> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.withrealityinmind.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Rupert Spira on awakening, ego & sorrow - URL: https://www.withrealityinmind.com/rupert-spira/ - Published: 2026-07-22T12:50:15.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-18T15:50:28.000Z - Description: On the courage to face the full human experience. - Author: Amir Giles - Tags: recording Recording details Date: 21 July 2026 Duration: 1h 58m Free preview Title: What do you mean by ego? Duration: 16:06 https://vimeo.com/1228117034/0afcd18366 Chapters 0:03:00 Your mind is like a deep well 0:07:40 When repressed emotions dictate our actions 0:09:00 When the ego appropriates awakening 0:15:30 **Is the world real or mere representation?** 0:24:30 Illusion does not mean "not real" 0:28:20 vs Daniel Dennett: consciousness cannot be illusion 0:32:50 **Sudden onset nihilism** 0:35:20 Only the finite mind sees emptiness 0:39:40 Being exhausted with reality 0:41:30 Bernardo on the value of nihilism 0:47:00 When the mind becomes redundant 0:48:00 Empathy & the depths of impersonal sorrow 0:52:00 **Does infinite consciousness really learn?** 0:56:00 The infinite needs finite minds for knowing manifestation 0:58:30 What is it like to be god? 1:00:29 What is **the impetus for manifestation**? 1:02:30 **Archetypal** patterns are templates of existence, not causes 1:08:30 Is the world an expression of freedom or ignorance? 1:11:00 "Our birth is but a sleep" - the price of freedom 1:16:00 Ignorance explains suffering and evil 1:18:00 Wanting Rupert & Bernardo to disagree 1:22:50 Can there be memory of **ego dissolution?** 1:24:00 Ego isn't fixed: dissolution is common 1:26:00 Spirituality is the cultivation of ego dissolution 1:27:30 Memory doesn't need ego 1:34:20 The ego is an action, not an entity 1:38:20 **Is the ego necessary?** 1:41:00 Psychological vs spiritual understandings of ego 1:47:00 Extreme philosophical positions converge 1:51:00 Bernardo shares spiritual progress 1:54:00 **Thought experiment**: your being prior to experience I believe you'll truly enjoy the friendship between Bernardo and Rupert that grounds this probing dialogue, from the heights of awakening to the claustrophobic nihilism that can show up on this path. They both share their experiences and understandings of sorrow and emptiness, starting with Bernardo's poem, [Shattered Innocence](https://www.bernardokastrup.com/2016/04/shattered-innocence.html?ref=withrealityinmind.com), which he wrote in 2016: "I grieve the loss of my innocence. The mystery and possibilities that once were my world abandoned me, Frivolousness and claustrophobia left in their stead." But for Bernardo, there is something valuable in this experience of nihilism, a legitimate room in the palace of mind he can now conjure without fear. Equally for Rupert, true awakening can extinguish the fear of human experience. Rather than a shield against emotion, grounding in being can give the confidence to confront deep sorrow and the sorry state of the world. ### What it is like to be god But what is the true nature of reality? Does universal consciousness learn? Why does manifestation even happen? Whilst we compared perspectives from Advaita, Kashmir Shaivism & Jung, Rupert always points to the immanent possibility of direct experience. Moreover, he contends that ego dissolution is actually common but overlooked. It can happen in fleeting moments of satisfaction, the gap between thoughts, a moment of deep grief. Spirituality is simply the deliberate cultivation of such moments, and we ended with a thought experiment from Rupert Spira to taste this insight. For more, he offers [free daily meditations on the Luminous App](https://luminous.rupertspira.com/?ref=withrealityinmind.com) and many talks on his [YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/@rupertspira?ref=withrealityinmind.com). ### Do we need the ego? Here is an excerpt from the meeting on this question, and of course the full recoding for members is linked below. **We also discussed:** - How perception is **illusion** but the world is real - Understanding 'sudden onset **nihilism**' - Awakening to bliss & the depths of **sorrow** - Is the world a product of **freedom** or ignorance? - Growing an ego and outgrowing the **ego** I look forward to seeing you next week, Amir Speakers Rupert Spira [Rupert’s meditations](https://luminous.rupertspira.com/?ref=withrealityinmind.com) [Rupert’s YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/@rupertspira?ref=withrealityinmind.com) Speakers ![CTA Image](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c5/20/c520bbe6-927b-460d-bf38-d4f48d5dc338/content/images/2026/09/Bernardo-Kastrup-profile.jpg) Bernardo Kastrup Analytic idealism Bernardo Kastrup is the Executive Director of Essentia Foundation and Founder/CEO at AI systems company Euclyd BV. His work has set off the modern renaissance of metaphysical idealism. He has a Ph.D. in philosophy (ontology, philosophy of mind) and another in computer engineering (reconfigurable computing, artificial intelligence). As a scientist, he has worked for the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the Philips Research Laboratories (where the ‘Casimir Effect’ of Quantum Field Theory was discovered). He has also been creatively active in the high-tech industry for almost 30 years, having founded parallel processor company Silicon Hive (acquired by Intel in 2011) and worked as a technology strategist for the geopolitically significant company ASML. Most recently, he has founded AI company Euclyd BV. Formulated in detail in many academic papers and books, his ideas have been featured in *Scientific American*, the magazine of *The Institute of Art and Ideas*, the *Blog of the American Philosophical Association* and *Big Think*, among others. His most defining book is *Analytic Idealism in a Nutshell: A straightforward summary of the 21st-century’s only plausible metaphysics.* [Explore Bernardo’s work →](https://www.bernardokastrup.com/?ref=withrealityinmind.com)