127 Letting, My Healing Heals My Child? Jesus Appears, Q & A

1:02:29

1:02:29

127 Letting, My Healing Heals My Child? Jesus Appears, Q & A

by William Cooper, M.Th., Licensed Professional Counselor

Rated

5

Type

talks

Activity

Meditation

Suitable for

Everyone

Plays

158

This recording of a live Q & A has been edited for clarity, length, and helpfulness. We discuss the 3 steps in letting go of That which keeps us from Awakening and enjoying life fully, What happened when Jesus appeared to William, question about Catholic guilt and how to let it go and know Jesus as a friend. A mother asked if her awakening could help her troubled child. These podcasts are meant to supplement your personal path of awakening whatever that might be. They are what I have found to be the most helpful over the last 50 years on my path of awakening. These podcasts are most powerful when listened to in sequence from podcast one forward because each is built on the last. Though they, also, all stand on their own. We are all different so if anything does not resonate, please disregard it and follow your heart. Though I am a psychotherapist these podcasts are offered to be spiritually helpful. They are not psychotherapy. Please reach out to a psychotherapist if ever needed.

Meet your Teacher

William Cooper, M.Th., Licensed Professional Counselor

Tallahassee, FL, USA

Meet your Teacher

William Cooper, M.Th., Licensed Professional Counselor

Tallahassee, FL, USA

Transcript

Welcome, Everybody. My name is William Cooper, And this is our podcast, Awakening Together, Relaxing into Happiness. Hi, Claire. I see your faces. Hi, Jennifer. I trust you've had a good week or two. Hi, Yvonne. Good holidays. Hey, Blossom. Happy New Year. Happy New Year, Everybody, A fresh new year. Hey, Marty. Happy New Year. In these live sessions, It's an opportunity for anybody that is listening in to ask questions to guide our discussion, Questions about your spiritual path, Your path of awakening. Perhaps you've had some questions or obstacles that you'd like to talk about. Hi, Kai. Hi, Nancy. Hi, Everybody. And this would be a good time to do it. Hi, Dabu. First time here. Welcome. Good to see you. While you're thinking of your questions, Well, Let me ask, What are we all looking for? We know, We really know that we are an explosive force, An explosive energy of light, Of love, Of well-being, Of peace, Of happiness. And that shines through at different times in our life. We know that. And often our spiritual path is guided because we don't always feel it. And sometimes we're overcome with stress and worry and anxiety, Depression, Anger, Frustration, Unhappiness. We don't feel like we're getting where we want to get in life. We don't feel whole. Yet, I'm here to tell you that we are all whole. And you know, That underneath all of the obstacles, All of the troubles is the pristine you. Awakening is simply letting go of the obstacles that either distract or block us from ourselves. We are what we're looking for. And that sounds trite in a way, But as many of you know, It could be an intellectual comment. Hey, You are what you're looking for. That sounds good. But what I'm talking about is a visceral explosion of light. It's like you're a spotlight. You're the brightest light you have ever seen that the universe has ever seen coming through you. And there's nothing you have to do to achieve that. It already is happening. And that light is made of or amidst the qualities of your being, Love, Peace, Well-being, Happiness, An inner knowing, An inner confidence, A fulfillment, All the things that we are looking for. That's already there. Boom! A light, An explosive light. Nothing you have to do. It just is like a floodlight beaming out. Yet we don't feel it because we're covered up and often distracted by old things that we've created and we're holding them in place. The key to all of this, To experiencing ourselves fully, Is simply to stop it. Stop covering ourselves up. We are actively doing it. It doesn't feel that way though because we've gotten used to it and we've set certain things in motion decades ago. We've even forgotten how to let go. So, The letting go is the challenge. Stopping hurting ourselves, That is the challenge. Because when we're so blocked, We don't feel that we're love. We don't feel that we're peace. We don't feel that we're fulfillment. So we start looking and trying to grab it on the outside. But the problem is, Then we set up other blocks and obstacles that further cut us off from ourselves. And that's the dilemma. So the way to what we're looking for, Ourselves, Is to go the other direction. Not out, But in. And inside, When we sit still or even as we're going through our day but are still inside and we observe, We see these obstacles. We feel them. So what to do? And there's some simple steps to do to help them melt away. Very simple. The first thing is, Life will find the things that we're using to block ourselves, To hurt ourselves. Life will find those things and bring them to the surface. You'll find in your life, Somebody will say something and suddenly you feel far angrier than you need to or far more frustrated or far more afraid or anxious. That's an old obstacle coming to the surface. So what do you do? Rather than, First of all, How did it get there to start with? We created it. We have continued to create it underneath the surface and hold it there and we've never released it. We don't release it because it hurts. Nobody represses happiness. We don't find big pockets of repressed happiness inside. We are happiness itself, That is our being, But emotionally we don't repress happiness. We do repress anger and fear and hurt because it doesn't feel good and we don't want to feel it. We can't handle it. So we push it under. We don't want to experience it and let it out because it hurt going in and it sure hurts coming out. So what do we do? These simple things can be very helpful. When life teases something up, When it brings it to the surface, If you can, Don't get involved. Just let it come and let it expend its energy. It's like a twisted wound up rubber band and here I'll just twist this rubber elastic band and you see it gets tighter and tighter and it gets knots. And then what do I need to do to release it? Nothing. I just don't need to get in the way. I need to just let it release on its own. And when life brings something up, It will hurt. It will, Cause it's the repressed hurting stuff that's coming up. It will feel very angry or afraid or anxious. Don't get in the way. You don't think about, You don't have to jump in and analyze it and work on it because that will freeze it back in place. When you get involved, How did it get formed to start with? We take pure pristine consciousness and we use the focus of our mind to create an object called the problem. In this case, We create a problem. Now that's inside of us. If we use our mind to get involved in it again, That same freezing power, That condensed consciousness into an object will condense this back into the original problem. So you just want to feel it, Experience it and watch it. And that's the core of mindfulness, Isn't it? You just watch things. Now, As you go through life and things come up, Start with the easy things. Somebody says something to you and you, Rather than react, You just let it flow through you and you just release anything that you're feeling, But don't comment on it. Don't be negative about it. Maybe just smile. This person's having trouble and so they're taking that out on you. Just let whatever goes on inside of you release. It's like that rubber band releasing. If life is too distracting though, There's too much stuff going on, Too much stimulation. What can be helpful is meditation because you do the same thing. You sit down and you just watch. You're aware of your thoughts and your emotions as they rise, As they come up. And when you're sitting still, You can't, It's very difficult to distract yourself. So it becomes very difficult to repress things and they come up naturally. So you watch them, You let them unwind, Release, And they'll feel terrible. You relax and let them feel terrible because that terrible feeling is the energy that they're made of. That's what got repressed. So let it release. They'll also stimulate lots of thoughts trying to distract you. So meditation can be a very uncomfortable process. That's why a lot of people don't stick with it very long because you're releasing all that poison and it doesn't feel so good at first. But every layer that is released feels better and better and better. You feel better and better and better, I should say. Now the second thing, The first thing is you just let what comes up. You don't get involved with it. You just let it release out of your system. The second thing I don't, I never heard much about, And it's what makes all the difference, What I found makes all the difference, Is okay, The problem has released its energy and now it's much looser and more limp and loose. However, It doesn't release completely until it breathes in, Until it connects and soaks up the wellbeing that's all around you. Let me give you an example. Let's say if you were growing up and somebody is treating you very poorly and you're all tense inside and when somebody says something negative to you, You get all wound up and tense and you feel anxious. When they say something to you today, What comes up is a little bit of what they said today, But a lot of that reaction is the old stuff that's been pent up inside. So it comes up, You don't get involved, You let it release, Unwind, Unwind, Unwind. And then at some point, The next step is to breathe in wellbeing. You might, You're the one that's tense inside, So you want to embody it. You don't want to make it like, Oh, I have a problem over here that's releasing, I'm watching it and it's releasing and it's a problem over there. Because if you keep it at a distance and you dissociate from it, Is what that's called, You say it's over there. But if you think about it, There's only one person inside of you and that's you. So you want to reassociate what maybe previously you disassociated from. You want to reassociate it, Own it. I'm tense, I'm anxious, Not this problem is emitting anxiousness. It's I'm tense, I'm anxious, I've been holding on to anxiety. Now since it's you, You have control of it and now you want to ask yourself, You want to notice, Does it feel better that I'm here today rather than when I was growing up and being hurt and attacked and bullied or whatever it was? Does it feel better that I'm here today than it did then? This sounds very simplistic, But it allows this part of me, Me as a, That hasn't matured me as a young child to connect with today and notice, Oh, Wait a second, It's okay. Things are okay now, Ah, Because they're okay. Now you invite yourself to breathe that in, To receive that. This is the second step, Receive to drink in at least a drop of the wellbeing that's all around you. You want to take it in, Feel it. And why is that? Well, Let's use the analogy of getting a massage. When you have a tension and you get a massage, It can release, It can release, It can release. But for that knot in your shoulders to completely disappear, For that tension to completely disappear, It takes in relaxation. It breathes in relaxation, It absorbs it. And when it absorbs it, It melts away into nothingness. It no longer exists. Same with your problems. Remember, Problems were formed from consciousness and consciousness is made of wellbeing and peace and love and all the things that the problem is looking for. So at first it's not able to breathe it in because it's too wound tight. That's why you let it release a little bit. But at some point you'll notice, Oh, You know, I think I'm ready to just bring, To take in the facts that it's okay now because it is okay. Let me look around. It's okay. That's what EMDR does, By the way, This rapid eye movement. And oh, By the way, I am a psychotherapist, But this, None of this podcast is psychotherapy. So if you need a psychotherapist, Find a good one in your area. But I talk a bit about psychotherapy and from time to time and EMDR that does the rapid eye movement. What they'll have you do is they'll have you be in touch with that, Which is stressing you out the problem. Oh, I feel bad. I feel bad. I feel bad. And then you look at something in the present moment. You connect to it, A dot or the tip of a pencil, And you keep your eyes moving and you look at another, At a dot form over on the other side, And then the dot over at the other side, Or you look at a metronome going back and forth. So what happens is you stay connected to your problem and that this is you that has created this problem, The young you, And you're connecting to today because you're the dot or the metronome is here today and your eyes are moving. So you can't get lost in your thoughts and you stay in the present moment and you start to absorb wellbeing. Oh, It's okay now. It's okay now. It's okay now until the quote unquote problem releases. And I talk about this in an earlier podcast, Probably sometime somewhere around podcast 15 probably and coherence therapy is a little bit similar to that. That's also around podcast 15 point is you need to drink in, Take in, Connect to the present and enjoy in joy. Take in the reality that it's okay now, Just like that tension in the massage. When your problem takes in the experience that it's okay now it starts to melt and melt and melt and then poof, It's gone. Now that obstruction, Once it relaxes, Releases and let's go no longer exists. So it is no longer blocking the enormous light that you are. So these two things, When you release something, Let it expend its energy a bit and come out and then let it breathe in the fact that everything's okay. Let me give you a last step that sometimes can be helpful. And you use these intuitively in the order that works for you. But as you go deeper and deeper and deeper, You may find that a very important part of releasing is clear seeing. My friend Bhagavan always used to say, To see is to be free. When you see clearly, It releases a lot. When you see clearly that it's not a Cobra in the corner, Rather, It's a rope. You release a lot of tension. You're no longer afraid that a Cobra could bite and kill you because it's simply a rope in the corner. So when you see your problem at a deep level, As what it is, It's really light that's been frozen or twisted into the shape of anxiety or anger. When you see that clearly, That will go a long way into releasing it. You still may need to let it breathe in the fact that it is being. And let me give you an example of that. You're a bright light. Your aura right now is just as strong as it ever will be, Even when you have no obstacles. Or let me say your light is just as strong. Your aura may not be that which is emitting from you may not be very strong because it might be covered up with obstacles right now. Or distracted or the energy diffracted in a thousand different directions through lots of sub personalities, Which are basically these little problems that we just talked about that dissolve and then are released forever. But right now they might not be released and you might have a pile of them. So it's all consciousness. When I say it's all of the light that you are is there. Some of it has been frozen into shapes. It's like if you wanted water, If you needed life giving water, It could be frozen into the shape of a knife and it's water, But it's been frozen into ice and it has sharp edges and it hurts. Well consciousness is just like that. It's very pliable. It's made of love and well being and peace, But it can be frozen into shapes called problems or sub personalities or grudges or angers or all these things. And when you watch them, When you just are aware of them in meditation or in life itself, They melt just like the ice melts, The knife melts back into life giving water. So same on your inside. So if deep inside you feel anxiety, Like I don't feel being all I feel is anxious. I just feel a lot of anxiety. First of all, Notice how intense that energy is. That anxiety energy is very powerful, Isn't it? Well that's how powerful you are. And once the anxiety melts, It's even more powerful. The light that's emitted is even more powerful, But that intensity of the anxiety you feel sometimes you don't want to get rid of that. You just want to melt it back into water. So if you feel a lot of anxiety, Sink deep into the middle of it and notice it's really being, It's really light, Isn't it? On some level, You'll be able to sense that some level you might say, Oh, It's so hurtful and I can barely feel it, But on some level you will feel, You will see that it's light that's been frozen into anxiety. It's like light that has been given an attitude, An anxious attitude, Or anger is like light power that's been given an attitude. It's power with an attitude. It's life force with an attitude. Hurt is life force with an attitude. When you can see that it helps some of these things release. So use these different tools as they're needed. The first one is just let it release its natural energy. Nothing you have to do to make an obstacle release its energy, Just like a wound up rubber band, Just quit helping it stay wound up, Just get out of the way, Let go and it will unwind itself. Oh, I'm anxious. I'm anxious. I'm anxious. How do I stop it from unwinding? I could go, Oh, I don't want to feel this anymore or I want to watch TV because I can't stand it or I'm going to do something to interrupt the process. Now, A lot of times it's just fine to interrupt the process because whatever you have melted is still melted. So you might have half an anxiety left, A half an anxious obstacle. But if you push yourself too hard and too long, You might get yourself overwhelmed and shut down, Clamp up. In my podcast number 26 through 30, I talk about something that I think most people have experienced and that is PTSD. It's when you find something, An obstacle inside of you locked and it won't release. It's just like a muscle cramp. The normal things you do won't help it release back into light and you've been meditating for 20 years and that stuff is still there. That's PTSD. And one of the key marks of releasing PTSD is you go slowly. Well, That applies to a lot of obstacles. We just go slowly. Don't get yourself overwhelmed. I would listen to those if you haven't, Those podcasts 26 through 30, Because that's a lot of release. And the last one, 30, Is on internal family systems, Which is another way to release troubles, Problems. It's these sub personalities. It's a way to release them. And as I said, None of this is psychotherapy. You can get a psychotherapist anytime if you need one. But this will go a long way for most people to help them. If you're new to all this, I would definitely listen to podcasts one through 10 just for an orientation. Almost everybody could listen to 26 through 30 and then all of them, We work with all of this stuff in different ways. So all of the podcasts I think are good. If you find something in one of the podcasts that doesn't resonate with you, Then just disregard it. Maybe later it will or maybe it won't. Maybe you'll see, No, I'm clearer than that. And this podcast isn't really as clear as I, As I already am. So I don't need to listen to this. Okay. So as this stuff releases, You don't have to wonder what order is it going to release or what do you need to work on? Life will bring up something in your life that will pop up very naturally or in your meditations, Things will come up very naturally and just work with them. And as they release, You'll start to experience yourself as, I'm going to use some metaphors maybe, But it's like a spotlight. You're like the light. Now you also, If you go into yourself as light, You'll find that you expand, You, You reach beyond this creation into something that's uncreated and is infinite, But you can't describe it in words because they only describe created things, But you'll know what I'm talking about. And many of you already do. So you'll experience yourself as that. You'll experience yourself as you come into creation as bright light, As an explosion. This isn't, It's not intellectual. It's not philosophical. It's an explosion. So it's more like, Uh, I'll say an explosion. How about that? This role. Now this will, At first you might not feel it that powerfully because you have a lot of things obscuring you. But as you go through this process that we talked about of releasing things, Everything that you release dissolves a layer that's been covering you or diffracting your energy. So you get brighter and brighter and brighter and brighter. And you don't have to wait until the last thing is released before you experience yourself as an explosion. You'll start feeling that in between the cracks and the crevices because your being is there all the time. These obstacles that you created, And there's only one person inside, I'll repeat that. You're the only one creating them. It's your pleasure to hold them into place. And I don't think anybody does it on purpose. I think we just don't know how to let it go. And that's what these podcasts are about is how to let them go. So suffering is optional. You don't need to suffer. You're not your problems. You're the one that's observing your problems. If the problem disappears, You'll still be here. So you know, You're not your problems by process of elimination. You're not your thoughts. If you had a moment without thinking, You'd still be here. So you're not your thoughts. Same with emotions. You're not your emotions. Personality is made of thoughts and emotions that are trying to get things because you're cut off from yourself. You're already what you're looking for. You're already the love that the personality thinks that you're not and therefore is trying to get or the safety or the wellbeing. So as these things melt out, You just shine. You know, All the old paintings of Jesus or Buddha and they have the halos or they're all shining. That's you. They're no different than you. And thank you for your comments because we're all in the same boat. Me, You, And everybody here and everybody that's not here. The good thing is that you all are working on yourself and your troubles. So your outcome is assured. You're there. It's just you're working. You're working through what's what's holding you up right now. So Yvonne says, I got off track and was becoming annoyed with myself, But I listened to your last podcast. I was able to relax and just allow myself to do nothing. Very good, Yvonne. Wonderful. Yes. In the end, I had a monk tell me once he said to do a monk in India. He said to do not to do anything. Anything at all is to do too much. And what he meant by that is when we get re-involved in things, Like I was saying before, We freeze it into place. So it can seem like I'm doing something when I'm just letting the obstacle release, Release, Release, And I don't get involved. But what am I doing? I'm really stopping maintaining it. I'm stopping keeping it in creation. To have a problem, I have to keep it there inside. It doesn't feel that way because I've forgotten I'm even doing it. I set it in motion and I keep giving it energy, But I forgot that I'm the one doing it. So when he said do nothing, What he meant was quit, Stop making these problems stay in place. Instead, Just watch them. That seems like I'm doing something. Hey, I'm watching it. But rather, What it is, Is I'm watching it rather than keeping it in place. So I'm stopping doing something. So by doing nothing, When everything melts away, Then I'm this bright light I'm talking about and then I get done. I don't do things. I get done. Life flows through me and I intuitively know what my path is and I follow it, Not as work, But as a flow, As a joy, As something I can't wait to do. So that's quite different than doing something. So Yvonne, I really appreciate your comment and that's the value that I see in these podcasts. One of them is they do help. It's a fine line sometimes and it helps keep us centered until it's just automatic. Laura says, Hello, William, First time here as well. Curious about your experience with God or the divine or whoever you believe in, Extent to which you feel it or see it, Or how do you experience it as the light you are describing now? What a good question, Laura, And welcome. Yes, I've evolved in my experience of the divine and I have a Master of Theology. I went to school for four years, A theological school, Lived on campus, Talked every day with all the students and the professors. As a child, I used to talk to Jesus a lot. I trusted and we would have conversations and he continues to be my friend. I think in around podcast 80-something, You'll see in the title, It says Jesus and Archangel Michael, Something like that. Somebody asked me in one of these live sessions to describe when Jesus appeared to me and Archangel Michael, And it was a very unusual event. Energy went through my body three different times. I passed out three different times. First Michael showed up, I didn't know who it was, Then he introduced me to Jesus. He had me change a part of my home to be receptive for Jesus. A lot of stuff is in that podcast. So yes, I'm acquainted. He's my friend. Jesus is my friend. What he conveyed to me was that, Well, Michael told me, He said, You'll hear it in the podcast, But just out of the blue, I didn't even know it was Michael, But he said, Jesus said to say hi, Because I was talking to Michael, And I didn't know, I said, Why did he say hi? What's he, Why? And he says, Well, You were his friend before he was famous. So that caught me by surprise, And I just laughed, And anyway, When Jesus appeared, Total love, Total caring, This would be true for anybody, All of you. He wasn't a Christian, He was Jesus. Christianity came later, So whatever you think of Christianity, Pros or cons, How well it expresses Jesus or not has nothing to do with Jesus. And as he said, The Father and I are one. He was a clear conduit for the divine. And Jesus would say, You know, The Father and I are one, And I am the vine, You are the branches, And I am the Father, And he said, You'll do greater things than I after me, And my disciples will, And so on, And I'll show you the way. He had such a great sense of humor when I talked to him. He just laughed and laughed and laughed. No judgment. Now as you open up, And that's what we've talked about in this podcast, As you open up and let go and let go and let go, In the Christian word, All these blocks and obstacles would be called sins. Those are that which separates you from the infinite. Those would be called sins. In the Eastern thought, That's called ignorance. It's also a separation, Same thing. Jesus was in the desert. He let go of his obstacles. He suffered quite a bit for a very, Very long time. He's happy to show people what to do, And he talked to me when he appeared to me as well. As you let go deeper and deeper, Just as Jesus did, Just as he instructed everybody else to do, Just as Buddha did, Just as every awake being has done, As you let go more and more, What is letting go? It's your me, Me, Me, Your selfish you is letting go more and more and more. I'm not saying it lets go completely all at once, But little at a time, Little at a time, Little at a time, And to the degree it lets go, What replaces it? It's the infinite comes down and now can come through you. Now there is room to flow. That is the light. That is the infinite. That is the light. Now in French, They call God Dieu, Mon Dieu, My God. In English, It's God. In Hindu, That might be Shiva or Krishna. They have a lot of different names for God because some people are repelled by females, Some are repelled by males, Some are repelled by this or that, And they can't get close to God if there's only one form. So they have lots of forms. You take the one you resonate with and you open up with that form. In Buddhism, You keep opening, Opening. They have a lot of different gods, But as you open, Open, Open, And open, And you open so much that there's no you left, There's only God. And that's when what Jesus said, The Father and I are one. That means there's no Jesus. There's only one, Right? We know God doesn't disappear, So Jesus disappears. And only God is left flowing through Jesus. Yogananda says it's not quite right to say, I have become God, As you let go. It's more correct to say, God has become me. You're gone, God, Now it's only God. As you let go further and further and further, What you find is even God is a creation. Even the concept God is too little. You have to let go of that. So it's way beyond this concept of God. God is not a concept. It's way beyond that. So if you use the word God and you mean way beyond anything anybody can conceive, Yet what as Jesus or Buddha or all the rest of them says is what is shining through us as we open up. If that's what you mean, Then I'd say that is my current concept of God. It's beyond any concept. There is no quote unquote God. It's beyond that. And even when it goes out of creation, It's not even, It doesn't exist because everything out of creation hasn't been created yet. So it doesn't by definition exist, But yet it does exist, But you can't talk about it because it's beyond words. So this is a direct experience. It's something that we experience both viscerally in this world through our body. And then when we go beyond it to the part that doesn't exist, We experience that intuitively, Which is very, Very, Very powerful. So I hope that answers that question. And in some of my later podcasts around podcast 90, I talk about releasing Christian guilt and things like that. And so I both talk about my experience with Jesus in one podcast, But sometimes religion has not been very accurate and very helpful. And a lot of people have carried, Ironically, It's the religion that's keeping them from God rather than Jesus. So we talk a little bit about that and all these things are just for you to think about. And some of them will apply and some you'll agree and some you won't. So anyway, That might be of interest. I hope that helps, Laura. Thank you. Great question. Marty says, Also distracted by life in general sometimes. Thank you for that comment, Marty. Life is very distracting pretty much all the time. And I agree with you. There's a difference between letting things flow. If you keep when you're distracted by life, You'll notice somewhere deep in that distraction is some kind of fear, Anxiety, Anger, Or unfulfillment. You might say, Oh, Wait a second, No, I'm distracted because it's so much good stuff, So much pleasure, So much sensation that I'm enjoying. That's distracting me. Well, You'll notice that the reason why you go after those things is because underneath, Because those pleasures are actually distracting you from a deeper fear or a deeper anxiety or hurt. As you sit still in meditation, You let the mud settle and your clarity becomes sharper and sharper. You notice these things underneath everybody's desire for pleasure. I have it, You have it, We all have it, But it's something to work with. It's something to enjoy, But like Jesus said, Be in the world, But not of it. To enjoy it, But allow it to flow. Allow it to flow rather than to grab it. When I'm centered in myself fully as this explosive light, That is more powerful than any pleasure, So it doesn't have the same distracting capabilities as it would if I'm not centered in myself. So to the degree that we're all distracted by life, It's an indicator that we still have work to do to become clearer and more centered in who we are. Because as I said, Who we are is everything we're already looking for. So it's hard to get so distracted if I am what the distraction is telling me it would give me if I follow it. Now the distraction is always a delusion or an illusion because it's never pure love. Anything on the outside, Even if it is loving, Is not the pure energy of love that you feel directly on the inside. Nothing is as powerful as that. So most distractions aren't even that high quality. They're less than that. It's like something else. So I hope that helps a little bit. Great observation. Marty says old wounds from childhood can really block you. Sometimes. Yes. Marty, Thanks again. That's what, As you wrote that, That's what I was talking about earlier. These old wounds, We went through how to release them. And again, I would listen to podcast 26 through 30 to the degree that you'd really like to hone in on those things. But this podcast will be helpful too. Claire said, Since you taught me to understand meditation isn't relaxing at first, While it all plays out, All this inner stuff unwinds, I'm able to relax into it more. Thank you, Claire. Yes. That's so important because sometimes the promotions and the ads and, You know, Maybe a guided meditation, Take a deep breath, Begin to relax. They portray it as being very relaxing and relaxing. They can be certain guided meditations can be relaxing, But they're not necessarily dissolving the troubles that lie underneath. And therefore you have to keep doing guided meditations every day and relax and relax and relax because you're stressed out every day because what has been stressing you hasn't relaxed out. These guided meditations can be very good though, To rest your nervous system or give you perspective. Sometimes we just need to get out of the pounding surf. That's the first step. If it's at all possible, Get out of the pounding surf. And sometimes that's just relaxing to music or a meditation. Let your system rest, But don't also neglect. Let the obstacles melt out of you. And that's what we're talking about. So thank you for that. Claire. Lisa says, Enjoy. Yes. Enjoy that is taking in as we talked about, Breathing in, Soaking up that dry part of you that's been tense, Uh, That that's releasing its energy, Releasing its energy. You let it expend its energy and then it takes in a drop of joy, A drop of wellbeing. Everything's okay in joy. It's like a dry sponge. You ask it, Can it soak up one drop of water? One drop of joy. It's important not to push your inner self because the inner self can be like a child and maybe it can only take a thimble of water, Maybe one drop of water. You could drink a gallon, But it can only drink a drop. So you don't come from your perspective. You now embody, You associate with that hurting part and you notice what you can take in. If you're doing yoga, Which is another way to take in energy, Maybe only do one pose. Maybe you just stop there and you just spend an hour just soaking up the energy that comes in because it's that part that you're reassociating with that's soaking it up and that's what's healing. So this process, It's simple once you get the hang of it, But it's very intricate at the same time. Lisa says, Just did seven days of reset challenge with Sarah Blondin. I got so deeply connected to my inner self soul. So good to discover you here now, William. Oh, Welcome Lisa and wonderful, Wonderful. And you know it, That's the spiritual path. It's a direct experience that you experience it. Like you said, Lisa, I got so deeply connected to my inner self soul. That's an experience. You feel it. That's how you know you're on the right path, That it's working for you. And the paths change. They change all the time because you change. So what works today, Maybe you might do something next week or next month. I found meditations pretty consistent though. That's always good. There are so many good teachers on Insight Timer and out there everywhere. Oh, Claire says, This is wonderful, Lisa. I just started listening to William from episode one. The healing is huge. Thank you, Claire. I love that because really the way I've laid this out is from episode one all the way. I think we're in the 125 or so now. I try to get the building blocks step by step. And although each podcast stands on its own, When you do them in order, They can be very, Very powerful in their design. As the title said, Awakening together. My intent is that you awaken. We are awakening together. It's not just a nice little title, It is a fact. So you should be feeling that. If you don't, If after 10 p. M. Podcast, You're not feeling that or you're not feeling you're going in the right direction, Get another pod. Find somebody else that works for you. But the intent is you should feel it. Boom. Visceral. Lisa says, I love that life force with an attitude. Yes, Everything. Your complete energy, That complete divinity, That complete explosion is here right now. It's not that you do something and you achieve it. It's here right now. It's just some of it has been frozen. It's just been frozen into different shapes and you can't feel it. It's like you can't drink water when it's ice. You can't drink it, But it's all water. It's there. So you are just as brilliant as Jesus, Just as brilliant as Buddha right now. It's just some of it. That attitude is what freezes it. That's the mental component that freezes consciousness into objects. That's what I call the attitude. That's what you feel in an emotion. That's what makes it feel like powerful, Not light, But powerful anger, The attitude or powerful fear or powerful anxiety. And yes, Let it release. You let it release. Lisa says, I try and lift principles over personality and shine. Yes, That is very powerful. Principles over personality. Now the next step is let the personality not even be there. It will always be there, But let it not be formed around separation. And in separation, There's anxiety, Separation, Anxiety, Abandonment. I'm separate. I'm abandoned. So I have hurt and unfulfillment. I'm separated from everything that I should ever want, Which is the infinite. So of course I'm not fulfilled. Even try as I might. So let that part dissolve. And then the personality reforms around the infinite well-being piece. Emily says, What is the name of your podcast or are they on the app? Would love to listen. Thank you, Emily. The name of the podcast is awakening together, Relaxing into happiness with William Cooper. They are on insight timer, Um, All of them and live sessions. When you follow me, You'll be notified every time I release a podcast and every live session I do, You'll get advanced notice. If you go to any platform and just Google William Cooper awakening or awakening together William Cooper or something like that, You'll get it on any platform anywhere. But they're all on insight timer and insight timer is a force for good in the world. So I am very happy to support them. They're all free, Lisa. My question is if someone texts you and takes you off guard, Is it a judgment? Do you think it's okay not to reply right away? Yeah, No, No, No. If they text you and it's judgmental or something, You don't ever have to reply Lisa ever. You can, It's polite, But you know, Uh, The field, What I would look at and what you're, As you delve into this deeper and deeper is what we'll start releasing is the energy that feels like you must reply. It's an old programming or the fear that if you, The fear that comes up, If you don't reply or things like that, Instead you'll be guided by your intuition and you may reply just because it's a good thing to do or you want to do that. But you'll reply when you want and when it's good for the whole, For the whole thing, We're all one. So maybe the person needs to hear from you. I don't know, But your intuition will know. Thank you for this question because it does bring up one other thing in your releasing of things. The flip side of releasing is trust. It's hard to release if you don't trust that everything's okay. Ironically, The more you release, The more you'll trust. So in the beginning, It's harder to trust because you haven't released as much because what you're releasing is blocking you from the trust. But the point is we are all one and as you release more and more, You feel that and as you feel that we are one, You intuitively know that the universe is on your side or if you want to use the word divine, You can't, The divine is on your side. And so you've got the wind at your back. So when something comes to you intuitively, When I said, You'll do what's good for the whole, You'll trust, Ah, That feels good. And I trust this is the way to go. And it feels good to me too, Because I'm a person too. I'm a part of this too. Okay. Um, Thank you. And let's see, Um, Oh, Lisa says, I do want to feel Jesus as a friend. I always kept a distance because of Catholic dogma. Well then definitely just listen to my podcast on releasing Christian guilt and fear, Something like that. I'll just start looking around podcast 80, 85, 90. It will be very helpful for you. I grew up very, In a very conservative situation, Got involved, Take too long to talk about it and all sorts of stuff. That's what drove me to seminary for four years to sort it out, Learn Greek, Learn the Bible. It was the best seminary I think in the country at the time. It was amazing. Jesus is your friend. And everything I say, I would listen to the podcast about when Jesus and Michael appeared to me. That's what it would feel like if they appeared to you, Because I didn't expect it. It was out of the blue. And he loves everybody and there is no judgment. So he is your friend. It's not, Can he be your friend? He is your friend. I can guarantee you that. Again, The part of us that thinks that's not true, That's what we release in meditation because that's the old fear and separation and guilt. And we've, I had that for decades. So listen to those podcasts and I think that'll be helpful. Lisa says, What do you think of A Course in Miracles? Wonderful. I think The Course in Miracles is wonderful. If you're doing it, Do it. Keep doing it. And I would listen to these podcasts. Keep listening to these podcasts and do The Course in Miracles. That's good. Seeds, What's helped me, Our Jesus nature, Our God nature, Our Buddha nature, Our Stardust nature, Absolutely seeds. Our nature. Yes, That's it. That's what I'm also saying. Our nature. It's all one. It's all one. Dabu, I have a question as we are all whole in one. Can we heal our pain to heal our children? My daughter is in deep psychological pain. Yes, You are connected to your entire family. You're connected to everybody you know. You're connected to people you don't know, But fundamentally you're connected to your children. And as you heal, They heal. That will help them immensely. And even just on a rudimentary psychological level, Talk to any therapist. And as the parents heal, The children innately heal. And that is a fundamental bedrock of family therapy, By the way. Systems therapy. As you heal, Your family heals. So absolutely on every level, Energetic, Spiritual, Emotional, Incredibly powerful. As we're out of time, I'll just say this one thing on even a deeper level. Back in the 1940s or something, There was a very deeply awakened guru named Ramana Maharishi in Tiruvannamalai, India, And I go to that ashram quite a bit. Somebody asked him, It was World War II, He said, Ramana, Why don't you do social action to protest the war and Nazis and fascism and stuff like that? Why don't you speak out? And he said, Well, If you think that's a good idea, You should do that. Absolutely. It is a good thing. However, Just by me being still and being quiet and being an infinite light, I do more to heal the world than anything I can do externally. So that was his take on it. And that definitely will affect your family. Let's see what else. I don't want to leave anybody else out. Yes, We're all one seeds. You're right. We don't focus on the individualities. You're so right. It's all one. Claire, I released something recently. It was emotional and I felt so happy and sad all at the same time. Like they were the same feeling. See Claire, You're always happiness itself. You are innate joy. You are innate happiness. That's there all the time. That emotional thing that you release got a little bit or completely out of the way. So you felt the pain that it emitted as it dissolved. And you also at the same time felt that the happiness that has always been there underneath this obstacle. So you can feel all of these things at the same time. Because obstacles are always there until you deconstruct them. And your being is always there. There's nothing you can do about that. And that's happiness. So yes. Beautiful. Beautiful comment. Yes. Holding two emotions at once. Laura says, Holding two emotions at once. Claire, I hear that's great personal progress. It is. And happiness is actually not an emotion. It is the qualities of your being. Emotions are things you create. Can't create happiness. You can only get out of its way. So just as a small aside. Thank you for the donations, Yvonne and Kai. I will say they're just beautiful acts of giving. And Insight Timer sends them directly to feed orphans in Bali. So when you donate to this podcast. So I feel infinitely happy and so did the orphans. So thank you for that. Jennifer. Yes. Jennifer went to India for the first time and we saw Ramana's ashram together and she says love Ramana. Anyway. Thanks so much. Our time's up and I better get going. I look forward to talking to you next time. And thank you so much for all being here. I love you and you all are wonderful. And the very fact that you're interested in this topic assures your awakening. Consistent baby steps. Just keep at it. Do what you can. Don't overwhelm yourself. Bit at a time. Bit at a time. Bit at a time. Clarity. Clarity. Clarity. Poof. Boom. Awake. And it does happen a bit at a time too. Okay. I love you all. Take care. Bye.