Love Is the Absence of the Person | Rupert Spira

Summary

This script delves into the concept of consciousness as an ever-present screen upon which all experiences manifest. It posits that love is the recognition of shared being, transcending individual thoughts and feelings. The essence of our existence is the pure awareness, unchanging and indivisible, which remains constant regardless of external circumstances. The ultimate form of support one can offer is to help others connect with this inherent peace and wholeness, providing a foundation of strength and equanimity in the face of life's challenges.

Takeaways

• 🧘 Consciousness as a Screen: The script emphasizes that consciousness is like a screen where all experiences—thoughts, feelings, and perceptions—appear and disappear, but the screen itself remains unchanged and ever-present.
• 🌌 Essential Self: It suggests that our essential self, or the 'I am' before any qualifiers, is pure being and is shared by all, transcending individual experiences and characteristics.
• 🤝 Love as Shared Being: Love is portrayed as the recognition of our shared being, a deep connection that feels like unity with others, beyond superficial differences.
• 🔍 Self-Awareness: The script encourages introspection to understand the ever-present awareness, which is the true self that remains constant regardless of changing experiences.
• 💔 The Illusion of Separation: It posits that the sense of separation is an illusion, and at the core, we are all part of the same indivisible consciousness.
• 👁️ The Eye of Awareness: Each person's self-awareness is likened to the eye of a night watchman, seeing different experiences but all part of the same screen of consciousness.
• 🕊️ Love as the Ultimate Healing: Love, in its purest form, is presented as the ultimate healing force, offering peace and equanimity in the face of life's challenges, including illness and death.
• 👩‍⚕️ Practical Expression of Love: While love is a profound experience, it can also be expressed through practical actions, especially when caring for someone who is ill.
• 🌟 Immortality of Awareness: The script implies that awareness, being ever-present, is immortal and not affected by the temporary nature of thoughts, feelings, or physical states.
• 🧠 Beyond the Personal Self: It distinguishes between the personal self, which is influenced by ego and personal experiences, and the true self, which is the ever-present awareness.
• 🌈 The Holistic View: The final takeaway is the holistic understanding that the ultimate support we can offer to others is to help them connect with their inherent wholeness, peace, and health, which are not dependent on physical conditions.

Q & A

What is the 'screen of consciousness' as described in the script?

The 'screen of consciousness' is a metaphor for the ever-present backdrop of awareness within which all experiences, thoughts, feelings, and perceptions appear and disappear, much like images on a screen.

How is the concept of 'essential self' different from the temporary experiences in one's life?

The 'essential self' refers to the pure being or self-awareness that underlies all experiences and remains constant, whereas temporary experiences such as thoughts, feelings, and perceptions come and go, changing over time.

What is the relationship between love and the shared being according to the script?

Love is described as the recognition of shared being at the deepest level. It is the experience of unity and oneness with another, transcending individual differences and separations.

How does the script differentiate between the responses coming from love and those coming from the ego or personal self?

Responses coming from love are expressions of genuine care, concern, and compassion, arising from the true self of awareness. In contrast, responses from the ego or personal self are driven by fear and self-interest, separate from the universal awareness.

What is the significance of recognizing the 'I am' or the essential self in the context of the script?

Recognizing the 'I am' or the essential self is significant because it connects individuals to their true nature, which is unchanging, immortal, and at peace, offering a sense of equanimity and strength in the face of life's challenges.

How does the script suggest we can help someone who is ill, such as a sister, from a place of love?

The script suggests that the ultimate help is to connect the person who is ill with the understanding of their essential self, which is whole, complete, and at peace, regardless of their physical condition. This connection provides inner strength and equanimity.

What is the metaphor of the night watchman's screen used to illustrate in the script?

The night watchman's screen metaphor illustrates the indivisibility of consciousness. Just as the night watchman sees multiple images on one screen, consciousness is one and indivisible, despite hosting numerous individual experiences.

How does the script describe the experience of love in relation to the concept of 'oneness'?

The script describes the experience of love as a feeling of oneness, where the sense of separation dissolves, and individuals feel intimately connected, even closer than close, to the object of their love.

What is the role of awareness in the healing process as discussed in the script?

Awareness plays a crucial role in the healing process by providing a connection to the essential self, which is unchanging and at peace. This connection can offer comfort, courage, and a sense of wholeness that is independent of physical health.

How does the script relate the concept of 'pure being' to the experience of love?

The script relates 'pure being' to love by suggesting that the experience of pure being is the same for everyone, and love is the recognition and experience of this shared being, leading to a sense of unity and interconnectedness.

What is the ultimate gift that can be given to someone, as per the script's perspective on love and consciousness?

The ultimate gift, according to the script, is to help someone realize and connect with their essential self, the ever-present awareness that is whole and complete, offering peace and equanimity beyond physical conditions.

Outlines

00:00

🧘‍♂️ The Essence of Consciousness and Love

This paragraph delves into the concept of consciousness as an ever-present screen upon which all experiences manifest. It emphasizes that our true essence is the awareness itself, not the transient thoughts, feelings, or relationships. The speaker introduces the idea that love is the recognition of shared being, suggesting that our essential self is identical and undifferentiated, regardless of individual experiences. The paragraph also touches on the idea that the pure 'I am' consciousness is the same for everyone, including historical figures like Ramana Maharshi and Hitler, highlighting the universality of our essential being.

05:05

🌟 The Indivisibility of Consciousness and the Experience of Love

The second paragraph continues the exploration of consciousness, proposing that it is a singular, indivisible entity shared by all. It uses the analogy of a night watchman's screen to illustrate how multiple experiences can be viewed simultaneously without dividing the screen itself. The paragraph suggests that love is the profound realization of this shared being, often felt as a deep sense of oneness with another person. It discusses the transformative nature of love, which transcends individuality and personal identity, leading to a state where separation dissolves, and unity is felt.

10:15

💔 The Enduring Nature of Love and Its Role in Healing

In this paragraph, the discussion shifts to the enduring quality of love, especially in the face of loss or threat, such as illness. It posits that while memories of specific interactions may fade, the love shared remains, often becoming more pronounced in the absence of the loved one. The speaker encourages the recognition of love as the foundational essence of our relationships, suggesting that it provides strength and equanimity, regardless of external circumstances. The paragraph also addresses the role of a medical practitioner in offering both practical help and the profound gift of guiding a loved one to connect with their ever-present awareness.

15:20

🕊️ The Ultimate Gift of Peace Through Awareness

The final paragraph focuses on the ultimate form of healing, which is to help someone connect with their inherent peace, wholeness, and perfection that is independent of physical conditions. It emphasizes that by understanding and embodying the ever-present awareness, one can offer profound peace to others, which is crucial during times of illness or fear. The speaker suggests that this connection to one's true self provides the courage and strength to face any situation, as it is the realization of an immortal and ever-complete essence that transcends the temporary nature of the body and mind.

Keywords

💡Consciousness

Consciousness in the script is described as the ever-present screen or space where all experiences manifest. It is the fundamental state of being aware and is portrayed as the unchanging backdrop against which thoughts, feelings, and perceptions appear and disappear. The concept is central to the video's theme, suggesting that our true essence is not the transient experiences but the underlying awareness that remains constant.

💡Awareness

Awareness is closely related to consciousness and is used to denote the presence of being conscious. It is what allows us to perceive and understand our experiences. In the video, awareness is depicted as the unchanging essence of self that is shared among all beings, suggesting a universal quality that transcends individual experiences.

💡Experience

Experience in the script refers to the range of thoughts, images, feelings, sensations, perceptions, and relationships that individuals encounter. These are described as appearances that come and go on the screen of consciousness, highlighting the transient nature of experience in contrast to the enduring presence of consciousness.

💡Essential Self

The essential self is the core identity that is independent of personal experiences and characteristics. It is the 'I am' that remains before any qualifiers are added by experiences. The script suggests that recognizing the essential self can lead to a deeper understanding of one's true nature and a sense of unity with others.

💡Love

Love in the context of the video is the recognition and experience of shared being at the deepest level. It is portrayed as an experience that transcends individual differences and creates a sense of oneness. The script uses love to illustrate the connection between individuals and the ultimate healing power it holds.

💡Ego

The ego is mentioned as the personal self that is separate from the universal self or awareness. It is associated with fear and is contrasted with love, which comes from the true self of awareness. The script suggests that responses from the ego are limited, whereas love, as an expression of the true self, is expansive and healing.

💡Illness

Illness is used in the script as a metaphor for the threat to the body and mind, which can lead to a deeper understanding of the essential self. It is the catalyst for the realization of love and the essential self, as it challenges the individual to look beyond the physical and mental states to the unchanging awareness.

💡Healing

Healing in the video is not just a physical process but also a spiritual one. It is the process of reconnecting with the essential self and the shared being, which can bring peace and equanimity regardless of the physical condition. The ultimate healing is the realization of the unchanging awareness that is inherent in all beings.

💡Unity

Unity is the concept of oneness that the script suggests we experience through love. It is the realization that at the deepest level, all beings share the same essential self or awareness. The script uses the idea of unity to convey the interconnectedness of all individuals.

💡Fear

Fear in the script is presented as a response from the ego or the personal self, which is separate from love. Fear is associated with the threat to the body and mind, such as illness, and is contrasted with love, which is the response from the true self of awareness.

💡Peace

Peace is the state of inner tranquility and wholeness that is independent of external conditions. The script suggests that peace is a natural state of the essential self or awareness, which can be accessed regardless of the circumstances. It is the ultimate gift that can be offered to others, as it provides a sense of security and well-being.

Highlights

The concept of consciousness as an ever-present screen upon which all experiences appear.

The essential nature of a person being the presence of awareness, independent of thoughts, feelings, and relationships.

Love as the recognition of shared being or awareness, transcending individual experiences.

The idea that the 'I am' consciousness is unchanging and undifferentiated, regardless of personal experiences.

The analogy of the night watchman's screen to illustrate the indivisibility of consciousness.

The notion that the self-aware being is the same in each individual, akin to a universal consciousness.

The experience of love as the dissolution of separation between individuals, leading to a feeling of oneness.

The enduring nature of love, which remains even when the physical presence of a loved one is absent.

The role of a medical practitioner in expressing love through practical means and knowledge.

The importance of understanding the ever-present nature of awareness for personal and others' well-being.

The highest form of help being to connect someone with their inherent peace and wholeness, independent of physical conditions.

The potential for love to provide courage, strength, and equanimity in the face of life's challenges.

The distinction between responses coming from love (the true self) and fear (the ego or personal self).

The analogy of the magical iPhone to demonstrate the shared yet unique nature of individual experiences.

The concept that the ultimate healing comes from recognizing and abiding in one's true self, beyond physical existence.

The transformative power of love in the context of illness and the potential for it to alleviate fear and suffering.

The emphasis on the importance of self-understanding as a prerequisite for helping others connect with their essential self.

Transcripts

whatso first of all do you really  understand in your experience what  

I mean when I say that you are the screen  of consciousness all over the screen like  

presence of consciousness upon which or  within which all your experience appears

and that everything that appears in experience  your thoughts images feelings sensations  

perceptions relationships activities these  are all appearances that come and go on the  

ever-present screen of consciousness or in  the ever-present space of consciousness or  

awareness and that you what you essentially  are is this presence of awareness nothing  

else is essential to you no thought  is essential to you no feeling even  

no relationship however close you may  be to your companion or your sister or  

no relationship is essential to you that  is not in any way to undermine that the  

closeness and beauty of relationship but  it's just saying that it's not essential  

to you what is essential to you what cannot be  removed from you is the presence of awareness

so it is then in this picture in this model is  there room for love absolutely yes love is the  

recognition that we share our being and what I  mean by our being is the same as what I mean by  

awareness the aware being is another name for a  when so what you essentially are what you refer  

to when you say I am before that I am is qualified  by experience that is qualified by any thought  

feeling sensation perception relationship etc  that essential I am is quality unless it has no  

features or qualities or characteristics it is  just pure being pure self-aware being and then  

experience of pure being is the same for each of  us for instance if everyone now were to take out  

a magical iPhone the iPhone mark 27 and take a  snapshot of the entire range of their experience  

that not just their visual perceptions but their  feelings their thoughts their sensations if you  

can have a a magical camera that captured the  entire content of our experience and everyone  

were to do this and we were then to print these  each image we would end up with a hundred and  

fifty or so different images because everybody's  thoughts are different everybody's feelings even  

everybody's experience of my voice and the  sight of this room is slightly different yes  

but now if everyone were to turn the camera  around and take a selfie that is to take an  

image of themselves not their thoughts and their  feelings those are superfluous they are temporary  

but to take an image of their essential self and  then we printed all those images what would be  

on the images what would the content of the  images be the images would be empty they'd  

be blank there'd be no objects there in other  words each of our image of our self our true  

essential self is the same now that's the same  for all of us it's the same for ramana maharshi  

and hitler and everybody if we take a picture  of our thoughts and feelings our activities  

and relationships they are all different but  we turn it around and take a picture of our  

essential self our essential being that to  which each of us refers when we say simply  

I am before I am is qualified by experience  is the same now be open to the possibility  

that our essential being is shared that there  are not a hundred and fifty five individual  

beings in this room there may be a hundred and  fifty five individual thoughts there may be a  

hundred and fifty-five perceptions but be open  to the possibility that the being that each of  

us is the self aware being that shines in each of  our minds as the knowledge I am is the same being

refracted in each of our minds as the knowledge I  am or the knowledge I or the knowledge of my self  

but it is the same being that each of  us shares in other words this screen of  

awareness upon which our experience appears  is not limited to our particular experience  

there's not one screen for each person it's  more like a screen in a night watchman's Hut  

and the night watchman is watching over a  building site and on every corner of the  

building site a camera is placed and the night  watchman sits in his cubicle at the entrance  

to the building site and on a single screen he  sees a hundred images each of those images come  

from one of the cameras the content of each  image is different but each image shares the  

same screen and if you run your finger over the  screen you don't find lots of separate squares  

there is one indivisible single screen now be  open to the possibility that consciousness is  

like the night watchman's screen it is one  it is indivisible and the fact that numerous  

thoughts and feelings and perceptions  appear on it doesn't actually divide it

be open to the possibility that the self of  each of us the eye the letter i' the letter  

the eye of each of us is the same being  now and your question of love could it be  

that the experience of love is the recognition  that we share our being at the deepest level

because isn't that what love feels like

when you love someone do you not feel to a greater  or lesser extent that you are one with them isn't  

that what the feeling of love is the feeling of  being close in fact even closer than close there  

are people in your life or at times in your life  when you have felt at one that you have felt that  

you that everything that divides you from the  other melts away and that you are one as anyone  

here not had that experience I've never met anyone  who had not had that experience that that is the  

experience of love love is the experience of our  shared being love is not a feeling that a person  

has in fact love is the absence of the person it  is the collapse of everything that separates us  

so so yes when you hear from your sister that  she is very ill immediately your the depth of  

your relationship with her the depth of your  love shines that's the first thing you feel  

when you hear this is your love for her and  rightly so because an illness that threatens  

everything we know about ourselves objectively  ultimately it threatens the survival of the body  

so when everything that defines the body and the  mind is threatened or taken away what remains is  

love that that is why if one has a loved one  a companion or an animal or a friend who dies

our memories of that person the memories of  the particular thoughts the particular actions  

they they slowly fade but the love we share the  love we used to share with them remains intact  

and in fact is often magnified in their absence  because the this love this the shared being was  

the essence of our relationship with them while  they were alive and it remains the essence of  

our relationship with them after they've passed  away so that is why when your sister's body is  

threatened by this illness this love you feel fire  is magnified so yes absolutely there is it's not  

that there is a place for love in in consciousness  consciousness is love the response to your sister  

what it comes from love ultimately that the  source of your response to your sister is now  

in it it's a immediately you feel care concerned  compassion all of those are expressions of love  

but but your love is is also tailored to the  situation she is sick she is at risk you are a  

medical practitioner so you have skills you have  knowledge you have experience so you're not just  

going to smile lovingly at your sister because  you have practical ways of helping her so it's  

natural that your love will be expressed through  whatever means you consider appropriate for us so  

your love may be very expressed in very specific  ways very specific ways that you offer her help

coming from my any response that comes from love  is coming from the true and only self of awareness  

or God's infinite being a responsive fear would be  a response from the ego or the personal self you  

see when everything on the screen of consciousness  that is our experience that thoughts images  

feelings sensations perceptions when they all  leave the screen the screen goes nowhere it stays  

what we essentially are remains it is immortal it  is ever-present and the the highest help you can  

offer your sister is to put her in touch with that  understanding now in order to put her in touch  

with that understanding you need to understand  that yourself so the most important thing is to  

be in touch with the ever presence of awareness to  be in touch with the fact that whatever experience  

passes over the screen of awareness however  Pleasant or unpleasant whatever state of the  

mind or the body that the screen of awareness the  space-like presence of the lens is always in the  

same condition it is always whole it is always in  perfect health it is always complete and if you  

know that for yourself you know it for another  and that is the most important thing the most  

important response that you could give to your  system because if you give her that you give her  

peace irrespective of what happens as this illness  develops whether she whether it deteriorate as she  

deteriorates or whether she gets better you put  her in touch with the peace and the health that  

is not dependent upon the condition of her body  but prior to the condition of her body and that  

is not in any way to say that all the other ways  that you might help her as a practitioner are not  

valid they absolutely are valid and it is quite  right to respond appropriately in whatever way  

you feel is would best help her but the ultimate  gift you could give her the ultimate healing you  

could give her is to put her in touch with  that part of herself which is at peace and  

whole and perfect and complete irrespective of  the condition of the body because once you're in  

touch with that your your fear of death leaves  and whatever now happens to your sister she if  

she if you put her in touch with this and if she  if she begins to abide there more and more that  

will give her all the courage and the strength  and the equanimity to to bear whatever happens