‘I Am That I Am’

"I’ve been mulling over the phrase ‘I am that I am’, and it brings wonder and gratitude as I go on walks and notice trees. And when I apply it to someone suffering, I feel strong compassion. Am I on the right track? Rupert says: ‘What you’re saying is true, but it’s not really the meaning of the phrase. Popeye explained it well: “I am what I am, and that’s all that I am.” When you say, “I am”, you refer to the experience of being. God meant: “All I am is being, and that’s all that I am. I haven’t allowed my being to be modified by experience. Because my being is unqualified, it has no limitations – therefore I am infinite being, God’s being.” That’s why “I am” is God’s name. As for your walks: the fundamental property of any object is its isness. The isness of this glass and the isness of a tree are the same. Infinite being shines brightest in each of us as the knowledge “I am”, and brightest in the world as the knowledge “it is”. The great recognition is that the amness of ourselves and the isness of all things are one. When you feel that your amness is the same as another person’s, that felt sense of shared being is what we call love. The same experience with an object is what we call beauty.’"

From event 21 - 28 November, 2025 Seven-Day Retreat at The Vedanta, 21–28 November 2025

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