Enlightenment Is Not an Experience

A man says he is looking to wake up 'all the way’, not so he can learn concepts but to feel and understand and live that realisation. He asks Rupert how to do that with the understanding that there really is no 'how'. Rupert responds that we first understand what awakening or enlightenment really is, which is simply the recognition of the nature of your being. It has nothing to do with the paraphernalia that surrounds the teacher or teachings, which are superfluous trappings. It is very simple, this recognition. If this is clear, there is nothing to do. If this is not clear, then some effort is required. In the analogy of John Smith and King Lear, it is important that King Lear investigate who he is, that which is always with us, which is to ask, 'Who am I?'

A woman asks how to deal with denigrating self-concepts such as 'bad girl', or 'I am crap at this.' Rupert responds that these ideas come from a lack of clarity around who we really are, reinforced by decades of conditioning such as – as if you practice hard enough you will become or acquire something. What you are is prior to all these experiences and practices, so we sink back into our true nature rather than reaching towards it. Rupert suggests, in this case, less meditation and more self-enquiry – a loving exploration of who ‘I’ really am.

A man says he feels 'spiritually lost' because of chronic nerve pain that increases when he meditates or reads non-dual books. He feels like something is suppressed, and it feels like a painful contraction. Rupert suggests that the pain is partially a result of a tension that relaxes when around friends and a community, such as what he finds at retreat; friends and community, the sangha, is the best spiritual practice, and, in this case, can be the teaching, along with physical activity, such as walking and swimming, which opens up the sense of painful contraction.

A man says he wouldn't mind a girlfriend. Rupert encourages him to put that out to the universe, and that it is a perfectly legitimate, rather than egoic, desire. He suggests starting with friendship, and if there is a negative self-image, the experience will seem to conform to that belief

Is all experience created in thought? A man describes the experience of recognising his true nature, where he knew so many things and knew he would no longer be seeking, but the experience confused him because nothing in his life really changed. He asks for clarification about this recognition and whether it is accompanied by happiness, and what the role of thinking plays in creating experience. Rupert responds that dogs and cats have experience, but they don't think. There is a lot more to experience than thinking.

A woman asks, 'What is reality?’ She also asks about humility. Rupert responds that reality is what truly is, and further explains that an illusion still has a reality to it, perceived by the senses. He asks what would be left if you removed sense, perception, and thinking. There would be no form, but there would be an undivided presence, which is aware being, or God's being. Reality is half-created and half-perceived and precedes the finite mind which creates the appearance of the world, but also perceives its underlying reality. Rupert mentions the book 'The Matter with Things' by Ian McGilchrist. In response to the question about humility, Rupert responds that it is a difficult thing to articulate, but it is the natural result of understanding the nature of reality.

A man says he is looking to wake up 'all the way’, not so he can learn concepts but to feel and understand and live that realisation. He asks Rupert how to do that with the understanding that there really is no 'how'. Rupert responds that we first understand what awakening or enlightenment really is, which is simply the recognition of the nature of your being. It has nothing to do with the paraphernalia that surrounds the teacher or teachings, which are superfluous trappings. It is very simple, this recognition. If this is clear, there is nothing to do. If this is not clear, then some effort is required. In the analogy of John Smith and King Lear, it is important that King Lear investigate who he is, that which is always with us, which is to ask, 'Who am I?'

A woman asks how to deal with denigrating self-concepts such as 'bad girl', or 'I am crap at this.' Rupert responds that these ideas come from a lack of clarity around who we really are, reinforced by decades of conditioning such as – as if you practice hard enough you will become or acquire something. What you are is prior to all these experiences and practices, so we sink back into our true nature rather than reaching towards it. Rupert suggests, in this case, less meditation and more self-enquiry – a loving exploration of who ‘I’ really am.

A man says he feels 'spiritually lost' because of chronic nerve pain that increases when he meditates or reads non-dual books. He feels like something is suppressed, and it feels like a painful contraction. Rupert suggests that the pain is partially a result of a tension that relaxes when around friends and a community, such as what he finds at retreat; friends and community, the sangha, is the best spiritual practice, and, in this case, can be the teaching, along with physical activity, such as walking and swimming, which opens up the sense of painful contraction.

A man says he wouldn't mind a girlfriend. Rupert encourages him to put that out to the universe, and that it is a perfectly legitimate, rather than egoic, desire. He suggests starting with friendship, and if there is a negative self-image, the experience will seem to conform to that belief

Is all experience created in thought? A man describes the experience of recognising his true nature, where he knew so many things and knew he would no longer be seeking, but the experience confused him because nothing in his life really changed. He asks for clarification about this recognition and whether it is accompanied by happiness, and what the role of thinking plays in creating experience. Rupert responds that dogs and cats have experience, but they don't think. There is a lot more to experience than thinking.

A woman asks, 'What is reality?’ She also asks about humility. Rupert responds that reality is what truly is, and further explains that an illusion still has a reality to it, perceived by the senses. He asks what would be left if you removed sense, perception, and thinking. There would be no form, but there would be an undivided presence, which is aware being, or God's being. Reality is half-created and half-perceived and precedes the finite mind which creates the appearance of the world, but also perceives its underlying reality. Rupert mentions the book 'The Matter with Things' by Ian McGilchrist. In response to the question about humility, Rupert responds that it is a difficult thing to articulate, but it is the natural result of understanding the nature of reality.