Why Do We Meditate?

Why do we meditate? Is the meditation we practise in non-duality different from other types of meditation where you observe your thoughts or focus on your breath?

Rupert says: ‘Focusing on your breath gives you temporary relief from your feelings, but it doesn’t uproot the cause of your suffering. It’s not what we do here, because here we don’t just want temporary relief from our feelings – we want permanent relief. We want lasting peace and happiness.’

‘So, here we don’t allow our attention to rest on any particular object. You simply come all the way back to its source – which is the presence of awareness – and rest there as that. You’re no longer giving your attention to that, because you are that. That is why we meditate – to return to the true source of peace, happiness and love, which is our being.’

*This video is from one of Rupert’s in-person retreats at Mercy Center, 9–16 March 2025. For more information on upcoming retreats (many of which can be attended online via livestream) go to:

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Timestamps:

0:00 Why Do We Meditate?
1:33 Watching the Breath
2:59 Finding Lasting Happiness
4:38 Awareness and Attention
6:35 Abiding as Awareness
7:54 Effort and Our True Self
9:57 Our Natural State
13:29 Make the Effort

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