Is matter made of consciousness? It’s easy to see and feel that thoughts, feelings and sensations are made of consciousness. But how does the consciousness-only model account for objects that appear outside our own finite minds? And how can we verify that in our own direct experience?

To explain this Rupert uses the analogy of Mary who falls asleep in London and dreams that she’s Jane in Paris. Jane thinks my thoughts appear in my own mind and not anywhere else so they’re obviously made out of awareness. But what about the streets of Paris? They disappear for me when I close my eyes but they don’t disappear for my friend Claire. So there’s obviously more to them than my own finite mind. For this reason, Jane thinks that the streets of Paris are made out of something outside herself called matter. But from Mary’s point of view, the streets of Paris are made of her own mind.

Mary represents consciousness dreaming the universe within itself. When this dream is viewed from each of our localised perspectives it seems to be made out of stuff outside of ourselves. But from the point of view of infinite consciousness, it localises itself as the separate subjects of experience that are each of us and the unlocalised portion of consciousness appears to us as the world.

This video is taken from one of Rupert’s in-person retreats at The Vedanta — 3rd to 10th June 2022. To view and book for upcoming retreats (many of which can be attended online via livestream) go to:

▸ UK https://rupertspira.com/event/locatio…
▸ US https://rupertspira.com/event/locatio…

Timestamps:

0:00 Is Matter Made Of Consciousness?
1:04 Direct Experience
3:24 The Dream Analogy
4:44 Is Matter Fundamental?
5:52 God’s Dream
7:03 Consciousness-Only Model
7:58 Awareness Doesn’t Just Exist In Your Mind
9:13 The Universe Is Like A Hologram
9:25 The Limited Perspective Of The Finite Mind
10:30 The Essence Of Your Mind Is Infinite
11:04 No Evidence That Awareness Is Limited
12:12 Panpsychism
13:12 Matter Appears Only From A Localized Perspective
15:15 The Materialist Paradigm Is An Old Interpretation
18:30 An Argument Against Materialism

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