0:00:09.134,0:00:11.479 Awakening 0:00:11.479,0:00:15.265 is the next natural stage[br]of human development. 0:00:15.497,0:00:20.471 So awakening is simply to recognize[br]the nature of our essential being. 0:00:20.564,0:00:26.530 Is not some weird,[br]mystical religious experience 0:00:26.530,0:00:28.282 that's only available to the few. 0:00:28.282,0:00:30.650 It's available to everyone. 0:00:30.165,0:00:35.911 What we essentially are[br]is already fully awake, fully aware. 0:00:35.911,0:00:38.289 And it's totally unlimited. 0:00:38.289,0:00:41.247 Your true nature is closer 0:00:41.416,0:00:44.538 than the you that you think you are. 0:00:45.214,0:00:48.840 Consciousness[br]is the ultimate reality of the universe. 0:00:48.895,0:00:53.544 The next step in science is to say[br]that consciousness is fundamental. 0:00:53.792,0:00:56.448 What is awakening anyway? 0:00:56.448,0:01:00.954 Somebody explain that to me. 0:01:23.742,0:01:26.211 What is awakening? 0:01:26.628,0:01:32.196 Whether you call it the true self,[br]the imminent self or "no self", 0:01:32.405,0:01:37.225 or Buddha[br]nature, Tao or Christ Consciousness, 0:01:37.406,0:01:40.422 it really doesn't matter. 0:01:40.422,0:01:45.098 In this film,[br]we're going to refer to it as awareness. 0:01:45.230,0:01:46.622 Awareness 0:01:46.622,0:01:49.750 is not the property of any religion. 0:01:49.750,0:01:53.163 Awakening or realizing awareness 0:01:53.175,0:01:55.599 is like waking from a dream. 0:01:56.190,0:01:58.440 The dream of your character 0:01:58.440,0:02:00.907 in the play of life. 0:02:01.440,0:02:03.423 Through our characters, 0:02:03.423,0:02:05.834 we experience the world 0:02:05.834,0:02:10.130 in all of its beauty and its ugliness. 0:02:10.444,0:02:14.467 We can call this experience of life[br]and death duality. 0:02:15.197,0:02:19.885 Around and around[br]we go, fixated on the characters, 0:02:19.885,0:02:22.498 thoughts and sensations. 0:02:22.618,0:02:24.123 Good and bad. 0:02:24.123,0:02:25.553 War and peace. 0:02:25.553,0:02:27.397 Light and darkness. 0:02:27.397,0:02:29.546 Birth and death. 0:02:30.016,0:02:31.818 Until we wake up and find out 0:02:31.818,0:02:34.904 we are not the character. 0:03:03.970,0:03:06.458 In this film,[br]we are extending an invitation 0:03:06.458,0:03:10.068 for you to directly experience[br]your true nature. 0:03:10.568,0:03:14.652 To find out directly, not intellectually... 0:03:15.122,0:03:16.791 Who are you? 0:03:17.530,0:03:19.373 We will repeat this 0:03:19.373,0:03:21.814 invitation in different ways. 0:03:22.535,0:03:25.502 When inquiring into who you are, 0:03:25.983,0:03:29.632 let everything be exactly as it is. 0:03:30.251,0:03:34.319 Don't[br]move the mind to make something happen 0:03:34.740,0:03:38.211 or to find some answer[br]on the level of mind. 0:03:38.681,0:03:41.939 And yet, don't try to push away the mind. 0:03:42.616,0:03:46.315 Simply intend to directly experience[br]who you are. 0:03:47.399,0:03:52.785 Letting the mind be a [br]"don't know mind" 0:04:02.085,0:04:08.806 Awakening is the answer to all of [br]the world's problems on every level. 0:04:08.806,0:04:13.569 All of the world's[br]problems stem from a delusion. 0:04:13.696,0:04:17.645 The fundamental delusion of the mind. 0:04:18.045,0:04:21.965 And that delusion is that[br]I am this limited character. 0:04:22.770,0:04:25.702 When we're living from a [br]small, separate self, 0:04:25.841,0:04:29.917 there's always some kind[br]of perpetual dissatisfaction. 0:04:30.122,0:04:34.118 So this can be big dissatisfaction[br]like trauma, 0:04:34.190,0:04:38.081 or it can be just this [br]background feeling... 0:04:38.085,0:04:39.745 "something's not right. 0:04:39.745,0:04:42.420 Something's wrong. I'm missing something." 0:04:42.760,0:04:47.875 Even when I have some pleasure,[br]even when I achieve something in world, 0:04:47.875,0:04:51.070 even when I have a good relationship, 0:04:51.070,0:04:54.274 if I just have a pause or a moment, 0:04:54.929,0:04:58.058 there's this dissatisfied feeling like 0:04:58.589,0:05:02.233 I'm isolated or cut off from something. 0:05:02.251,0:05:05.680 So this feeling, which it seems like 0:05:05.680,0:05:09.434 most people have, can motivate us 0:05:09.600,0:05:13.479 to awaken from that small, separate self 0:05:13.479,0:05:18.521 whose nature is a kind of separation[br]anxiety. 0:05:18.681,0:05:24.532 This limited character has a tendency[br]to grasp for what it wants. 0:05:24.532,0:05:28.058 It's just a collection[br]of conditioned patterns 0:05:28.232,0:05:33.265 of of craving what it wants or[br]trying to push away what it doesn't want. 0:05:33.490,0:05:37.628 It's this endless process of[br]you can say a pleasure 0:05:37.628,0:05:42.221 principle, you know,[br]going after pleasure, avoiding pain. 0:05:42.450,0:05:44.635 And if we believe we are this 0:05:44.927,0:05:48.976 character, this conditioned pattern, 0:05:49.296,0:05:52.935 then we suffer[br]and we create suffering in the world. 0:05:53.275,0:05:59.258 The world becomes a reflection[br]of that egoic consciousness. 0:05:59.690,0:06:02.215 The benefit of awakening 0:06:02.372,0:06:05.232 is that you suffer less 0:06:05.232,0:06:07.978 and the people around you suffer less. 0:06:08.076,0:06:13.067 There's no doubt in my mind that [br]my initial connection with 0:06:13.129,0:06:18.527 my understanding of God[br]was an awakening 0:06:18.527,0:06:22.625 for me in my life, the biggest awakening[br]that I've ever experienced. 0:06:22.735,0:06:27.599 It was very much as if I had been asleep[br]really for 50 years. 0:06:27.988,0:06:32.690 Walking around like a robot, just doing[br]the things that I was taught to do 0:06:32.980,0:06:36.396 from the time I was a young man,[br]you know, I had a formula down, 0:06:36.396,0:06:42.157 get the girl, get the car, get a job,[br]get the house, get a spouse. 0:06:42.157,0:06:46.624 A formula that I thought was [br]how I was supposed to work 0:06:46.685,0:06:48.582 until I got to be around 53 years old. 0:06:48.582,0:06:53.166 And I realized that while I had done[br]most of those things and had become 0:06:53.496,0:06:59.200 professionally successful to a degree,[br]then I realized that 0:06:59.200,0:07:03.543 no matter who woke up somewhere[br]around the age of 53, realizing 0:07:03.956,0:07:06.620 none of this matters, 0:07:06.620,0:07:08.668 none of this means anything. 0:07:08.668,0:07:12.144 I was shocked to find[br]how this literally meant, 0:07:12.306,0:07:16.246 how pointless it all was. 0:07:29.840,0:07:32.279 When you stop following the script 0:07:32.279,0:07:34.493 that has been laid out for your character. 0:07:35.225,0:07:37.860 The one inherited from parents, society 0:07:37.917,0:07:40.543 and biological conditioning, 0:07:40.903,0:07:44.560 then new dimensions open up[br]within the game. 0:07:45.377,0:07:47.467 The path opens up, 0:07:47.957,0:07:51.499 but it is not a path[br]to reach some destination. 0:07:52.185,0:07:54.917 It is a pathless path, 0:07:54.917,0:07:57.727 a stripping away of illusion to arrive 0:07:57.727,0:08:02.851 exactly where you are in the now. 0:08:10.198,0:08:12.658 My name is Rupert Spira. 0:08:12.658,0:08:15.161 I speak about the essential 0:08:15.620,0:08:18.664 non-dual understanding that underlies 0:08:18.706,0:08:22.835 all the great religious[br]and spiritual traditions. 0:08:23.365,0:08:28.277 And I write and lead guided meditations 0:08:28.277,0:08:33.179 and have conversations[br]whose purpose is to lead 0:08:33.513,0:08:38.151 to an experiential recognition 0:08:38.267,0:08:41.605 of this understanding. 0:08:42.396,0:08:44.306 Understand that 0:08:44.306,0:08:46.984 the peace and the happiness 0:08:46.984,0:08:49.471 for which we all long 0:08:49.471,0:08:52.856 above all else, can never, 0:08:52.856,0:08:57.286 by definition[br]be found in objective experience. 0:08:57.854,0:09:00.718 It can never be provided[br]by objects, substances, 0:09:00.718,0:09:04.161 activities and relationships. 0:09:04.377,0:09:06.235 I would suggest 0:09:07.480,0:09:09.234 understanding that 0:09:09.234,0:09:12.116 clearly and not spending [br]the rest of one's life 0:09:12.116,0:09:16.660 seeking fulfillment[br]where it cannot be found. 0:09:16.810,0:09:22.478 Anyone who is watching this movie is doing[br]so precisely because they have 0:09:22.478,0:09:27.049 either understood or at least intuited 0:09:27.049,0:09:31.375 that the peace and happiness[br]for which they long cannot be found 0:09:31.515,0:09:35.116 in objective experience and have begun 0:09:35.226,0:09:38.588 this investigation into their true nature. 0:09:38.977,0:09:42.312 That is the most important investigation 0:09:42.749,0:09:46.708 one can make,[br]and it is the investigation upon 0:09:46.708,0:09:51.733 which the depends our happiness. 0:09:52.040,0:09:54.883 The biggest question of my life,[br]of course, 0:09:55.000,0:09:59.882 which I believe is the question[br]most people look at sooner or later, is 0:10:00.382,0:10:02.995 "What is the point, actually?" 0:10:02.995,0:10:05.579 "What is the point of life?" 0:10:05.731,0:10:09.984 That, much to my surprise,[br]I was told that the point of life 0:10:09.984,0:10:14.907 had nothing to do[br]with anything that I was doing. 0:10:15.448,0:10:17.914 It wasn't about my job. 0:10:17.914,0:10:20.439 It wasn't about my career. 0:10:20.439,0:10:24.558 It wasn't about hardly anything[br]in my physical life. 0:10:25.119,0:10:28.419 Those were aspects of my life[br]were not the point of life. 0:10:29.378,0:10:32.640 The point of my life,[br]as I have come to understand 0:10:32.640,0:10:35.717 it was for me to experience, 0:10:35.717,0:10:39.023 express, demonstrate and fulfill 0:10:39.525,0:10:42.836 my true identity, who I really am. 0:10:43.689,0:10:45.811 I think that the biggest question 0:10:45.811,0:10:49.353 that most people face is a question[br]that hardly 0:10:49.353,0:10:53.037 anyone ever asks themselves[br]or ever answers. 0:10:53.810,0:10:56.543 The biggest question of life, 0:10:56.543,0:10:59.616 in my understanding, is "who am I?" 0:11:00.159,0:11:03.120 Who am I? 0:11:04.997,0:11:08.165 Am I simply a physical entity 0:11:08.265,0:11:11.222 like a bird in the sky or fish in the sea? 0:11:11.313,0:11:15.936 You know, perhaps more sophisticated,[br]but just a physical entity. 0:11:16.276,0:11:18.855 I'm born, I live, I die. 0:11:18.862,0:11:21.715 That's the beginning and the end of it. 0:11:21.715,0:11:24.821 Or is it possible, just possible 0:11:25.059,0:11:27.228 that I'm more than that? 0:11:27.269,0:11:30.388 Is it possible that I'm a spiritual entity 0:11:30.978,0:11:33.780 simply having a physical experience? 0:11:39.209,0:11:41.975 Every experience in your life 0:11:41.975,0:11:45.650 has brought you to this one[br]universal question. 0:11:46.249,0:11:48.416 Who are you? 0:11:50.418,0:11:55.614 Don't look for an answer with the mind. 0:11:56.930,0:12:01.845 Let everything be exactly as it is. 0:12:04.793,0:12:08.655 Who is aware of the mind? 0:12:11.496,0:12:15.725 Feel everything that comes up. 0:12:17.317,0:12:21.431 Who is aware of those feelings? 0:12:23.036,0:12:26.900 Have a complete experience[br]of everything that comes up 0:12:26.900,0:12:31.146 as a result of your inquiry. 0:12:42.450,0:12:44.699 I'm Donald Hoffman and I'm a professor 0:12:44.701,0:12:48.418 emeritus of cognitive sciences[br]at the University of California at Irvine. 0:12:48.618,0:12:51.642 My work has been teaching students,[br]although now I'm emeritus for 0:12:51.648,0:12:54.199 I don't teach. And now I do research. 0:12:54.199,0:12:58.613 I do research right now[br]on consciousness, mathematical models 0:12:58.613,0:13:02.655 of consciousness,[br]and how physics and spacetime might arise 0:13:02.655,0:13:07.978 from a theory of consciousness[br]that's completely mathematically precise. 0:13:08.570,0:13:11.094 My own journey has been 0:13:11.129,0:13:14.469 both from the spiritual side[br]and from the science side. 0:13:14.469,0:13:19.792 So my my father was a minister,[br]fundamentalist Christian minister. 0:13:19.921,0:13:22.727 So I got that on Sundays 0:13:22.812,0:13:26.436 and I got science at school[br]and they conflicted, right? 0:13:26.486,0:13:30.260 The stories I was getting were,[br]contradictory. 0:13:30.260,0:13:35.112 And so as a teenager, I realized[br]I needed to figure things out for myself. 0:13:35.112,0:13:37.843 And I decided the question I 0:13:37.843,0:13:41.445 wanted to answer was,[br]are we machines? 0:13:41.445,0:13:43.624 Are people just machines or not? 0:13:43.624,0:13:48.473 I mean, from the physical point of view,[br]are we just be machines 0:13:48.494,0:13:52.610 From a spiritual point of view,[br]we wouldn't be machines. 0:13:52.155,0:13:54.773 It wasn't precise enough[br]to say what we would be. 0:13:54.773,0:13:58.357 And so so I decided to ask the question 0:13:58.420,0:14:00.929 scientifically, are we just machines? 0:14:00.929,0:14:04.743 And the best way I thought to do that[br]would be to study artificial intelligence. 0:14:04.743,0:14:07.542 And so so I went to MIT 0:14:07.542,0:14:12.041 and was in the artificial intelligence[br]lab studying artificial intelligence 0:14:12.139,0:14:15.605 and also in what's now the brain[br]and cognitive science department, studying 0:14:15.605,0:14:17.814 the human side of things.[br]Because I wanted to do both. 0:14:17.814,0:14:20.929 I wanted to see what can machines do[br]and what is special, if anything, 0:14:20.929,0:14:25.800 about humans and human neuroscience.[br]To answer that, 0:14:25.800,0:14:28.827 that very question[br]ar the spiritual traditions right? 0:14:28.827,0:14:31.190 Or are we more than just machines 0:14:31.190,0:14:34.714 or is the physical, scientific[br]point of view right? 0:14:34.714,0:14:36.491 And we are just machines, 0:14:36.491,0:14:38.335 and consciousness is just an artifact 0:14:38.335,0:14:41.136 of brain activity. 0:14:43.456,0:14:49.009 The scientific materialist paradigm that[br]has been predominant in the last century 0:14:49.499,0:14:53.021 denies the existence of[br]anything beyond the physical, 0:14:53.875,0:14:55.378 anything that cannot be 0:14:55.378,0:14:57.519 verified by the scientific method. 0:14:58.797,0:15:00.954 Science is an impasse. 0:15:01.384,0:15:06.005 It cannot move beyond the paradox[br]that is fundamental to quantum physics, 0:15:06.259,0:15:09.042 which brought it face to face[br]with the observer, 0:15:09.764,0:15:12.589 with consciousness itself. 0:15:12.859,0:15:15.581 Likewise, religions are,[br]for the most part, functioning 0:15:15.581,0:15:18.892 only on the level of belief. 0:15:19.332,0:15:24.457 They've lost their original purpose,[br]which was to lead to direct experience, 0:15:24.457,0:15:27.487 to the truth of who and what we are. 0:15:28.190,0:15:31.278 The split between science and spirituality 0:15:31.470,0:15:33.968 has rendered both impoverished. 0:15:34.801,0:15:39.451 Religions and spiritual systems[br]desperately need rigorous methods, 0:15:39.586,0:15:43.308 which can be shown to create conditions[br]for awakening to happen. 0:15:43.939,0:15:46.788 And science desperately needs an openness 0:15:46.788,0:15:49.907 to the possibility[br]of something beyond the physical. 0:15:50.537,0:15:53.758 It is not about giving up religion[br]or science, 0:15:53.890,0:15:58.569 but about going deeper,[br]being willing to change ourselves 0:15:58.925,0:16:02.253 so that we become a better tool[br]for investigation. 0:16:03.188,0:16:05.937 We are the ones doing the experiment, 0:16:06.066,0:16:09.462 and the experiment itself. 0:16:10.862,0:16:15.181 Religion has been the language[br]and the container 0:16:15.475,0:16:20.554 of these traditions[br]of meditation, spirituality 0:16:20.837,0:16:24.108 that have been written down and passed 0:16:24.108,0:16:27.630 on through the generations. 0:16:27.786,0:16:32.861 Certainly there is some language[br]that is very literal, 0:16:32.861,0:16:35.587 which divides religions and divides 0:16:35.714,0:16:38.711 cultures when things are taken literally. 0:16:39.004,0:16:43.663 But if you feel the spirit of religion, 0:16:44.044,0:16:45.860 you can follow the 0:16:45.860,0:16:49.875 thread back to authentic awakening. 0:16:50.165,0:16:55.380 Anyone has the potential,[br]whether they have belief or no belief, 0:16:55.187,0:16:57.975 because awakening is inherent 0:16:57.975,0:17:02.662 within our human consciousness,[br]just by our human birth. 0:17:02.894,0:17:06.237 So whatever you call it,[br]and whenever language is used, 0:17:06.680,0:17:10.203 there's certain principles[br]that seem to be the same 0:17:10.465,0:17:13.765 throughout these different religions 0:17:13.765,0:17:16.705 and spiritualities[br]and meditation traditions. 0:17:17.036,0:17:19.872 When I was younger, this understanding 0:17:19.872,0:17:25.033 was mainly available[br]in the Eastern spiritual traditions. 0:17:25.033,0:17:27.046 It was available in the Western 0:17:27.046,0:17:31.855 traditions,[br]but it was so disguised and codified 0:17:31.968,0:17:35.505 in those traditions[br]as to be almost inaccessible. 0:17:35.679,0:17:39.764 So many people of my generation[br]went physically 0:17:39.892,0:17:45.467 or at least intellectually,[br]to the East to find this understanding 0:17:45.597,0:17:49.639 and Eastern culture by comparison with 0:17:49.898,0:17:53.001 Western culture is exotic. 0:17:53.322,0:17:58.452 And so this understanding[br]acquired a flavor of the exotic 0:17:58.619,0:18:02.951 from the cultures[br]in which it was expressed. 0:18:03.561,0:18:06.197 And many people, myself included 0:18:07.002,0:18:09.481 thought as a result of this 0:18:09.481,0:18:13.110 that there was something exotic[br]about the non dual 0:18:13.110,0:18:17.846 understanding; that it required[br]some extra ordinary way of life, 0:18:17.846,0:18:21.171 that you had to give up family life 0:18:21.229,0:18:25.415 or grow your hair[br]or get a special name or subscribe 0:18:25.415,0:18:31.678 to some kind of teacher or or tradition[br]or engage in strange practices. 0:18:31.678,0:18:35.286 All these kind of things[br]which had nothing to do 0:18:35.286,0:18:38.918 with the core understanding.[br]They were to do with the culture 0:18:38.918,0:18:43.326 in which the understanding[br]was expressed at a particular time. 0:18:43.440,0:18:47.796 So now the understanding[br]has been completely divested 0:18:47.914,0:18:54.455 of the traditional cultural packaging[br]in which many of us first heard about it. 0:18:54.572,0:18:59.768 And now just the essential[br]understanding is available 0:18:59.768,0:19:03.388 in a way that enables us to carry[br]on leading our lives 0:19:03.426,0:19:07.812 exactly as they are. Family life, work[br]life... 0:19:07.903,0:19:13.384 it's not necessary to make[br]any external changes in one's life. 0:19:13.560,0:19:16.155 The challenge we have on this planet 0:19:16.155,0:19:19.197 is that we think there's more than one 0:19:19.366,0:19:20.791 essence. 0:19:21.501,0:19:22.536 So we live in a 0:19:22.995,0:19:26.123 world of what I would call duality. 0:19:26.683,0:19:29.104 There's male and female, black and white, 0:19:29.634,0:19:34.006 big and small, fast and slow, up[br]and down, here and there, before 0:19:34.006,0:19:37.477 and after,[br]but in fact, there's only one thing. 0:19:38.997,0:19:41.629 All things are one thing. 0:19:42.389,0:19:45.173 There is only one thing. 0:19:45.643,0:19:48.352 So it turns out that when [br]we look deeply at everything 0:19:48.352,0:19:53.146 we see that here and there, big and small, [br]fast and slow, up and down, left and right, 0:19:53.146,0:19:58.342 male and female, are all the same thing,[br]simply expressing 0:19:58.482,0:20:02.782 different characteristics[br]but in no way separate from each other. 0:20:03.421,0:20:05.980 I believe that all of us 0:20:05.980,0:20:07.915 are individuations 0:20:07.915,0:20:09.374 of God. 0:20:10.620,0:20:12.461 I believe that God exists in, as, and 0:20:12.461,0:20:18.650 through every human being[br]and for that matter, every sentient 0:20:18.650,0:20:21.094 being in the cosmos. 0:20:21.094,0:20:25.173 So I see then that[br]I am in relationship to God 0:20:26.380,0:20:28.393 as a wave is to the ocean. 0:20:28.953,0:20:31.293 A wave is no different[br]from the ocean; it's 0:20:31.293,0:20:36.097 simply an arising of the ocean[br]in individual form. 0:20:36.631,0:20:39.309 And when that individuation is complete, 0:20:39.519,0:20:43.025 the wave recedes back into the ocean[br]whence it came. 0:20:43.025,0:20:46.160 To arise again on another day. 0:20:47.320,0:20:51.705 So I believe that[br]we are all individuations of divinity, 0:20:52.005,0:20:54.809 and when we see everything as divine, 0:20:55.119,0:20:58.087 we change our relationship with everything. 0:20:58.765,0:21:00.948 And everything becomes 0:21:00.948,0:21:03.274 different in our experience. 0:21:04.255,0:21:09.535 That's how the world changes. 0:21:17.275,0:21:21.328 Consciousness[br]is the ultimate reality of the universe, 0:21:21.888,0:21:27.196 so we might well ask if consciousness[br]is the ultimate reality of the universe 0:21:27.196,0:21:31.231 and everything, and everyone[br]is obviously that, then how come 0:21:33.643,0:21:38.189 the world appears to us as a multiplicity[br]and diversity 0:21:38.213,0:21:43.568 of discrete and independently [br]existing people 0:21:43.568,0:21:47.582 and animals and things[br]all made out of stuff called matter. 0:21:47.582,0:21:52.330 How can we reconcile this statement[br]that consciousness 0:21:52.330,0:21:54.757 is the ultimate reality of the universe[br]when it appears 0:21:54.858,0:21:58.640 as a multiplicity and diversity of objects[br]made out of matter? 0:21:58.676,0:22:02.362 So the the evidence that I'm using[br]to suggest that consciousness 0:22:02.362,0:22:06.908 is fundamental has many aspects to it. 0:22:07.788,0:22:10.101 One is that physics itself 0:22:10.101,0:22:13.021 says that space time isn't fundamental 0:22:13.021,0:22:16.465 and evolutionary theory[br]also agrees that spacetime 0:22:16.465,0:22:19.048 and physical objects[br]are not fundamental reality. 0:22:19.192,0:22:23.800 Now, both of those theories tell us only[br]that, that spacetime is not fundamental. 0:22:23.800,0:22:26.757 They don't tell us[br]what is beyond spacetime. 0:22:27.345,0:22:31.853 And so my argument[br]is that what the physicists are finding 0:22:31.903,0:22:34.929 beyond spacetime, they're finding[br]mathematical structures, 0:22:35.134,0:22:37.572 but what those are about 0:22:37.650,0:22:41.421 is not really clear. What is this[br]realm beyond space time about? 0:22:41.671,0:22:46.148 And so I'm proposing that the realm[br]beyond space time is about consciousness. 0:22:46.481,0:22:49.492 And I would suggest that[br]infinite consciousness has the ability 0:22:49.492,0:22:54.655 to localize itself as numerous separate[br]subjects of experience, 0:22:55.039,0:22:58.627 that is, all sentient beings, all people[br]or animals. 0:22:58.919,0:23:03.423 Each of us are localizations[br]of infinite consciousness, 0:23:03.423,0:23:08.124 in infinite consciousness[br]made only of infinite consciousness 0:23:08.339,0:23:11.055 from whose perspective it views 0:23:11.055,0:23:14.960 its own activity as the outside world. 0:23:15.451,0:23:18.845 So what appears to us as[br]a world made out of matter 0:23:18.920,0:23:24.060 from our localized perspectives,[br]is from the point of view of reality, 0:23:24.178,0:23:28.703 simply the activity of the one[br]infinite consciousness. 0:23:28.821,0:23:33.614 In other words, in the ultimate analysis,[br]there are no discrete 0:23:33.614,0:23:37.668 or independently existing things[br]or people. 0:23:38.007,0:23:41.059 There is one infinite, indivisible, whole. 0:23:41.211,0:23:45.604 The unity of being that is only refracted 0:23:46.305,0:23:49.824 into an apparent multiplicity[br]and diversity of objects and things. 0:23:49.983,0:23:54.116 When The One looks at its own activity 0:23:54.331,0:23:56.524 through the perceiving faculties 0:23:56.651,0:23:58.728 of the finite mind. 0:23:59.931,0:24:01.560 If we are awake, 0:24:01.560,0:24:05.343 we realize that there's one awareness 0:24:05.665,0:24:09.802 that is disguised as all of these[br]different beings on the planet, 0:24:10.078,0:24:13.869 one awareness[br]shining through everyone's eyes. 0:24:13.992,0:24:18.577 Then we literally see ourselves in others. 0:24:18.691,0:24:22.169 And that tendency to operate as an ego, 0:24:22.169,0:24:26.796 the tendency to take for oneself 0:24:26.961,0:24:30.677 falls away[br]because we directly realize the truth. 0:24:31.261,0:24:35.431 The truth is[br]that we're all one consciousness. 0:24:35.765,0:24:39.008 The experience of my spiritual self 0:24:39.989,0:24:42.186 was only possible in the realm 0:24:42.186,0:24:44.869 of the physical for a very good reason, 0:24:45.419,0:24:49.530 because only in the realm of the physical[br]was the opposite available. 0:24:50.388,0:24:53.035 In other words, just use a simple example, 0:24:53.316,0:24:56.279 if I wanted to experience myself,[br]if I could speak 0:24:56.279,0:24:58.889 metaphorically, as the light, 0:24:59.522,0:25:03.345 I couldn't experience being the light[br]if I was amidst the light, 0:25:03.548,0:25:06.011 nothing else around me but the light, 0:25:06.130,0:25:10.256 which is a perfect definition[br]of the realm of the spiritual. 0:25:10.576,0:25:14.312 So I would come to a realm[br]which I call the realm of the physical, 0:25:14.459,0:25:17.128 where there is something[br]other than the light. 0:25:17.453,0:25:20.102 Because if I want to experience myself[br]as the light, 0:25:20.102,0:25:23.659 not just know myself as that,[br]but experience it, 0:25:23.890,0:25:25.950 I could only do that where there was 0:25:25.950,0:25:29.311 the opposite of the light,[br]in this case, the darkness. 0:25:29.528,0:25:30.904 So I brought 0:25:30.904,0:25:36.721 this opportunity to the physical realm[br]where the light and the dark exist 0:25:36.721,0:25:40.658 simultaneously, and then in that outward 0:25:40.658,0:25:45.383 expression of myself as the light,[br]I could be who I really am. 0:25:46.085,0:25:48.511 And this understanding suggests 0:25:48.511,0:25:53.936 that behind our differences[br]we are all the same being, 0:25:54.160,0:25:59.954 not a similar being, but we are all[br]literally one... the same being. 0:25:59.954,0:26:05.386 And love is the felt experience 0:26:05.883,0:26:09.420 of this oneness or shared being. 0:26:09.413,0:26:15.241 It's a theorem of our theory that[br]there is ultimately one consciousness. 0:26:15.699,0:26:19.850 So we have this dynamics of many,[br]many conscious agents. 0:26:19.850,0:26:22.953 But the theory tells us[br]that ultimately all those conscious agents 0:26:22.953,0:26:26.814 are really just projections[br]of a single one consciousness. 0:26:26.814,0:26:30.181 The current paradigm in science 0:26:30.583,0:26:33.260 has, and it has been for for centuries, 0:26:33.369,0:26:37.580 is that space and time[br]are the fundamental nature of reality. 0:26:37.580,0:26:40.831 They're irreducible[br]and they are the foundation of everything. 0:26:40.995,0:26:44.443 And prior to Einstein, space[br]and time were viewed as separate. 0:26:44.495,0:26:48.347 Now, space and time together,[br]a unified into spacetime are viewed 0:26:48.347,0:26:50.204 as the fundamental nature of reality. 0:26:50.204,0:26:52.698 And science has then assumed that 0:26:53.562,0:26:57.510 spacetime and objects in spacetime[br]are the foundational reality. 0:26:58.196,0:27:01.243 And so, for example,[br]when we talk about consciousness, 0:27:01.870,0:27:06.682 consciousness itself then must be somehow[br]a product of objects in space and time. 0:27:06.914,0:27:11.457 In that physicalist framework[br]space and time and physical objects 0:27:11.713,0:27:15.828 without any consciousness[br]are the fundamental reality. 0:27:15.828,0:27:20.584 And consciousness comes later on[br]in the evolution of the universe, right? 0:27:20.646,0:27:23.214 So that the big bang, there was [br]no consciousness, 0:27:23.214,0:27:25.289 there was just spacetime and energy. 0:27:25.458,0:27:27.818 The energy coalesced[br]into massive particles 0:27:28.087,0:27:31.072 and eventually life emerged after[br]who knows how many millions 0:27:31.072,0:27:33.239 or hundreds of millions [br]or billions of years. 0:27:33.239,0:27:36.584 Then after that consciousness came,[br]even later. 0:27:37.857,0:27:41.705 From that point of view, when you die, [br]the physical complexity that gave 0:27:41.705,0:27:45.169 rise to consciousness dissolves[br]and so your consciousness dissolves. 0:27:45.169,0:27:49.408 And so the physicalist framework[br]really does eliminate consciousness 0:27:49.762,0:27:52.577 as a fundamental thing,[br]altogether and says that 0:27:52.577,0:27:55.251 when your body dies,[br]your consciousness goes with it. 0:27:56.946,0:27:58.694 From this other point of view... 0:27:58.694,0:28:02.358 what I've done with my colleagues,[br]we have we used evolutionary theory 0:28:02.358,0:28:05.228 to point out that it's an implication 0:28:05.228,0:28:08.627 of evolutionary theory, that space [br]and time is not fundamental, 0:28:08.627,0:28:11.891 so the physicalist interpretation[br]of evolution is wrong. 0:28:12.320,0:28:15.424 The idea that that space[br]and time and particles 0:28:15.424,0:28:21.437 somehow have evolved [br]due to human organisms 0:28:21.504,0:28:25.299 is is the wrong framework, because [br]spacetime itself is not fundamental. 0:28:25.397,0:28:28.457 We're positing a dynamics beyond [br]spacetime that's much richer. 0:28:28.457,0:28:30.313 The dynamics of consciousness. 0:28:30.313,0:28:32.933 What we do not do is throw away[br]our old theories. 0:28:32.933,0:28:35.237 When physicists say spacetime is doomed, 0:28:35.237,0:28:38.133 that doesn't mean we no longer [br]pay attention to Einstein. 0:28:38.133,0:28:40.593 Absolutely not.[br]We pay attention to Einstein. 0:28:40.802,0:28:45.508 Any new theory beyond spacetime that[br]the physicists come up with better project 0:28:45.508,0:28:49.632 into space time and give us back Einstein[br]and it better give us back quantum theory 0:28:49.632,0:28:50.643 or you're wrong. 0:28:50.643,0:28:52.706 All of our old theories 0:28:52.706,0:28:56.979 are wonderful, wonderful friends[br]and we're going to keep them 0:28:57.068,0:29:00.160 as special cases of a deeper theory. 0:29:00.373,0:29:03.749 So in our theory of consciousness,[br]we have to do the same thing. 0:29:03.749,0:29:05.786 We can't just propose anything we want. 0:29:05.786,0:29:08.210 We have to have a theory [br]of consciousness that projects 0:29:08.210,0:29:10.090 and gives us back space time, 0:29:10.090,0:29:13.507 and gives us back quantum theory,[br]and gives us back special and general 0:29:13.507,0:29:16.747 relativity, and gives us back[br]evolution by natural selection. 0:29:16.917,0:29:20.132 If we cannot do that in precise[br]mathematical detail, then there's 0:29:20.264,0:29:24.073 no reason for scientists to take our[br]theory of consciousness seriously. 0:29:24.907,0:29:29.020 It's as if infinite consciousness puts[br]on a virtual reality headset. Infinite 0:29:29.070,0:29:32.932 consciousness puts on a a VR headset[br]made of thinking and perceiving. 0:29:33.105,0:29:37.633 And in doing so,[br]the moment it puts on the VR headset, 0:29:37.903,0:29:41.932 it localizes itself[br]within its own activity. 0:29:42.249,0:29:46.743 And through that headset[br]it looks out through the perceiving 0:29:46.743,0:29:51.539 faculties of a finite mind; seeing,[br]hearing, touching, tasting and smelling. 0:29:51.740,0:29:56.328 And it fragments[br]the unity of its own being 0:29:56.503,0:30:00.289 and makes it appear as 10,000 things. 0:30:01.103,0:30:03.109 What I'm suggesting is that 0:30:03.609,0:30:08.856 there is very much more to to the universe[br]than the finite mind. 0:30:08.856,0:30:14.550 I'm not suggesting that the universe[br]only appears in each of our finite minds. 0:30:14.880,0:30:19.833 The universe exists outside of our finite[br]mind, but inside consciousness. 0:30:20.007,0:30:23.420 But it is the limitations[br]of our finite mind 0:30:23.687,0:30:27.459 that give the universe its appearance. 0:30:28.417,0:30:32.645 So when we look out at the universe,[br]we're seeing the reality 0:30:32.645,0:30:37.510 that exists prior to its being perceived. 0:30:37.136,0:30:41.551 But we are seeing it through the lens[br]of our perceiving faculties, 0:30:41.881,0:30:45.593 which gives it its appearance. 0:30:46.363,0:30:51.273 So the idea of awakening in many spiritual[br]traditions has been the idea 0:30:51.273,0:30:54.535 that what we have taken is reality 0:30:54.644,0:30:58.595 objects in space[br]and time, our physical bodies and so forth 0:30:58.898,0:31:03.369 is not the final reality,[br]that there is a much deeper reality, 0:31:03.399,0:31:07.955 a reality of consciousness that transcends[br]space and time and physical objects, 0:31:08.075,0:31:10.830 and that we're not divorced[br]from that reality. 0:31:10.830,0:31:14.615 That reality is, in some sense,[br]the essence of what we are. 0:31:14.698,0:31:17.953 And so awakening is awakening[br]from the illusion 0:31:17.953,0:31:21.671 that I'm just a little body in space[br]and time to the fact that I am 0:31:21.671,0:31:25.696 in fact the author of everything[br]I see inside of space and time. 0:31:25.696,0:31:29.678 I create it on the fly[br]as I look and perceive. 0:31:37.088,0:31:42.161 One becomes awakened by recognizing that 0:31:42.932,0:31:45.945 what we essentially are is already 0:31:45.945,0:31:49.032 fully awake, fully aware, 0:31:49.622,0:31:53.158 complete, whole, fulfilled at peace. 0:31:53.328,0:31:56.010 It's like asking how does the 0:31:56.043,0:31:59.900 sun become illuminated? 0:31:59.926,0:32:01.961 Its nature is light. 0:32:01.961,0:32:04.039 It is already fully illuminated. 0:32:04.039,0:32:08.747 The nature of our essential[br]being is already peace and happiness. 0:32:08.824,0:32:12.456 It's not clear to us all,[br]because our essential being is so 0:32:12.456,0:32:16.465 thoroughly mixed with the content[br]of experience that its innate 0:32:16.601,0:32:20.658 Peace and happiness is [br]dimmed by experience. 0:32:20.903,0:32:25.528 And for that reason we think that our[br]essential being needs to be enlightened. 0:32:25.528,0:32:28.327 No, our essential being[br]doesn't need to be enlightened 0:32:28.327,0:32:32.136 any more than the sun[br]needs to be lit up in the early morning. 0:32:32.533,0:32:35.993 The sun's always shining [br]with the same brightness. 0:32:35.993,0:32:39.995 Our essential being is always shining[br]with the same peace and joy. 0:32:40.139,0:32:43.682 But that peace and joy are dimmed[br]by the agitation 0:32:43.682,0:32:46.957 and lack that characterizes[br]our thoughts and feelings. 0:32:47.548,0:32:51.511 There's no person that awakens. 0:32:51.817,0:32:55.313 So the I that awakened 0:32:55.598,0:32:57.642 I awakened from this Dan 0:32:57.642,0:33:01.381 structure at a meditation center. 0:33:01.489,0:33:03.314 It was a Zen center. 0:33:03.314,0:33:06.374 We were doing a Zen sesshin 0:33:06.374,0:33:10.730 which is a long period[br]of intensive practice. 0:33:10.238,0:33:15.748 So Zen is amazing[br]for creating this container 0:33:15.913,0:33:18.786 where there are[br]these conditions of no escape. 0:33:19.183,0:33:24.603 So the Dan character[br]that had learned meditation, 0:33:24.603,0:33:27.853 the Dan character had been doing[br]all this meditation, 0:33:28.027,0:33:30.431 this doer of meditation, 0:33:30.675,0:33:33.830 realized that it couldn't awaken. 0:33:34.109,0:33:37.211 It's like all the meditation tricks, 0:33:37.211,0:33:42.534 all the practices that had been learned[br]were of no use. 0:33:42.786,0:33:46.085 It got to the point where that character 0:33:46.203,0:33:49.179 who was trying to awaken, failed 0:33:49.497,0:33:52.084 to awaken and had to fail. 0:33:52.287,0:33:57.217 That the character that I had been living,[br]the character that I've been playing 0:33:57.424,0:34:01.840 all my life, had to let go or die and 0:34:02.927,0:34:04.681 what was left? 0:34:04.681,0:34:07.951 What was left [br]when there was no doer 0:34:07.951,0:34:10.874 when there was no meditator 0:34:10.874,0:34:15.142 meditating or doing something [br]called, meditation, 0:34:15.261,0:34:19.623 what was left was my true nature 0:34:19.623,0:34:21.442 or me... just me. 0:34:21.442,0:34:25.980 When we awaken from this small, separate[br]sense of self, it's 0:34:25.980,0:34:29.165 not that we're killing the ego 0:34:29.266,0:34:32.293 or we're fighting it. 0:34:32.513,0:34:36.720 It's actually we're allowing it[br]to semi retire 0:34:36.885,0:34:39.885 from its job of ego identity 0:34:40.012,0:34:42.861 and then relax to be part 0:34:42.861,0:34:46.381 of our team, part of our consciousness. 0:34:47.097,0:34:50.447 And this gives us a sense [br]of freedom immediately 0:34:50.447,0:34:54.233 that we're not looking at the world[br]through a small lens, 0:34:54.233,0:34:58.983 that we're we're open[br]hearted and open minded in a way that's 0:35:00.711,0:35:06.403 expansive and yet at the same time,[br]more intimately connected. 0:35:06.728,0:35:10.430 Enlightenment is not about [br]becoming awakened. 0:35:10.430,0:35:12.632 Nobody becomes awakened [br]or enlightened. 0:35:12.632,0:35:17.102 It's a recognition of the light,[br]the light of pure knowing 0:35:17.281,0:35:19.365 whose nature is peace and happiness 0:35:19.365,0:35:21.927 that we always and already are. 0:35:26.624,0:35:31.114 My name is Lisa Natoli,[br]and I'm known as a spiritual teacher. 0:35:31.239,0:35:34.928 I teach about healing and awakening[br]and transformation. 0:35:34.928,0:35:39.042 Awakening[br]is the recognition of your true nature, 0:35:39.413,0:35:44.982 and it's the realization of what[br]you really are, which is consciousness. 0:35:45.207,0:35:49.915 And consciousness is just one word[br]for many words that people use 0:35:50.148,0:35:55.927 for awareness, life, love, God, 0:35:56.529,0:35:58.114 light. 0:35:59.133,0:36:04.519 So waking up to the recognition[br]that I'm not this body 0:36:04.863,0:36:09.166 that I am, that which never dies[br]and that which is never born, 0:36:13.107,0:36:16.256 and that was a very difficult idea for me. 0:36:16.256,0:36:19.549 I've been on a spiritual path since 1992. 0:36:19.677,0:36:22.295 I started with A Course in Miracles. 0:36:22.295,0:36:24.918 I always studied it religiously. 0:36:24.918,0:36:28.603 I mean, I was someone who was [br]so committed to knowing the 0:36:28.603,0:36:35.118 Self, knowing God, waking up.[br]... I couldn't get it, 0:36:35.524,0:36:37.509 because I was under the belief 0:36:37.509,0:36:40.701 that awakening was something mystical, 0:36:40.996,0:36:45.257 that something would happen,[br]that something would occur, 0:36:45.703,0:36:48.616 and it would be like Jesus 0:36:48.616,0:36:51.950 or Buddha[br]or all of these enlightened masters 0:36:52.460,0:36:54.670 and it wasn't happening for me. 0:36:54.670,0:36:56.339 I couldn't understand why. 0:36:56.505,0:37:00.309 Why am I so committed 0:37:01.029,0:37:06.696 and I'm having deep moments of peace and[br]happiness and joy... and still struggling. 0:37:06.959,0:37:09.988 I started to realize the simplicity 0:37:10.061,0:37:13.213 of our true nature, which is awareness. 0:37:13.932,0:37:18.932 So for someone who's listening to me[br]right now, 0:37:19.495,0:37:24.720 the awareness that's hearing this voice,[br]that's what we are. 0:37:25.484,0:37:29.375 And it doesn't have a location,[br]it doesn't have a gender, 0:37:29.583,0:37:32.608 it doesn't have a color,[br]it doesn't have a body, 0:37:33.042,0:37:36.141 and it's totally unlimited. 0:37:36.587,0:37:40.490 So awakening is where we wake up 0:37:40.841,0:37:43.585 to our true nature. 0:37:43.605,0:37:47.598 We wake up to the realization[br]that I am the awareness 0:37:47.974,0:37:52.586 of this experience right now[br]as I'm here. 0:37:53.020,0:37:54.965 And it's so ordinary 0:37:54.965,0:37:56.790 we miss it. 0:37:56.357,0:37:59.251 We think it can't be that simple. 0:37:59.661,0:38:01.657 The recognition of our true nature, 0:38:01.917,0:38:04.029 it doesn't lead to happiness. 0:38:04.144,0:38:07.576 It is happiness... the nature of being 0:38:07.876,0:38:10.121 is happiness itself. 0:38:10.731,0:38:15.032 So the recognition of our true[br]nature is the experience of happiness. 0:38:21.121,0:38:23.769 Who is aware in this moment? 0:38:24.635,0:38:26.301 The mind will 0:38:26.301,0:38:29.244 look for something,[br]or try to complicate it. 0:38:30.255,0:38:32.449 You already are 0:38:32.449,0:38:37.331 that which the mind is looking for. 0:38:37.331,0:38:39.528 The mind will always miss it. 0:38:40.340,0:38:43.046 So don't look to the mind for an answer. 0:38:43.815,0:38:46.001 Don't push away your thoughts 0:38:46.001,0:38:49.535 and don't get caught in the thoughts. 0:38:49.535,0:38:54.665 Simply let go of the interest[br]or attachment to thoughts, ideas 0:38:55.124,0:38:57.084 and beliefs. 0:38:58.283,0:39:01.315 Intend to directly experience 0:39:01.315,0:39:04.125 who you are. 0:39:05.075,0:39:09.793 Don't try to negate the mind[br]or to achieve some state. 0:39:10.889,0:39:13.874 All doing, all manipulation, 0:39:13.874,0:39:17.812 all movement is more controlling[br]by the mind. 0:39:18.645,0:39:24.463 Allow the mind to be as it is. 0:39:28.493,0:39:32.569 Sometimes people can awaken[br]just in day to day life. 0:39:32.569,0:39:35.549 They don't necessarily need practice. 0:39:35.677,0:39:40.222 So sometimes things will happen in life[br]where there's an interrupt 0:39:40.222,0:39:45.345 in the pattern of you.[br]And there can be a spontaneous awakening. 0:39:45.575,0:39:50.054 But if someone's life is just going on[br]in a kind of robotic pattern 0:39:50.054,0:39:52.971 or repetitive pattern, then 0:39:53.140,0:39:56.756 some sort of intervention is necessary. 0:39:56.756,0:40:03.613 if one is called to awakening[br]and that interrupt in the pattern of you 0:40:03.661,0:40:07.428 is sometimes called sadhana[br]or spiritual practice. 0:40:07.571,0:40:10.812 And these practices are always 0:40:10.991,0:40:12.801 conditioned. 0:40:12.801,0:40:15.954 Thet are something that we learn[br]with the conditioned mind. 0:40:16.041,0:40:20.191 So they can make it more likely[br]for awakening to happen, 0:40:20.302,0:40:24.080 sort of by loosening the bonds[br]within the self structure. 0:40:24.159,0:40:29.110 Sometimes they say[br]that awakening happens by accident, 0:40:29.269,0:40:32.172 but the practice makes you more accident[br]prone. 0:40:32.964,0:40:36.546 The techniques,[br]the practices can be very useful 0:40:36.838,0:40:39.321 to make you more accident prone. 0:40:39.321,0:40:43.316 But then at a certain point[br]have to be let go. 0:40:43.524,0:40:48.490 Because if the mind[br]is continuously doing some practice 0:40:48.490,0:40:51.386 or some thing, then the mind has 0:40:51.386,0:40:55.041 the reins, mind is in the driver's seat. 0:40:55.207,0:40:59.146 So the practices are useful, very useful 0:40:59.146,0:41:03.855 as steppingstones[br]for making the self structure, 0:41:03.855,0:41:08.441 you can say less dense[br]or enlightening up the self structure 0:41:08.582,0:41:11.863 so that it becomes more permeable 0:41:11.913,0:41:14.279 to our true nature. 0:41:16.419,0:41:20.935 The paradox with practice[br]is that when you finally awaken, 0:41:21.041,0:41:23.982 you realize that all of the practices 0:41:24.510,0:41:26.797 were being done by the false self, 0:41:27.216,0:41:30.769 the character in the VR game,[br]and that YOU, 0:41:30.769,0:41:34.515 the true self, was never bound. 0:41:35.905,0:41:39.481 All you have to do[br]is give up the preferences of the ego, 0:41:40.340,0:41:43.704 to give up the fixation on things. 0:41:44.366,0:41:49.644 Anything within the field of changing[br]phenomena is not the true self, 0:41:50.352,0:41:54.349 the you that you think you are, the you[br]that you've always been 0:41:54.349,0:41:57.178 identified with will never awaken 0:41:57.477,0:42:00.195 you awaken from that character. 0:42:00.632,0:42:04.844 You awaken from the delusion[br]that you were this conditioned character. 0:42:04.956,0:42:08.597 So when people come to these[br]retreats, they think this 0:42:08.597,0:42:13.106 "I" this little "me" is going to awaken,[br]some great thing is going to happen. 0:42:13.178,0:42:16.283 But at a certain point,[br]that little me will never do it. 0:42:16.283,0:42:18.743 It has to give up, it has to fail. 0:42:18.805,0:42:20.849 And it's only in that failure 0:42:20.901,0:42:27.208 we realize who we are, that we've always[br]been aware, we've always been present. 0:42:27.340,0:42:30.991 We just got hooked into this character[br]and we believed 0:42:30.991,0:42:33.181 we were that. 0:42:43.501,0:42:49.714 I started my spiritual search[br]in the classical Advaita Vedanta 0:42:50.425,0:42:52.947 tradition, which was a devotional path 0:42:53.236,0:42:56.938 that involved mantra meditation, 0:42:56.938,0:43:00.780 which I practiced[br]very diligently for 20 years. 0:43:00.878,0:43:04.123 And mantra meditation involves 0:43:04.789,0:43:07.969 focusing your attention on a sound 0:43:09.084,0:43:11.338 and then gradually the sound fades. 0:43:11.818,0:43:16.310 However, it was really when [br]I came in touch 0:43:16.509,0:43:18.909 with the direct path that 0:43:19.177,0:43:25.662 my spiritual search[br]really reached its culmination. 0:43:25.957,0:43:29.356 Because in this direct approach, 0:43:29.356,0:43:34.303 we don't give our attention to any object,[br]however subtle, 0:43:34.352,0:43:38.057 for instance, a mantra, a sound, [br]the breath, 0:43:38.346,0:43:42.120 we allow our attention to sink inwards 0:43:42.120,0:43:44.696 or backwards into its source. 0:43:45.894,0:43:47.976 Let's use an analogy. 0:43:48.786,0:43:52.368 Imagine that you are watching your life[br]on a television screen. 0:43:52.606,0:43:55.775 You are identified with the character[br]on the screen. 0:43:56.728,0:43:58.303 Day after day, 0:43:58.303,0:44:02.522 year after year you are involved[br]with the story of the character 0:44:02.724,0:44:06.214 when suddenly you wake up out of the story 0:44:06.469,0:44:09.744 to notice the screen[br]on which the character appears 0:44:10.053,0:44:14.045 and you realize you are not the character[br]you've been watching. 0:44:14.789,0:44:17.565 Objects can come and go on the screen. 0:44:18.046,0:44:20.248 Characters come and go, 0:44:20.248,0:44:22.765 but the screen remains unchanged. 0:44:23.345,0:44:25.525 The character can get wet, 0:44:25.525,0:44:30.672 but the screen does not get wet.[br]The character can be disturbed, 0:44:30.672,0:44:33.045 but the screen is not disturbed. 0:44:33.695,0:44:36.932 Without the screen,[br]the characters would not exist, 0:44:37.851,0:44:40.184 yet screen goes unnoticed. 0:44:40.273,0:44:43.414 The characters go about their scripted[br]lives. 0:44:44.654,0:44:47.020 Awareness is like the screen. 0:44:47.437,0:44:50.176 It is like the space[br]in which all thoughts, 0:44:50.300,0:44:54.329 motions, all states of consciousness[br]come and go. 0:44:55.542,0:44:57.673 Thoughts, sensations 0:44:57.673,0:45:03.017 and the entire outside world[br]appear on the screen, constantly changing. 0:45:03.268,0:45:06.075 But the screen does not change. 0:45:07.505,0:45:13.918 It's the mind that changes states[br]through the human experience. 0:45:14.043,0:45:18.563 But there's something, that what you are,[br]that remains. 0:45:18.697,0:45:21.576 Something that is ever present, 0:45:21.638,0:45:25.092 that is aware of those changing states 0:45:25.280,0:45:28.878 and that is consciousness[br]or our true nature. 0:45:29.212,0:45:32.914 As long as there is attachment[br]to a character on the screen, 0:45:33.178,0:45:37.319 a sense that I am that character,[br]then there will be suffering; 0:45:37.430,0:45:40.695 maya the illusion of the self. 0:45:41.983,0:45:44.320 Nothing you can do as the dream 0:45:44.320,0:45:49.048 character will help to free you.[br]Whether you follow the script 0:45:49.048,0:45:52.275 in the drama of your life[br]or rebel against the script, 0:45:52.340,0:45:55.546 if you act from the point of view[br]of the character, 0:45:55.617,0:45:57.937 then you're caught in the illusion. 0:45:58.855,0:46:00.378 To awaken, 0:46:00.378,0:46:04.835 stop identifying[br]with what appears on the screen. 0:46:05.955,0:46:08.806 Recognize that it is all impermanent. 0:46:09.115,0:46:13.976 Stop reacting to thoughts[br]and treating the program as real. 0:46:14.317,0:46:17.733 If I withdraw attention from the screen,[br]turning awareness 0:46:17.733,0:46:22.130 towards itself,[br]an unfathomable thing happens. 0:46:22.924,0:46:26.635 Awareness itself wakes up. 0:46:27.785,0:46:30.037 This is not a happening. 0:46:30.697,0:46:33.496 Happening is what happens on the screen. 0:46:34.461,0:46:37.320 Awakening is just recognizing the screen 0:46:37.320,0:46:39.812 that was always already there. 0:46:41.396,0:46:43.785 Do not believe your next thought 0:46:44.934,0:46:49.615 instead, turn awareness [br]towards awareness itself. 0:47:00.982,0:47:03.646 I have always been myself. 0:47:03.646,0:47:07.410 My sense of my self runs[br]throughout my life. 0:47:07.410,0:47:10.915 It remains[br]consistently present throughout my life. 0:47:11.688,0:47:13.548 What is present in me now, 0:47:13.548,0:47:16.819 that was present yesterday,[br]last year, ten years ago, 0:47:16.819,0:47:20.017 and when I was a two year old child? 0:47:21.227,0:47:23.997 What is this essential "I" or self 0:47:24.934,0:47:27.802 to whom all my experience happens? 0:47:28.715,0:47:31.115 The recognition 0:47:31.115,0:47:35.473 of the nature of that one[br]is the great secret to life. 0:47:35.473,0:47:37.857 It is the direct path to peace 0:47:37.857,0:47:42.655 and happiness. It is not something[br]that a person initiates. 0:47:43.941,0:47:47.288 It's something that a person recognizes. 0:47:48.419,0:47:50.239 To re-cognize. 0:47:50.239,0:47:52.744 That is to know, again. 0:47:53.653,0:47:55.829 What we've known from the beginning 0:47:55.829,0:48:00.570 but is simply forgotten, or denied[br]or failed to believe. 0:48:00.669,0:48:03.925 So we cannot initiate closeness to God. 0:48:03.964,0:48:09.809 We can simply recognize,[br]to recognize that it's always been there 0:48:10.095,0:48:12.687 and will always be there. 0:48:12.687,0:48:17.403 It was only this direct pointing[br]to awakening, 0:48:17.403,0:48:22.126 this opening to what's already[br]here that allowed me to find 0:48:22.858,0:48:24.295 a new way of 0:48:24.295,0:48:27.231 being- a new stage of development. 0:48:27.372,0:48:33.821 Many people think it's[br]a very impossible or out of reach goal 0:48:33.821,0:48:38.620 to know the self, and my own 0:48:38.815,0:48:42.887 sort of purpose as a teacher,[br]just because of my own awakening, 0:48:42.887,0:48:48.256 has really been wanting to make it[br]very practical, very down to Earth. 0:48:48.256,0:48:52.276 I love to teach people, it's[br]available to everyone. 0:48:52.441,0:48:56.595 If we believe and feel 0:48:56.728,0:49:00.483 that we are a temporary,[br]finite, separate self, 0:49:00.604,0:49:03.673 we are, whether we know it or not, 0:49:04.110,0:49:06.669 searching for peace and happiness. 0:49:06.669,0:49:10.059 In other words,[br]it's not possible to be a separate self, 0:49:10.079,0:49:14.907 to feel oneself as a separate self[br]and not be in search of happiness. 0:49:15.463,0:49:17.693 So what is required 0:49:17.693,0:49:21.836 in this case is to reorientate[br]one's search for happiness, 0:49:21.836,0:49:25.426 instead of seeking for happiness[br]in the objective content of experience, 0:49:25.823,0:49:27.771 to seek happiness in oneself. 0:49:28.421,0:49:31.576 So the spiritual practice that is required 0:49:32.270,0:49:36.614 is to direct one's attention[br]or more accurately, 0:49:36.614,0:49:41.058 to relax one's attention into its source, 0:49:42.303,0:49:45.536 pure awareness, rather than directed[br]towards 0:49:45.605,0:49:49.208 an object substance[br]activity or relationship, and so on. 0:49:49.936,0:49:53.995 So the spiritual practice,[br]if we can call it a practice, 0:49:54.255,0:49:57.145 would be this relaxing 0:49:57.208,0:50:00.914 of the attention,[br]this subsidence of the attention 0:50:01.504,0:50:04.126 into the heart of awareness, 0:50:05.056,0:50:07.666 resting in being as being. 0:50:08.633,0:50:10.160 Love. 0:50:10.621,0:50:12.718 Pure love is my true self. 0:50:13.298,0:50:15.095 It's my true nature. 0:50:15.725,0:50:18.252 Pure love for everyone and everything, 0:50:18.473,0:50:20.892 for every aspect of life. 0:50:20.892,0:50:24.745 Even those things with which I disagree. 0:50:25.361,0:50:29.545 For one who has recognized the nature[br]of their being, they know their being 0:50:29.837,0:50:33.404 as the the source of the peace 0:50:33.404,0:50:36.385 and happiness for which they long. 0:50:37.316,0:50:41.614 So the world no longer becomes the place 0:50:41.614,0:50:45.695 in which they seek[br]happiness, seek fulfillment. 0:50:45.695,0:50:49.095 Doesn't mean to say that such a person[br]no longer has desires, 0:50:49.337,0:50:53.691 but the desires are not there[br]to fulfill the sense of lack 0:50:54.410,0:50:57.971 that is characteristic of the separate[br]self. 0:50:58.693,0:51:02.111 As such,[br]a person has found the source of happiness 0:51:02.111,0:51:07.433 within themselves and their desires[br]come from that sense of happiness. 0:51:07.554,0:51:09.832 They do not go towards it. 0:51:09.832,0:51:12.580 For instance,[br]in the realm of relationship, 0:51:12.580,0:51:15.433 it makes a big difference[br]to our relationships. 0:51:15.433,0:51:17.730 We no longer seek an other 0:51:18.556,0:51:22.260 to fulfill the needs of our self. 0:51:23.069,0:51:25.321 We seek another to share 0:51:25.540,0:51:28.327 the experience of happiness[br]that we already have. 0:51:28.327,0:51:32.118 And this relieves our[br]our friends of the impossible burden 0:51:32.265,0:51:36.229 of providing happiness for a voracious, 0:51:36.760,0:51:39.855 unsatisfied self. 0:51:40.234,0:51:42.484 Nothing occurs in my life 0:51:43.214,0:51:47.339 that is has not brought me[br]benefit or will not bring me benefit 0:51:47.425,0:51:51.902 in the sense that every moment,[br]every activity, every outcome 0:51:52.275,0:51:55.028 moves me forward 0:51:55.028,0:51:57.830 in the process[br]of the evolution of my soul. 0:51:57.922,0:52:01.118 And that's why I came here[br]to the physical realm, 0:52:01.118,0:52:04.873 to evolve. 0:52:11.037,0:52:13.963 Remain open. 0:52:13.963,0:52:16.522 Feel your inner aliveness, 0:52:16.522,0:52:20.011 letting energy circulate freely. 0:52:20.671,0:52:24.388 Don't try to make anything happen. 0:52:25.638,0:52:28.562 Who is aware of that energy, 0:52:29.103,0:52:32.109 that inner aliveness? 0:52:36.269,0:52:40.693 Notice the mind's tendency to control[br]and manipulate, 0:52:41.208,0:52:43.229 to get involved. 0:52:44.349,0:52:47.930 Without the use[br]of your memory or language, 0:52:48.699,0:52:51.266 Who are you? 0:52:52.189,0:52:54.777 Beyond the mind and senses, 0:52:55.005,0:52:57.382 who are you? 0:52:57.549,0:53:03.994 Who is aware? 0:53:18.124,0:53:21.605 Many people who are hearing these ideas[br]for the first time, 0:53:21.605,0:53:25.419 they've never even heard this idea[br]of the self. 0:53:25.838,0:53:28.847 In my mind,[br]there's two different camps of people. 0:53:28.847,0:53:32.864 There are those who are on a spiritual[br]path and they have heard this idea. 0:53:32.864,0:53:36.321 They're trying to reach the self,[br]they're trying to be the self. 0:53:36.321,0:53:38.663 They're seeking, they're searching. 0:53:38.915,0:53:42.450 And then there's other people[br]who have just been living their life. 0:53:42.450,0:53:44.938 They've never heard of these ideas before. 0:53:45.017,0:53:47.154 They've never heard of Know Thyself. 0:53:47.154,0:53:51.245 Many people think[br]know thyself means know the body, 0:53:51.245,0:53:54.043 know yourself, be yourself,[br]be authentic. 0:53:54.208,0:53:59.927 What it really means, to know[br]thyself is to know what you are, 0:53:59.927,0:54:03.768 to know what you are in truth[br]and to really know your true nature. 0:54:03.831,0:54:07.366 The words know thySelf were carved 0:54:07.535,0:54:11.789 on the entrance of the Temple of[br]Apollo in Delphi, and as such 0:54:12.740,0:54:18.248 stand as an invitation that the dawn[br]of Western civilization to humanity, 0:54:18.456,0:54:23.023 suggesting that to Know Thyself[br]is really the foundation 0:54:23.354,0:54:26.319 of all civilization. Why? 0:54:26.734,0:54:31.972 Because our Self stands at the center[br]of all our experience. 0:54:32.126,0:54:37.240 Whatever we are experiencing,[br]it is we who are experiencing it. 0:54:37.495,0:54:40.444 Whatever we think and feel, our thoughts 0:54:40.444,0:54:43.498 and feelings arise on behalf of our Self. 0:54:43.721,0:54:48.593 Whatever activities and relationships[br]we are engaged 0:54:48.593,0:54:54.380 in, we engage those activities[br]and relationships in service of our Self. 0:54:54.541,0:54:59.667 So our Self stands[br]at the center of our experience. 0:54:59.840,0:55:05.329 So what could be more important[br]than to know the nature of our Self, 0:55:06.052,0:55:09.036 and would it be possible 0:55:09.616,0:55:12.189 to know the nature of anything else 0:55:12.189,0:55:16.747 if we do not first know the nature of that[br]which knows it? 0:55:17.029,0:55:19.680 I think awakening is 0:55:20.519,0:55:23.382 about ending the nightmare 0:55:23.854,0:55:26.740 and stepping into the dream. 0:55:27.490,0:55:29.500 By that I mean 0:55:30.122,0:55:33.431 we desert or[br]finally abandon the nightmare of what 0:55:33.431,0:55:38.649 we've been told about life, about God,[br]and about ourselves. 0:55:38.649,0:55:41.622 And we step into the dream[br]of our grandest notion. 0:55:42.479,0:55:46.458 I often ask,[br]What do you think your life would be like 0:55:46.791,0:55:50.259 if you found yourself[br]stepping into the highest 0:55:50.259,0:55:54.845 grandest, most wonderful thought[br]you ever had about God, and about life 0:55:55.060,0:55:57.536 and about yourself. 0:55:57.536,0:56:02.804 So this recognition of our true nature[br]is not only the recognition 0:56:02.804,0:56:07.724 that brings our desire[br]for happiness in the world to an end. 0:56:07.985,0:56:11.278 It is also the recognition that enables us 0:56:11.278,0:56:16.493 to live in a way[br]that is consistent with the understanding 0:56:16.493,0:56:21.954 that at the deepest level,[br]everything and everyone, are one. 0:56:22.962,0:56:25.175 This understanding would bring 0:56:25.175,0:56:28.344 kindness, compassion, justice, 0:56:28.447,0:56:32.952 tolerance, understanding into our society. 0:56:33.828,0:56:35.976 Our society would be revolutionized 0:56:35.976,0:56:37.747 by this understanding. 0:56:39.488,0:56:42.564 As humanity lets go of ego[br]based approaches, 0:56:42.715,0:56:45.792 then science, religion, politics 0:56:45.792,0:56:50.198 and economics[br]start to reflect the perennial wisdom. 0:56:50.758,0:56:53.838 Whether it is the native traditions[br]who realize 0:56:53.838,0:56:56.028 Great Spirit in all things, 0:56:56.121,0:57:00.333 or the Egyptian/Kemetic traditions[br]who describe the human 0:57:00.333,0:57:03.711 evolutionary journey from the lowly scarab 0:57:04.045,0:57:06.631 to the one source, 0:57:06.881,0:57:08.383 or when we hear the words 0:57:08.383,0:57:11.261 of the mystics of the Christian, Hindu, 0:57:11.594,0:57:13.847 Muslim, or Buddhist traditions, 0:57:14.681,0:57:19.060 or the teachings of Plato and Plotinus[br]we find that 0:57:19.060,0:57:24.816 those who have realized their true nature[br]speak of groupings of conscious agents. 0:57:25.400,0:57:28.611 Of course,[br]they used the language of their culture 0:57:28.611,0:57:32.407 and times[br]to express the one perennial truth. 0:57:33.491,0:57:34.659 Science is now 0:57:34.659,0:57:38.830 starting to see[br]not a world of unconscious particles 0:57:38.830,0:57:41.916 and fields, but a universe made of 0:57:41.916,0:57:44.711 conscious agents. 0:57:44.919,0:57:48.631 Something new is emerging[br]in the world of science. 0:57:49.674,0:57:52.302 As Nikola Tesla said, 0:57:52.302,0:57:57.140 the day science begins to study[br]nonphysical phenomena, 0:57:57.140,0:57:59.976 it will make more progress in one decade 0:58:00.560,0:58:04.147 than in all the previous centuries[br]of its existence. 0:58:06.024,0:58:14.908 That day is today. 0:58:14.908,0:58:18.161 Every time that we've had[br]a mathematically precise advance 0:58:18.161,0:58:21.623 in science,[br]it has opened up new technologies 0:58:22.123,0:58:25.668 that look like magic compared[br]to what we had before. 0:58:25.919,0:58:29.923 So my feeling is that this theory[br]of conscious agents beyond spacetime 0:58:30.965,0:58:33.426 will give us technologies 0:58:33.426,0:58:35.553 that will be truly mind boggling. 0:58:36.012,0:58:37.263 For example, 0:58:37.722,0:58:41.476 right now,[br]most of the galaxies that we see, 0:58:41.809,0:58:44.145 I think 97% of the galaxies that we see, 0:58:44.437,0:58:49.317 we can never go to. They are receding from us[br]faster than the speed of light. 0:58:50.026,0:58:52.403 So they're not moving through space[br]faster than the speed of light. 0:58:52.403,0:58:55.657 Space itself is expanding so quickly[br]that they're 0:58:56.282,0:58:58.785 moving away from us[br]is greater than the speed of light. 0:58:58.785,0:59:00.954 So we could never travel through space 0:59:00.954,0:59:03.915 to go to 97% of the galaxies[br]that we can see. 0:59:04.249,0:59:07.085 So there's all this real estate out there[br]that's waving at us and saying, hi, 0:59:07.085,0:59:09.462 we're out here[br]and you can never come to us. 0:59:09.462,0:59:11.589 That's if you go through spacetime. 0:59:11.589,0:59:14.717 But what if you realize that spacetime[br]is just your headset? 0:59:15.301,0:59:17.595 It's just the format of a game 0:59:18.513,0:59:20.890 and you're not stuck inside the headset. 0:59:20.890,0:59:26.104 You can play with the software[br]that's running the game. 0:59:26.104,0:59:30.191 So it's like someone who's like in Grand[br]Theft Auto, you're a 0:59:30.191,0:59:31.484 Wizard of Grand Theft Auto, 0:59:32.652,0:59:33.403 so you know how to use the 0:59:33.403,0:59:36.281 car and drive the roads[br]and you can beat everybody in the game. 0:59:37.282,0:59:40.577 But suppose you actually know the software[br]that runs Grand Theft Auto. 0:59:40.577,0:59:42.704 So you step outside of the Grand Theft[br]Auto headset 0:59:43.121,0:59:44.414 and you can play with the software. 0:59:44.414,0:59:48.084 Well, you can take the gasoline[br]out of the tank of the wizard. 0:59:48.084,0:59:49.877 You can give them a flat tire. 0:59:49.877,0:59:51.546 You can change the geometry of the roads. 0:59:51.546,0:59:53.172 You can do whatever you want to. 0:59:53.172,0:59:56.259 So once we understand[br]our space time headset, 0:59:56.718,0:59:59.679 we won't have to travel[br]to the Andromeda Galaxy 1:00:00.555,1:00:03.308 through space time,[br]which would take us 2.4 million years. 1:00:03.683,1:00:10.481 We can just go around space time. 1:00:10.481,1:00:14.152 I see the world around me as stepping into 1:00:15.194,1:00:15.820 a quieter 1:00:15.820,1:00:19.699 expression and experience[br]of what it means to be human 1:00:20.116,1:00:22.619 and what it means[br]to be an aspect of divinity. 1:00:23.578,1:00:27.290 But I don't think that we have[br]an endless amount of time. 1:00:27.290,1:00:30.001 I get a sense that time is 1:00:30.001,1:00:33.338 running out, that it's now or never time. 1:00:33.796,1:00:35.965 I think we're on the right path. 1:00:35.965,1:00:41.262 I have a sense of optimism[br]that because of the kinds of opportunities 1:00:41.262,1:00:43.389 that we see today in the world[br]to communicate 1:00:44.515,1:00:46.934 powerful and important ideas 1:00:46.934,1:00:49.729 ways that we didn't have even[br]a few years ago 1:00:50.897,1:00:54.734 are creating the possibility[br]that we can get to that place of critical 1:00:54.734,1:00:57.820 mass, that we can reach critical mass 1:00:58.738,1:01:01.240 before our time runs out. 1:01:01.240,1:01:05.286 But we would be mistaken if we think[br]we have an endless amount of time 1:01:06.788,1:01:08.623 on this planet. 1:01:08.665,1:01:10.958 When each individual 1:01:10.958,1:01:14.337 disidentifies[br]from their conditioned character, 1:01:14.921,1:01:18.341 then they're no longer[br]acting as an egoic entity. 1:01:18.883,1:01:22.845 And that brings[br]about a transformation on the planet. 1:01:23.346,1:01:24.722 This brings a new Earth. 1:01:24.722,1:01:28.017 Life as we know it right now[br]on this planet, 1:01:28.976,1:01:31.813 I think we need to make some changes[br]and make them quickly, 1:01:32.563,1:01:35.066 dramatically and radically 1:01:35.066,1:01:37.694 if we want to see the tomorrow[br]for which we've all dreamt. 1:01:38.194,1:01:42.573 So, could this understanding[br]become mainstream in our lifetime? 1:01:42.573,1:01:43.866 Why not? 1:01:43.866,1:01:48.371 Yes. The challenge we have right now is[br]nothing is working, 1:01:49.163,1:01:54.252 and the time has come for us[br]to stand up and say that's true. 1:01:54.252,1:01:56.337 Surely we can do better than this. 1:01:57.088,1:01:58.339 Surely, 1:01:59.841,1:02:02.260 we can expand our understanding[br]of who we are 1:02:02.719,1:02:07.306 and our expression of our true nature. 1:02:07.306,1:02:08.433 We need to pay attention 1:02:09.434,1:02:10.810 to our environment, 1:02:10.810,1:02:13.312 to our politics, to our economics, 1:02:14.313,1:02:17.525 and to our spiritual process[br]on this planet. 1:02:19.360,1:02:22.405 Because the problem in the world[br]today is not a political problem. 1:02:23.322,1:02:25.867 It's not an economic problem. 1:02:25.867,1:02:28.995 It's not a social problem. 1:02:28.995,1:02:33.166 It's a spiritual problem. 1:02:33.166,1:02:35.168 It has to do with how committed we are 1:02:35.168,1:02:41.215 with stepping into the highest[br]spiritual truths. 1:02:41.215,1:02:44.886 This is not New Age philosophy. 1:02:44.886,1:02:47.096 These ideas have been around 1:02:47.096,1:02:54.145 for thousands of years. 1:02:54.145,1:02:57.398 The perennial wisdom has been expressed[br]through 1:02:57.398,1:03:01.861 countless traditions and cultures[br]and like awareness 1:03:01.861,1:03:05.656 itself, has always been hidden[br]in plain view. 1:03:07.116,1:03:08.743 In Christianity, 1:03:08.743,1:03:12.038 the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas contains 1:03:12.038,1:03:14.874 direct pointers to our true nature. 1:03:15.958,1:03:20.838 The disciples asked Jesus,[br]When will the kingdom come? 1:03:20.838,1:03:24.383 Jesus said,[br]It will not come by waiting for it. 1:03:25.051,1:03:30.223 It will not be a matter of saying,[br]Here it is, or there it is. 1:03:30.223,1:03:33.559 Rather,[br]the kingdom of the father is spread out 1:03:33.559,1:03:36.646 upon the earth and people do not see it. 1:03:38.397,1:03:39.649 The Kingdom 1:03:39.649,1:03:44.529 is not here or there. Awareness is not here[br]or there. 1:03:45.238,1:03:48.950 It is not fixed in time and space. 1:03:48.950,1:03:51.494 If you are waiting for something to happen 1:03:52.036,1:03:56.666 for some outward event or some state,[br]some ascension, 1:03:57.083,1:03:59.794 some healing or some energy, then 1:03:59.794,1:04:02.839 your conditioned mind is still seeking. 1:04:03.256,1:04:06.300 It is still mediating your experience 1:04:06.300,1:04:07.969 of the now. 1:04:09.387,1:04:11.973 in Buddhism they say samsara, 1:04:12.265,1:04:15.309 the world of suffering and nirvana, 1:04:15.768,1:04:20.231 the world of liberation[br]are not two separate worlds. 1:04:21.065,1:04:24.026 They are one and the same. 1:04:24.026,1:04:26.654 We don't manipulate or change things 1:04:26.863,1:04:29.740 to arrive at some mystical reality. 1:04:30.700,1:04:35.413 When we awaken,[br]the perfection of the world is revealed 1:04:35.872,1:04:43.087 directly, as it is. 1:04:43.087,1:04:48.551 Is it possible to simply be here[br]and now in this moment, 1:04:48.551,1:04:53.556 unmediated by that seeking mind? 1:04:53.556,1:04:58.394 Is it possible to be okay[br]with this moment as it is? 1:05:01.439,1:05:02.899 To simply be.