The Gravitational Pull of Our Being

Become aware of the subtle expectation that something is missing, that your circumstances will give you something to end dissatisfaction. This expectation may take the form of an object, relationship or experience you desire, or just a longing or expectation. Anything given to or acquired by us would not be what we deeply long for, which is lasting, unfluctuating peace and joy. Have the clarity and the courage to see that nothing and nobody can give you that, nor need they. Dissatisfaction can also be felt as boredom. In our spiritual pursuits, we escape from dissatisfaction through teachers, teachings, traditions, practices, books, videos and so on. While these all have their place, at a certain stage, we have to face this core existential sense of lack that can only be resolved in our being. Pure, aware presence, aware being is what we are – it cannot be given or taken away.

Reflecting on the nature of his spiritual deepening, a man asks whether Rupert’s experience of being is constant or cyclical, and how grace plays a role in this process. Rupert shares that his experience is one of ongoing deepening, not a fixed state. He describes grace as the ever-present gravitational pull of being, always drawing us back. He explains how, even when we feel the subtle strain of restlessness—straining at the edges of the Now – grace is silently at work, inviting us to simply rest in our being.

A woman, recently diagnosed with cancer, shares her struggle between Western medicine and an alternative path. She feels uncertain yet recognises the diagnosis as a gift that has brought her closer to being. Rupert, while acknowledging the limitations of his guidance, and emphasising that he cannot advise on medical healing, reminds her that the ultimate healing lies in recognising the wholeness and perfection of her being.

A man struggles with grasping that, at an experiential level, everything is made of awareness. While he understands intellectually that nothing exists outside of awareness, objects and thoughts still feel dense and separate. Rupert explains that this perceived density arises because reality is mediated through the senses, creating the illusion of solidity. Over time, experience loses its capacity to veil our being, and being shines as the very substance of experience, just as the movie shines as the screen.

A woman asks about the collapse of the subject-object relationship. Rupert explains that all experience is filtered through thought and perception, creating the illusion of separate subjects and objects. He likens this to wearing glasses with a grid drawn on them – what is one seamless reality appears divided into many. To access the only unmediated experience – our awareness of being – we must turn inward, beyond thoughts and perceptions. This recognition allows us to override the apparent evidence of the senses, infusing our experience with the understanding that subject and object are not truly separate.

A man shares his fear of non-existence as a result of a previous discussion about consciousness as the sole doer. Rupert reassures him, urging him to live as if he has free will. He suggests a prayer: ‘Please, Infinite Awareness, you are the only one that does anything. Help me to understand who you truly are, to experience your qualities, and use my life in service of that understanding.’

A woman asks how God, being the totality, could not know the human experience. Rupert explains that God is the potential from which all emerges. Just as the sun doesn’t need a candle to illuminate itself, God knows itself inherently, without the need for subject-object relationships.

A man asks about effort in spiritual practice, particularly mantra meditation. Rupert explains how in his twenty-year mantra practice, his attention would be focused away from the distractions of daily life to a single point, the mantra. As the mantra subsided, attention would return to awareness. Later, when he encountered the Direct Path, he found that asking, ‘What is it that is aware of my experience?’ could bring him straight back to his true nature. The mantra had created a well-worn pathway, making this transition a natural ripening process.

Become aware of the subtle expectation that something is missing, that your circumstances will give you something to end dissatisfaction. This expectation may take the form of an object, relationship or experience you desire, or just a longing or expectation. Anything given to or acquired by us would not be what we deeply long for, which is lasting, unfluctuating peace and joy. Have the clarity and the courage to see that nothing and nobody can give you that, nor need they. Dissatisfaction can also be felt as boredom. In our spiritual pursuits, we escape from dissatisfaction through teachers, teachings, traditions, practices, books, videos and so on. While these all have their place, at a certain stage, we have to face this core existential sense of lack that can only be resolved in our being. Pure, aware presence, aware being is what we are – it cannot be given or taken away.

Reflecting on the nature of his spiritual deepening, a man asks whether Rupert’s experience of being is constant or cyclical, and how grace plays a role in this process. Rupert shares that his experience is one of ongoing deepening, not a fixed state. He describes grace as the ever-present gravitational pull of being, always drawing us back. He explains how, even when we feel the subtle strain of restlessness—straining at the edges of the Now – grace is silently at work, inviting us to simply rest in our being.

A woman, recently diagnosed with cancer, shares her struggle between Western medicine and an alternative path. She feels uncertain yet recognises the diagnosis as a gift that has brought her closer to being. Rupert, while acknowledging the limitations of his guidance, and emphasising that he cannot advise on medical healing, reminds her that the ultimate healing lies in recognising the wholeness and perfection of her being.

A man struggles with grasping that, at an experiential level, everything is made of awareness. While he understands intellectually that nothing exists outside of awareness, objects and thoughts still feel dense and separate. Rupert explains that this perceived density arises because reality is mediated through the senses, creating the illusion of solidity. Over time, experience loses its capacity to veil our being, and being shines as the very substance of experience, just as the movie shines as the screen.

A woman asks about the collapse of the subject-object relationship. Rupert explains that all experience is filtered through thought and perception, creating the illusion of separate subjects and objects. He likens this to wearing glasses with a grid drawn on them – what is one seamless reality appears divided into many. To access the only unmediated experience – our awareness of being – we must turn inward, beyond thoughts and perceptions. This recognition allows us to override the apparent evidence of the senses, infusing our experience with the understanding that subject and object are not truly separate.

A man shares his fear of non-existence as a result of a previous discussion about consciousness as the sole doer. Rupert reassures him, urging him to live as if he has free will. He suggests a prayer: ‘Please, Infinite Awareness, you are the only one that does anything. Help me to understand who you truly are, to experience your qualities, and use my life in service of that understanding.’

A woman asks how God, being the totality, could not know the human experience. Rupert explains that God is the potential from which all emerges. Just as the sun doesn’t need a candle to illuminate itself, God knows itself inherently, without the need for subject-object relationships.

A man asks about effort in spiritual practice, particularly mantra meditation. Rupert explains how in his twenty-year mantra practice, his attention would be focused away from the distractions of daily life to a single point, the mantra. As the mantra subsided, attention would return to awareness. Later, when he encountered the Direct Path, he found that asking, ‘What is it that is aware of my experience?’ could bring him straight back to his true nature. The mantra had created a well-worn pathway, making this transition a natural ripening process.