The Ego's Many Guises

A man from Brazil says that he is clear that he is not his thoughts, feelings, or sensations, but feels that the sense 'I am' resides in the body. He asks if it is possible to experience this disidentification, or is it intellectual?

A writer who has an interest in words asks for elaboration on the idea that initially, silences are seen as gaps between the words, but this eventually turns to words being experienced as gaps between the silences.

A man who has experienced a lot of fear from childhood issues asks if it is necessary to release these trauma energies or is that spiritual bypassing. Rupert explains that knowing yourself as the open space of awareness you can see that you no longer need to protect yourself and they come up to be seen and dissolved.

A woman says she feels she has such a strong sense of endearment towards everything she sees, even the trivial and 'messy.' She asks how to abide in this awareness and not lose herself in interactions with the world.

Is it a more practical use of time to practice the outward or inward-facing path? Rupert suggests that both are useful and practical.

A woman from Austin, TX, asks about the advisability of taking an extended stay away, or break, from the activities of objective experience, as opposed to simply becoming aware of being aware in isolation and from time to time. Rupert suggests she give it a try and find out, and check to see if these activities arise from a sense of lack, or genuine interest.

A follower of Ramana Maharshi asks about his comment that the only thing standing in the way of realisation is the analytical mind, and he wonders how to live without that? And would society be better off without this egoic overlay?

A retreat participant feels 'awake', and fears that if she takes another step she's going to fall, going to disappear, and notices she tries to return to the mind in this fear of disappearance. Rupert encourages her to go ahead and take that next step.

A man finds the question 'Who is aware,' a useful practice, but also finds that he falls asleep during meditation and is then unable to ask the question, so asks what to do. Rupert suggests it is a trick of the ego to maintain its existence.

Sometimes we get lost in moments of laughter with friends and family, and there is a sense of losing touch with the essential self. Are these egoic moments and do they fade? Rupert says to expect them to increase.

A woman from Peru describes a confrontational conversation with her ego that fears its dissolution. Rupert says that the separate self is real, but illusory.

A man from Michigan understands that when he ceases to exist, awareness will go on. But what happens when all beings cease to exist? Rupert explains that awareness will remain as it is now.

A woman who has had a sense of her true nature during retreat, and who thought it was impossible to forget, is now devastated to find it is dissipating, and she fears losing it, and there's nothing she can do to get it back. Rupert explains that this is not a perspective; it is her true nature.

A man with a history of fear and depression enjoys writing and publishing his thoughts but then later his ego comes in and says he's seeking attention. Does this harassment by the ego persist, or does it fade? Rupert suggests that it often comes back with a vengeance after realisation.

Knowingly being aware of being aware seems to be challenged at work by coworkers' comments, and then feelings of being hurt. Rupert asks 'Who or what is being hurt?'

If we react in an egoic way, get defensive, are we failing to take a stand as awareness? Rupert suggests that this tendency diminishes every time we take this stand.

A woman says she has been abiding as awareness for a long time, but feels like she tends to miss seeking, the search itself. Rupert elaborates that the seeking may persist but it's no longer driven by looking for happiness in objective experience.