Life Is a Jazz Concert
- Duration: Video: 1 hour, 57 minutes, and 42 seconds / Audio: 1 hour, 57 minutes, and 42 seconds
- Recorded on: Feb 17, 2024
- Event: Seven-Day Retreat at The Vedanta – 16 to 23 February 2024
A woman who once experienced vivid lucid dreams enquires if Rupert has any advice for inducing more dreams. Rupert suggests that she simply relish the dreamless sleep.
A man with Jewish heritage shares his emotional involvement in the current conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, seeking advice on how to navigate his situation. Rupert responds that all the conflicts stem from the fact that people identify themselves not with their essential being but with a particular group, religion, race, creed, or nationality. The cause of all these conflicts is identifying our being with some limited aspect of our experience.
A woman questions what happens to being when she is asleep or under local anesthesia. Rupert asks her if she ever experiences not being aware of her being. Being is like the sun; it is self-luminous, knowing itself by being itself.
A man asks how to be at peace with suffering, wondering if it has any meaning. Rupert replies that suffering is indeed meaningful for the one who suffers. Awareness by itself doesn’t suffer; it is only when awareness coalesces into a finite mind that suffering begins. It is natural to resist suffering; if you accepted the suffering, it wouldn’t be suffering, it would be happiness.
A woman shares her experience of struggling to understand how to perceive oneness in the ten thousand things, arriving at the realisation that the separate self cannot perceive oneness, only the infinite being can. Rupert responds that he cannot add anything; she has answered her own question, thereby making his job easier.
A man refers to Rupert’s statement that ‘nothing matters’ and asks if it could be a panacea to suffering and confusion. Rupert replies that it’s true nothing matters, but we must be cautious with whom we share this insight, as some may find it offensive. He recounted Krishnamurti’s sacred teaching of ‘I don’t mind what happens.’ To the extent that we play our part in the movie of our lives, things matter, but the screen doesn’t care what happens in the movie.
A woman experiencing body contraction in social situations seeks advice. Rupert responds that the important thing is to understand and feel that you are the space of awareness in which all experiences arise. He guides her in exploring thoughts and sensations, pretending to offend her so she can feel the contraction, then instructs her to shift from feeling the cloud of sensations to being the sky of awareness.
A man asks about Rupert’s recounting of a profound shift in perception, facilitated by his teacher, Francis, who illustrated that the distant barking of a dog occurs not externally but within awareness. Rupert guides the man into the same experience, demonstrating that the sound of his voice, which the man is hearing, is not taking place outside himself but within the intimacy of awareness.
A man, referring to a previous question about feeling offended, asks if accepting it would be considered cowardly. Rupert replies that allowing the words of an insult to flow through oneself like a bird in the sky does not mean we should passively accept and not respond appropriately to the situation. A response coming from love and intelligence would be legitimate and, in some cases, necessary.
A woman, who is a tennis coach for children, shares her experience of witnessing children being bullied by their parents and wonders if her lack of response was cowardly. Rupert advises the woman to trust her intuition; her decision to not intervene might have been appropriate. Perhaps, he suggests, she is contributing positively by offering these children a different, kinder form of interaction through her tennis coaching.
A man struggles to reconcile his limited, finite-mind perspective with the concept of infinite awareness. Rupert replies that while the content of the mind is finite and limited, he advises not to assume that the awareness within which the mind’s contents are known is finite as well. He guides the man in exploring his experience and the infinite nature of awareness.
A woman enquires about the human aspects of mind faculties and whether they are experienced by awareness. Rupert replies that these faculties are modulations of awareness in the same way a movie is an activity of the screen. Just like currents in water, made only of water, every experience is made of awareness. All seeming things are one infinite reality.
A man asks whether it is our sacred duty to go against the grain of our conditioning, for example, fear of speaking out against injustice. Rupert replies that it is reasonable to weigh the danger of speaking out; we have to be measured about it. You may become a peace activist, directly addressing the injustice in the world, or you may be what Eckhart Tolle calls a frequency holder, someone established in being, leading a quiet life at home, contributing subliminally to humanity.
A woman asks if the nature of awareness is being without qualities, how can it be peace and happiness? Is this just a limitation of language? Rupert replies that it would technically be more accurate to describe what awareness is not, avoiding attributing positive qualities to it. However, for the sake of ease in language and communication, it is simpler to say the nature of awareness is peace and joy. Awareness is quality-less; we really shouldn’t say anything at all about it.
A man asks about the sense of doership and freedom. Rupert replies that life is like a jazz concert, where every note can be traced back to all the other notes, demonstrating their interconnection. However, the delivery is spontaneous; it wasn’t scripted in advance. It’s like dancing by yourself, where you don’t dance for any specific reason, but rather out of love.
A man, who views himself as being like a wave in the ocean, wonders how to feel as if he is the infinite ocean. Rupert replies that in truth, it is even profounder than what the man is alluding to; awareness is dimensionless. He then guides the man in recognising being aware before any experience arises.
A woman who once experienced vivid lucid dreams enquires if Rupert has any advice for inducing more dreams. Rupert suggests that she simply relish the dreamless sleep.
A man with Jewish heritage shares his emotional involvement in the current conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, seeking advice on how to navigate his situation. Rupert responds that all the conflicts stem from the fact that people identify themselves not with their essential being but with a particular group, religion, race, creed, or nationality. The cause of all these conflicts is identifying our being with some limited aspect of our experience.
A woman questions what happens to being when she is asleep or under local anesthesia. Rupert asks her if she ever experiences not being aware of her being. Being is like the sun; it is self-luminous, knowing itself by being itself.
A man asks how to be at peace with suffering, wondering if it has any meaning. Rupert replies that suffering is indeed meaningful for the one who suffers. Awareness by itself doesn’t suffer; it is only when awareness coalesces into a finite mind that suffering begins. It is natural to resist suffering; if you accepted the suffering, it wouldn’t be suffering, it would be happiness.
A woman shares her experience of struggling to understand how to perceive oneness in the ten thousand things, arriving at the realisation that the separate self cannot perceive oneness, only the infinite being can. Rupert responds that he cannot add anything; she has answered her own question, thereby making his job easier.
A man refers to Rupert’s statement that ‘nothing matters’ and asks if it could be a panacea to suffering and confusion. Rupert replies that it’s true nothing matters, but we must be cautious with whom we share this insight, as some may find it offensive. He recounted Krishnamurti’s sacred teaching of ‘I don’t mind what happens.’ To the extent that we play our part in the movie of our lives, things matter, but the screen doesn’t care what happens in the movie.
A woman experiencing body contraction in social situations seeks advice. Rupert responds that the important thing is to understand and feel that you are the space of awareness in which all experiences arise. He guides her in exploring thoughts and sensations, pretending to offend her so she can feel the contraction, then instructs her to shift from feeling the cloud of sensations to being the sky of awareness.
A man asks about Rupert’s recounting of a profound shift in perception, facilitated by his teacher, Francis, who illustrated that the distant barking of a dog occurs not externally but within awareness. Rupert guides the man into the same experience, demonstrating that the sound of his voice, which the man is hearing, is not taking place outside himself but within the intimacy of awareness.
A man, referring to a previous question about feeling offended, asks if accepting it would be considered cowardly. Rupert replies that allowing the words of an insult to flow through oneself like a bird in the sky does not mean we should passively accept and not respond appropriately to the situation. A response coming from love and intelligence would be legitimate and, in some cases, necessary.
A woman, who is a tennis coach for children, shares her experience of witnessing children being bullied by their parents and wonders if her lack of response was cowardly. Rupert advises the woman to trust her intuition; her decision to not intervene might have been appropriate. Perhaps, he suggests, she is contributing positively by offering these children a different, kinder form of interaction through her tennis coaching.
A man struggles to reconcile his limited, finite-mind perspective with the concept of infinite awareness. Rupert replies that while the content of the mind is finite and limited, he advises not to assume that the awareness within which the mind’s contents are known is finite as well. He guides the man in exploring his experience and the infinite nature of awareness.
A woman enquires about the human aspects of mind faculties and whether they are experienced by awareness. Rupert replies that these faculties are modulations of awareness in the same way a movie is an activity of the screen. Just like currents in water, made only of water, every experience is made of awareness. All seeming things are one infinite reality.
A man asks whether it is our sacred duty to go against the grain of our conditioning, for example, fear of speaking out against injustice. Rupert replies that it is reasonable to weigh the danger of speaking out; we have to be measured about it. You may become a peace activist, directly addressing the injustice in the world, or you may be what Eckhart Tolle calls a frequency holder, someone established in being, leading a quiet life at home, contributing subliminally to humanity.
A woman asks if the nature of awareness is being without qualities, how can it be peace and happiness? Is this just a limitation of language? Rupert replies that it would technically be more accurate to describe what awareness is not, avoiding attributing positive qualities to it. However, for the sake of ease in language and communication, it is simpler to say the nature of awareness is peace and joy. Awareness is quality-less; we really shouldn’t say anything at all about it.
A man asks about the sense of doership and freedom. Rupert replies that life is like a jazz concert, where every note can be traced back to all the other notes, demonstrating their interconnection. However, the delivery is spontaneous; it wasn’t scripted in advance. It’s like dancing by yourself, where you don’t dance for any specific reason, but rather out of love.
A man, who views himself as being like a wave in the ocean, wonders how to feel as if he is the infinite ocean. Rupert replies that in truth, it is even profounder than what the man is alluding to; awareness is dimensionless. He then guides the man in recognising being aware before any experience arises.