How Do I Move From Intellectual Understanding to Lived Knowing? — Rupert Spira

So my question is like intellectually I understand um some of the concepts of the nondual awareness approach but it's like how do I really grow into conviction and knowing really knowing um these concepts rather than just being in my head like for example that there is just one essentially just one being and all of creation as humans and creatures and rocks is just different articulation manifestation of that consciousness. So I I'm aware of that in my head but I don't really know that or experience that. And um like I remember one of uh two of your recent podcasts with I think is a Dutch guy or might be German. He's a philosopher and uh with it and AI and he was saying the same thing. you were having a philosophical conversation. He says I understand this but he says I don't experience it. So that's really my question how to grow into it. Um like it does impact me for example like the snails like eating my vegetables in the garden. I just used to pick them up and just chuck them you know but now I sort of well this is a snail. This is this is just a different manifestation of me really. It's we just we're all the same. So, so I still throw the snail, but I've um >> you do it a bit more gently. >> I feel differently about it. >> Yeah. >> Um yeah. So, and and I I would say that I've been a spiritual seeker for much of my adult life, most of it, and lots of meditation. But so, it's like how do I really grow into this conviction and this deep knowing rather than just >> in my head? Well, Peter, the non-dual understanding can be very simply expressed in in one sentence. The the essence of the nondual understanding. Uh peace and happiness are the nature of your being and you share your being with everyone and everything. That that's really it. That's 3,000 years of non-duality from all the traditions just in one sentence. The first part of the sentence refers to your inner experience, your emotional life. The second part of the sentence refers to your outer experience, your your experience of the world and and others. Peace and happiness are the nature of your your being. How how do you experience that? How do you go more deeply into that? Well, like we have been this morning and and last night by by going to your being, by going to the the simple experience of being and as it were tasting it, experience it. So we'll come to the second part in a minute, but just go now if let's start with this. If I were to ask you now um to describe your thoughts, you don't have to describe the content of your thoughts, but just how would you describe your thoughts? Just very very roughly. >> Um they're just buzzing around the words that you were giving. They're buzzing around. And what about your sensations? Like the sensation of your hand on the mic. How would you describe that? Uh um just a tactile feeling. >> Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Now, in in each of those examples, I asked you about your thoughts and you I saw you pause, you looked up, you you went to a thought, you went to an experience of thinking and you it's buzzing around. And then I asked you what about the experience of your hand on your mic? You looked at your hand on the mic and you said, well, it's a kind of tactile sensation. So now I want to ask you uh do the same thing but tell us about the nature of your being. It's hard to put words on it. It's like >> it's it's you're absolutely right. It's it's really impossible. But do your best. And the reason I asked you the the two questions about your thoughts and your sensations is because I wanted you to be very experiential and you were you went to the experience of thinking. You went to the experience. I want you to do the same thing. I don't want to philosophize with you. I I want you to go there, taste your being and tell us about it. And and do your best with words. Don't worry. I understand it's hard to be accurate. >> Well, it feels it's quieter. >> Perfect. What else? >> Uh you it's it's calm. >> Yeah. And >> perfect. Keep going. >> You sort of know that some of the ideas like there's a peacefulness about it. >> Just go to your don't refer to what you've heard. Just take your time. Go to this simple experience of being >> and try to do your best to imagine. It's not possible but imagine someone had never had the experience of being. and they desperately want to know what does being taste like or feel like. And you're you're trying to give them the felt sense or the taste of being. Try to do that. >> Uh there's a deep quiet calm. >> Yeah. Keep going. Very good. Well, I want to say something about there's an absence of of anxiety or being troubled. It's >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> It's It feels very strong. >> Yeah. Okay, Peter, that that you you've said it's it's peaceful. >> There's an absence of anxiety and it's strong. It can't be can't be damaged. So, >> unwavering. >> It's unwavering. Yeah. So the answer your question was how can I go more deeply into this knowing and experience it for myself exactly how you have just done >> you you were quite obviously referring to the experience of being you you were obviously not thinking oh what did I read in that book or what did I hear on that YouTube but you quite obviously referring to the experience of being just as you were previously referring to the experience of thinking thinking or sensing. You you were going there with the same kind of experiential attitude. What What does this actually feel like just to be? And you said about four or five times in different ways, it's it's calm, it's peaceful, it's still, it's quiet. And then you said there's there's an absence of sorrow there and it's strong. It's unchanging. It's it and you you that's the way that's the way to now imagine that I had asked you this question. So here we're in very peaceful circumstances, very easy. It's very conducive to this kind of investigation. But imagine go back home. You're in some situation at work or family or with your some really difficult taxing experience. Circumstances are really testing. And imagine there was just a pause in your experience and you and I had this conversation right in the middle of this difficult challenging situation and we just took out 10 seconds. Peter, what's the nature of your being now? What would you have said in in that circumstance? >> Well, I probably wouldn't have accessed where I got to now um in that moment. No, but but imagine that you have you pause. You stop paying attention to the circumstances and you just give your attention to being. >> What how would you describe your being? >> It's coming back into connection with quietness and essence. >> Would it be any different from what you just described now? >> No, it wouldn't. It would be the same >> going back to that same place. is the same place. >> Mhm. >> At at any moment of your life under any circumstances, if you do what you've just done just now in the last 2 minutes, you you you stop paying attention to the content of your experience, your thoughts, your feelings and you just go back to the experience of being, it will always have the same qualities >> that you just described. peace, quiet, absence of sorrow, rock solid, strong, although there's nothing objective there, always there. And your being is always available to you 24/7 whenever you go there. It's like the perfect companion, just always with you in the heart of yourself. >> So the practice is just going there more and more often, going, staying there, >> going there more and more often. And to begin with, there'll be this back and forth. It's either experience or your being. You you you won't be able to do both at once. You're either lost in experience, in which case you feel agitated and and anxious, or you come back to your being, and it's peaceful there. But then in time, you begin to develop the ability to go back to life, but to remain in touch with the peace of your being. And life can still be very challenging. But but even so your challenging circumstances lose their capacity to take you away from yourself and your innate peace. >> And I think I've actually been experiencing that to a degree since >> I'm sure you have >> since being with your teachings. >> I want to ask you Anna, it's too late to ask you one more question. I wanted to um go to the second part because we just explored the first part of the uh the the statement. Peace and happiness are the nature of your being. That's what we've just experienc explored. You share your being with everyone and everything which was actually specifically your question. How do I So I I think I um >> we won't do that now because dinner is ready and they always cook us delicious meals. So out of respect for the >> chefs, not to mention your hunger, let's we'll sp we'll explore that another time. >> Yes. Yeah. Many thanks. >> Thank you. >> Thank you, Ruben. >> Thank you.