Being Is Self-Evident and Obvious

"How can I bridge the gap between understanding that my being is shared with everyone and everything, and the felt sense of separation that I experience in the finite mind? Rupert says: ‘The felt sense of separation is completely natural. The subject-object relationship is the only way it’s possible to have experience. Buddha sitting next to you would see the world in exactly the same way – lots of apparently separate people. You have to override the apparent evidence of sense perception with your understanding. Don’t expect the way you perceive to miraculously change. You have to make a conscious effort to feel through that sense of separation to the being you both share. Reserve some of your attention for this felt sense of shared being. As you’re listening or speaking, actively feel – don’t wait for it to happen. Allow that to inform the way you relate. Practice with people you like first, then with difficult people. Be grateful for those people – they help you establish this unconditional love.’"

"In meditation, when I turn my attention back to awareness, it becomes confusing because awareness seems to become an object of perception. How can awareness be aware of itself without creating duality? Rupert says: ‘Being aware of being aware, or the awareness of being – it’s suggested that awareness is the subject and being seems to be the object. But actually, being aware of being aware is the same experience as just being. Which is why I use the phrase “simply being” these days. It’s just a manner of speaking. There’s no real subject-object relationship there. When you simply rest as being, there’s just pure subjectivity, no object. Your attention gets nervous because it’s looking for something to become aware of, but in pure being there’s nothing to find – just rest there without seeking an object.’"

"When I’m deeply asleep and something wakes me up – an alarm or physical need – my mind uses this as evidence that physical reality is more real than consciousness. How can I respond to this argument? Rupert says: ‘The world we experience in the waking state is real – it’s just not real in the way it appears to be. When the alarm goes off, does that experience take place in consciousness? When you feel the need to pee, does that take place in consciousness? You get up, go to the bathroom, come back – do you ever encounter anything that doesn’t take place in consciousness? No. So what’s the argument for matter, which is defined as something outside consciousness? Nobody’s ever experienced anything outside consciousness. Your mind is making an argument for something you’ve never experienced. Be scientific, be rigorous – put that theory to the test. If there’s something called matter outside consciousness, let’s find it. Nobody ever has.’"

"How can awareness’s direct experience of itself in the absence of the finite mind ever be remembered or articulated? Memory and articulation seem to be activities of the finite mind. Rupert says: ‘Absolutely right. It cannot be remembered and it cannot be accurately articulated. If we want to speak strictly honestly about reality, we should remain silent. So we make a concession and do our best with the finite mind to articulate in a way that doesn’t describe it but evokes it. You’re right, it cannot be remembered. But no need to be remembered because it’s present now. Saying “I was aware during deep sleep” is the equivalent of saying “I am aware of being now” – that experience is eternal. It never disappears. It’s asserting the latter statement but saying it with reference to deep sleep. But it’s really the same as saying “I am eternally aware of being”, and you can make that statement of your experience now. It’s the same experience.’"

"In the psychedelic world, there are accounts of shamans healing physical conditions. What’s your experience with physical healing in relation to consciousness and these gatherings? Rupert says: ‘I don’t have personal firsthand experience of any such healing. I’ve heard about it but don’t remember anyone in this community over the years with those particular healing paths, though there may well have been. I have no doubt these things exist – that some people’s minds are configured in such a way, maybe slightly different from most, that gives them unusual powers, and physical healing is one such power. It’s consistent with the consciousness-only model. If someone’s mind is configured more porous and looser, they have certain energies or sensitivities that are unusual, and healing powers are part of this. I have no reason to doubt that takes place. It’s not something I’ve been particularly interested in, but I have no reason to believe it isn’t very real.’"

"I had a realisation that even experiencing objects as being is being itself. Is that an example of being knowing being through the finite mind? Rupert says: ‘You’re overthinking this. Can you say from your experience now “I am”? Yes. To what experience do you refer that enables you to say so? When I ask you this, you pause. Where do you go in that pause? You don’t go to sensations, thoughts or memories. You go to the self-evident experience of being. That’s it. The experience of being is so self-evident and obvious that we look too far ahead. We overthink what this extraordinary thing the enlightened sages talk of is. It’s the most simple, obvious and intimate experience. It’s so simple, obvious and intimate you can’t experience it in subject-object relationship, and therefore you think you’re not experiencing it. You’re expecting some marvellous experience. It’s not – it’s just the self-evident experience: “I am.”’"

"As a physician, I’ve experienced patients dying under my care. One might have been related to something I did or didn’t do. How do you deal with death when it might be related to your actions or inactions? Rupert says: ‘As a doctor, you are by definition putting yourself in the position where something you do or don’t do may contribute to someone’s death. You couldn’t be a doctor without taking that risk. By becoming a doctor, you’ve agreed to take that risk. The chances are at some stage during your career, with the hundreds or thousands of patients you see, something you do or don’t do is going to contribute to someone’s death. It’s part of your job. If you’re an astronaut, mountaineer, or even taxi driver, you agree to the same possibility. I have no doubt you always try to do your best, bring your highest knowledge and skill to bear on every patient. You always do your best. A week later in retrospect you may realise you could have done something different, but in that moment that knowledge wasn’t available to you. You can’t do more than that.’"

"I’ve been thinking about silence being the highest teaching, yet most creation myths begin with sound. Is sound a defilement of silence, or is creation an interruption? Rupert says: ‘In the beginning was the word – the word had not yet emanated from God’s being. The word before it emanated is silence. Sound is the finest frequency, which is why many argue music has the most potential, the greatest healing capacity. It can indicate the silence which has no frequency more accurately than any other form. Sound emerges from silence. You could think of sound as a defilement of silence if you didn’t understand it was an emanation of silence, made only of silence. In some traditions, the world is considered poisonous, disgusting. But that’s just a stage of turning away to recognise your true nature. Then we go back and see the world is already infused with being. It’s no longer a defilement but utterly sacred. Artists often become more minimal in old age, returning to origin.’"

"I understand consciousness and that ego doesn’t exist as it appears, but how can I be competitive in business without ego? How can I push myself without it? Rupert says: ‘First, the ego does exist, but it’s not what it appears to be. There’s a difference between something that doesn’t exist and something that’s an illusion. A square circle doesn’t exist. A landscape in a movie is an illusion – there’s something real there, the screen. The ego is like believing the space in this room is limited by the walls. The space exists but isn’t what it appears to be. It appears limited but it’s not. The ego is the belief that your being is finite. Why could you not desire excellence without your being aggrandised by it? Use your mind as a tool to push you to greater heights. Be ambitious. Put your ambition in service of love, in service of humanity. Use your entrepreneurial skills to bring something fabulous to humanity.’"

"Is the universe haphazard or designed? You mentioned Steve Jobs being guided by something outside himself – what is that? Rupert says: ‘There is a telos. When the logos emanated from God’s infinite being and turned into the universe, a tension was set up that is always tending to return to its source. At an individual level, we feel that as desire – the desire to be divested of limitations and return to our being. In the universe, there’s this impulse to return. The laws of physics, the direction of evolution – that’s all the impulse. The push in physics to explore the universe, pushing boundaries of knowledge – ultimately it’s the impulse to be resolved in its source. The evolutionary impulse is ultimately to merge back into the one. Consciousness doesn’t choose to manifest because choice would already be something manifest. It is consciousness’s nature to manifest.’"

"Do you think everything is a type of mind? Rupert says: ‘Everything is mind rather than matter. The Caribbean beach you dream of at night only looks like it’s made of matter because you view it through the perceiving faculties of the character in your dream. You wake up and realise the beach was made of mind, not matter. But when I say it’s mind, I mean it’s made of consciousness – that doesn’t mean it’s conscious. Your thoughts are made of consciousness but your thoughts themselves are not conscious. Your current thought is not listening to our conversation. The sensation at the soles of your feet appears in consciousness, is made of consciousness, but it’s not listening to our conversation. So it’s not conscious. It’s made of consciousness, but it’s not conscious.’"

"When practising meditation, I cannot abide in being for more than two hours. After that, I feel huge emptiness. How can I go further? Rupert says: ‘Why do you feel huge emptiness when you abide as being? Why not huge fullness? At any moment you can check – can I say from my experience now “I am”? The answer is always yes. You’re always having the experience of being. You don’t have to formally practise meditation to experience being. Formal meditation is just when you turn attention away from everything else to abide exclusively in being. But when you stop, you continue experiencing being, just no longer formally. Relax. Give yourself a break. Enjoy your life. Praying without ceasing means remaining as being throughout everyday life. You cannot concentrate on being – concentration is only for objects. Meditation as we understand it here is the relaxation of concentration, the subsidence of attention, not focusing. Replace your concentration with love of being.’"

"I work as a therapist with highly suicidal individuals. How can I use these teachings whilst respecting their autonomy and working to keep them alive? Rupert says: ‘Suicide won’t help them. It won’t put an end to their sorrow. They think putting an end to the body is putting an end to the mind – they’re in for a shock. They should make the best use of this life because they might not get another opportunity to meet an intelligent therapist like you. The fundamental understanding for you is that despite their deep suffering, their being is free, whole, never violated by experience. If you know this about them, if all your interaction is informed by this understanding, you’ll be modelling to them non-verbally the correct attitude they should take towards themselves. Be empathetic but also firm. Don’t lose yourself in their sorrow or you can’t help them.’"

"Why is it in being’s nature to manifest? Rupert says: ‘I think it’s being’s nature to manifest because its nature is love. Why does a woman want to have a child? There are no good reasons – it’s exhausting, a lot of work. But there’s something that overrides that. What’s the primary impulse to bring yourself forth in form? It’s love. You don’t have a child for a reason – it’s just your nature to do so because it’s in love’s nature to manifest itself. Out of the superabundance of itself, it just wants to overflow. It wants to share itself, give itself away. There’s no purpose for infinite consciousness to manifest. When you go to infinite consciousness in your own self, you find no purpose there. It’s just the outpouring of love wanting to share itself.’"

"Infinite consciousness can only know form through the limited mind, but this creates suffering because people believe they’re separate. Why would pure love create something that causes so much suffering, especially when God can’t even directly experience what it’s created? Rupert says: ‘Creation is sacrificial. Infinite consciousness localises itself as a finite mind and in doing so overlooks itself, forgets itself, seems to become a temporary finite being. From the point of view of temporary finite beings, there are many separate beings. Love is the experience of unity, so by definition the temporary finite being feels cut off, doesn’t feel love towards everyone because they don’t realise they share being with everyone. That’s the inevitable consequence of manifestation – it’s part of the package, the sacrifice consciousness makes. Consciousness doesn’t get anything from experience. A screen doesn’t benefit from a movie. Consciousness doesn’t manifest for a reason. It is its nature both to rest in being and to manifest itself. There is no reason for manifestation. You have to go to your being and see there’s no purpose there.’"

"I work in HR dealing with layoffs and difficult decisions. I feel like I’m contributing to separation and suffering. How can I bring understanding into such a challenging role? Rupert says: ‘Practice being in yourself because in your high-stress situation it’s easy to get lost in emotions. The more you’re established in being, the more presence, dignity and calm others will feel immediately. Good decision-making comes from there. Most importantly, with the people you’re interviewing, make it your practice. Before each interview, take thirty seconds to two minutes to really feel that you share your being with whoever’s going to come on screen. Make sure that feeling remains present throughout, even if you have to deliver bad news. This will give employees the best possible chance of not being crushed, not feeling worthless or discarded. They’ll feel your compassion. Build up a reservoir of peace through regular practice. In intense meetings, feel this ocean of peace behind you like a supportive mentor. You channel their imperturbable strength, dignity and clarity. It’s as if they’re working through you.’"