Hello Rupert,
The message is simple: You are that which is already realised and never not realised. Why does this simple message not hit home? What is so special about this message that it causes the mind to reject it and continue seeking? I would very much appreciate your clarification. Many thanks in advance.
Best regards,
Anand
Dear Anand,
Anand: You are that which is already realised and never not realised.
Rupert: In theory you are correct, but in practice it would be truer to say that you are that which is ever-present but sometimes seemingly forgotten or not realised. This states directly the truth of your experience and, at the same time, leaves open the possibility of your exploring it, if it seems not to be your experience.
If it is our experience that whatever we are is already fully realised, then we can legitimately make that claim. If it is not our experience and yet we still make that claim, then we superimpose a theoretical belief upon our experience of apparent duality. This is a position of resignation rather than understanding, and it leads to frustration rather than peace.
Why does this simple message not hit home?
Because it has not been fully explored. By far the larger part of the sense of separation consists in the feeling of being limited and located, not just the belief.
You are at least open to the possibility that what you are is knowing presence, prior to and independent of the mind, body and world, and yet, at the same time, their substance. To help you realise this possibility, experience is full of hints about its whereabouts.
The exploration of experience that is suggested here is one such hint. But many others are available. Simply turn towards whichever feels right for you.
What is so special about this message that it causes the mind to reject it and continue seeking?
If there is a rejection of this message, it simply means that it has not been understood. What is so special about this message is that it causes the mind to dissolve in it, and the peace and happiness that were initially considered to be the potential outcome of our seeking are discovered as its source.
However, it is not the message in words that causes the mind to dissolve. It is the true message, that is, presence itself, which, having taken the shape of the mind, thereby projecting a mind, body and world apparently outside of itself, gathers this mind back into itself.
Presence comes to recognise itself again as it is, as the source and substance of all things. And at this point it becomes clear that, as you said to begin with, this presence never ceases to know or be itself.
With love,
Rupert
