Why Consciousness Dreams?

After exploring awareness for two years and discovering it is limitless, and that consciousness is the only substance, what else should I focus on? Rupert says: ‘You’re doing exactly the right thing . . . Go deeply into that and see the implications of this. That in spite of the appearance of multiplicity and diversity, reality, that truly is, is one infinite indivisible whole . . . What you are and what everyone and everything is are the same . . . Peace, imperturbable peace, causeless joy and unconditional love. These are the three inevitable consequences of the consciousness-only model . . . These three are really the fruits of this understanding when we take them deeply into our experience.’

"After experiencing betrayal and feeling annihilated, how does I navigate through the vortex of suffering? Rupert says: ‘When you give yourself . . . you surrender yourself. And that involves trust. So you’re very undefended and very giving. And then when you feel betrayed . . . you feel that your openness has been violated, that you’ve given the most precious part of yourself . . . And that’s why it’s so painful . . . Actually, the very deepest part of yourself has not been violated . . . Your being is inviolable. It’s like the space in the room. It cannot be hurt. It has never been hurt . . . Right now, your being is whole and complete and perfect and innocent and free and at peace.’"

"If space arises only with perception, are we all actually at the same place? Rupert says: ‘If you were to remove perception . . . you would feel here . . . But in the absence of perception, you wouldn’t feel over there, because you wouldn’t have any experience of space . . . All of us now, we’re all at the same place. We’re not really separated . . . We tend to think we’re all located in different places. No, who we really are is the one infinite being that is not located in space . . . We’re all at the same placeless place.’"

"As someone who has spent their life teaching physics, how should I understand the claim that time and space aren’t real? Rupert says: ‘I am suggesting that time and space are not inherent in reality itself. They’re how reality appears when refracted through the lens of thought and perception . . . It’s perfectly legitimate to refer to time and space as if they were absolutes . . . It’s a valid model. It’s just that if we take that model to be absolutely true . . . the implications are suffering and conflict . . . I’m not suggesting [we] abandon [the model]. It’s a valid model. It’s just that we should not attribute time and space to reality . . . We should allow our understanding of reality to influence what we do in time and space.’"

"When faced with important decisions, how can I discern and follow God’s will rather than personal will? Rupert says: ‘That is not the time to be practising self-enquiry. It’s not the time to be abiding in being. You have to face outwards. You have to make a decision . . . What’s important is that you make your decision informed to the best of your ability by the peace, the joy and the love that you have discovered to be the nature of your being . . . The only absolute certainty there is, is the certainty that “I am” . . . So don’t impose on yourself the impossible demand to make a decision that is absolutely perfect, absolutely right . . . Just do your very best from moment to moment and surrender the rest.’"

"If even doing God’s will can become an ego trap, should we let go of that desire as well? Rupert says: ‘If your self is identified with anything, however noble that thing is, that’s the ego. The ego is your self identified with something. It doesn’t matter what. If your self is identified with God, then that’s the ego . . . The desire to do God’s will should be like a thorn that removes a thorn. It removes all the other desires. And then that thorn, the desire to do God’s will, should be given up. That is true surrender . . . Just at every moment, do your very best to express your deepest love and understanding in your choices, in your decisions, in your thoughts, in your actions, in your relationships.’"

"When experiencing strong reactions to a partner’s behaviour and doubting the relationship, how do I determine whether the response comes from ego or understanding? Rupert says: ‘There are two possible sources of your reactivity . . . One is an egoic, emotional response . . . The second possibility is that your response comes from love and understanding . . . And likewise, there are two possible sources of your partner’s behaviour. One could come from the ego in her . . . Or her actions could be an expression of love or understanding . . . What you have to see clearly is where your reactions come from and where her actions come from . . . Be courageous, just totally open and honest . . . If your relationship is grounded in love, then it will stand this upheaval. In fact, it will grow and deepen.’"

"After experiencing peace for several weeks then losing it, how does I get past the boredom that now seems intolerable? Rupert says: ‘Boredom is a state of the mind. Peace is the nature of being . . . The boredom is the blank state that remains when your attention is not involved in any other content of experience. But it’s not yet the peace of your being. You have to sink down beneath the boredom, sink through the boredom into the peace . . . Don’t worry. You won’t lose any of your skills or talents . . . You will now use them in the service of love and understanding as opposed to what you were previously doing, namely using them in the service of the ego or separate self.’"

"If consciousness is already complete bliss and fulfilment, what is the purpose of manifesting this dream of subject-object experience? Rupert says: ‘Pure consciousness is a realm of infinite potential . . . But infinite consciousness by itself cannot know or actualise that potential . . . In order for something to manifest, in order for something to be known or experienced, that thing must be known in subject-object relationship . . . We are like the eyes and ears of consciousness that enable it to unfurl its potential, to realise or actualise its potential . . . There’s no reason for manifestation . . . It is just an outpouring of its inherent love, an overflowing of its inherent love within itself.’"

"How do I align my thinking with the perspective of the one consciousness that dreams all characters, rather than thinking as just one character? Rupert says: ‘Consider that all of us, everybody, all eight billion of us are characters in the one mind, the mind of infinite consciousness . . . If you begin to understand and more importantly feel that all the others that you see in this waking dream are actually manifestations, appearances of the one mind . . . that who they essentially are is identical to who you essentially are . . . that will have a profound effect on the way you treat people . . . The one being doesn’t have a point of view . . . Each of us are the points of view in the one infinite mind.’"

"When the body shuts down with fatigue and resistance whenever the heart calls toward what is good, how do I overcome this? Rupert says: ‘Your understanding has to override your feelings, because in this case your feelings are not rising on behalf of love and understanding. They are rising on behalf of resistance . . . You have to take yourself by the hand . . . When you’re in this heavy, inert state, don’t try to go from there to peace. You have to go from there first of all to activity . . . That will break you out of this contraction, and you go from there to peace . . . Call a friend, someone that helps you to break this spell of inertia . . . Use that intelligence that still hasn’t completely been smothered by the depression and call a friend and get up, exercise, yoga, a cold shower, a walk in nature.’"

"I don’t really have a question – I just wanted to share where I’m at. I come from a psychoanalytical background; Carl Jung’s theories and Kahlil Gibran’s writings on the nature of relationship between children and parents have spoken to me intimately. My journey has been to liberate myself from the bonds of childhood trauma and family dysfunction. Your teaching and who you are and the space you create has been powerful for me. The reason I come to these retreats is to regenerate that connection with you and the teaching. Rupert says: ‘I’m touched by your words. Thank you for sharing that. I too am happy to have you in my life. I’ve enjoyed our conversations over the months. I feel your love of truth very deeply, and I’ve been very touched by our conversations. So I too am grateful to have you as a friend.’"

I’ve been reading I Am That by Nisargadatta and feel the need to go deeper. Yesterday you guided us back to the self and then out again, saying eventually it’s not necessary to lose contact with the self. But I wonder: is there a risk that trying to maintain both – contact with being and attention to the world – might weaken or divide the mind? Rupert says: ‘No, I don’t think there’s a risk. It’s necessary to give your mind to the content of experience – to your body, to anyone in your care, to your work. What weakens the mind is if it obsessively goes from one object to another when not necessary, instead of coming back to rest in being. A mind not continually refreshed in being becomes exhausted. But a mind accustomed to refreshing itself in being goes out into the world with clarity, power and effectiveness. It’s possible to remain in touch with being in the absence of experience but also in the midst of experience. This is what the Orthodox tradition calls “praying without ceasing”. It gives you dignity, composure, peace, clarity, power, compassion and kindness. If you’re driving your car while stable in your being, you’ll drive much more safely – quiet clarity of attention, focused but not stressed.’

I’ve recognised some core beliefs from childhood that are affecting my relationships. I see the attachment to those old decisions, and I’m amazed at how frequently this comes up. It’s not disturbing me – I know it’s an opportunity. But I’m trying to discern: do I just sit with it and shine awareness on the bodily sensations? Is there emotion that needs releasing? Or am I still seeking something different in my relationships? Rupert says: ‘It sounds as if your understanding has evolved, but an old pattern of relating laid down early in life is still running – influencing your current relationships though it’s no longer appropriate. The good thing is you’ve seen this. You want to upgrade the operating system on which your relationships are running. You can’t change how others behave, but you can try to override these old patterns in yourself. What you essentially are cannot be hurt, has never been wounded or traumatised – therefore you don’t need to defend yourself emotionally. You can be open, undefended and unguarded. Try to realign how you relate with this new understanding. Some relationships will evolve to accommodate it; some may not. Be courageous. Those invested in the old you may feel threatened and turn against you – but don’t let that stop you. The relationships truly rooted in love will grow. Don’t withdraw your love, however others behave. You can’t argue with peace and love. Remember: in a relationship, the responsibility always lies with the one who has the deepest understanding. You can understand them, but they can’t yet understand you – so you must make the concession. Be tolerant, understanding, loving. And when you’ve tried and tried again, and it still doesn’t work – then possibly time to step back. But even then, don’t withdraw your love.’