Sink Into the Depths of Being

There is movement on the surface of the ocean, yet it remains still in its depths. There may be agitation or disturbance in the content of experience, yet there is peace in the depths of our being. Disturbance may appear inside as thoughts, feelings, images or outside as agitation in our environment. Either way, the peace is the same. Let go of the content of experience and allow ourself to sink into the depths of being. When we let go of everything, we find ourself resting effortlessly in, and as, being. No experience holds onto us; we hold onto it. When we let go, sinking into being happens on its own. Water has no form, yet it takes whatever shape the ocean takes. Being has no form, and yet it is imminent within every aspect of experience. Water is always the same. Our being, God’s presence, is always the same, and shines in the midst of all experience.

A woman for whom the first two stages of the Direct Path are clear, says she struggles with how to act in the world. Rupert suggests that all that’s necessary is to be sure what the origin of our motives are. It's not the action itself that is important, but the impulse behind the action that matters. We express and take action that is aligned with truth and love. The purpose is to share and communicate truth and love.

A man who experiences pain asks how to get in touch with being one with the body from a non-dual perspective. Rupert responds that there is no 'finding non-duality in your body’. It is an appearance and, as such, appears to be separate from other bodies, yet know that what is within is the same for all bodies: a shared being. Respond accordingly from this understanding by taking care of the body and other bodies that come into our experience.

A man had a realisation that he and everything are one, but he found the experience terrifying. He asks about how to go from an intellectual understanding that I am one with everything to a felt experience of love and oneness. Rupert suggests that we can't make ourselves feel one with everything. What we can do is investigate and explore our felt sense of separation. We make this deep investigation into the nature of our self and, as a result, we discover that the deepest level our being has no limitations.

A woman asks, ‘What is this chattering mind?’, which has questions and doubts, and creates anxiety. Who is it that hears and sees? Rupert responds that the one who sees and hears is 'I', and asks who or what is the nature of that which is knowing our experience now?

A man asks for clarification on consciousness and the Buddhist concept of impermanence. Rupert suggests that consciousness is that which is aware of your experience and asks, ‘Have you ever experienced the impermanence or the disappearance of consciousness?’ Rupert comments that there is no difference in the understanding; it’s a difference in language. The essential self is consciousness.

A woman says she has lost track of her progress and is having a lot of difficult emotions and thoughts, which feels like a war within and asks for help. Rupert replies that it is good to lose the habit of thinking; he suggests she is progressing spiritually, however what she is, her true nature, is not progressing. This understanding finds ways of sharing itself regardless of circumstance or what is being experienced.

A man asks for insight into a piercing feeling in his body when someone is critical of him. Rupert suggests that the feeling in his chest is the counterpart in his body to the belief that he is a discrete, separate, finite self. When somebody says something judgmental or hurtful, we feel ‘I am hurt’ and this sensation is the counterpart in the body. Rupert suggests we ask, 'What is being hurt?'

A woman says she is confused by the difference between self-realisation and God-realisation, as well as the practices related to both concepts. Rupert replies that if these were two different realisations, then God and the self would be two different entities, which would mean that God would be limited rather than infinite and, therefore, would not be God. This is the great understanding: the self that we are is God because God is all there is. There is no 'we' in God's knowledge of itself.

A woman refers to the suffering of others and asks about detachment and what the highest perspective to take is. Rupert asks, ‘Why detach ourself?’ and suggests that the highest perspective in relation to another's suffering is the same as the position we take in relation to our own suffering, which is to investigate the self on whose behalf it arises. If we are feeling another person's suffering, like a family member, then we feel ourself as that openness, as the space that contains the suffering, and stand as that.

A man asks a question about solipsism, noting that we cannot know the experience of others. Rupert responds that he is not in any way implying solipsism. The idea that only one individual mind exists, and all experience arises from that individual mind is madness. Rather what is being suggested is that the entire universe is the activity of consciousness perceived from temporary localised perspectives.

A woman remarks that she has become aware that there isn’t a ‘me’ but just a sense of me that seems to be disappearing. Rupert suggests that the reason we have a sense of me is because there is something real in our experience that corresponds to the idea of 'me' or 'I'. The reason we have a sense of me, is because we are derived from something that is real. Using the analogy of a movie on a screen, the landscape is an appearance of its reality the screen. Consciousness is the screen; there is something real about you.

A question is asked about the existence of a stillpoint in polarity. Rupert responds that the stillpoint is that which never changes in experience, often called the still, small voice.

There is movement on the surface of the ocean, yet it remains still in its depths. There may be agitation or disturbance in the content of experience, yet there is peace in the depths of our being. Disturbance may appear inside as thoughts, feelings, images or outside as agitation in our environment. Either way, the peace is the same. Let go of the content of experience and allow ourself to sink into the depths of being. When we let go of everything, we find ourself resting effortlessly in, and as, being. No experience holds onto us; we hold onto it. When we let go, sinking into being happens on its own. Water has no form, yet it takes whatever shape the ocean takes. Being has no form, and yet it is imminent within every aspect of experience. Water is always the same. Our being, God’s presence, is always the same, and shines in the midst of all experience.

A woman for whom the first two stages of the Direct Path are clear, says she struggles with how to act in the world. Rupert suggests that all that’s necessary is to be sure what the origin of our motives are. It's not the action itself that is important, but the impulse behind the action that matters. We express and take action that is aligned with truth and love. The purpose is to share and communicate truth and love.

A man who experiences pain asks how to get in touch with being one with the body from a non-dual perspective. Rupert responds that there is no 'finding non-duality in your body’. It is an appearance and, as such, appears to be separate from other bodies, yet know that what is within is the same for all bodies: a shared being. Respond accordingly from this understanding by taking care of the body and other bodies that come into our experience.

A man had a realisation that he and everything are one, but he found the experience terrifying. He asks about how to go from an intellectual understanding that I am one with everything to a felt experience of love and oneness. Rupert suggests that we can't make ourselves feel one with everything. What we can do is investigate and explore our felt sense of separation. We make this deep investigation into the nature of our self and, as a result, we discover that the deepest level our being has no limitations.

A woman asks, ‘What is this chattering mind?’, which has questions and doubts, and creates anxiety. Who is it that hears and sees? Rupert responds that the one who sees and hears is 'I', and asks who or what is the nature of that which is knowing our experience now?

A man asks for clarification on consciousness and the Buddhist concept of impermanence. Rupert suggests that consciousness is that which is aware of your experience and asks, ‘Have you ever experienced the impermanence or the disappearance of consciousness?’ Rupert comments that there is no difference in the understanding; it’s a difference in language. The essential self is consciousness.

A woman says she has lost track of her progress and is having a lot of difficult emotions and thoughts, which feels like a war within and asks for help. Rupert replies that it is good to lose the habit of thinking; he suggests she is progressing spiritually, however what she is, her true nature, is not progressing. This understanding finds ways of sharing itself regardless of circumstance or what is being experienced.

A man asks for insight into a piercing feeling in his body when someone is critical of him. Rupert suggests that the feeling in his chest is the counterpart in his body to the belief that he is a discrete, separate, finite self. When somebody says something judgmental or hurtful, we feel ‘I am hurt’ and this sensation is the counterpart in the body. Rupert suggests we ask, 'What is being hurt?'

A woman says she is confused by the difference between self-realisation and God-realisation, as well as the practices related to both concepts. Rupert replies that if these were two different realisations, then God and the self would be two different entities, which would mean that God would be limited rather than infinite and, therefore, would not be God. This is the great understanding: the self that we are is God because God is all there is. There is no 'we' in God's knowledge of itself.

A woman refers to the suffering of others and asks about detachment and what the highest perspective to take is. Rupert asks, ‘Why detach ourself?’ and suggests that the highest perspective in relation to another's suffering is the same as the position we take in relation to our own suffering, which is to investigate the self on whose behalf it arises. If we are feeling another person's suffering, like a family member, then we feel ourself as that openness, as the space that contains the suffering, and stand as that.

A man asks a question about solipsism, noting that we cannot know the experience of others. Rupert responds that he is not in any way implying solipsism. The idea that only one individual mind exists, and all experience arises from that individual mind is madness. Rather what is being suggested is that the entire universe is the activity of consciousness perceived from temporary localised perspectives.

A woman remarks that she has become aware that there isn’t a ‘me’ but just a sense of me that seems to be disappearing. Rupert suggests that the reason we have a sense of me is because there is something real in our experience that corresponds to the idea of 'me' or 'I'. The reason we have a sense of me, is because we are derived from something that is real. Using the analogy of a movie on a screen, the landscape is an appearance of its reality the screen. Consciousness is the screen; there is something real about you.

A question is asked about the existence of a stillpoint in polarity. Rupert responds that the stillpoint is that which never changes in experience, often called the still, small voice.