hi Rupert my name is uh Greg hi and uh this is my first retreat uh the question I had is
I come from kind of a engineering background and you know I'm very kind of in my head a lot
and you know I start I started on the Progressive path about five years ago and
about three years ago kind of started listening to non-dual teaching the non-dual teachings and
and what you're teaching is so radically simple that it's like my brain can't even
get you know my head around it I I have this habit of over complicating things
and it's very difficult for me to kind of let in that simplicity and I'm just wondering if you
have any advice or tips on how to almost relax that over intellectualizing and just kind of
I mean it's it's just even when you were saying kind of these three things on the
mountain I mean they're just so utterly simple and I can't I can't really let it in
good great what I'm giving you um in these meetings and meditations and conversations is
the distillation of 45 years of thinking exploring practising these matters and I can assure you that
my mind was at least as complicated as yours when I was your age
somebody once asked Francis why does the non-dual teaching have to be so complicated
he replied to satisfied people with Minds as complex as Rupert's
so if you've got one of it not everyone has one those that kind of a mind and
it's fine that I'm not making any um suggesting one type of mind is better
than another but for those of us that have these Minds that like to think about these matters that
like to that object to everything that is said that questions everything that is said
that wants to explore every Avenue if you have such a mind and I I had such a but that's fine
don't don't stop yourself don't think oh it should be so simple it should just be the
steps these these three steps I've given you it took me 40 years to come to that
so that can be a shortcut that can prevent you I don't recommend thinking for 40 years about
these matters but but give yourself permission to think for two or three years about them you
you'll find after two or three years of thinking about these matters you you'll realize that what
is the non-dual understanding is so simple yeah so easy so clear but don't impose that on yourself
before before it comes to you naturally give yourself permission just give yourself a few
years to just explore object to everything that is said change everything that is said be if you
have a mind like that and some of you don't have Minds it's not necessary and it's fine
it's fine just to stay on the top of a mountain and and be that's fine
some people are like that but if you're not don't feel that you're failing don't feel that you
shouldn't be doing that thinking gets such a bad rap in the spiritual Traditions it's just crushed
the mind can't understand reality therefore don't think about it well it's true the
mind can't understand reality but you should still think about it
think about it until your mind has brought itself to its own end not a disciplined end not
the end of thinking because you're told that thinking is wrong no the Mind brings
itself to its own end a natural effortless if the Mind comes to an ending understanding
not through practice ethical discipline so great think about these matters explore them
okay don't worry you you you you it won't take you 40 years it'll be a couple of years at the most
but then the Simplicity that you discover will be your own it'll be unshakable it'll be your own
understanding it won't be an imposed Simplicity that you've got from watching YouTube clips or
listening to teachers or reading but it'll be your own and you you will then be able to
expand that Simplicity in response to a question about white is the universe looks as if it's made
out of matter then you have all the faculties of thinking at your disposal and you can elaborate
the non-dual teaching in a complex way in response to that question but in the absence of that
question you just go back to simplicity you don't think about it I never think about the truth now
that's not true rarely think about the truth unless unless somebody asks me a question why
does the universe appear to be physical then my mind just fires up and then it off it goes in
it's not that I never think about it but compared to how I used to be
I think very little about it because I've been exploring the territory for 45 years
I've been there over and over and over and over again exploring objecting turning on uh looking
under every stone until my mind brought itself to its own understanding brought itself to peace
then the thinking naturally dies down but it's still available
so great don't worry just just keep exploring these matters