Peace Is Not Dependent Upon External Circumstances

A man says that he has studied Kundalini and mantra practice but is new to non-duality and the Direct Path. He asks about joining an intentional community. Rupert suggests he take whatever he comes to understand from this teaching into his life and test it in his experience wherever he goes.

A man who has had an awakening experience asks what to do when he slips back into illusory beliefs and becomes lost. Rupert suggests that the better established he becomes in awareness, the less power these experiences will have over him.

A woman from Denmark asks what is the nature of surrender. Rupert explains that surrender is not something we as separate individuals do; it is what we truly are.

A woman asks about the nature of faith, and Rupert explains that as one stands as awareness again and again, one gains faith that would otherwise be belief.

A woman from Colombia says she picks up on other people’s feelings and experiences, and as she is also fearful, she picks up on the fear of others. She asks if she should close her sensitivity down. Rupert suggests that she investigate the self who feels threatened.

A man asks how the mind functions within the consciousness-only model. Rupert uses the analogy of the dreamer and the dream to elaborate on the role of the finite mind and localisation.

A man asks for clarification with respect to the mind and physical laws. Rupert suggests that there are habitual, repetitive and limited patterns of mind and consciousness.

A woman from Austria says that she experiences peace and happiness on the inside but struggles with other people on the outside, in the form of rejection and jealousy. Rupert explains that peace and happiness cannot be dependent upon other people.

A man asks how to maintain awareness whilst in the midst of confrontation, and similarly, when in business meetings when he is unable to speak. Rupert suggests he start by practising staying with the presence of awareness in neutral situations.

A woman asks how and why the universe responds to us when we are living from awareness. Rupert says that because we and the universe are the same, if our actions are in alignment with our understanding, we are treating the universe as it truly is and it will respond in kind.

A questioner asks, if this teaching is based on experiential understanding and not on belief, how we can verify what the non-dual teaching says about death and the fact that consciousness continues after the body dies. Rupert uses self-enquiry to bring about an experiential understanding that consciousness is ever-present.

A man says he is disappointed that non-duality fails to address what is going on in the world, such as scientific discoveries, and that in the metaphor of the screen and the movie, the teaching addresses the nature of the screen but doesn’t have much to say about the movie. Rupert says it is a fair question, and adds that because he has more experience with non-duality, his language and teaching reflects that perspective, but does not negate the scientific perspective.

A woman from Beverley, England, asks, if awareness doesn’t know the past, where guilt comes in. Do we set goals and make plans? Rupert suggests that we may need time for practical purposes, such as taking care of the body, but not in the psychological sense.

A questioner asks whether, if there is no time, it doesn’t matter what we do and we can essentially do what we want. Rupert agrees but adds that it must be consistent with the understanding of our true nature.

A woman who has had a powerful experience during the yoga meditation wonders whether it is best to follow the path of the body or of the mind. Rupert explains that both paths lead to the same place, so both are useful.

A questioner asks if awareness disappears when someone is in a coma. Rupert explains that awareness never changes and never goes anywhere.

A man asks about the contradiction between solipsism, in which everything happens in me, and the primacy of awareness, within which everything also happens. Rupert says the distinction comes up in the belief in appearances as independently existing objects.

A man says that he has studied Kundalini and mantra practice but is new to non-duality and the Direct Path. He asks about joining an intentional community. Rupert suggests he take whatever he comes to understand from this teaching into his life and test it in his experience wherever he goes.

A man who has had an awakening experience asks what to do when he slips back into illusory beliefs and becomes lost. Rupert suggests that the better established he becomes in awareness, the less power these experiences will have over him.

A woman from Denmark asks what is the nature of surrender. Rupert explains that surrender is not something we as separate individuals do; it is what we truly are.

A woman asks about the nature of faith, and Rupert explains that as one stands as awareness again and again, one gains faith that would otherwise be belief.

A woman from Colombia says she picks up on other people’s feelings and experiences, and as she is also fearful, she picks up on the fear of others. She asks if she should close her sensitivity down. Rupert suggests that she investigate the self who feels threatened.

A man asks how the mind functions within the consciousness-only model. Rupert uses the analogy of the dreamer and the dream to elaborate on the role of the finite mind and localisation.

A man asks for clarification with respect to the mind and physical laws. Rupert suggests that there are habitual, repetitive and limited patterns of mind and consciousness.

A woman from Austria says that she experiences peace and happiness on the inside but struggles with other people on the outside, in the form of rejection and jealousy. Rupert explains that peace and happiness cannot be dependent upon other people.

A man asks how to maintain awareness whilst in the midst of confrontation, and similarly, when in business meetings when he is unable to speak. Rupert suggests he start by practising staying with the presence of awareness in neutral situations.

A woman asks how and why the universe responds to us when we are living from awareness. Rupert says that because we and the universe are the same, if our actions are in alignment with our understanding, we are treating the universe as it truly is and it will respond in kind.

A questioner asks, if this teaching is based on experiential understanding and not on belief, how we can verify what the non-dual teaching says about death and the fact that consciousness continues after the body dies. Rupert uses self-enquiry to bring about an experiential understanding that consciousness is ever-present.

A man says he is disappointed that non-duality fails to address what is going on in the world, such as scientific discoveries, and that in the metaphor of the screen and the movie, the teaching addresses the nature of the screen but doesn’t have much to say about the movie. Rupert says it is a fair question, and adds that because he has more experience with non-duality, his language and teaching reflects that perspective, but does not negate the scientific perspective.

A woman from Beverley, England, asks, if awareness doesn’t know the past, where guilt comes in. Do we set goals and make plans? Rupert suggests that we may need time for practical purposes, such as taking care of the body, but not in the psychological sense.

A questioner asks whether, if there is no time, it doesn’t matter what we do and we can essentially do what we want. Rupert agrees but adds that it must be consistent with the understanding of our true nature.

A woman who has had a powerful experience during the yoga meditation wonders whether it is best to follow the path of the body or of the mind. Rupert explains that both paths lead to the same place, so both are useful.

A questioner asks if awareness disappears when someone is in a coma. Rupert explains that awareness never changes and never goes anywhere.

A man asks about the contradiction between solipsism, in which everything happens in me, and the primacy of awareness, within which everything also happens. Rupert says the distinction comes up in the belief in appearances as independently existing objects.