So let's start with a short ceremony.
Let's sit comfortably on our seat and close any potential distractions.
Let's take a deep breath in and let go.
And let's close our eyes and take another deep breath in.
And the next breath in,
We keep in,
We don't breathe out.
And slowly breathe out and let go.
Let go of all your efforts.
Let go of everything that already happened in the past.
And let go of everything that may happen in the future.
And allow your breath to guide you back to whatever is happening right now.
Be aware of your surroundings,
Voices,
Smells,
Whatever is happening out there.
Be aware of your own body on its seat.
Make sure there is no tension hiding anywhere in your body.
If you feel there is a contracted organ,
Guide your breath to that area and breathe it out.
There is no need for tension right now.
Comfortable and relaxed.
Become aware of any emotion that may arise,
Happiness or sadness,
Curiosity or boredom.
It doesn't matter.
Just observe as those emotions rise and subside.
Become aware of any thought you may be having without getting too entangled with any thought or emotion or sensation.
You just observe as they pass.
And between all these happenings you might experience a moment of clarity when there is no movement and no distraction.
And as you slowly let go of the realm of phenomena changing,
Allow your attention to focus on itself,
The position of the ultimate observer that exists before and beyond.
Any phenomena,
That inner space where there is no movement,
There is only silence,
And for a moment become that silence.
Can have a deep breath in,
Gently allow your attention to come back to the present moment,
To your body,
To the room.
Receive the presence of all the other people who are joining hands in this unique occasion.
Let's unite our individual intentions into one unified intention.
The intention to grow,
To develop,
To evolve.
With a smile,
Let's take another deep breath in.
And when you feel comfortable,
You may open your eyes.
Hello everyone,
In perfect timing,
Carly is going to join us as well.
How are you all doing?
Welcome to this unique opportunity we give ourselves twice a week to join hands and walk the path together.
Share our life,
Share our struggles,
Share our hopes,
Share our growth with like-minded people.
And grow not just as individuals,
But also as a united consciousness.
Having this intention.
And remember that the propelling force that moves this conversation forward is all about the tension that lies between the question and the answer.
So keep asking the questions.
Long for the truth will ensure your continuous growth.
It's never about getting the point.
It's about using that tension to throw ourselves back into the origin point.
So the more sincere and honest and brave your question is,
The more potential it has embedded in it to help you grow.
So who wants to be the first one to jump into the waters today?
I was wondering about the feeling of discomfort and the idea of embracing something that feels uncomfortable.
It can be mildly uncomfortable or extremely uncomfortable.
Something that you really feel like maybe is,
You know,
You have some sort of idea or judgment about that you feel is wrong or that you feel shouldn't be this way or that you're putting some sort of label on maybe you don't like it or you don't want it to be this way.
And like really going into that place and really feeling all the things that that thing has to offer.
What purpose can that serve us if we go into that really dark place,
That shadow place?
It's not dark at all.
The light is actually hiding there.
You know,
Comfort is a disease of the 20th century.
When are we not comfortable?
We're not comfortable when we prefer conflicting ideas about what we experience over our open hearted available consciousness to experience it fully.
We have an idea about what's good for us,
What's recommended,
What is right as opposed to wrong,
What is good as opposed to bad.
We have all those ideas.
And when reality doesn't meet those ideas,
We feel uncomfortable.
We feel that this is not where we want to be.
Many years ago,
My teacher,
Sri Sri Ravashankar,
Was visiting Jerusalem and it was during what we call the Intifada.
So there was a lot of turmoil in the streets and terror attacks on a daily basis,
Just like now.
And buses exploding and people dying.
It was quite,
Quite bad.
And I remember a journalist interviewed him for an article they made.
And one of the first questions was,
Are you comfortable coming to Jerusalem at this time?
You know,
Things are so hectic here.
Is it comfortable being here?
So he had this face like he didn't really understand the question.
And his answer was,
I don't look for comfort where I come.
I bring comfort with me wherever I go.
Do you see the difference?
When you don't feel at home in a given situation,
This is where uncomfort starts.
An awakened consciousness is a harmonic expression of the present moment and the other way around.
The present moment is a harmonic outcome of an awakened consciousness.
You are not dependent on circumstances for peace of mind.
You are peace.
And that translates into the reality that you generate,
That you meet.
Otherwise you are again and again putting yourself in the position of a victim.
If the situation was different then I would be able to be in peace.
But now,
Look,
Such a big mess out there.
How can I be peaceful?
This is never the case.
There is no freedom there,
Spiritual expansion is all about inner freedom,
Isn't it?
How can you be dependent and free at the same time?
So if you feel that you are uncomfortable,
Use it as a tool to investigate what is there that you still hold on to.
What belief,
What idea,
What opinion do you have about reality as it should happen?
That is blocking your vision,
That is obscuring your clarity to meet the present moment and accept it and love it as it is.
Instead of putting yourself in a victim position again,
Complaining about the circumstances,
Or complaining about yourself.
It's the same.
If only I would be different,
If only I would be more advanced.
If you are not comfortable with yourself or with others or with the situations that you meet,
Drop your conflicting ideas about it.
Prefer reality as it is and then you will see you are comfortable anywhere,
In any situation.
You are the expression of unconditional comfort.
And you see there is a lot of light there,
It's not dark at all.
You just can't see it because it's masked.
Joanna is asking,
What do I do about actions I regret?
Again,
This is something we discussed last meeting.
Regret is born and raised in the gap between what is and what I believe it should have been.
If you have an idea about an alternative reality that should have been your reality but it's not,
Then you suffer and it can manifest as regret,
Self-hatred,
Punishing yourself needlessly.
Why?
Because that's never the case.
Never in the history of history there was a case where reality was a terrible mistake and your ideas were more accurate.
That's an illusion.
And it doesn't matter how convincing your idea may be or humane or just or noble.
You may have the most noble idea about what should happen.
If it conflicts with reality,
You are confused and you suffer.
So guilt is based on the fact that I should have known better,
I should have been more considerate,
More advanced,
I should have understood back then,
I should have reacted differently,
I should have acted differently,
La la li la la la.
All those ideas about what should have happened.
When they conflict what actually happens,
You suffer.
What to do?
Drop those ideas.
Prefer the present moment.
Prefer reality.
Because reality is always right.
Reality cannot be confused.
Only you can be confused.
Joanna says,
So I cause hurt and pain to myself and others,
Not what is happening to me but what I am doing.
Sometimes you cause pain for others,
Sometimes you cause pleasure for others.
Pleasure and pain are one and the same.
Both have space in the human experience.
Stop,
Chase pleasure and avoid pain.
And no,
You never inflict pain deliberately with bad intention,
Mal-intention.
You never do that.
Sometimes you act out of misery,
Out of suffering,
Out of ignorance.
And that disharmony is manifesting as disharmony.
People might get hurt.
Yes,
It happens.
How do I know?
Because it happens.
Don't blame yourself for that.
You don't know if other people should have a different experience at that time.
I shouldn't have caused pain to other people.
It was a terrible mistake.
Was it?
Can you be absolutely sure that at that time those people should not have been hurt?
When you feel that they should not have been hurt and this was your fault,
How do you feel about that yourself?
Is it helping you to expand or to contract?
Can you open your heart using this belief or is it closing when you believe it?
Is there any stress-free reason to hold on to this belief?
There is never a stress-free reason to hold on to a conflicting idea about reality.
So what to do?
Drop it.
Prefer the present moment.
Prefer reality as it happened.
If somebody felt pain,
Yes,
So he should have felt pain at that moment.
It seems like there are two forces going on here.
One is ourselves and our own thoughts and beliefs about what should have happened.
So for instance,
In a situation where we've inflicted pain on somebody else because of our situation,
Whatever circumstance we were in,
And then we go to regret that,
Apologize,
Feel guilty.
But then there's also the other person involved in that duality that is expressing their feelings about our actions and what we did and how it was so terrible and la la la la la.
So we have these two forces coming against each other where we have our own guilt and shame and then the other person's energy coming towards us saying that you did this to me and it's terrible and it creates this disconnection.
So how do we close that gap?
That gap feels even bigger than just the gap where we think that it should have been different.
There's also this greater gap of somebody else thinking that it should have been different.
You are not responsible for what other people think and believe.
You are not there to correct their set of beliefs.
You take responsibility for your own.
If you feel shame and guilt,
Work on that.
There's nothing to be ashamed about.
You are perfect as you are.
You are a divine expression currently having a human experience.
And sometimes disharmony manifests itself through you and expresses itself as disharmony in other people in your relationships.
So this happens.
What to do next time?
Remember,
I don't need this.
I prefer to drop any conflicting idea I have about reality,
About other people.
I prefer an open heart.
Again and again.
You go back to that resolution.
I prefer to be an expression of unconditional love and acceptance of whomever,
Wherever,
Whenever they are,
However they are.
I am an embodiment of unconditional acceptance and love.
This is my responsibility.
If other people have opinions about that or about my doings,
That's their opinion.
Peace cannot be found there in their conflicting ideas.
So you add compassion.
This is a Rumi sentence,
Out there beyond ideas about right doings and wrong doings,
There is a field.
I will meet you there.
I'm waiting for you there.
So it's a race.
Who's going to meet Rumi first?
Is it you or your partner that is now judging you?
Make sure it's you.
There is no wrong doing and there is no right doing.
There is only unconditional love in action or ignorance in action.
That's it.
You make sure you operate out of love.
That's your responsibility.
And if somebody comes blaming you,
Because of you I'm miserable.
Because of what you did,
Now I'm angry and upset.
You just embrace that pain.
No need to protect yourself,
Defend yourself.
No need to attack back.
Don't be a football of other people's opinions.
Don't try to justify yourself and excuse yourself.
Take responsibility.
If I hurt you,
I'm sorry.
That was not my intention.
I'm working to grow beyond any conflict.
This is my resolution.
And if my work was not completed when I met you,
Then I apologize.
I am here for you.
What can I do for you?
That's it.
In our relationship,
I don't need anything from you.
Not approval,
Not love,
Not acceptance.
There is nothing I need.
I am already at peace.
I am peace.
My love for you is unconditional.
It's not if you give me something,
If you approve.
I don't need anything from you.
This is how unconditional love manifests into a relationship.
Next time you meet your opponent,
You meet your enemy,
Make sure you remember there is nothing out there that is actually in danger of losing something or not gaining anything.
I don't need anything from the partner.
I am already complete.
I am already stable.
I don't need to lean on anyone to generate some sort of stability.
I am stable.
I am content.
I am comfortable.
And that I radiate out to the world.
I am love.
If you need love,
Come.
I have love.
How much do you need?
I am the source.
I can give you any love,
Any love you need.
And you cannot drain me.
Love cannot be drained.
Love can only grow.
As much as you give,
It's the opposite of money.
The currency is love is endless,
Infinite.
The more you give,
The more you have.
So spread it unconditionally.
What do you say?
When you say things like that,
It makes me wonder what happens when everybody is able to be at that place in this moment.
And then there's no more things to be working against or working out or working on.
Then what happens?
Don't worry.
But it sort of puts things into perspective where we think about,
You know,
All these stories and dramas and everything that we kind of get sucked into.
And then you you sort of think of a world where none of that existed.
And then and then maybe you would be at a place where you would miss it or,
You know,
Think it has had a purpose or,
You know,
Just,
You know,
Sort of changing the perspective of how we think about things.
Being in that observer,
You know,
Taking that wider lens view is such an interesting experience to play with.
That's what we are here to do.
We are here to experience the drama without identifying with it.
So for the first time,
We can actually be truly involved and engaged because we are not identified with it.
We are not bothered by craving and aversion to whatever is happening out there.
We bring clarity.
We bring an available consciousness into that meeting.
So much so that there is no more even a dual play going on,
Me experiencing something,
Gaining or losing something out of it.
This reveals itself to be an illusion.
There is only consciousness growing through that experience.
But in order to realize that,
You need to go beyond your personal agenda in it of gaining something you feel you miss,
You lack,
Or losing something you feel you own.
This is ego.
Going beyond ego means you are now free to experience fully for the first time,
Completely available,
With no remorse,
No hesitation,
No doubt,
No agenda.
This is what we are here to do.
And about your question,
Don't worry about the day where humanity will be enlightened.
There will always be people growing on the path.
You worry about your own path.
You make sure that you don't spread more disharmony around you based on ignorance about your own self.
You become that beam of light for other people that walk in the dark.
That's your responsibility.
Slavena says,
Could we ever change the reality?
Not by manipulation,
That's the narcissist's job,
But by good intentions,
Cooperation,
And co-creation.
We cannot not change reality.
Reality is not happening out there,
Regardless of you.
Reality is an expression of you.
Is the creation of you.
Not just you individually,
But the collective you.
The super composition of all our consciousness,
Individual,
Which is the universal consciousness.
This manifests as our reality.
And of course you are contributing to that.
You cannot not contribute.
The idea that nothing can make a change anyway,
What's the point?
I don't have any influence.
This is ego.
Same as the ego that says,
Everything is because of me.
Nothing would happen here without me.
That's the same ego,
Just on the other side of the scale.
You see what I'm saying?
You have to go beyond this idea that reality is happening out there,
Regardless of you.
And you are only a spectator of things that are happening beyond your ability to change or to affect.
You are affecting reality.
You are creating reality.
Whether you are aware of it or not.
Whether you decide to go out and meet friends or stay at home,
Or you decide to go to the demonstration and demonstrate against or for something,
Or not go to the demonstration at all,
You are always influencing.
Now you need to ask yourself,
How do I influence?
What do I bring into this game of me generating the reality that I meet?
Do I create havoc?
Do I spread disharmony,
Fear?
Do I put fuel on the fire of drama?
Or do I spread harmony,
Peace,
Love,
Acceptance,
Unconditionally?
What kind of reality do I generate for myself and for other people,
For all living things?
That's your responsibility.
Think about that.
What do you say?
It's a responsibility that feels big and doable and something that we don't think about very often.
The ability to respond.
If you don't feel connected,
If you feel disconnected,
This is happening out there,
Nothing to do with me,
I'm not connected to this,
Then you have no ability.
You have no power.
Because you took that power away from you by accepting this illusion of disconnectivity.
The reality is that you are never disconnected.
You are always connected.
You are an expression of the united consciousness.
Just another part of it.
And you are always a part of it.
Now you go and create reality for yourself and for others,
Realizing that.
And now you have the ability,
Now you have the power,
Because you stopped that illusion.
You ascended beyond that illusion of separateness.
The ego is crying,
But me,
Me,
What about me?
What about the things that I need?
Do you hear that voice in you?
Before I go out and spread unconditional love,
What about all the things that I lack?
Who will give that to me?
That's not fair.
Did you hear that voice in you?
This is ego.
Your personality that is based on this disconnection,
Separateness,
And is led by an eternal sense of lack.
You are not connected,
Or you don't feel connected to the bounty.
So there is so little you have which is yours and you need to protect.
And there is so much out there that you need to go and gain and secure for yourself.
Whether it's material possessions or social status or anything else you feel that you lack,
This is an illusion.
You will never be fulfilled like that,
Guaranteed.
Even if for one moment you are able to persuade yourself that you are successful and you gained whatever you thought you need.
Because experience will tell you that whatever you feel you have will be taken away.
Again Rumi says,
Everything you have will be taken away.
So why don't you be the one giving it away?
Slavena says,
Thanks for your answer.
We do try to live a well-connected lives,
But I've noticed a lot of people live in discontinued and disconnection.
So what to do?
Add compassion.
If you feel,
If somebody is living a disconnected life and he is all about me,
Me,
Me,
What about me?
What will happen with me?
What do I need?
What do I want?
What will I gain out of that?
Know that their ego element is very dominant.
And you add compassion.
Unconditional love.
Because these people experience suffering.
And make sure that every time your ego element is expanding and asking this question,
Hey,
What about me?
Then you offer a cup of tea and you move forward.
Don't put too much energy there.
It's an illusion.
Discord and disconnection is what she meant.
He says,
Hi,
I'm so grateful to find you today.
How to give peace and connection to the chaos swirling inside another who isn't able to open to step outside illusion?
It's a good question.
First of all,
It's important to understand there is no way to help people that doesn't want help,
That doesn't want to change.
The first key for people to change is for them to realize their current situation,
Which is full of misery and pain and suffering and disharmony.
And then they need to look at the mirror,
See that,
And then ask themselves,
Do you really want to change that?
Do you want to be free?
If they don't want to be free,
There is nothing you can do for them.
You cannot help somebody that doesn't want to change.
And even if they say they do want to change,
You go back and ask again,
Do you really mean it?
They need to ponder on that and make an honest decision about it.
Because it comes with a price.
Change comes with a price.
What is the price?
Depending on the situation.
But it's mostly all about getting far away from the comfort zone.
Even if the situation is miserable,
At least you know it.
It feels like something you already know how to deal with.
So there is a sense of comfort there,
In that sense.
And even worse,
There is identity there.
Who am I?
I am the one that suffers.
I am the one with the drama.
This is who I am.
And then when will I be happy and free?
When I will resolve that drama.
Or somebody else will resolve it for me,
Even worse.
So it becomes an answer to the question,
Who am I?
And without the drama,
Who am I?
That's too intimidating.
People prefer to stay in the drama than to face this question.
Again,
Who am I without the drama?
So there is a price to pay,
For sure.
Sometimes the price seems to be too terrifying,
Too big.
And people don't really want to change.
You know,
People ask me,
How to quit smoking?
And I say,
Do you remember the day you started smoking?
And they say yes.
And I say,
Exactly like that,
But the opposite way.
Instead of picking the cigarette and putting it in your mouth,
Take the cigarette out of your mouth and put it back on the table.
That's how you stop smoking.
And never pick it again.
Is that complicated?
It's very complicated if you don't want to quit smoking.
But it's very simple if you do want to.
There is nothing out there that is bigger than your decision.
Bigger than your Sankalpa.
It's called in Sanskrit.
That laser sharp intention.
This is what I want.
What do you want?
To quit smoking.
That's it.
And next time the urge will come,
I will not lean back and pick up a cigarette.
No,
Because I prefer to stay clean of cigarettes.
That's it.
That's my decision.
It's my life.
Nothing is bigger than that.
And it doesn't matter how strong the urge is.
I am bigger than that.
And if you don't believe me,
Try to take that urge.
It doesn't matter if it's an urge for cigarettes or an urge for alcohol,
The urge for sex.
It doesn't matter what urge you are currently experiencing.
Try to see if you can encompass it in your body.
How does it feel in your body as a sensation?
I feel it in my belly.
I feel it in my heart.
I feel it in my sweat.
Whatever.
Give it a name.
Try to describe it as sensations in your body and see.
It is contained in this physical mortal coil.
It is contained.
You are bigger than that.
You can experience it.
It's not beyond your capacity.
Or even if that cigarette is there just to help you to hide from the pain that comes from a deeper emotional,
Psychological situation,
Or drugs,
The pain is so unbearable I have to take something to mask it,
Like alcohol or drugs.
The pain is never too much.
Never.
It doesn't matter how painful it is.
Experience it in your body,
In your heart,
And you will realize it is always contained.
You are much bigger than that.
Remind yourself of that story of the theater hall.
It doesn't matter what kind of play is currently being played on the stage.
It could be a terrible play,
Terrible.
People killing each other,
Blood or ketchup all over the place.
It could be a Greek tragedy.
But whatever is happening there on the stage,
You are the theater hall.
You cannot be intimidated by whatever is being played right now.
Your job is to allow that to be experienced.
That's it.
How can this show threaten you,
The space that allows that to be experienced?
It's a joke.
Can't you see?
And soon this play will be over and tomorrow there is a stand-up,
Actually.
It's going to be quite entertaining.
Because the realm of phenomena changes all the time.
There is this hole that allows that change to happen and be experienced.
It's never beyond your capacity.
You are always bigger than that.
But you need to know yourself to grow beyond that small,
Detached,
Egoistic personality that you are so identified with.
What do you say?
I appreciate everybody that comes to listen.
It feels like a real collective effort to digest these things,
These ideas and these concepts that make it feel more real,
More doable,
More integrative into our daily lives.
If you ask yourself,
How can I then know myself?
What does it mean to be an expression of self-knowledge as opposed to ignorance?
Then I would recommend to go back and listen to this course that was just completed a couple of weeks ago.
That is called Know Thyself.
It's composed of the seven layers of existence that we are all a part of.
Body,
Breath,
Mind,
Intellect,
Memory,
Ego and self.
Listen to those recordings and you can practice the guided meditation corresponding each level.
When you listen about the body,
Then after that you practice this guided meditation.
I am not my body.
All this can be found on my Insightama page.
Just go and look and listen and learn.
It's not science fiction.
It's in your arms reach.
You just need to really want it.
That's the key.
Ask yourself,
Is this something that I want?
Do I want to live a life free of drama?
Or am I actually not ready to let go of the drama?
Do I want to live a life free of stress and suffering?
Or am I too identified with my stress and suffering and the stories that it creates for me?
Am I willing to be an expression of unconditional love?
Or do I really want to hang on to the idea that love is something that I am supposed to get and find somewhere out there?
Ask yourself.
Do you want to be free?
If so,
Make it the most important thing.
Put it on the top of the pile.
The highest priority.
And I tell you,
Guaranteed,
You are going there.
Maybe tomorrow,
Maybe next life,
But you are on that path to self liberation.
But this is your choice.
And there is no other choice.
This is the only choice you can make.
Do I prefer an open heart that loves and accepts,
Or do I prefer to close it and protect myself against life because it is so painful and horrible?
You have to ask yourself this question.
Christine says when we are all together like this,
It becomes more clear.
And Barbara says to me,
It is an invitation to the fountain.
Thank you for the drink of clear water.
And do I want to become the fountain for others?
I tell you,
Once you realize you are the fountain,
It is not a matter of you wanting it.
There is no I that wants anything anymore.
Just that flow of water through you.
That's it.
Now you are doing what you came here to do.
To water the thirsty.
That's it.
What other reason is there out there for a fountain?
Other than water the thirsty.
Nothing to do with your wanting.
It's not my water.
I want to keep my water for myself.
And I will only drink the blonde animals.
No,
No.
Everybody is there.
Come and enjoy.
So much bounty here.
This is where we are going.
Are you interested to join the path of self-realization?
This is the invitation.
Are you with us?
Or do you prefer to go back and hold on to an illusion of separateness that wants and needs all the time?
That is thirsty all the time?
Joanna says,
I struggle with rejection from others.
It causes me great pain despite me knowing I shouldn't allow this.
This is a really nice topic for the next session.
I think that is a great discussion topic because there is a lot in there to go through.
Tuesday evening we are going to discuss rejection in deep.
If you have this concern,
Being rejected by other people or by yourself,
Then don't miss that meeting.
I see Sunshine is saying,
I like the illusion.
I think what they mean is,
I like the idea that disconnection is an illusion.
Correct me if I am wrong,
Sunshine.
If you actually like the illusion,
It is like Neo choosing the red pill or the blue pill.
If you like the illusion,
Stay in the illusion.
That is fine.
Don't worry about it.
Maybe that is what they meant,
I like the illusion.
It is okay.
You can like the illusion.
Don't worry.
I am here to help those people who want to wake up.
If you prefer the dream and you want to stay asleep,
That is fantastic.
Do that wholeheartedly.
Whatever you do,
Do it wholeheartedly.
100%.
Not just the good things,
All the things.
Thank you guys for your time and your attention,
Your beautiful questions.
Thank you for your donations.
We are going to meet again Tuesday evening to discuss rejection.
Tuesday evening.
Tuesday evening,
I think,
Is hard for the people in the east of North America.
But that is the only way we can get to everybody.
Some days it is our evening and some days it is your morning.
So I am trying also to load the recordings of these sessions so you can listen to them a few days later when they are available on my website as an audio track.
So you can follow up then if you happen to miss the live recording.
Next Tuesday,
This coming Tuesday evening,
We will meet again.
Jai Gurudev!
