Great Performers Transcend the Ego

This fascinating conversation about performers who transcend the ego is the result of an artist’s question. She wants to align her meditation practice with her art practice because when she is creating art, she finds her truest sense of herself.
Rupert says: ‘It’s not that you find yourself - you actually lose your sense of yourself as a person when you’re in the flow of creating your art. You’re not conscious of yourself as a person - you’re completely in the process. That’s what a sports player aims for in their sport. They think they’re playing in order to win, but they’re not. They’re playing because when they perform at the height of their abilities, and when they give themselves totally to the game, they have no sense of themselves as a person. There’s no ego present - and that is blissful.
And that’s why, when we watch really great players, we feel they do things that are impossible or sublime. We don’t care who wins the game - we go to be taken beyond ourselves, to lose our limitations and to touch the eternal in us. But in order to do that as an artist or a sports person, it’s not enough to transcend yourself - you also have to have the skill. That’s when your work becomes truly inspirational and touches people’s hearts.’
*This video is from one of Rupert’s in-person retreats at The Vedanta, 3-10 June 2023. To view and book for upcoming retreats (many of which can be attended online via livestream) go to:
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Timestamps:
0:00 Losing Yourself
1:02 What Great Performers Aim For
1:31 Why Some Performers Become Dysfunctional
2:25 Transcending the Ego
3:27 Experiencing the Sublime
4:22 Why We Love Great Performances
4:59 It Takes More Than Skill
5:28 Creating Inspirational Work
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RS23087h

[@mindfulkayaker7737]

Even modern Psychology science recognize what Ruper is explaining so well. That is known as “to be in the zone” and happen when the artist or sport player is so focused in the present moment that the mind disappears and the universal Self take charge.

[@joajoajb]

@mindfulkayaker7737. That's very Strange. I'm Not quite sure, how these entertainment talks has much to do with any Universal Self or any Universal Truth of Existence in Itself. Almost the entire universe is represented as inanimate. Here's Rupert talking about activities that only pertain to living organisms, completely dependent upon gasping for a breath of air for the activities. Sports? Drawing? In the zone? In the flow? You mean as long as the lungs are working and the body is functioning. Isn't it? A free flow that is completely dependent upon a pair of healthy lungs and a body doesn't sound very free to me, to pass as the Universal Self nor as The Universal Truth at all. Does it? But, for an entertainment talk? It sure qualifies. But, nothing more than that.

[@joajoajb]

Sounds nice. But, it doesn't explain anything fundamental about why there are sufferings in the first place. Why there is life in the first place. Does it? The fact is ,countless life forms are screaming in pain at this very moment and at every moment, from being torn and eaten alive, While we're busy, giggling, smiling, talking about peace, happiness, free flow and fulfillment. Isn't it? But, we don't hear their screams over a nice family dinner. Do we? Why all the screams, pains and sufferings in the first place? Why? Who or what started all this? And, why? Isn't that the question? A woman beats down her chest, when she sees her two children's and her husband's lifeless bodies being dragged out of the rubble from the earthquake. Unbearable sufferings? Yes? Why? According to Rupert, consciouness is already all fulfilled, needing nothing to be any more fulfilled. Isn't it? Then, Why? What do you tell the countless life forms that are screaming in pain right now at this very moment? What do you tell the woman, suffering without knowing why? That is the search, Isn't it? It's easy to self deceive. But, not so easy to understand and answer. Is it?

[@CraftersWorld]

Its when you think about suffering, you suffer ​@@joajoajb

[@joajoajb]

@@CraftersWorld Aren't you just glad that it's not your loved ones that are being torn, eaten alive and being dragged out of the rubble? If this were to happen to your loved ones right now, it is certain to wipe off the giggling and the smile very quickly. Isn't it? Self deception wins, by betting on the ignorance, as how it has always done throughout history. So, it continues. Take care!

[@joajoajb]

@@CraftersWorld Rupert often talked about how he enjoys having a nice dinner with family or friends. He claims to feel everyone and everything as himself, speaking of peace and happiness while holding the knife and fork in his hands, with other sentient beings served as the dinner. Strange way of happiness, isn't it? What if it were reversed? What if it were his loved ones that were being served on the dinner plate in place of " other" sentient life forms. It changes the picture quickly. Doesn't it? I don't think he'll ever eat nor ever speak of such enjoyments. Will he? It's easy to self deceive, but, not so easy to consciously introspect on oneself. On what one is actually saying and believing. No such thing as being too careful or too contemplative, when it comes to understanding the nature of Existence in Itself. Take care!

[@herculanogaspar7809]

Rupert my friend you are a poet ! you are the best artist and athlete of being! each time you speak we can feel that truly process of transcending the ego. Rupert you are a poet in the poetry of God...

[@imogenheap]

Just sitting here about to go to bed… and shed a big old wow moment tearing up on the friction post flow time. Sometimes 12-18 hours of non stop flow of making music and then hit with food and shower and todo lists and people and … music and all of my projects outside music making… the gloves, ai.mogen, creative passport, the listening chair - they are all threaded with manifesting this flow more into day to day. Don’t mean to go on about naming projects I guess it’s more for myself to write this down at this moment. Wow x subscribing!

[@rachelrrb1111]

Today I heard a funny statement by the Hungarian author Peter Esterhazy about Jerry Lee Lewis playing the piano. He said Lewis was ONE with the piano. You couldn’t say where Jerry Lee Lewis‘ body stopped and where the piano began. This fits to what Rupert says.

[@alisonsalter8352]

Im a music and spiritual teacher and I teacher people to break down that boundary, it’s a barrier of fear and it manifests as separation. So first I get people to crash into their instrument full whack and go crazy, that breaks down the fear barrier, then I teach them how to thoroughly BE in the very non-existent space where the body meets the instrument. The very point. That’s where nobody exists. Namaste, Amen, Om shanti shanti shanti 🙏🏽

[@MartinJutras]

I experience exactly that when I practice martial arts. I transcend myself and connect to something greater.

[@Kube_Dog]

I love how Rupert is bringing his message to Canadian trailer parks.

[@alisonsalter8352]

Absolutely spot on description of the Nama Rupa path…spoken only with such precision from someone who has trodden that path and failed many times in either skill or transcendence. You can only know this Truth if you have failed many times in one or both aspects. Only when you have something absent can you see what you require… It is such a delicate balancing act, between skill and transcendance. Like walking a tightrope, in practice. I’ve just come back from a concert: skill 75% there, transcendence 90%. Too much ego knocks the skill and a lack of the skill knocks the ego. In practice, if you edge towards too much leaning into the transcendence, then the skill falls to pieces. I’m afraid I have a long way to go. In music You need the skill FIRST and then that carries you into transcendence. If you’re worried about whether your skill can carry you, you’ll not transcend the ego. There is however, a half way house, if you have decades of experience as a performer, you can have skill ‘tricks’ in case you fall down. Little backup ways of not falling to pieces if your skill fails, and you can still keep the transcendant state. But you really gotta know your art backwards. I used to play without stoping for three hours and totally transcend the mind and time. I had no recollection of a body even playing or breathing. The note about musicians being dysfunctional in everyday life is also so true. Even though I don’t transcend ego completely, I AM still in complete state of flow in music (I would say there is a flow state and there is a transcendent state - the latter is more advanced. They are not the same thing. The flow state is a preliminary state to the transcendent one), and when I come back to this world, it is soooo slow and clonky. I hate it. Don’t feel I belong on this planet. Nothing flows. It’s horrible trying to navigate a world where nothing flows like music and everyone is resistant…musicians are totally welcoming and accepting of everything.

[@rosewater6778]

Pitch perfect explanation for why we go watch a match or any sports or a great artist or cinema - it really is for that moment of flow in the artist that gives us a glimpse of eternity. When the performer's ego dissolves for a bit and through their skill we see that veil lift - even for ourselves coz we're also so mesmerized that we forget our own separateness from that moment and together, for a flicker, we're in eternity!

[@BEEaTREE]

I love you, Rupert. 💜💚🤍💙🧚🧚🧚🧚🌲🌲🌲🌲 For the lovely lady asking the question, I would simply say, You are doing it. You're already there. If the art isn't already felt like a form of meditation (when one connects to the space beyond the mind) then it is probably not it... It is when we empty ourselves of our mental conditioning/attachments/entanglements (the ego self) and we abandon ourselves to that which feels free and playful and spontaneous (i.e. the pure moment), that IT comes to us... It's never about finding IT but about transcending our inflexible adult mental self so that IT can find us... If it's the practice of meditating that doesn't feel quite aligned, perhaps more time is needed... In my experience I found that there was a little fear threshold at first that needed to be overcome and sat through before meditation could start feeling like the yummy home coming that it is...

[@juliangiulio3147]

I would say -as a performer -including improvisation almost every day, it is very strange and quite amazing, and in itself most meditative -when in a good mode!. Sometimes doing that is THE thing that awakens that which is truy Deep. The music is just expressing this aliveness naturally, my spirit itself. There is no 'me' referencing, as one adheres in that momenting~beingness which weaves sensual + satisfying music through or via our world

[@yog.prachar]

skills + transcendence = sublime performance

[@jarosawmechlinski9321]

I have just listened to Jeff Lynn from ELO saying he wrote/composed "Evil woman" in 6 min. You can feel it when you listen to this piece of art, that he must have been in the zone❤

[@prateekguleria]

This is so insightful..Thanks for the question...

[@miles6875]

Beautiful

[@BrianShivaHaley]

Brilliant as usual, Rupert. Thank you. What you speak of is also known as "flow state" or "in the zone," by psychologists. For those interested in going a little deeper into this topic, check out the work of Mihaly Robert Csikszentmihalyi - he was the first to coin the term 'flow state.' It's a fascinating topic.

[@1mike1994]

He also did a great podcast with Johnny Wilkinson on the topic!

[@sylviamalkahcalderoncourie6561]

GRACIAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@i-am-star]

Amazing. 💛

[@T_from_U]

the old 'getting out of one's own way' thing

[@TheFishstick92]

The desire to be a great performer by transcending the ego, is itself coming from the ego

[@Amelia_PC]

As an artist, I can confirm this. I never think about "I" in the flow state. It's almost like losing yourself in the creative process. It's a beautiful state, the state I love to be in. And it's a state different from all meditations that I do (self-realization, increased awareness, ego detachment meditations. I feel the flow state is totally different from the others.) P.S.: Nah, you don't need to be a great artist to be in the flow state. Just a focused artist. I can't reach the flow state when I work for others, but only on my own projects. As far as I remember, many other artists feel the same.

[@spiritlightpajic7299]

💛 Thank Y🦋u for sharing Rupert🤍 That State of The TRUE😇Being lS Revealed in The Scripture As:"l Live and move and Have my Being in God" .. Which lS in The O p e n Awareness of The lnfinite l , As The Living SPIRIT Within 🩷

[@chiptowers1]

So who is the sports person talking to to give themselves totally to their sport at that moment, I mean they must be talking to someone or something because when they cease performing in their sport, their old sense of being a seperate self comes back. That means there is two of you. Logically speaking, one has just immersed themself in an activity, let's say an artist, to reach deep within their source Form imprinted knowledge in order to acquire a new style way to paint, after all thats what every artist is trying to achieve and if they did not have an ego, they would not be able to extract a new style from their source Form within because the ego is just a send and receive message tool implemented when your source Form was initially FORMED. ie you were initially FORMED not BORN. Therefore you are duality. The Form is your iteration function that already transcended itself from the Universe at an epoch, you cannot be transcended twice ie again ,as the so called teacher is saying that a sports star is transcending himself, that is impossible and logically impossible. Basically, all one is allowing their Form source to enlighten the physical brain of the Form source Presence and its imprinted knowledge. All perfectly natural, nothing Magical nor Mindical about it nor transcending.

[@jpf.5956]

Federer will roger that.

[@ingeleurs5745]

Divine timing❤🙏✨️

[@karaanaya]

Bless you sweet brother. I have awakened and am bringing more into awareness. Phew this reminds me of birth! lol 🎉😂❤

[@malabuha]

But nobody goes around their daily life with the sense of a person. If you think about it, one only becomes self conscious when their ego gets either bruised or flattered. Right?

[@geneedgerton4482]

I don’t think so. I mean, I think the vast majority of people see the world through the person they think they are. I think for most of the day, most people believe themselves to be separate, and their thoughts project this belief in duality: me and the world, me and others, me and the things I must do, for instance. We stand outside of flow, outside of oneness. We believe ourselves to be the illusionary person we’ve imagined ourselves to be: by our name, by our occupation, by how we see ourselves compared to others in the world, by the feelings we have, by the thoughts we think are our own, and so on. Even when we dream at night, there is that sense that we are that separate person to the world within, to the monster in our nightmare or the kiss from a movie star. Only certain brief moments during the day offer us a relief from this, usually just after fleeting climatic moments before a thought returns only seconds afterwards. Now that I have awakened, I encounter more and more periods during the day (each day) that I remember my essence and not my person. But I am far from carrying that through the day. But when I do, especially in my art of writing, the flow I experience feels magical, as if I am one with everything so that the words pour out of me without effort. It’s so lovely. Freeing. True. 😊

[@annemurphy8074]

Inflate and deflate, repeat.

[@malabuha]

@@geneedgerton4482 but the thing is, you go about your day, do your routine without much thought about who you are at all. The exception could be someone with narcissistic personality disorder because they are bombarded with thoughts related to keeping their personal self in tact, hence it's called a disorder. They are willing to do anything to keep it in tact. Thoughts can be relentless. But even they don't suffer from it the whole time. Just more frequently. It's unnatural to always keep in mind who you are, being or a person, it's mental illness if that happens all the time. When you take a poop and when you cook, when you create art, do sports, it's all the same, you are in the zone and you don't think about yourself. Your sense of self only shows up when it's being threatened or flattered. You don't have to be enlightened. It's how human mind works. And you don't even have to know about that either. Otherwise we'd go totally insane. Even that tiny bit of egoic (un)awareness (is what it really is) makes us suffer and do crazy sh**

[@KyleNothstein]

Cristiano Ronaldo must be a double blackbelt Buddha by now.

[@Uoiah]

But thinker always comes back if there's no complete certainty

[@Mystyknomad]

@@Uoiahso on the pitch he is a Buddha but after the game his ego returns and says “I did that”.

[@Kube_Dog]

He's a great example of how far the ego-drive can take you, and the brick wall of limitation that it always hits.

[@KyleNothstein]

@@Kube_Dog The last few years have been a tough watch. Lol

[@UrbanOspreys]

Making people self-conscious is killing them, daily. You are making their presence worthless, and making their absence or transcendence worthless. Deep down you may even know it and excuse it

[@shinrinyokumusic1808]

I love you sweet chicken bob ❤️

[@UrbanOspreys]

@@shinrinyokumusic1808 Thank you

[@OffGridMind]

The greatest artists employ a simultaneous practice of total control and total abandon. It takes practice. Like peace of mind does.