever he wants. Rupert suggests that we do whatever we want as long as what we do is an expression of the understanding that everyone and everything shares our being.

A woman asks about the 'I am' as a thought and whether it must be given up eventually, leaving her thoughtless. Rupert responds that 'I am' is a thought, a sound. It is the first expression of being in a human being. It is a very powerful thought. Why would we want or need to be thoughtless?

A woman shares her experience of saying ‘yes’ to everything, but then finding a resounding ‘no’. Rupert suggests that fear had previously prevented her from saying ‘no’. Her previous ‘yes’ was not really yes. Instead, she opened herself and out of that came a decisiveness. She said that she is now ‘being at home in her self’.

A man asks how to continue with his recently discovered clarity. Rupert responds to be clear about the journey is a recognition of your self, recognising more and more deeply what you really are. This is a journey from your self to your self.

A man shares that he feels a lot of oscillation. Rupert suggests that oscillation is very natural. We’ve been giving our attention to the content of experience all our lives and, by force of habit, we are pulled out again and again. However, every time we go back to being, we are breaking the habit. As a result, experience loses its capacity to take us away.

A man wonders if when suffering comes up, whether it is okay to go back to being or is that spiritual bypassing. Rupert suggests that it’s fine to go back to being, but then be sure to address the issues that provoke the suffering.

A man says that seeing everything as knowing gets a little tricky. Rupert suggests that rather than seeing everything as knowing, see everything as being, which is easier. To feel that everything is made out of pure knowing can be a stretch to begin with, but it's obvious that the car is, that the tree is. Being is the essential of everyone and everything.

A man, who says all his experiences appear in the same being, asks how he could be aware of everything as one. Rupert responds that seeing everything as one is a matter of seeing beyond appearances. Like the movie on the screen, we are ultimately only seeing one thing: the screen. Don't be seduced by perception.

A man asks about desire and how it relates to the knowledge that there is no person, and therefore how can there be lack? Rupert responds that from the point of view of the separate self, it feels limited and, therefore, there is something lacking. So it is necessary to investigate the separate self and return to the essential self.

A man asks if the illusion of self can arise without a thought present. Rupert suggests that it can arise as a feeling as well. The feeling of separation or limit can be present without it being formulated by thought. Attention is awareness stretching itself away from itself towards an object. Attention is the first step that awareness takes away from itself. Rupert affirms that the separate self or ego can only stand as a subject precisely because of objects. It cannot exist in isolation.

A man, who shares that thought seems to steal attention, wonders about stability. Rupert suggests that whatever we think about has some objective quality to it and, therefore, the separate subject of experience is implied in that thought. If we are standing as a separate self, then effort is implied in that position. Just make sure it is the right effort.

A man asks, ‘Is the inner experience the same for all of us? Do we all enter the same room?’ Rupert suggests that we imagine a room with six doorways, and asks, ‘What is a doorway?’ A space, not the frame. So are there six different spaces in and out of the room? No, just one space.

A woman, who is looking after her mom with Alzheimer's, says she finds it difficult to transform her mental energy around the situation. Although, when in touch with her being, she has periods of awe and senses that identification with the mind creates matter. Rupert agrees that identification with the mind creates matter if we believe the narrative about matter. However, perception fragments reality, which is substantiated by the belief that things are things. Things seem to exist because we think of them.

On the Pathless Path, meditation is no longer considered something that we do with the mind. It is understood simply to be what we are. Meditation is simply being, not doing. Having understood this, we allow any residual effort to do anything to subside in this understanding. When our being is divested of all the qualities that it borrows from the content of experience, our being is revealed as infinite being, God's being. Thus, to simply be is to surrender oneself utterly to God's presence. Simply being is the experience to which we refer, when we say ‘I am’. It's not necessary to touch or change experience in any way. Just discern the ‘I am’ that shines brightly in its midst. See in this way that meditation is neither something that we do, nor is it something that we cease doing. It is simply what we are.

A man asks about the relationship between the one, the finite mind and the existence of things. Rupert suggests that we presume there are things and that they are related to each other. However, it is relationship itself that brings things into apparent existence. The ultimate reality of all things is infinite consciousness. It is the interaction between infinite consciousness and the perceiving finite mind that draws things out of infinite consciousness.

A man asks if reality is created through our finite minds. Rupert suggests we don't create the reality of the world because the reality of the world, which is infinite consciousness, precedes its being perceived. The reality of the world does not depend upon being perceived by a finite mind. However, how that reality appears depends upon the limitations of the mind through which it is perceived.

A man asks how the understanding impacts relationship. Rupert suggests that relationship comes to an end in this understanding. That’s what we seek in all relationship, the end of separation, the common name for which is ‘love’. We seek relationship to precipitate this collapse of self and other.

A woman asks about Rupert's reference to grace as 'a reeling in', because it feels like a long, difficult journey of giving in. Rupert asks, ‘How long is the journey from your self to your self, and how difficult is it?’ He then reads a Sufi poem by Lalleshwari.

A man shares his struggles and asks, ‘What is the best way to come back to my self?’ Rupert asks him if he is having the experience of being. When he says, ‘yes’, he is aware of being, Rupert suggests that in that pause, he went back to being.

A man asks if the psychological layers, which are coming up in him, are part of a disidentification process. Rupert says that these are provisional in your condition and are a part of his psychological makeup.

A man asks if he can do whatever he wants. Rupert suggests that we do whatever we want as long as what we do is an expression of the understanding that everyone and everything shares our being.

A woman asks about the 'I am' as a thought and whether it must be given up eventually, leaving her thoughtless. Rupert responds that 'I am' is a thought, a sound. It is the first expression of being in a human being. It is a very powerful thought. Why would we want or need to be thoughtless?

A woman shares her experience of saying ‘yes’ to everything, but then finding a resounding ‘no’. Rupert suggests that fear had previously prevented her from saying ‘no’. Her previous ‘yes’ was not really yes. Instead, she opened herself and out of that came a decisiveness. She said that she is now ‘being at home in her self’.

A man asks how to continue with his recently discovered clarity. Rupert responds to be clear about the journey is a recognition of your self, recognising more and more deeply what you really are. This is a journey from your self to your self.

A man shares that he feels a lot of oscillation. Rupert suggests that oscillation is very natural. We’ve been giving our attention to the content of experience all our lives and, by force of habit, we are pulled out again and again. However, every time we go back to being, we are breaking the habit. As a result, experience loses its capacity to take us away.

A man wonders if when suffering comes up, whether it is okay to go back to being or is that spiritual bypassing. Rupert suggests that it’s fine to go back to being, but then be sure to address the issues that provoke the suffering.

A man says that seeing everything as knowing gets a little tricky. Rupert suggests that rather than seeing everything as knowing, see everything as being, which is easier. To feel that everything is made out of pure knowing can be a stretch to begin with, but it's obvious that the car is, that the tree is. Being is the essential of everyone and everything.

A man, who says all his experiences appear in the same being, asks how he could be aware of everything as one. Rupert responds that seeing everything as one is a matter of seeing beyond appearances. Like the movie on the screen, we are ultimately only seeing one thing: the screen. Don't be seduced by perception.

A man asks about desire and how it relates to the knowledge that there is no person, and therefore how can there be lack? Rupert responds that from the point of view of the separate self, it feels limited and, therefore, there is something lacking. So it is necessary to investigate the separate self and return to the essential self.

A man asks if the illusion of self can arise without a thought present. Rupert suggests that it can arise as a feeling as well. The feeling of separation or limit can be present without it being formulated by thought. Attention is awareness stretching itself away from itself towards an object. Attention is the first step that awareness takes away from itself. Rupert affirms that the separate self or ego can only stand as a subject precisely because of objects. It cannot exist in isolation.

A man, who shares that thought seems to steal attention, wonders about stability. Rupert suggests that whatever we think about has some objective quality to it and, therefore, the separate subject of experience is implied in that thought. If we are standing as a separate self, then effort is implied in that position. Just make sure it is the right effort.

A man asks, ‘Is the inner experience the same for all of us? Do we all enter the same room?’ Rupert suggests that we imagine a room with six doorways, and asks, ‘What is a doorway?’ A space, not the frame. So are there six different spaces in and out of the room? No, just one space.

A woman, who is looking after her mom with Alzheimer's, says she finds it difficult to transform her mental energy around the situation. Although, when in touch with her being, she has periods of awe and senses that identification with the mind creates matter. Rupert agrees that identification with the mind creates matter if we believe the narrative about matter. However, perception fragments reality, which is substantiated by the belief that things are things. Things seem to exist because we think of them.