Meditation and Sleep Paralysis from the media Staying Awake, Aware
A man from Michigan who was a materialist until a few years ago, has been led to Vedanta and Rupert, and recently had an experience similar to sleep paralysis during meditation. He asks if Rupert is familiar with this kind of reaction.
- Duration: 3 minutes and 36 seconds
- Recorded on: Feb 20, 2021
- Event: Five Day 'Retreat at Home' – February
A woman from South Carolina says she has experienced the back and forth between awareness and being lost in experience of which Rupert speaks. She asks for a way, or a practice to remind her and keep her in awareness.
A man who has been practicing for many years says there is clarity, but there are times when the suffering seems overwhelming. He asks how to deal with this 'energy field,' because nothing seems to work. Rupert suggest he not fight the suffering, but completely embrace it when it appears, because suffering is resistance.
A woman from Colorado is taken by the idea that thoughts are more like waves than distractions, asks why are some thoughts more distracting and pull you in more than others. Rupert suggests it's not the thoughts that are a problem, but the belief in the separate self.
A man from Germany asks Rupert to describe what the experience of consciousness being aware of itself is like, because he cannot quite get there. Rupert guides him in self-enquiry.
A woman asks for help in regard to what she describes as an extreme, energetic physical response that includes nervousness, on edge, and vulnerability. Rupert suggests instead of feeling 'I am this physical intensity,' feel and think that she is the openess in which it arises.
A man from Canada asks Rupert to explain what he meant by the use of the word 'blasphemy' in one of his videos, because he formerly associated the word from his religious upbringing and involved punishment and sin.
A woman from Austria asks, if realisation is gradual, how does she know that she is making progress? What are the signs? Rupert responds that uncaused peace and happiness are the signs.
A man from Canada had an awakening as a result of coming face to face with death. Since then, he goes back and forth between this awareness and getting lost in experience. He asks Rupert how to stay with this understanding.
A woman from Colorado asks about the nature of desire. Doesn't it also come from awareness, or is it part of the fun and excitement of the human experience?
A man has had an experience of his true nature, yet doesn't now have a lived sense of it, so he wonders if, knowing what he knows, is it a matter of taking a stand as awareness, a matter of resolve or conviction?
A woman who has been on the spiritual journey for seventy years says that she cannot reconcile her understanding with appearances, which in this case is the clutter she finds in her home.
A couple from South Germany want to know, if meditation is our true nature, why do we seek experience at all? Rupert explains that not all desire for experience comes from a sense of lack, but from a sense of fullness.
A woman from Miami describes an increased sense of abiding as awareness that manifests as unconditional love and desirelessness. Although she is married, she finds herself wanting to experience more time alone, and asks Rupert about this development.
A man from Michigan who was a materialist until a few years ago, has been led to Vedanta and Rupert, and recently had an experience similar to sleep paralysis during meditation. He asks if Rupert is familiar with this kind of reaction.
A man asks Rupert to explain what is happening when we meditate in a group, as opposed to when we meditate alone?
A man from Tucson asks if what we're doing here is recognising our true nature, which he says he feels like an embodied sense of 'I am' that feels like a memory or like a void. Rupert explains that it is like a memory in that we already know, but it's not of the past.
A woman from South Carolina says she has experienced the back and forth between awareness and being lost in experience of which Rupert speaks. She asks for a way, or a practice to remind her and keep her in awareness.
A man who has been practicing for many years says there is clarity, but there are times when the suffering seems overwhelming. He asks how to deal with this 'energy field,' because nothing seems to work. Rupert suggest he not fight the suffering, but completely embrace it when it appears, because suffering is resistance.
A woman from Colorado is taken by the idea that thoughts are more like waves than distractions, asks why are some thoughts more distracting and pull you in more than others. Rupert suggests it's not the thoughts that are a problem, but the belief in the separate self.
A man from Germany asks Rupert to describe what the experience of consciousness being aware of itself is like, because he cannot quite get there. Rupert guides him in self-enquiry.
A woman asks for help in regard to what she describes as an extreme, energetic physical response that includes nervousness, on edge, and vulnerability. Rupert suggests instead of feeling 'I am this physical intensity,' feel and think that she is the openess in which it arises.
A man from Canada asks Rupert to explain what he meant by the use of the word 'blasphemy' in one of his videos, because he formerly associated the word from his religious upbringing and involved punishment and sin.
A woman from Austria asks, if realisation is gradual, how does she know that she is making progress? What are the signs? Rupert responds that uncaused peace and happiness are the signs.
A man from Canada had an awakening as a result of coming face to face with death. Since then, he goes back and forth between this awareness and getting lost in experience. He asks Rupert how to stay with this understanding.
A woman from Colorado asks about the nature of desire. Doesn't it also come from awareness, or is it part of the fun and excitement of the human experience?
A man has had an experience of his true nature, yet doesn't now have a lived sense of it, so he wonders if, knowing what he knows, is it a matter of taking a stand as awareness, a matter of resolve or conviction?
A woman who has been on the spiritual journey for seventy years says that she cannot reconcile her understanding with appearances, which in this case is the clutter she finds in her home.
A couple from South Germany want to know, if meditation is our true nature, why do we seek experience at all? Rupert explains that not all desire for experience comes from a sense of lack, but from a sense of fullness.
A woman from Miami describes an increased sense of abiding as awareness that manifests as unconditional love and desirelessness. Although she is married, she finds herself wanting to experience more time alone, and asks Rupert about this development.
A man from Michigan who was a materialist until a few years ago, has been led to Vedanta and Rupert, and recently had an experience similar to sleep paralysis during meditation. He asks if Rupert is familiar with this kind of reaction.
A man asks Rupert to explain what is happening when we meditate in a group, as opposed to when we meditate alone?
A man from Tucson asks if what we're doing here is recognising our true nature, which he says he feels like an embodied sense of 'I am' that feels like a memory or like a void. Rupert explains that it is like a memory in that we already know, but it's not of the past.