Robert Augustus Masters Q&A Part Four
March 9, 2006
A. Jana (Plasmafly) asks:
1. Since wisdom is the trait so sorely needed by humanity...I would like RAM's material to be spread throughout the globe...those lucky few who knew about you in the 80's, will perhaps still be following or refind you. But it seems to me that there needs to be a larger global outreach. Sure if you aligned with I-I there would be global exposure, but is not going to filter down to the man in the street. Its like you need your own talk-radio show, infomercial, become a political figure or something to stamp your image on the global brain. Perhaps you could track down Deepok Chopra he is going to do a movie doc like What the Bleep...perhaps you could talk on that. Or on William Arntz's next movie. Certainly soundstrue would give you a huge audience base.
I mean to say why should mythic pap like Ramtha be getting such exposure when the real stuff goes unheard...its like you have to educate your audience to gain an appetite for you. And believe me they will, if they only knew. Currently there is a regression into modes of thinking which should have died out in the middle ages, and this is only so because people have a desire for the transrational, but only "know of prerational means" of attempting to get there. That is why we need voices like yours and Ken's blasting on megaphones from every tall building in the world.
Robert answers:
Thank you for your support!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
B. from Rhonda/Feral:
1. Robert, I know that you pack a lot of different therapeutic modalities into your individual therapy sessions and your workshops. What exactly is there in the mix and what do you find the different pieces helpful for and when. I gather that you work in a very intuitive way. How does a person learn to trust their therapeutic intuition?
2. Talk to me about meditation. Why would I want to do it? How do you find a practice that is right for you?
Robert answers:
1. What is in the mix is what I intuit will work best. If you watch me work, you’ll see me use modalities like Gestalt and psychodrama, but you’ll also see me improvising as I do so, in accordance with my client’s current state, spontaneously bringing in other modalities (like deep bodywork), or creating on-the-spot structures (like having someone who’s working through some fear face others in the group who trigger that fear), or bringing spiritual perspectives to what’s going on (like inviting an exploration of identity). Given that any therapeutic methodology can be a trap, especially when the therapist is invested in it, I strongly prefer to let my structuring of sessions and groups spontaneously arise in response to client and group energies and needs. This keeps me fresh, alert, creative, ready for the twists and turns of the therapeutic process.
And how does a person trust their therapeutic intuition? Practice. Exploring the roots of their mistrust of their intuition. More practice. In my training of therapists-to-be, a constant theme is that of becoming more attuned to one’s intuition, and becoming more willing to act on it. Implicit in this is a truly deep listening; the more spacious and attentive my trainees are, the more clearly they can “hear” their intuition.
2. Let’s start by saying that meditation is the art and practice of being aware of what’s happening as it’s happening, while taking into account that this is a deceptively simple statement, given that “what’s happening” is not necessarily what it appears to be. What follows fleshes this out. As you read it, I suggest that you soften your belly, and remain aware of the arising and passing of each breath; when your attention drifts away, simply return it to your breath, noting, if possible, to what your attention was pulled.
Meditation simultaneously roots and wings us, helping us to abide in and as Being, while enhancing our ability to take care of the business of daily life (if only through keeping us present). Nothing could be more practical than meditation.
In the beginning, meditation is a practice of the self. Later, meditation is a practice that renders transparent the self. And still later, meditation is a practice that opens us until we are but openness itself, embodying what is obviously more real than the self.
That is, in the beginning, we meditate; later, we allow meditation; and still later, we are meditated. This makes sense not to the rational mind, but to that which cannot help but be aware of the rational mind. Meditation radically decentralizes egoity.
That is, meditation undoes, unravels, renders ever more transparent, the very self that seeks and attempts to meditate. That self, that knot of subjectivity velcro’ed to spiritual ambition, views meditation as a remedy or as a means to an end, but meditation -- if entered into with sufficient commitment -- undresses and unseats that self, cutting through its reign of us, leaving in its wake what we’ve been all along.
(Are you still aware of breathing?)
When we allow ourselves to be centered not by our separative selfhood and its self-obsessed subjectivity, but rather by Being, meditation finds its true depth, the vast dimensionless presence of which unmasks, uproots, and ultimately dissolves our mistaken case of identity.
Meditation includes the overlapping practices of (1) making space -- transconceptual space -- for whatever arises; (2) remaining present; (3) witnessing whatever is arising, externally and internally, without dissociating from it; and (4) awakening to the real nature of all that is.
Meditation is all of these and more, existing at essence as the practice-path of being centered not by self, but by innate awareness.
Meditation is the practice of awaring.
As such, it makes equal room for happiness and unhappiness, simultaneously opening us to deep insight, the moment-to-moment feel of a soapy dish, and the subtle agendas hovering so very near to our next thought. Meditation makes conscious space -- a true living room -- for the high and the low, the gorgeous and the repulsive, the fascinating and the tedious, shining the heartlamp of intrinsic awareness equally on all.
Meditation is not about feeling a certain way, nor about being in a certain state, nor about having certain experiences, but rather is about remaining awake in the midst of whatever is happening.
Meditation requires no props, robes, or equipment. It is not limited to a particular format or posture; one can be still, one can be moving, one can be quiet, one can be chanting or praying or crying. Whatever works. It's good to stay with a practice that works for you, but not to stay with it too long.
(How does your breathing feel?)
And don't make meditative practice special or “above” the rest of your life. It's more useful to awaringly wash dishes than to squat on a meditation cushion trying to reach some exalted state. The good news is that meditation works; the bad news, at least for our egoity, is that the spiritual deepening central to meditation is not always going to make us feel good.
Meditation is not about getting somewhere. In meditation, we move not from here to there, but from here to here -- and from now to now -- allowing ourselves to be awakened and homed by all things.
To be thus awakened and homed is to be grateful for all that has brought where we are. Meditation devoid of gratitude is not really meditation, but only spiritualized dissociation. Gratitude itself can be a deeply liberating practice. As awareness and love become more and more indistinguishable, we begin to truly live, regardless of our circumstances.
We don’t do meditation, but without us there is no meditation. May we take the practice of awaring to heart, daring to let it immerse us in -- and reveal to us -- the full Truth of what we cannot help but be.
******************
And how to find a practice that is right for you? Trust your intuition.
Here’s a user-friendly practice to try:
Sit comfortably, with loose jaw and belly, eyes closed or almost closed, and count outloud your breaths on the exhale, starting with 1; when you’ve reached 5, start at 1 again. Do this for a few rounds, then make the counting silent. Do this for a minute or two, then bring some awareness to your belly, noticing how it moves with each breath, rising/expanding on the inhale, and settling/falling back on the exhale. So as you inhale, notice your belly rising, and as you exhale, count and notice your belly falling back. If you forget where you are in the counting, simply start at 1 again. Do not interfere with whatever thoughts are arising in your mind; let them be. Do this for a minimum of 10 minutes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
C. Michael D asks:
1. I particularly enjoyed the words about nonduality…
RAM: "I would now, more than a dozen years later, describe my DSW experience as, among other things, a death/rebirth process. It was one hell of a journey, a full-term, full-out labor (I just recently realized that my birthday [December 19th] is exactly 9 months after the date of my taking 5-MeO [February 19th])."
I’m wondering how Robert now sees the role of (re)experiencing the birth process/trauma – (both the biological and the archetypal) in his “death-rebirth”.
Robert answers:
I see it as a very useful process. It’s easy to overvalue reliving one’s actual birth, and it’s easy to overemphasize the role of our physical birth in our developmental unfolding, but it still can be a powerful part of our healing and awakening. We are all, in different ways, giving birth to ourselves, level upon level -- perhaps the ultimate labor of love. A messy passage, yes, full of blood, sweat, and tears, not to mention a shitload of fears, but worth it, as we emerge, naked and so, so alive, at home in the unfathomable openness of the Real.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A. Jana (Plasmafly) asks:
1. Since wisdom is the trait so sorely needed by humanity...I would like RAM's material to be spread throughout the globe...those lucky few who knew about you in the 80's, will perhaps still be following or refind you. But it seems to me that there needs to be a larger global outreach. Sure if you aligned with I-I there would be global exposure, but is not going to filter down to the man in the street. Its like you need your own talk-radio show, infomercial, become a political figure or something to stamp your image on the global brain. Perhaps you could track down Deepok Chopra he is going to do a movie doc like What the Bleep...perhaps you could talk on that. Or on William Arntz's next movie. Certainly soundstrue would give you a huge audience base.
I mean to say why should mythic pap like Ramtha be getting such exposure when the real stuff goes unheard...its like you have to educate your audience to gain an appetite for you. And believe me they will, if they only knew. Currently there is a regression into modes of thinking which should have died out in the middle ages, and this is only so because people have a desire for the transrational, but only "know of prerational means" of attempting to get there. That is why we need voices like yours and Ken's blasting on megaphones from every tall building in the world.
Robert answers:
Thank you for your support!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
B. from Rhonda/Feral:
1. Robert, I know that you pack a lot of different therapeutic modalities into your individual therapy sessions and your workshops. What exactly is there in the mix and what do you find the different pieces helpful for and when. I gather that you work in a very intuitive way. How does a person learn to trust their therapeutic intuition?
2. Talk to me about meditation. Why would I want to do it? How do you find a practice that is right for you?
Robert answers:
1. What is in the mix is what I intuit will work best. If you watch me work, you’ll see me use modalities like Gestalt and psychodrama, but you’ll also see me improvising as I do so, in accordance with my client’s current state, spontaneously bringing in other modalities (like deep bodywork), or creating on-the-spot structures (like having someone who’s working through some fear face others in the group who trigger that fear), or bringing spiritual perspectives to what’s going on (like inviting an exploration of identity). Given that any therapeutic methodology can be a trap, especially when the therapist is invested in it, I strongly prefer to let my structuring of sessions and groups spontaneously arise in response to client and group energies and needs. This keeps me fresh, alert, creative, ready for the twists and turns of the therapeutic process.
And how does a person trust their therapeutic intuition? Practice. Exploring the roots of their mistrust of their intuition. More practice. In my training of therapists-to-be, a constant theme is that of becoming more attuned to one’s intuition, and becoming more willing to act on it. Implicit in this is a truly deep listening; the more spacious and attentive my trainees are, the more clearly they can “hear” their intuition.
2. Let’s start by saying that meditation is the art and practice of being aware of what’s happening as it’s happening, while taking into account that this is a deceptively simple statement, given that “what’s happening” is not necessarily what it appears to be. What follows fleshes this out. As you read it, I suggest that you soften your belly, and remain aware of the arising and passing of each breath; when your attention drifts away, simply return it to your breath, noting, if possible, to what your attention was pulled.
Meditation simultaneously roots and wings us, helping us to abide in and as Being, while enhancing our ability to take care of the business of daily life (if only through keeping us present). Nothing could be more practical than meditation.
In the beginning, meditation is a practice of the self. Later, meditation is a practice that renders transparent the self. And still later, meditation is a practice that opens us until we are but openness itself, embodying what is obviously more real than the self.
That is, in the beginning, we meditate; later, we allow meditation; and still later, we are meditated. This makes sense not to the rational mind, but to that which cannot help but be aware of the rational mind. Meditation radically decentralizes egoity.
That is, meditation undoes, unravels, renders ever more transparent, the very self that seeks and attempts to meditate. That self, that knot of subjectivity velcro’ed to spiritual ambition, views meditation as a remedy or as a means to an end, but meditation -- if entered into with sufficient commitment -- undresses and unseats that self, cutting through its reign of us, leaving in its wake what we’ve been all along.
(Are you still aware of breathing?)
When we allow ourselves to be centered not by our separative selfhood and its self-obsessed subjectivity, but rather by Being, meditation finds its true depth, the vast dimensionless presence of which unmasks, uproots, and ultimately dissolves our mistaken case of identity.
Meditation includes the overlapping practices of (1) making space -- transconceptual space -- for whatever arises; (2) remaining present; (3) witnessing whatever is arising, externally and internally, without dissociating from it; and (4) awakening to the real nature of all that is.
Meditation is all of these and more, existing at essence as the practice-path of being centered not by self, but by innate awareness.
Meditation is the practice of awaring.
As such, it makes equal room for happiness and unhappiness, simultaneously opening us to deep insight, the moment-to-moment feel of a soapy dish, and the subtle agendas hovering so very near to our next thought. Meditation makes conscious space -- a true living room -- for the high and the low, the gorgeous and the repulsive, the fascinating and the tedious, shining the heartlamp of intrinsic awareness equally on all.
Meditation is not about feeling a certain way, nor about being in a certain state, nor about having certain experiences, but rather is about remaining awake in the midst of whatever is happening.
Meditation requires no props, robes, or equipment. It is not limited to a particular format or posture; one can be still, one can be moving, one can be quiet, one can be chanting or praying or crying. Whatever works. It's good to stay with a practice that works for you, but not to stay with it too long.
(How does your breathing feel?)
And don't make meditative practice special or “above” the rest of your life. It's more useful to awaringly wash dishes than to squat on a meditation cushion trying to reach some exalted state. The good news is that meditation works; the bad news, at least for our egoity, is that the spiritual deepening central to meditation is not always going to make us feel good.
Meditation is not about getting somewhere. In meditation, we move not from here to there, but from here to here -- and from now to now -- allowing ourselves to be awakened and homed by all things.
To be thus awakened and homed is to be grateful for all that has brought where we are. Meditation devoid of gratitude is not really meditation, but only spiritualized dissociation. Gratitude itself can be a deeply liberating practice. As awareness and love become more and more indistinguishable, we begin to truly live, regardless of our circumstances.
We don’t do meditation, but without us there is no meditation. May we take the practice of awaring to heart, daring to let it immerse us in -- and reveal to us -- the full Truth of what we cannot help but be.
******************
And how to find a practice that is right for you? Trust your intuition.
Here’s a user-friendly practice to try:
Sit comfortably, with loose jaw and belly, eyes closed or almost closed, and count outloud your breaths on the exhale, starting with 1; when you’ve reached 5, start at 1 again. Do this for a few rounds, then make the counting silent. Do this for a minute or two, then bring some awareness to your belly, noticing how it moves with each breath, rising/expanding on the inhale, and settling/falling back on the exhale. So as you inhale, notice your belly rising, and as you exhale, count and notice your belly falling back. If you forget where you are in the counting, simply start at 1 again. Do not interfere with whatever thoughts are arising in your mind; let them be. Do this for a minimum of 10 minutes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
C. Michael D asks:
1. I particularly enjoyed the words about nonduality…
RAM: "I would now, more than a dozen years later, describe my DSW experience as, among other things, a death/rebirth process. It was one hell of a journey, a full-term, full-out labor (I just recently realized that my birthday [December 19th] is exactly 9 months after the date of my taking 5-MeO [February 19th])."
I’m wondering how Robert now sees the role of (re)experiencing the birth process/trauma – (both the biological and the archetypal) in his “death-rebirth”.
Robert answers:
I see it as a very useful process. It’s easy to overvalue reliving one’s actual birth, and it’s easy to overemphasize the role of our physical birth in our developmental unfolding, but it still can be a powerful part of our healing and awakening. We are all, in different ways, giving birth to ourselves, level upon level -- perhaps the ultimate labor of love. A messy passage, yes, full of blood, sweat, and tears, not to mention a shitload of fears, but worth it, as we emerge, naked and so, so alive, at home in the unfathomable openness of the Real.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
posted by adastra at 12:22 PM
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