Rupert Spira: on the heights of awakening & the depths of sorrow.
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, which he wrote in 2016:
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 and many talks on his YouTube channel.
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
Timestamps
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
