Two Things We All Should Know

There are two things we all should know. First, there is a place of peace in us that is always accessible irrespective of what is taking place in our lives. Second, we share our being with everyone and everything. Everybody knows their being, but because it is mixed with thoughts and feelings, we do not know it clearly, so the peace and quiet joy that is the nature of our being is not fully felt. The deeper we sink into being, the less agitation and sorrow we experience. A human being is not a personal being, but God's being clothed in human experience. The highest form of meditation is to sound the divine name – ‘I am’ – and allow oneself to be drawn into that to which it refers. We see God's being, our being, in and as everything and everyone, and relate to it as that. Peace on the inside; love and beauty on the outside.

A woman relays a vision she had and asks Rupert about it. Rupert suggests there is no gap or discontinuity of being. The apparent gap belongs only to the world of appearances. There is no gap in being. Whatever the content of thinking, emphasise the 'I am'. Rupert suggests that she look into her eyes in the mirror as one would look into the eyes of an infant, until what she sees loses the quality of thoughts and so on, and she just see the same pure being of an infant.

A woman who recently discovered the non-duality teaching asks a question about delocalisation, sensations in the body and objects. Rupert responds that whatever there is, exists, such as planets and thoughts. See through the things to their shared reality and relate from that understanding towards everyone and everything.

A man relays his enquiry into the ‘I’. Rupert suggests that the first step is to discover that anything I find is not what I am. I cannot know myself as an object. However, this doesn’t imply that I can’t know myself. When we say, ‘I am’ we are saying that ‘I know that I am’. The I that I am, and I that knows that I am is the same I. Being is known by itself.

A mother, who is concerned about her son's diet, asks how to deal with this in a non-dual way. Rupert responds that although he cannot go into detail not knowing all the circumstances, but says he sympathises and would say that freedom is the hallmark of this understanding, and it is not always easy to apply to life situations. He shares that he learned the hard way that children need boundaries. They will push until a boundary is provided, so don't be afraid to say 'no'.

A woman shares that she is struggling with resistance. Rupert asks her to investigate the ‘I’ that is struggling and suggests there is no separate self but only awareness, which is mixed with thoughts and feelings and creates the impression of the separate self. Take yourself back to your true nature.

A man talks about the arising of desires and asks whether we can pray, manifest or surrender to these desires. Rupert suggests a higher path. If it is a personal desire, surrendering is the highest response, but it will not uproot the personal. Explore the source of the desire and where it comes from. Does it come from a sense of lack or from fullness? If from lack, even if the desire is fulfilled, it will not satisfy. Look instead for the self that desires. Don't use the world to serve your happiness; use your happiness to serve the world.

A woman, who relays how she previously intuited that separation is an illusion, asks Rupert how to heal the divide with her children who don’t like the choices she’s made. Rupert suggests that separation is experienced at the level of thoughts and feelings, but there are no ‘beings’; there is just being. That is the most important thing to know about others. Feel their being as your being; this understanding doesn't depend on time and space.

A man says he's been practising self-enquiry for years and when he observes his thoughts, they go away but sometimes overtake him. He wonders if he continues doing what he is doing if eventually the thoughts will no longer overtake him. Rupert suggests not making a conflict between ourself and the content of your experience. Self-enquiry initiates a process that ultimately results in self-abidance. It is not an activity we do with our mind, so there is no need to battle with our thoughts; let experience be as it is. Emphasise resting in being; allow it to shine through regardless of the contents of your mind.

A man describes an experiencing of God coming through him, which eventually became more subtle and dualistic until he paid attention to what was in the background. Rupert responds that the glimpse does not mean that a sense of separation goes away overnight. There might still be some conflict, but ultimately relationships are profoundly affected as we make this our new understanding. Reconditioning patterns in our mind happens over time. The patterns run very deep.

A man, whose daily practice was to express gratitude, shares a poem that asks, ‘Who thanks whom?’ Rupert suggests that prayer and gratitude are the natural expressions of infinite being once it has localised itself as an apparently separate self. It is highest expressions of the apparently separate self. Even after you have recognised there is no separate, it is still legitimate to be grateful and to pray.

A question is asked about what to do when outside situations are difficult but internally peaceful; it is difficult to know what to do with the energy that arises. Rupert suggests that it is a flow of which we are unaccustomed, and to let it find its own form. Let it find a suitable container. Think of something that you love to do.

There are two things we all should know. First, there is a place of peace in us that is always accessible irrespective of what is taking place in our lives. Second, we share our being with everyone and everything. Everybody knows their being, but because it is mixed with thoughts and feelings, we do not know it clearly, so the peace and quiet joy that is the nature of our being is not fully felt. The deeper we sink into being, the less agitation and sorrow we experience. A human being is not a personal being, but God's being clothed in human experience. The highest form of meditation is to sound the divine name – ‘I am’ – and allow oneself to be drawn into that to which it refers. We see God's being, our being, in and as everything and everyone, and relate to it as that. Peace on the inside; love and beauty on the outside.

A woman relays a vision she had and asks Rupert about it. Rupert suggests there is no gap or discontinuity of being. The apparent gap belongs only to the world of appearances. There is no gap in being. Whatever the content of thinking, emphasise the 'I am'. Rupert suggests that she look into her eyes in the mirror as one would look into the eyes of an infant, until what she sees loses the quality of thoughts and so on, and she just see the same pure being of an infant.

A woman who recently discovered the non-duality teaching asks a question about delocalisation, sensations in the body and objects. Rupert responds that whatever there is, exists, such as planets and thoughts. See through the things to their shared reality and relate from that understanding towards everyone and everything.

A man relays his enquiry into the ‘I’. Rupert suggests that the first step is to discover that anything I find is not what I am. I cannot know myself as an object. However, this doesn’t imply that I can’t know myself. When we say, ‘I am’ we are saying that ‘I know that I am’. The I that I am, and I that knows that I am is the same I. Being is known by itself.

A mother, who is concerned about her son's diet, asks how to deal with this in a non-dual way. Rupert responds that although he cannot go into detail not knowing all the circumstances, but says he sympathises and would say that freedom is the hallmark of this understanding, and it is not always easy to apply to life situations. He shares that he learned the hard way that children need boundaries. They will push until a boundary is provided, so don't be afraid to say 'no'.

A woman shares that she is struggling with resistance. Rupert asks her to investigate the ‘I’ that is struggling and suggests there is no separate self but only awareness, which is mixed with thoughts and feelings and creates the impression of the separate self. Take yourself back to your true nature.

A man talks about the arising of desires and asks whether we can pray, manifest or surrender to these desires. Rupert suggests a higher path. If it is a personal desire, surrendering is the highest response, but it will not uproot the personal. Explore the source of the desire and where it comes from. Does it come from a sense of lack or from fullness? If from lack, even if the desire is fulfilled, it will not satisfy. Look instead for the self that desires. Don't use the world to serve your happiness; use your happiness to serve the world.

A woman, who relays how she previously intuited that separation is an illusion, asks Rupert how to heal the divide with her children who don’t like the choices she’s made. Rupert suggests that separation is experienced at the level of thoughts and feelings, but there are no ‘beings’; there is just being. That is the most important thing to know about others. Feel their being as your being; this understanding doesn't depend on time and space.

A man says he's been practising self-enquiry for years and when he observes his thoughts, they go away but sometimes overtake him. He wonders if he continues doing what he is doing if eventually the thoughts will no longer overtake him. Rupert suggests not making a conflict between ourself and the content of your experience. Self-enquiry initiates a process that ultimately results in self-abidance. It is not an activity we do with our mind, so there is no need to battle with our thoughts; let experience be as it is. Emphasise resting in being; allow it to shine through regardless of the contents of your mind.

A man describes an experiencing of God coming through him, which eventually became more subtle and dualistic until he paid attention to what was in the background. Rupert responds that the glimpse does not mean that a sense of separation goes away overnight. There might still be some conflict, but ultimately relationships are profoundly affected as we make this our new understanding. Reconditioning patterns in our mind happens over time. The patterns run very deep.

A man, whose daily practice was to express gratitude, shares a poem that asks, ‘Who thanks whom?’ Rupert suggests that prayer and gratitude are the natural expressions of infinite being once it has localised itself as an apparently separate self. It is highest expressions of the apparently separate self. Even after you have recognised there is no separate, it is still legitimate to be grateful and to pray.

A question is asked about what to do when outside situations are difficult but internally peaceful; it is difficult to know what to do with the energy that arises. Rupert suggests that it is a flow of which we are unaccustomed, and to let it find its own form. Let it find a suitable container. Think of something that you love to do.