Energy as the Early Stirrings of Consciousness

"What exactly is energy in this teaching? I often feel extraordinary energy coming from people – sometimes pleasant, sometimes fearful. Once on a train, angry young men came on and you could feel the tremendous anger; everyone was affected. But in a cathedral with beautiful singing, you feel incredible beautiful energy. What is happening? Rupert says: ‘What you are essentially is pure consciousness, which expresses itself as thoughts, feelings, actions and relationships. Think of energy as somewhere in between pure consciousness and your thoughts and feelings. The energy is the earliest manifestation of what will later become a thought or feeling, and then an action. It’s the unformulated, pre-verbal movement of consciousness. At the deepest level, everyone is pure consciousness – a field of pure sensitivity. The sense of separation draws a boundary that makes us impervious to others; the thinner that boundary, the more acutely you feel what others feel. Those angry men were completely unaware of anyone else – the sense of separation in them was so dense. But you were open and undefended, so you felt what they felt and even visualised them compassionately as young boys. That’s what compassion is – feeling what someone else feels as if it were your own. You’re equally sensitive to hostile and positive energy. The energy does dissipate eventually – it’s like a ripple on the ocean – but not before it leaves its trace on the world.’"

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

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