'I Am' Underlies and Permeates All Experience

The knowledge ‘I am’ refers to our being, that which underlies and permeates all experience. When we say ‘I am listening to a meditation’ or ‘I'm sitting on a chair’, we express this knowledge. The ‘I am' is contained within every experience. 'I am cold and tired’. ‘I am lonely’. ‘ I am in love'. When I stop meditating, the statement, ‘I am listening to a meditation’ is no longer true, but the statement ‘I am’ is still true. The experience to which the statement ‘I am’ refers is not unfamiliar, mystical or extraordinary, but is the most intimate and familiar experience there is. We lose sight of it when we become absorbed in the content of experience and the simple knowing of our own being is obscured. The traditional name for this intimate, impersonal, infinite and self-aware being is God.

A man describes his day at work and asks about how to be with anxiety and fear in the middle of action. Rupert suggests that he notice that the stillness from which he acts is present at all times and is his essential nature.

A woman who is in charge of an international animal welfare group asks for clarification about the suffering that animals experience so she can help those who work with animals. Rupert elaborates on the differences between the experience of suffering in animals and in human beings.

A woman asks about whether consciousness evolves or is already perfect and whether animal consciousness evolves. Rupert responds that consciousness is and remains the same in both animals and humans, but that human understanding evolves.

A man from Arizona asks about why we meditate if there is nothing to be attained. Rupert responds that we can realise that meditation is not what we do, but is what we are.

"A woman asks about whether the desire to raise a happy family detracts from the pursuit of truth. Rupert responds that these pursuits are in complete alignment because they each express the desire for happiness. "

A man who remarks about resistance and inviting difficult emotions closer, asks about whether the 'I am' is a way of avoiding what is happening. Rupert suggests that if there is a habit of turning away from feelings, it would make sense to try instead to face the feeling.

"A woman wants to know how to express her idea of wildness as opposed to control. Rupert responds that the wildness, openness, and freedom of which she speaks can be perceived as a threat to the ego and suggests that she not be deterred by reactions she may encounter. "

"A man who speaks of his experience of feeling pressure in various parts of the body as his meditation evolves, asks if abiding as awareness is enough to release such contractions. Rupert responds that yes, it is enough. "

"A woman says she has years of spiritual practise, but feels that she still needs a practise to deal with constant mind chatter. Rupert suggests that thinking is often a way to distract from the emptiness behind the content of experience, and to face that emptiness. "

A man asks how to deal with fear and anxiety, especially when his mind comes up with frightening 'what-if' scenarios. He wonders if they aren't all variations of the same fear of not existing. Rupert elaborates on the existential, primal fear that underlies the sense of being a separate self.

The knowledge ‘I am’ refers to our being, that which underlies and permeates all experience. When we say ‘I am listening to a meditation’ or ‘I'm sitting on a chair’, we express this knowledge. The ‘I am' is contained within every experience. 'I am cold and tired’. ‘I am lonely’. ‘ I am in love'. When I stop meditating, the statement, ‘I am listening to a meditation’ is no longer true, but the statement ‘I am’ is still true. The experience to which the statement ‘I am’ refers is not unfamiliar, mystical or extraordinary, but is the most intimate and familiar experience there is. We lose sight of it when we become absorbed in the content of experience and the simple knowing of our own being is obscured. The traditional name for this intimate, impersonal, infinite and self-aware being is God.

A man describes his day at work and asks about how to be with anxiety and fear in the middle of action. Rupert suggests that he notice that the stillness from which he acts is present at all times and is his essential nature.

A woman who is in charge of an international animal welfare group asks for clarification about the suffering that animals experience so she can help those who work with animals. Rupert elaborates on the differences between the experience of suffering in animals and in human beings.

A woman asks about whether consciousness evolves or is already perfect and whether animal consciousness evolves. Rupert responds that consciousness is and remains the same in both animals and humans, but that human understanding evolves.

A man from Arizona asks about why we meditate if there is nothing to be attained. Rupert responds that we can realise that meditation is not what we do, but is what we are.

"A woman asks about whether the desire to raise a happy family detracts from the pursuit of truth. Rupert responds that these pursuits are in complete alignment because they each express the desire for happiness. "

A man who remarks about resistance and inviting difficult emotions closer, asks about whether the 'I am' is a way of avoiding what is happening. Rupert suggests that if there is a habit of turning away from feelings, it would make sense to try instead to face the feeling.

"A woman wants to know how to express her idea of wildness as opposed to control. Rupert responds that the wildness, openness, and freedom of which she speaks can be perceived as a threat to the ego and suggests that she not be deterred by reactions she may encounter. "

"A man who speaks of his experience of feeling pressure in various parts of the body as his meditation evolves, asks if abiding as awareness is enough to release such contractions. Rupert responds that yes, it is enough. "

"A woman says she has years of spiritual practise, but feels that she still needs a practise to deal with constant mind chatter. Rupert suggests that thinking is often a way to distract from the emptiness behind the content of experience, and to face that emptiness. "

A man asks how to deal with fear and anxiety, especially when his mind comes up with frightening 'what-if' scenarios. He wonders if they aren't all variations of the same fear of not existing. Rupert elaborates on the existential, primal fear that underlies the sense of being a separate self.