Inside I Am, Outside It Is

A woman shares her experience with pain and asks for Rupert’s insight. Rupert suggests that she is doing everything that he would recommend.

A man has a metaphor for the subtle body based on Bernardo Kastrup’s whirlpool metaphor, and he wants Rupert to refine it. Rupert explains that the physical body is what we see and touch; the subtle body is the way you experience your body from the inside.

A man asks, ‘Why does agitation go away during yoga meditations?’ Rupert says there is always only knowing – of our thoughts, feelings, sensations – but during meditation we realise that. During meditations we explore what the body is actually made of – sensations, and the knowing of them. A degree of that agitation settles down.

A man comments on how when we are agitated we love being around peaceful people. Rupert suggests there is a resonance between people. Peace is infectious. If we feel agitated and we find we are in the company of a peaceful friend, it is likely that we will catch peace. At retreats, our minds are harmonised.

A man asks about the use of pronouns as he refers to his ego as ‘he’ sometimes. Rupert suggests that whenever we refer to ourself, it is ‘I’. He leads him to that which ‘I’ refers. When we add anything to ‘I’ then we get into trouble.

A man says that his attention wanders off with thought, and comes back again, but he says he is tired of it and doesn’t understand why he doesn't have the power to choose not to. When does it stop happening? Rupert says that being gives itself totally to experience. It reserves nothing of itself for itself, hence being loses itself in the experience of thinking. We separate ourself out from thoughts in the first stage to know ourself as the knowing, not the known. Let your attention free. Stop disciplining it and check if you are present in the midst of it.

A man asks about abiding no matter what is happening. Rupert suggests that in a demanding situation, you give your attention one hundred percent to it, but if you’ve been exploring these matters for a while, we find that we build up a reservoir of peace in ourself that comes to our aid in the heat of the moment. This gives us the presence of mind to not panic.

A woman asks about shared and non-shared reality. Rupert suggests that the best analogy for this question about our shared experience of the world is Mary and Jane. Mary, infinite consciousness, localises as Jane, and forgets herself to do so. She seems to become Jane, the dreamed character. However, it’s all Mary’s mind, but Jane doesn’t know that. All appearances are the nature of consciousenss.

A man says that there is a tangible sense of the ‘I’ when abiding as that. Rupert suggests we cannot pay attention to the ‘I’ because ‘attention’ means to stretch ourself towards something. It’s like a flashlight. The bulb can’t shine on itself. Attention is used to attending to ten thousand things. For this reason, in the early stage we may give the mind one thing to focus on, but this is not true meditation. Resting as being is true meditation or prayer. This is a residual impulse to pay attention to something. Let go of focusing; it is a sinking into being.

A man refers to distraction from the ‘I’ and asks what he should do. Rupert suggests that distractions are not distractions unless we credit them with that ability, in which case they will seem to. If you look inside, there is ‘I am’; if you look outside there is ‘it is’. It is not possible to be distracted from being because that’s all there is.

A recently retired woman, who is revelling in not doing much, asks if she should do more to be more like him. Rupert says that every moment that we don’t spend in love with being – or with God, for the devotees amongst us – is a waste of time. Any activism that is not based on the understanding will sooner or later fail, because it perpetuates what it seeks to reform.

A woman asks about how to deal with pain. Rupert suggests that pain is when sensation goes above a certain threshold. It is a part of being human. Imagine if hunger were pleasant. There would be no motivation to eat. If we have an abscess, we need pain to tell us to do something about it. We try to remain in touch with our being in the midst of pain, but there is some pain that is too intense. After we’ve taken all other measures to reduce pain, we do our best to not resist it and be with it.

A man with an engineering background says that the non-dual teaching is so simple that he can’t wrap his mind around it. How do I relax intellectualising it? Rupert says that what he is offering is the distillation of forty-five years of thinking and exploring these matters. He says that his mind was as complicated as his. Not everyone has that kind of mind, but for those of us that do, give yourself permission to think about these matters. It is simple, but don’t impose that before it comes naturally. Think about it until the mind brings itself to its own end.

A man relays how the thought about something colours what we perceive it to be. Rupert says that thinking profoundly affects what we experience. So replace our thoughts so that they more accurately reflect the nature of reality. Namely, that instead of a multiplicity and diversity of things, there is one indivisible whole.

A man with an overactive mind says he’s brought compassion to it, because he sees it is just fear. Rupert suggests that the thought ‘I have an overactive mind’ is a judgement. Why not just ‘an active mind’. If you say that’s a hard habit to overcome, then it is, but that is limiting. Don’t tell yourself that story. That’s a habit. Your mind is like a microcosm of the universe.

A man says whether this is the age of aquarius or the age of armageddon, there’s only one thing to do: abide as awareness. Rupert clarifies an earlier statement about activism. He did not want to imply that it’s not good to engage in activism, but simply that this is the highest form of such activism.

A woman talks about healing and facing resistance from her birth family, who she approached with the practice of bhakti or love, but it didn’t help. She asks for advice. Rupert suggests that when we first come across this understanding we want to share it with everyone. There is a hardness in that. After a while, that impulse relaxes. With others, we have to meet them where they are. Speak their language, not yours. The one with the understanding is the one that must compromise.

A woman shares her experience with pain and asks for Rupert’s insight. Rupert suggests that she is doing everything that he would recommend.

A man has a metaphor for the subtle body based on Bernardo Kastrup’s whirlpool metaphor, and he wants Rupert to refine it. Rupert explains that the physical body is what we see and touch; the subtle body is the way you experience your body from the inside.

A man asks, ‘Why does agitation go away during yoga meditations?’ Rupert says there is always only knowing – of our thoughts, feelings, sensations – but during meditation we realise that. During meditations we explore what the body is actually made of – sensations, and the knowing of them. A degree of that agitation settles down.

A man comments on how when we are agitated we love being around peaceful people. Rupert suggests there is a resonance between people. Peace is infectious. If we feel agitated and we find we are in the company of a peaceful friend, it is likely that we will catch peace. At retreats, our minds are harmonised.

A man asks about the use of pronouns as he refers to his ego as ‘he’ sometimes. Rupert suggests that whenever we refer to ourself, it is ‘I’. He leads him to that which ‘I’ refers. When we add anything to ‘I’ then we get into trouble.

A man says that his attention wanders off with thought, and comes back again, but he says he is tired of it and doesn’t understand why he doesn't have the power to choose not to. When does it stop happening? Rupert says that being gives itself totally to experience. It reserves nothing of itself for itself, hence being loses itself in the experience of thinking. We separate ourself out from thoughts in the first stage to know ourself as the knowing, not the known. Let your attention free. Stop disciplining it and check if you are present in the midst of it.

A man asks about abiding no matter what is happening. Rupert suggests that in a demanding situation, you give your attention one hundred percent to it, but if you’ve been exploring these matters for a while, we find that we build up a reservoir of peace in ourself that comes to our aid in the heat of the moment. This gives us the presence of mind to not panic.

A woman asks about shared and non-shared reality. Rupert suggests that the best analogy for this question about our shared experience of the world is Mary and Jane. Mary, infinite consciousness, localises as Jane, and forgets herself to do so. She seems to become Jane, the dreamed character. However, it’s all Mary’s mind, but Jane doesn’t know that. All appearances are the nature of consciousenss.

A man says that there is a tangible sense of the ‘I’ when abiding as that. Rupert suggests we cannot pay attention to the ‘I’ because ‘attention’ means to stretch ourself towards something. It’s like a flashlight. The bulb can’t shine on itself. Attention is used to attending to ten thousand things. For this reason, in the early stage we may give the mind one thing to focus on, but this is not true meditation. Resting as being is true meditation or prayer. This is a residual impulse to pay attention to something. Let go of focusing; it is a sinking into being.

A man refers to distraction from the ‘I’ and asks what he should do. Rupert suggests that distractions are not distractions unless we credit them with that ability, in which case they will seem to. If you look inside, there is ‘I am’; if you look outside there is ‘it is’. It is not possible to be distracted from being because that’s all there is.

A recently retired woman, who is revelling in not doing much, asks if she should do more to be more like him. Rupert says that every moment that we don’t spend in love with being – or with God, for the devotees amongst us – is a waste of time. Any activism that is not based on the understanding will sooner or later fail, because it perpetuates what it seeks to reform.

A woman asks about how to deal with pain. Rupert suggests that pain is when sensation goes above a certain threshold. It is a part of being human. Imagine if hunger were pleasant. There would be no motivation to eat. If we have an abscess, we need pain to tell us to do something about it. We try to remain in touch with our being in the midst of pain, but there is some pain that is too intense. After we’ve taken all other measures to reduce pain, we do our best to not resist it and be with it.

A man with an engineering background says that the non-dual teaching is so simple that he can’t wrap his mind around it. How do I relax intellectualising it? Rupert says that what he is offering is the distillation of forty-five years of thinking and exploring these matters. He says that his mind was as complicated as his. Not everyone has that kind of mind, but for those of us that do, give yourself permission to think about these matters. It is simple, but don’t impose that before it comes naturally. Think about it until the mind brings itself to its own end.

A man relays how the thought about something colours what we perceive it to be. Rupert says that thinking profoundly affects what we experience. So replace our thoughts so that they more accurately reflect the nature of reality. Namely, that instead of a multiplicity and diversity of things, there is one indivisible whole.

A man with an overactive mind says he’s brought compassion to it, because he sees it is just fear. Rupert suggests that the thought ‘I have an overactive mind’ is a judgement. Why not just ‘an active mind’. If you say that’s a hard habit to overcome, then it is, but that is limiting. Don’t tell yourself that story. That’s a habit. Your mind is like a microcosm of the universe.

A man says whether this is the age of aquarius or the age of armageddon, there’s only one thing to do: abide as awareness. Rupert clarifies an earlier statement about activism. He did not want to imply that it’s not good to engage in activism, but simply that this is the highest form of such activism.

A woman talks about healing and facing resistance from her birth family, who she approached with the practice of bhakti or love, but it didn’t help. She asks for advice. Rupert suggests that when we first come across this understanding we want to share it with everyone. There is a hardness in that. After a while, that impulse relaxes. With others, we have to meet them where they are. Speak their language, not yours. The one with the understanding is the one that must compromise.