How Can I Overcome My Past Mental Conditioning?

It can sometimes seem like our past mental conditioning obscures the light of consciousness entirely. Is there something we can do to change these limiting patterns of thinking and correct negative beliefs that don't serve us, or will that simply reinforce the belief in being a separate self?
Rupert says it's one thing to recognise that the conditioning of the ego is impersonal. It's quite another thing to say that there is nothing you can do about it - that's what Neo-Advaita says. I acknowledge that there is nobody who is personally responsible for their personal conditioning - however, I do think that at the relative level there is something to be done. What is there to be done? To explore our experience.
When you say conditioning masks the presence of awareness, you're slipping back into an old habit or belief system. If you believe that, that's how it will seem to be. Just stop believing that. How do you stop believing that? By seeing that it is not true. In other words, it is understanding that enables you to stop believing that your conditioning masks the peace and happiness that are inherent in your own being.
*This video is taken from one of Rupert's weekly webinars. Join here:
▸ rupertspira.com/events/webinar
Timestamps:
0:00 Overcoming Past Mental Conditioning
0:35 How Our Minds Are Conditioned
1:36 Neo-Advaita
2:23 What Can We Do About Mental Conditioning?
3:09 Changing Belief Systems
5:07 Freedom From Mental Conditioning
5:41 Overcoming Old Habits
7:09 Changing Belief Systems
8:03 Explore Your Experience Now
9:57 What Are Feelings?
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#rupertspira #nonduality #happiness #natureofreality #consciousness #awareness #meditation #guidedmeditation
RS20005dd

[@ButterflyAwakening]

If you happen to read this keep going... You have the strength to overcome any obstacle. Celebrate your victories, no matter how small, and be kind to yourself. Your journey will lead you to a brighter tomorrow! 🦋🦋🦋

[@cinammondream]

Thank you!!

[@debramarie8521]

very kind thank you ❤️

[@Jivanmukta84]

The illusion of overcoming obstacles is within the dream of separation, which is hell, which is not real

[@IcyIce17]

🙏🏻💚

[@HopeFreemanYes]

If it's not real why are you interacting with it through that comment?​@@Jivanmukta84

[@sajdinkhan9049]

1. Direct all your energy, awareness, and attention to the present moment. Forget all tasks, people, and commitments. Simply rest in your beingness. 2. Now, become conscious of all the sounds made by the other egos around you. Listen without any reaction. Gradually spread your consciousness further around you, slowly encompassing all space, from your surroundings to covering the entire known universe. Now, let your consciousness loose so that it stretches to infinity. 3. With the awareness of infinite consciousness, time and space cease to exist, and so does the ego. You can witness that this infinite consciousness is the plain in which all worlds, both dull and bright, are created. 4. Meditate on this infinite awareness, or pure consciousness. It is not matter, but a wave, finer than air. The more you meditate, the mind will dissolve and you will realize that all conditioning was of the mind, but now that there is no mind, there is no conditioning.

[@zahra9075]

Thank you for this comment !

[@sajdinkhan9049]

@@zahra9075 anytime

[@palestine5920]

This comment deserve more likes😊

[@OrichalcumHammer]

@sajidkhan9049 how do you reconcile this with your religion islam and allah?

[@sajdinkhan9049]

@@OrichalcumHammer this is very much an islamic concept, "wahdat al-wujud"

[@injoyinmyself2018]

SELF1: conditioned by past experience. SELF2: judges Self 1, wants to change Self 1. This mental partion is the core mechanism of Self-- help, improvement, enlightenment etc.

[@richardgreaney]

"Cease giving your experience a mission to veil awareness and it will cease seeming to do so". Mind-blown. I love how Rupert is calling this woman out whenever her conditioning steps in and tries to hijack her answers.

[@JennyRSTeam]

Thank you for your comment. With love, Rupert's team

[@MrFritemayo]

Right on. I also found that very sentence luminous. It is just so exactly what we will do if we do not pay attention... considering that we've lost touch with the Source, when it is in fact impossible. Thanks Rupert for putting this into clear words.

[@Tashi298]

I think I might understand what’s being said here but not really. Can someone explain please?

[@richardgreaney]

@@Tashi298 It means many different things. But in a nutshell, the mind only does what we tell it to do. He's saying that, if we stop giving our mind an instruction to obscure our awareness, then it will stop.

[@BulentBasaran]

​@@Tashi298To add to Richard's response: mind is conditioned to value experience, including a false sense of separation. We can and must correct that error in order to get back in touch with inner peace.

[@edenrose4950]

Rupert, I can't explain to you how deeply thankful I am for you. When I feel lost in my own experiences you help me to find my way back to myself. I thank God for you daily.

[@JennyRSTeam]

Humbled. With love, Rupert's team

[@apollosun2913]

A great man once said "I am with you always" and it makes a lot more sense now in light of what Rupert just said. The Light of our Being is always present in every experience, no matter what that experience is. Thank you.

[@kennethwilliams4169]

Julia asked a very important, key, question, understanding the answer is the crack in the dam, once the water starts flowing you can’t stop it, fantastic!

[@JennyRSTeam]

Indeed! With love, Rupert's team

[@elizabethbird5929]

Wow. I heard it, I **understood** it; the joy of getting it brought tears to my eyes. Thank you both. 🙏🙏

[@devanandazobda7528]

😂😂😂😂👍🏽🙏🏽❤

[@sivaramana2]

🙏 Great

[@EinfachNurTyp]

Thats how in the deepest depression peace can arise!

[@luismoref]

I'll try to share my experience. Before my awakening I was so identify with my thoughts, there was conditioning of years that made me depressed, anxious etc. After the shift happened I was able to enjoy life in the present, but sometimes the bad feelings come back because of past conditioning, but they were very breaf cause I could see them for what they are. So the light of awareness throughout the years conditioned my mind to be peaceful and happy. So everything for the mind is conditional, it is volatile. But the same awareness were there all my life, i just had to discover it. Thanks to Rupert now I can put in words what I couldn't describe for years.

[@JennyRSTeam]

You are most welcome, Luis. With love, Rupert's team

[@lukapesun]

@8:33 "simply, cease giving your experience permission to veil awareness and it will cease seeming to do so."

[@PaulDuBerry]

That’s it in a nutshell. Profound.

[@artofunk]

Love putting the hand over the camera..👍🏽 Darkness… Light… all the while as the conversation goes along..good stuff 🖐🏿

[@JennyRSTeam]

Thank you for your observation. With love, Rupert's team

[@artofunk]

@@JennyRSTeam ❤️✌🏽🙏🏽

[@ice.immortal]

I love Rupert’s teachings and even more his laughter 😊

[@AlexToussiehChannel]

The girl's smile. OMG

[@flowwiththesoul]

You‘re a great guide to the true self - think you, Rupert 🙏❣️

[@stangoodvibes]

After 20+ years of on and off counselling to 'free myself' I finally came to realise that 1) there is no me that needs to be freed, and 2) none of that shit that apparently happened in my past actually happened 😀 Thats not to say all the counselling was a waste of time - if you are locked up in conditioning from childhood or whatever, it can be impossible to see beyond it without having someone to help you. It's like the first step to 'awakening' - breaking out of your conditioning and realising that maybe just maybe everything you were told about yourself may not actually be true. That first spark of self awareness can develop over time to an understanding of what happened to you, and you can learn to become a human being. THEN you can start to see beyond yourself to the idea that there actually is no self and the freedom that brings. Well that worked for me anyway 🙏

[@pod8234]

Why would you want to learn how to be a human being? Isn’t that the conditioning that got you where you are in the first place? Isn’t the whole point to realize you are NOT a human being but formless spirit or pure awareness?

[@stangoodvibes]

@@pod8234 Good question. I'm busy moving house so will try and answer that in the next few days. In the meantime, your question is important to us, so please hold. You are number...1 in the queue 🙏😀

[@XenosFiles]

You are human presently being…Past and future only exist as memory or anticipation in your mind. 💫

[@stangoodvibes]

@@XenosFiles enirely correct, and it's a simple truth... that is not easy to grasp. And that is because most humans aren't present most of the time. We tend to live in the past and the future, depending I guess on how ego driven we are. If this were not so we wouldn't need teachers like Echart Tolle & Rupert constantly reminded us that the present moment is all there is. Even after years of counselling and mindfullness etc I am not always present.

[@stangoodvibes]

OK, this is a bit of a difficult question to answer in short form. The conditioning of the past was what kept me (and tons of other people), 'sub-human' to use a phrase. To understand what you are not (a human being), you at least need to know what it is to be a human being first. Childhood trauma stunts or destroys entirely your awareness of yourself. How can you go beyond the awareness of yourself to the awareness of the universal consciousness if you are aren't even aware of yourself? Before awakening as 'just' a human being, I was 'living outside myself' which is like being out-of-body looking at yourself from the 3rd person and the 'yourself' isn't real, its a construct, or an Avatar (but not a cool blue avatar) or a puppet. I was trying to create an image & personality that is entirely fake but all the while unsuccessful and deeply unhappy because you cant fake an authentic human being. Every new truth or 'thing' you encounter just becomes something else you try to use to fix yourself, or you incorporate it into your avatar of yourself hoping 'you' will be more popular or successful. Non-duality would be just another attempt at a fix, and because of that the truth of it would always be hidden. 99.9% of people seeking awakening/enlightenment/awareness don't see the truth over night - its a process that often takes years of meditation and mindfulness/self-awareness practice before we are fully awake. Sometimes some therapy can lead to more self awareness.

[@phoenixrising1675]

Thank you so much Rupert! For being so straight forward so clear yet so compassionate as well! You’re a truly gifted teacher indeed! ❤

[@JennyRSTeam]

You are welcome. With love, Rupert's team

[@experiencesourceself358]

Stunning, stunning! Mr Rupert. I appreciate your teaching so much. So satiating and satisfying ❤❤❤

[@OurEternalHome]

Rupert is a blessing. Eternal grace.

[@JennyRSTeam]

Thank you. With love, Rupert's team

[@PabitraPadhy]

The reason the separate self develop is not just because of the social or parental conditioning. In fact if you leave a new born child just as is… the child’s desire manifest as activities of moving its own limbs, but no matter how much the child try it cannot move the wall or the fan without physical interaction. That develops the separate self. A self identity with the physical body. If you are able to control all the characters in the screen there is only self.

[@BEEaTREE]

All issues come from labelling the experience rather than simply living it or being with it. When the conceptual mind takes over the experience, it only creates added anguish by trying to label it, name it, understand it, analyse it, judge it, etc. Embrace all experience without naming it. Be one with your experience fully and fully present. Infuse love into it, such as it is. Meditating deeply and for extended periods of time helps one to detach oneself from the conceptual mind.

[@MrFritemayo]

@BeeaTREE "All issues come from labelling the experience rather than simply living it or being with it." Exactly ! You narrowed it down perfectly. When seen, it's just so... I don't know, exhilarating and exhausting at the same time. Fully realising just how constantly our mind does it (well I don't know about your instances of mind, but mine certainly does :) ) can be frightening, but it's also likely to help open doors.

[@BEEaTREE]

@@MrFritemayo My mind has a great ability to be still, quiet, present, and to generate gratitude. But I've certainly been challenged in the last few years. In solitude, I've come to watch the mind and notice the difference it makes when it starts to go into episodes of overthinking, depression, etc. I've learned to talk to it when this happens. Talk to the mind as you would to a child or to a wound. Be there for yourself when the mind suffers. And love it, love it, love it. Sometimes the mind just needs time to heal, and you just need to be there for it. Apart from that, what has worked for me is the understanding that all that is happening in the mind are mere sensations (some mild, some intense) that need not be qualified or named or labelled anything. Dropping all of that all together. Someone once said, why do we even call it "mind" versus "body"? Such an intelligent observation! Out with concepts and interpretations! In with feeling and being. Ultimately, the message remains the same: love yourself, and "your" "mind" such as you are. Experience yourself such as you are at any given point. Observing the mind LOVINGLY objectifies it and dis-empowers its negative patterns in a compassionate manner. 🤍💚 Wishing you all the best. 💟

[@BecomeConsciousNow]

Rupert said 'I do think..." Who is the "I" doing the thinking Rupert? You questioned the lady about who is the "I" thinking? What about when you say "I" think? It's a two way street here. Anyway, nobody has all the answers, all we can do is help each other and ourselves to become more conscious. "I" (personal "I") see your sharp reactions to people when disagreeing with them, so you are still attached to the personal "I" and your conditioning. If you wasn't, then you would not have such sharp, aggressive responses when you correct people, the pure consciousness would be a lot more gentle, kinder and understanding. Just saying. Peace and love.

[@InfiniteStormBringer]

Excellent thank you Rupert!

[@skyotter3317]

Perfectly clear and luminous explanation. Thank you, Rupert.

[@hawkkim1974]

Thanks for the brief mention about the absolute level and the relative level.

[@Blue_Dun]

Life is nothing more than one condition after another after another after another and here we are. A million other conditions are constantly coming at us and our conditioned mind reacts over and over. How do you find peace in this?

[@mraverage2006]

Peace isn’t found within it. It never will be. what arises, ceases. Peace is the thing that knows that.

[@sajdinkhan9049]

stop listenning to your mind. speak only when necessary. become dispassionate and deattached to your emotions.

[@claudelebel49]

I awareness is perfectly accepting and forgiving.

[@maryberry6067]

Thank you Rupert 🙏.

[@markrothery8719]

Thank you Rupert. I needed to hear this today x

[@JennyRSTeam]

You are very welcome. With love, Rupert's team

[@shawcphet]

Another incredible lesson Rupert. Thank you ❤

[@IAn0nI]

Excellent Rupert.

[@JennyRSTeam]

Brilliant! With love, Rupert's team

[@Constantinesis]

I see the light, I wish I hear more on the topic of fear, phobia and similar weights one might carry.

[@Anastasia-oy2zp]

I believe in the non dual message and I like some of Ruperts videos, however I know from my own experience that some demons run extremely deep and some people are truly in atrocious situations and you can’t spritulise everything. Sometimes awakening means standing up for oneself and that can include utter rage and violence.

[@JennyRSTeam]

Thank you for your contribution. With love, Rupert's team

[@Aed-Adlan]

The demons you speak of, they have attacked me at least 30 TIMES in my life, where two of them almost took my very life. I don't mind, they have learned me how spiritually strong I really am, as I am still alive, well, since I have defeated them EVERY single time. And without them, I would never have known about spirits, the soul, and most importantly, God. No way. God, spirits, demons, soul, two other non-human entities idk what to call; I've directly seen all of them with my very eyes. But this is just the beggining, my war with Absolute Evil and Darkness is not yet finished... I will prevail, for God is with me. I have ZERO fear over them, but I know, they can never win, since, they are evil. "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."

[@XenosFiles]

Break free from all things that feel heavy to you. You won’t live forever, dont limit yourself anymore. Now let’s live with eyes and heart open.

[@valentinomorel8665]

There's another point to this video. It is the element of choice. You may decide to choose depression, utter rage, violence, etc. or the conplete opposites. And mental conditioning as a process highly relies on choice. And here's the caveat: a choice is always made, regardless of whether it is conscious and deliberate or not. Rupert said it himself, emotions are temporary coloring of your being. Rage is an emotion. At the end of the day, depression could very well be a complicated way of saying that an emotion is being lached onto or is given continuous reason to appear.

[@devanshudesperado]

Thanks Rupert

[@lavanyabhadalkar290]

So beautifully explained sir, Though most of us know this, it's never enough, as the mind comes across a new situation, all the knowing just becomes unsteady , And ur the coolest breeze 🙌in the scorching heat

[@wbaiey0]

Great stuff.

[@robertleslie5741]

If I think of a screen, I think of a surface. I like the idea of focus having depth or the infinite leads me forward along a narrow path.

[@pilargarcia6724]

Muchísimas gracias!!!❤🙏😊

[@lancejones4636]

But that's too easy! I want a complicated practice! 😊

[@antant4287]

Wow. That dude had to be named Rupert. I've never seen anyone who looks more like a Rupert than he does!

[@dbawaken]

Here I sit, apparently veiled by thought and form……… seemingly lost and seperate…….. even the one who writes this is still experienced objectively !?! What is this “feeling” behind this awareness??? Who or what is this ??? 🤔 Can it be “identified” with, or against ?? 😢 ❤

[@JennyRSTeam]

Thank you for your contribution. With love, Rupert's team

[@Marzena-Magdalena]

'I' experience Awareness like sweet, gentle and very loving ❤

[@ChannelWright]

Enjoying the sensation of a magnificent depression.

[@elisabethk7103]

❤🙏thank you so much❤🙏

[@ghanem.sbaih87]

Great 👍👍👍

[@colefiler1429]

Lovely

[@piehound]

Nevertheless we are HELD responsible as separate selves when we do wrong. UPDATE: In this interview i get the feeling each is trying to say what they assume the other wants to hear. I have heard Rupert say the self is like a whirlpool. I like that analogy. A whirlpool is a temporary bundle of energy. But i ask myself . . . Is a whirlpool peaceful ????? With all that whirling activity . . . how can it find " peace " ?????? Doesn't peace happen when the whirling stops ???

[@bugrist]

​@Akbar Karimi that's right and acting from Awareness is acting from the realiest point.

[@Aed-Adlan]

Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, La illaha ilaallah, la illaha ilaallah! (God is the Greatest, God is the Greatest, I testify that there is no god but God, I testify that there is no god but God!) ‐‐----‐----------- There is no separation, but there are consequences for your actions. I did myself unright, not to anyone, but only to myself, when I went into retard-mode and listened to the whisperer who whispered in my ears and my life I almost paid it with. Had I not been forgiven by God, I surely would have been part of the losers. That plan that day had one goal and one goal alone, to annihilate and utterly destroy me, with zero mercy. Fuckings demons. Let them remember their first friend who tried me and how he was defeated. Let them remember what happened that night.

[@dorinamary7863]

@GONE, GONE, GONE. NEVER WAS If the one responsible isn't affected by anything, why does it care what happens?

[@piehound]

@GONE, GONE, GONE. NEVER WAS I'm not convinced of " NON - DUALITY. " However at this time i believe in an intelligent all powerful quantum foam that fills all time and all space. If all separate entities come from it (and eventually return to it) . . . how does one explain evil such as crime, war, poverty, injustice ??? I know Shakespeare is alleged to have written. *NOTHING IS GOOD OR BAD EXCEPT THINKING MAKES IT SO.* Next time a neighbor or other " Loved One " of yours gets shot, gets divorced, goes to bed hungry, gets injured in a car crash, or dies in war . . . tell yourself it's not bad. It's NON - DUAL.

[@Ibrahims14]

that was a good ride

[@tommartin9612]

It's curious

[@sivaramana2]

🙏

[@julianal.573]

💐

[@hemanthjha3080]

Very good morning dear Rupert Sir... I have an enquiry that when one gets realisation/ experience of self what happens after that? Can he/ she harness the situation to change it or just remain be detached observer life time what is on....

[@JennyRSTeam]

Hello Hemanth. Please join Rupert for one of his live webinars for a chance to ask your question directly. You can find how to join by visiting his website (link in bio). With love, Rupert's team

[@mauricepowers3804]

Even if it's a bad experience?

[@kathyryan7611]

💖💖💖

[@IAM-mc4gb]

🌻💛🌻

[@tim5673]

Love Rupert but this is a tricky area. Embodiment of the realization is a never ending process, with many psychological layers to work through. Some evaporate immediately but many don’t. Check out the Kiloby enquiries for some ideas around this and how to help this process. It can help to give you a framework in which to investigate and explore the dysfunctional aspects of your mind that feel so sticky. Good luck ❤

[@createa.googleaccount713]

"Conditioned" & PROGRAMED

[@plumeria66]

I think for some people such as myself, the screen analogy is unrelatable. I understand it conceptually but a better example of awareness would be empty space. I see where this woman is coming from.

[@JennyRSTeam]

Thank you for your comment. With love, Rupert's team

[@See-what-is]

Dear Rupert. I would like to bring up a question I have for a long time but didn’t quit manage to figure out myself. Awareness beeing aware of itself or consciousness beeing aware of itself is not an experience in the way awareness experience the objective world. Nevertheless, awareness beeing aware of itself can only be true in the awakened state. In deep sleep, with the disappearance of the known world of objects awareness cannot be aware of itself. Does that mean that awareness needs the world to be aware of itself? Thank you. 🙏

[@JennyRSTeam]

Please join Rupert on his live stream webinars to have a chance to be able to ask Rupert directly. Information is in the link on the bio. We would love to see you there. With love, Rupert's team

[@ananda224]

It's a common misunderstanding to equate the intellectual acknowledgment or conscious identification of awareness as 'Awareness being aware of itself.' In an awakened state, the concept or understanding of awareness is reflected in the mind. So, when one states, 'I am aware,' who is making this declaration? It is the mind. The mind is the entity that 'observes' or 'recognizes' awareness." In this formulation, we are trying to distinguish between the self-reflective action of the mind (which is involved in thoughts like 'I am aware') and the direct, non-conceptual quality of awareness itself. This perspective suggests that when we use the mind to reflect on awareness, we are engaging in a different kind of activity than simply being aware. It's an additional layer of cognition, a kind of meta-awareness, that involves self-reference and conceptualization. This is not the same as the direct, immediate, non-conceptual experience of awareness or being. The deep sleep state provides a hint of pure Awareness. In this state, mental activity ceases and there's a sense of absence. Trying to extend the feeling of this 'absence' in your waking state can be a useful exercise. Pure Awareness is self-luminous, knowing itself by simply being, rather than via a dualistic reflection in the mind, as typically experienced during wakefulness

[@See-what-is]

@@ananda224 Thank you for your comment. Formulating the question “am I aware” needs the mind, that’s right. But only awareness can be aware of itself since the mind had no consciousness of it’s own.. Awareness though seems to need the awakened state to be aware of itself. In deep sleep with the absence of a knowable, objective world awareness falls back into it’s own beeing

[@ananda224]

@@See-what-is Thanks for the reply. The Mind itself isn’t just a tool of the intellect or thought. It is a tool of perception. For instance, Imagine you are sitting in the park. In the park, you see the trees, the flowers the birds etc. They all appear in your perception. Now, the space that seems to illuminate those objects, people mistake as Awareness. But this is the Mind, the mind is what illuminates and constructs your perception. The Seer and the Seen are both a product of this construct. So, when you experience or know yourself as this Seer, you are experiencing yourself as the awareness reflected in the Mind. Imagine that your mind functions like a mirror, and you, in your deepest essence, exist as an infinite emptiness or void. Upon gazing into this 'mirror' of the mind, you encounter a reflection. This reflection is not the void itself, but a play of light, created by the mind's mirroring effect. This mirroring creates an illusion of what you think is awareness that exists within that space of perception or the mind. However, this 'self-awareness' you perceive in this little space is not your true nature. Your true nature is much more vast and immeasurable, a dark, empty space that eludes direct perception. What you believe to be your self-awareness is actually an illusionary reflection fabricated by the mind. You can only truly know yourself by Being, and not through the reflection of the mind. Pure Awareness, as per Advaita Vedanta and teachings of Ramana Maharshi, is inherently self-luminous. It doesn't require an objective world or a mirroring mind to 'know' itself. When we speak of being 'aware of awareness' or awareness knowing itself, we are still operating within the realm of the mind's mirror - the domain of the individual self or reflected awareness, knowing is part of the mind's function, but only the mind can know, so what it knows is only ever itself. Awareness only acts as the foundation for this act of knowing, but it doesn't take part in it. It doesn't experience or recognize that it is awareness. It always silent as the background existence. The true nature of Awareness, as per my ongoing experience, doesn't resemble our regular waking experience. It's more like a background state of being that projects all other experiences and remains constant through various states of consciousness - waking, dreaming, or deep sleep. If you are intrigued by this perspective, I encourage you to delve deeper into your own experience and investigate this possibility. Right when you wake up from deep sleep, there is a feeling of missing time or absence, investigate and examine that state of being. Ramana Maharshi had said - Do you need a mirror to be placed in front of your eyes in order to enable you to infer that you have eyes? You see, therefore you can tell that you have eyes which are functioning. Likewise, awareness of the world or bodily awareness is not necessary for ascertaining your own existence. You know that you exist because of the awareness “I-AM”. This awareness is nothing but subjective consciousness of being. This consciousness is always there whether you are asleep, dreaming or supposedly awake. It is unchanged and unaffected always. Recognise it as your own being

[@XenosFiles]

There is no objective world. This realisation is key to letting go of the mind, hence experiencing oneness, hence being freed from suffering.

[@ferdinandalexander8053]

There's only one Mind, that being the One that actually Is, Infinite Mind. There is no such thing as "each of our minds."

[@oolala53]

Why do teachers keep saying that we are conditioned by our culture, our parents, and every other separate entity? If there is no illusory self, there is no culture or parents or people doing any conditioning. Consciousness does the conditioning. What we might call being conditioned is simply another appearance in and emanation of consciousness. But it is true that consciousness or awareness can not be covered up by our experiences. How is it even known that depression is being experienced? But it does seem incongruous that awareness is peace and happiness, and yet there is a definite experience of some thing that is categorized as not peace and happiness.

[@truthseeker5563]

This is like my current self talking to my past self 😂

[@dorinamary7863]

How does any of this work for severe PTSD?

[@joolslorien3936]

You can replace Rupert’s example of depression with PTSD symptoms. The peace and love of your true nature has infinite acceptance and compassion for the experience of PTSD. The screen is always there while the movie of PTSD plays. To be clear, this isn’t a replacement for therapy. Therapy is part of the movie too.

[@jeannined7532]

In my experience, trauma cannot be adequately addressed by "changing beliefs". Trauma is based in the body and, as such, has triggering events beyond the control of the conscious mind. A teacher who understands this is Tara Brach. She skillfully weaves awakening with psychological healing. Also check out Gabor Mate. While teachings like advaita are fundamentally "true", they are only one thread in the tapestry. A healthy, boundaried, ego is a great benefit, even if it is not who we fundamentally are. The important non-dual teaching in this process is to remember to not get lost in your trauma. It is the realization that your PTSD doesn't have the power to define who you fundamentally are. To actually ignore your need for healing because the ego is fundamentally "unreal" is a form of spiritual bypassing, and unfortunately, very prevalent in the spiritual community. I hope this is helpful. Trust your deepest self. Rupert Spira is a wonderful teacher, but make no one into an idol; someone who has to be 100% on target for your own journey. Take what you like and leave the rest.

[@jonber9411]

It will work. It have done for me. But what Rupert does no acknowledge or mention is that the body and the nerves will pass through great suffering. Probably because he have very little experience from severe trauma and depression. The conditioning of a life of trauma also affects the body. And Julias 'depression' have several layers of transformation to do as it pass through her awareness. But the 'I' will witness the passing from a place of peace, that is awareness and the 'I'. Study his teachings and also combine it with some trauma theraphy. Spend time with animals and try to get some hugs from kind persons that you trust. Take care

[@troyortego4655]

blink yer eyes some more...and interruptive... always trippy with him and very philosophical ... maybe it works for some people ...

[@sunisagotirat1332]

🙏🙏🙏🌈🌈🌈

[@Jivanmukta84]

"The person is an unpersonal conditioning"

[@coppertopization]

Confusing though: Rupert suggests to omit (or at least accept) our conditioning, however over the years he himself has supported and recommended a number of topics that in themselves are directly affiliated with institutions of conditoning That could be his assumptions that we live on a globe, that it is important to go to school (government conditioning) and be ‘educated’ along with some other political and historical references that often he will bring into his retreat talks. Either you live without conditioning and remain free of others interpretation of the world/universe or you accept it and live with it. The truth is the truth and it cares not what anyone ‘believes’ I would suggest: that no matter how non-dual you could consider yourself - you will be utterly conditioned. There are very few who are truly open-minded and unfortunately Rupert (and i have nothing against him) does expose his own conditoning from time to time, despite his ‘teachings’

[@coppertopization]

@@joajoajb A well considered, discernible and informative reply: Thank you.

[@Aed-Adlan]

I have zero metaphysical conditioning. Except from God. 24/7 non-stop consciousness and connection with God for over 2 years now. My mind and myself couldn't deny God even if my very life was dependent on it. God is the best conditioner.

[@coppertopization]

@GONE, GONE, GONE. NEVER WAS im not clear on that. What matters instinct then? Is not instinct a natural collection of experience; passed from generation to generation over immense periods of time through physical transferrance of cells, accordingly aligned to strict natural laws in order that that cell dissemination completes as necessary to ensure survival. Does not all living physical beings have instinct? In itself, does it not result in physical adaption of the species in question; to continue to advance its ability to survive and spread its physical seed for the next generation.

[@lukotube]

@coppertopization I don't think the message here is that you can become free from conditioning. I understand it this way: There is an 'essence' which is consciousness/awareness and within that essence there is a sense of self or mind, which is completely the product of conditioning and cannot NOT be conditioned as you also state. The essence just watches the condtioned self/mind and its life like you would watch a movie if you are aware it's just a movie. The conditioned self/mind experiences the movie as 'real', as long as it identifies with the conditioning and sees everything through this conditioned lens. And because the movie is so captivating (or stressful, or beguiling, or busy, etc.) this state of being immersed blocks the recognition of the 'essence', like you are not aware you're watching a movie when you are completely 'in' it. The moment the conditioned self/mind realizes that its conditioning is not something important or personal or 'real', there is the possibility to be aware of the essence that is being aware. This is what I hear, at least. It's hard to put in words exactly, so I hope my writing is clear enough.

[@coppertopization]

@GONE, GONE, GONE. NEVER WAS you are right! Perhaps i went off on a tangent. Sorry. Does a non-dualist not believe that really, we are all not really here? Not physically. I get caught between the understanding of reality being either fully as consciousness or accepting it as material or physical. I have witnessed Rupert condoning the necessity of conventional school edication. He then argues against the concept of materialism, blaming conventional education for that very conditioning. Ive listened to Swarmi’s explaining the falsehood of physical reality by describing atom charge repelling physical proximities. At one point in my life i couldnt imagine learning non-duality. Rupert caught my interest for years and i was starting to understand more and more. However, for me, his references and support towards political and historical mainstream popular theories and opinions were an increasingly alarming red flag.

[@Fnelrbnef]

Yes but it is a shitty awareness then.

[@1rocknroy]

There's nothing wrong.

[@IDrop76]

is this Graham Hancock's Brother? ;) lol

[@Jay-kk3dv]

This guys never makes any sense, just world salad

[@lizsypher9341]

I love Salad 🤍

[@No-self_No-problem]

🙏

[@JennyRSTeam]

Great stuff. With love, Rupert's team