What Is the Nature of Mind?
- Duration: Video: 1 hour, 53 minutes, and 49 seconds / Audio: 1 hour, 53 minutes, and 49 seconds
- Recorded on: Sep 23, 2021
- Event: Webinar – Thursday 23rd September 4:00pm, UK
In this meditation, we explore what the nature of my mind is when all thinking, feeling, sensing and perceiving have been removed, and it comes to rest. What remains is pure awareness with nothing to be aware of. We could call it empty or silent mind. In Zen it is referred to as original mind, before it is qualified by experience, free of agitation and lack. Without thoughts and feelings, its nature is peace, fulfillment and joy. We lose contact with our essential being of innate peace and happiness, and so we set out on a great search hoping to find them through the acquisition or experience of objects, substances, activities and relationships. We embark on this journey only to return afresh to the place from which we started. We let this subtle expectation of finding peace and happiness in experience come to rest in this understanding. That with which all experience is known is what we are.
A woman realises she has overlooked her being because she was waiting for something big to happen. Now she sees it has always been here, yet she doesn't have this awareness in deep sleep. Rupert responds that there is no content in deep sleep so there is nothing to remember, so the finite mind assumes there is nothing there.
A man who has been studying Ramana Maharshi for some time, and other non-dual teachings, says he still doesn't get it. Rupert guides him in self-enquiry to become aware of what is already and always here, and that there is nothing more to get.
A questioner asks, ‘When we dream, we don't see through the physical eyes, but in the waking state, aren't we seeing through the eyes?’ Rupert responds that the answer depends upon the level of understanding.
A questioner asks if the stage of awareness, 'I am everything' means that the screen of awareness is infinite. Rupert asks if the screen is ever anything but awareness shining brightly with, and as, itself, the ultimate source of wealth and abundance.
A woman asks about the metaphor of the sky, clouds and weather as she feels threatened by emotions and feels taken hostage by them. Rupert responds that we are always the sky occasionally taken over by the weather, which we experience as a threshold of tolerance, and suggests that the threshold can be raised gradually.
A man asks for a way to overcome doubts of being consciousness. Rupert suggests that there are doubts only due to resistance to experience, and they can be investigated as such.
A man says that it seems it is clear that everything is made of knowing, but sometimes this gets obscured by difficult emotions. Rupert asks if any experience, including depression, is made of anything but the knowing of it.
A woman feels as if her capacity to attend to awareness is interfered with because she wants something more. Rupert suggests investigating the 'I' that wants something.
In this meditation, we explore what the nature of my mind is when all thinking, feeling, sensing and perceiving have been removed, and it comes to rest. What remains is pure awareness with nothing to be aware of. We could call it empty or silent mind. In Zen it is referred to as original mind, before it is qualified by experience, free of agitation and lack. Without thoughts and feelings, its nature is peace, fulfillment and joy. We lose contact with our essential being of innate peace and happiness, and so we set out on a great search hoping to find them through the acquisition or experience of objects, substances, activities and relationships. We embark on this journey only to return afresh to the place from which we started. We let this subtle expectation of finding peace and happiness in experience come to rest in this understanding. That with which all experience is known is what we are.
A woman realises she has overlooked her being because she was waiting for something big to happen. Now she sees it has always been here, yet she doesn't have this awareness in deep sleep. Rupert responds that there is no content in deep sleep so there is nothing to remember, so the finite mind assumes there is nothing there.
A man who has been studying Ramana Maharshi for some time, and other non-dual teachings, says he still doesn't get it. Rupert guides him in self-enquiry to become aware of what is already and always here, and that there is nothing more to get.
A questioner asks, ‘When we dream, we don't see through the physical eyes, but in the waking state, aren't we seeing through the eyes?’ Rupert responds that the answer depends upon the level of understanding.
A questioner asks if the stage of awareness, 'I am everything' means that the screen of awareness is infinite. Rupert asks if the screen is ever anything but awareness shining brightly with, and as, itself, the ultimate source of wealth and abundance.
A woman asks about the metaphor of the sky, clouds and weather as she feels threatened by emotions and feels taken hostage by them. Rupert responds that we are always the sky occasionally taken over by the weather, which we experience as a threshold of tolerance, and suggests that the threshold can be raised gradually.
A man asks for a way to overcome doubts of being consciousness. Rupert suggests that there are doubts only due to resistance to experience, and they can be investigated as such.
A man says that it seems it is clear that everything is made of knowing, but sometimes this gets obscured by difficult emotions. Rupert asks if any experience, including depression, is made of anything but the knowing of it.
A woman feels as if her capacity to attend to awareness is interfered with because she wants something more. Rupert suggests investigating the 'I' that wants something.