‘I Am' Is the Divine Name

We are already that for which we long. Instead of reaching towards it, we sink back into it. Discern the ‘I am’ in all experience – if I am lonely or afraid, whatever is experienced – I am. Being is the only certainty. We may not know what we are or what the world is, but we know for certain that we are, and it is. The name 'I am’ is the divine name, signifying God's presence in us, as us. In materialistic culture, most people believe in the existence of matter and doubt the presence of God. It’s the other way around. Perception, fragments, reality, making it appear as ten thousand things that we believe have a reality of their own. We forget the unity of being, God's presence, that underlies their reality. There is only God, infinite being. God seems to be nowhere, because it is everywhere, seems to be nothing because it is everything.

A woman describes the fear of not existing, which seems to come from the childhood message that she shouldn't exist. It feels like resistance now, during meditation, in letting go of the sense of the separate self. Rupert responds that the word 'nothing' or 'emptiness' is rarely used because of a negative connotation, but our self that is known by finite mind is empty, which can be disturbing for the separate self, because it feels like it's going to die, hence resistance and fear. This is a misplaced resistance in that what you are is not limited to your personal experience, yet it comes from the intuition that these experiences are a veil over your true nature. The dissolution of everything we believe limits us and the recognition of the unlimited is what is meant by 'die before you die’.

Without the sense of self, will my sense of being still exist? Rupert explains that there is a sense that there is nothing left in the absence of separation, but in fact the opposite is true. What we think we are no longer limits what we truly are, and we express ourself with more diversity and enthusiasm than before when the separate self appeared as a very limited character. Your uniqueness is not lost. You'll be liberated from the cramp of the sense of separation that inhibits joy and all the expansive aspects of experience.

A man describes fear that arises in his throat during meditation, and it feels as if he is going to die. Rupert describes core of the ego as two things: fear and a sense of lack. He elaborates that the purpose of the yoga meditations is to explore this experience in the body, as these contractions can remain even after understanding.

A woman speaks of the end of the outward journey that may be the result of attending the retreat. Rupert suggests forgetting every word that is said during retreat, and let the understanding be the guide when the retreat ends and you return home. The teaching is within you now.

We are already that for which we long. Instead of reaching towards it, we sink back into it. Discern the ‘I am’ in all experience – if I am lonely or afraid, whatever is experienced – I am. Being is the only certainty. We may not know what we are or what the world is, but we know for certain that we are, and it is. The name 'I am’ is the divine name, signifying God's presence in us, as us. In materialistic culture, most people believe in the existence of matter and doubt the presence of God. It’s the other way around. Perception, fragments, reality, making it appear as ten thousand things that we believe have a reality of their own. We forget the unity of being, God's presence, that underlies their reality. There is only God, infinite being. God seems to be nowhere, because it is everywhere, seems to be nothing because it is everything.

A woman describes the fear of not existing, which seems to come from the childhood message that she shouldn't exist. It feels like resistance now, during meditation, in letting go of the sense of the separate self. Rupert responds that the word 'nothing' or 'emptiness' is rarely used because of a negative connotation, but our self that is known by finite mind is empty, which can be disturbing for the separate self, because it feels like it's going to die, hence resistance and fear. This is a misplaced resistance in that what you are is not limited to your personal experience, yet it comes from the intuition that these experiences are a veil over your true nature. The dissolution of everything we believe limits us and the recognition of the unlimited is what is meant by 'die before you die’.

Without the sense of self, will my sense of being still exist? Rupert explains that there is a sense that there is nothing left in the absence of separation, but in fact the opposite is true. What we think we are no longer limits what we truly are, and we express ourself with more diversity and enthusiasm than before when the separate self appeared as a very limited character. Your uniqueness is not lost. You'll be liberated from the cramp of the sense of separation that inhibits joy and all the expansive aspects of experience.

A man describes fear that arises in his throat during meditation, and it feels as if he is going to die. Rupert describes core of the ego as two things: fear and a sense of lack. He elaborates that the purpose of the yoga meditations is to explore this experience in the body, as these contractions can remain even after understanding.

A woman speaks of the end of the outward journey that may be the result of attending the retreat. Rupert suggests forgetting every word that is said during retreat, and let the understanding be the guide when the retreat ends and you return home. The teaching is within you now.