Dharma Talk: Living in the World with Your Heart Undisturbed | Dr. Larry Ward
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0:03 - 0:14(Bell sounds twice)
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0:15 - 0:18How wonderful to be together. Gesundheit.
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0:19 - 0:21That was Larry, with a sneeze.
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0:22 - 0:24Lets start out by getting here.
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0:25 - 0:27How was your day, huh?
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0:27 - 0:30Find your place on your chair right now.
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0:30 - 0:34Let's start out with a little bit
of vagal nerve connecting with -
0:34 - 0:37so maybe we can just
warm up our hands as we settle in -
0:37 - 0:41and how was our day?
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0:42 - 0:43Hello body.
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0:43 - 0:46I am here, and giving some heat.
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0:47 - 0:54And we're just going to rub our ears
and make little circles towards the top. -
0:56 - 0:58We're going to go both directions
but not pressing -
0:58 - 1:03but just breathing
and making a slow general circle. -
1:09 - 1:12Breathing, settling down.
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1:17 - 1:18Make sure you go both directions.
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1:24 - 1:27Feet on the ground for many of us,
and bum on the chair. -
1:28 - 1:30And then if you can pull your ears,
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1:30 - 1:31just not hurting them,
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1:31 - 1:34but just kinda a
general tug out to the side. -
1:37 - 1:40And all the while
just kinda rubbing the ears. -
1:45 - 1:48My mother had auspicious signed ears.
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1:48 - 1:51One of the signs of a Buddha
is these really long lobes. -
1:53 - 1:55The Vietnamese community loved my mum.
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1:57 - 2:00She didn't have to do anything
except have her ears, -
2:00 - 2:02so I always think of her ears
when I do this. -
2:04 - 2:06I didn't get the
full auspicious sign myself. -
2:08 - 2:09Yeah, so just rubbing those ears.
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2:10 - 2:12And let's go back
and rub our hands a little bit. -
2:12 - 2:16We're going to put our hands over our eyes
and do at least three breaths. -
2:30 - 2:34And then moving your hands over your jaw,
same thing, at least three breaths. -
2:40 - 2:43Kids I work with
call this the "oh my position". -
2:45 - 2:47But for us,
really feel the warmth on our jaw. -
2:52 - 2:54Then moving our hands to our heart.
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3:04 - 3:08Let's move one hand to the belly
and one stays on the heart, -
3:08 - 3:10with a tilting posture.
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3:27 - 3:29We're going to do that again.
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3:29 - 3:31At least three breaths over the eyes.
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3:34 - 3:37And just notice, what you might notice,
is your body settles. -
3:44 - 3:47And we can talk to our vagus nerve:
"Hello vagus nerve". -
3:52 - 3:55And then the jaw,
back to the "oh my". -
4:09 - 4:11And then the heart.
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4:24 - 4:26And then one hand on the belly
and one on the heart. -
4:42 - 4:45And then one more time,
hands over the eyes. -
4:50 - 4:52Just sending the energy of light,
of loving kindness, -
4:54 - 4:55giving your eyes a rest.
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5:01 - 5:02And then the jaw.
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5:17 - 5:18And the heart.
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5:29 - 5:31And then the heart and belly.
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5:47 - 5:49Then you might decide
you want to keep your hands there, -
5:49 - 5:52or just take them away just slowly.
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5:53 - 5:55I'm going to keep mine here.
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5:59 - 6:02And then we're just going to
do some more grounding, as we begin. -
6:03 - 6:07Aware of the vertical energy
that runs through our body, Earth to sky. -
6:20 - 6:22Aware of the mid-line of the body.
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6:23 - 6:28And just feeling like your your full height,
even if your seated, -
6:30 - 6:32like your head can touch the clouds.
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6:35 - 6:37Our hearts lift just a little bit.
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6:40 - 6:43Sometimes our shoulders
get reminded to drop. -
6:53 - 6:58And then aware of the horizontal energy,
the side-seams of our body, -
6:59 - 7:01the sides of our feet,
our hips, our shoulders, -
7:08 - 7:10and as you're breathing and tuning in,
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7:10 - 7:13this is what connects us
energetically with each other, -
7:15 - 7:17as we build a beautiful container,
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7:23 - 7:25connects us with people,
animals, plants and minerals, -
7:35 - 7:41and the miraculous beloved community
that came together in this moment. -
7:50 - 7:52And then aware of the depth of our body.
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7:53 - 7:57Helps me just to
tip a little back into my pelvis -
7:57 - 8:02and really connect
with the whole back side of my body. -
8:04 - 8:05Shoulders, spine, bum.
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8:30 - 8:33And now tune in to the whole body,
and the shape of the body, -
8:34 - 8:36the space you take in the room.
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8:56 - 8:58And then asking yourself three questions:
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8:58 - 9:00Do I feel safe?
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9:07 - 9:10And if you don't,
just softly open your eyes and turning a little, -
9:11 - 9:14so you can gaze in every direction.
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9:20 - 9:24Aware of the space you're in and safety.
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9:31 - 9:32Do I feel comfortable?
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9:34 - 9:36Your body will tell you.
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9:47 - 9:48Am I present?
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9:50 - 9:52And that's said again with objectivity,
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9:52 - 9:58not a judgement,
but am I here, right here? -
10:18 - 10:22And then invite your body to relax
and settle even more. -
10:22 - 10:27There's nothing you need to do,
no place to go. -
10:48 - 10:58(Bell sounds twice)
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11:00 - 11:04My pleasure to be with you
for the first time or more. -
11:06 - 11:13I hope you are doing well on this day.
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11:15 - 11:17I want to begin with a poem for you.
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11:20 - 11:21Stardust is falling,
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11:23 - 11:29falling on both the wise and the unwise,
the hopeful and the despondent, -
11:30 - 11:35and yet the forest
outside my door is smiling. -
11:37 - 11:42I remember now, how deep
the ocean of forgetfulness can be. -
11:44 - 11:46I keep being pulled away
from the present moment, -
11:48 - 11:52by my experience
of melancholy about the past, -
11:52 - 11:55or anxiety about the future.
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11:57 - 12:02I realize myself and my journey
to the bottom of this ocean, -
12:02 - 12:07forgetfulness becomes
a holy veil, removed. -
12:08 - 12:10I find the cave of the blue dragon.
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12:12 - 12:15I enter my feelings
of wonder and uncertainty, -
12:16 - 12:18that are there with me.
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12:19 - 12:21I advance in fearlessness.
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12:26 - 12:36Fearlessness, fearlessness,
on the Bodhisattva path. -
12:42 - 12:52This talk this evening
is inspired by the discourse on love -
12:54 - 12:56in the Plum Village chant book.
-
12:56 - 12:59There are other versions of this discourse
throughout Buddhism, -
13:00 - 13:02but this is the one
in the Plum Village chant book, -
13:03 - 13:04which I will read to you now.
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13:07 - 13:10Anyone who wants to attain peace
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13:11 - 13:18should practice being upright, humble,
and capable of using loving speech. -
13:20 - 13:23They will know how to live
simply and happily, -
13:25 - 13:26with senses calmed,
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13:27 - 13:33without being covetous or carried away
by the emotions of the majority. -
13:35 - 13:38Let them not do anything
that would be disapproved of -
13:39 - 13:40by the wise ones.
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13:42 - 13:44And this is what they contemplate:
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13:45 - 13:47may everyone be happy and safe,
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13:48 - 13:50may their hearts be filled with joy,
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13:51 - 13:55may all beings live
in security and in peace, -
13:57 - 14:02beings who are frail or strong,
tall or short, big or small, -
14:03 - 14:08visible or not visible,
near or far away, -
14:08 - 14:11already born or yet to be born.
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14:12 - 14:15May all of them dwell
in perfect tranquility. -
14:19 - 14:21Let no one do harm to anyone.
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14:22 - 14:25Let no one
put the life of anyone in danger. -
14:26 - 14:31Let no one out of anger or ill will
wish anyone any harm. -
14:33 - 14:35Just as a parent
loves and protects their children -
14:35 - 14:37at the risk of their own life,
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14:38 - 14:43we should cultivate boundless love
to offer to all living beings, -
14:45 - 14:47in the entire cosmos.
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14:48 - 14:51We should let our boundless love
pervade the whole universe: -
14:52 - 14:55above, below, and across.
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14:56 - 14:58Our love will know no obstacles.
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14:58 - 15:03Our heart will be absolutely free
from hatred and enmity, -
15:04 - 15:08whether standing or walking,
sitting or lying down, -
15:09 - 15:11as long as we are awake
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15:11 - 15:15we should maintain
this mindfulness of love -
15:15 - 15:17in our own heart.
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15:18 - 15:21This is the noblest way of living.
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15:23 - 15:27Free from wrong views,
greed, and sensual desires, -
15:28 - 15:32living in beauty,
and realizing perfect understanding. -
15:33 - 15:40Those who practice boundless love
will certainly transcend birth and death. -
15:46 - 15:52So this talk, each talk organizes itself,
however it wants, -
15:52 - 15:54the same as like writing a poem.
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15:54 - 15:56So I just kind of
follow what's happening, -
15:56 - 16:00and this talk organized itself
in to twelve points, -
16:01 - 16:03so that was interesting to me.
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16:04 - 16:09And so I'll just get right to it,
with one overarching statement of context. -
16:12 - 16:18The kind of capacity to live in the world
with one's heart undisturbed by the world -
16:20 - 16:27is not a capacity of hiding,
it is a capacity of embracing. -
16:31 - 16:35Not only is the whole word a stage
as has been said before -
16:36 - 16:38but so is our own mind.
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16:40 - 16:43It's a whole stage:
that's the first point to remember, -
16:43 - 16:46and that I'm learning over and over again
to practice with. -
16:46 - 16:55When I encounter any form of media,
information, text, book, -
16:56 - 17:03any incoming data stream
in to my consciousness and in to my body, -
17:04 - 17:05which we need to remember
-
17:05 - 17:08that our data streams
don't just impact our thoughts, -
17:09 - 17:14they impact our neurology,
our hormones, our chemical balances, -
17:17 - 17:20but what I have learned,
after realizing that -
17:25 - 17:28the information I receive
comes from a character on a stage -
17:28 - 17:33in that person's mind,
or that institution's mind, -
17:34 - 17:36and it's important that I remember
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17:36 - 17:42it is my mind meeting that mind,
and that mind meeting my mind. -
17:44 - 17:45Theater.
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17:46 - 17:49If you want to look in to
the deep teachings on this -
17:49 - 17:51you can look at
Thích Nhất Hạnh's master degree -
17:51 - 17:53on Yogachara Buddhism,
-
17:54 - 17:59but it is, in summary it is,
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17:59 - 18:02nothing can happen
without our mind being involved -
18:02 - 18:03(Laughter)
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18:03 - 18:04in the process,
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18:05 - 18:07of what goes out or what comes in.
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18:08 - 18:10It's impossible.
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18:10 - 18:16It's also impossible to attain
some kind of purity in data. -
18:17 - 18:22When I was studying and learning
Sanskrit and Pali to translate sutras, -
18:23 - 18:27I learned that everything
that you're translating -
18:27 - 18:33has already been translated seven times
at least before you get it to translate. -
18:34 - 18:39And so many of us
look at words as if they're solid. -
18:41 - 18:48Our words are full of the universe
and can contain all kinds of energy. -
18:49 - 18:51The second point I want to make
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18:51 - 18:55about how I interact
with data, news, media -
18:55 - 18:58—and I watch the news, every day—
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18:59 - 19:04and it's a discipline for me
to listen to the world. -
19:05 - 19:08Part of my vow to myself has always been,
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19:08 - 19:12before I knew it was a vow,
not to hide from suffering. -
19:13 - 19:15Not mine, and not yours.
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19:17 - 19:20So every day
I take a journey around the planet -
19:20 - 19:22with the news I can find
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19:24 - 19:26and what I've been learning is
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19:28 - 19:31when I am observing someone else's voice
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19:31 - 19:36someone else's pain, celebration,
break through, breakdown, -
19:37 - 19:39presented to me in data form
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19:40 - 19:45it is a chance for me to experience
more knowledge about Larry. -
19:47 - 19:51So I know we've all be conditioned
to think we're listening to the other -
19:52 - 19:56but actually (Laughter)
we're listening to ourselves. -
19:57 - 19:59And so the first thing
about understanding -
20:01 - 20:04how to be undisturbed
with the world and it's nature -
20:05 - 20:14—of a moment of thicketed views,
cacophony of opinion in which we live— -
20:15 - 20:18is to understand it's all mind.
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20:20 - 20:24There's nothing solid there,
unless we think it is. -
20:25 - 20:30It is information: it is a flow of life.
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20:34 - 20:37And the third thing I've been learning
in light of that -
20:37 - 20:39is to be aware of my own agenda.
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20:40 - 20:44When I watch a news program,
or an update on there, or a documentary, -
20:45 - 20:52I have learned how to pay attention
to where that impacts my nervous system. -
20:54 - 20:59The music, the sounds,
the drama, the choreography, -
20:59 - 21:03whether it's a news cast
or a movie or a TV show. -
21:04 - 21:08I pay attention to how it impacts my body.
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21:09 - 21:12That gives me a lot of information,
and what I mean is: -
21:13 - 21:15is my aggression activated
-
21:15 - 21:18when I read or hear
or see this information? -
21:20 - 21:24Is my immobilization,
is my collapse encouraged? -
21:25 - 21:31My body wants to just stop and freeze
when I hear this, read this or see this. -
21:33 - 21:35Do I want to fight?
Do I get aggressive, -
21:37 - 21:44when I encounter this flow of information
coming in to my frame of reference? -
21:47 - 21:53Do I experience peacefulness
when I receive this data? -
21:54 - 21:56—in my body that is.
-
21:56 - 22:05My nervous system remains calm,
remains even, remains solid as a mountain, -
22:05 - 22:08even in the midst
of horrifying information. -
22:11 - 22:12So, to learn to be aware,
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22:13 - 22:18where what I see or hear
is actually my own voice, -
22:19 - 22:23my own pain,
my own suffering, my own confusion. -
22:23 - 22:30So in a question and answer session
with a Hindu master many years ago, -
22:31 - 22:36at the end one student asked
"what do we do about the others?" -
22:37 - 22:40And the master said: "what others?"
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22:41 - 22:43This is how we have to learn to listen,
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22:45 - 22:47not that
there's something out there, -
22:47 - 22:50disconnected from me,
that I have nothing to do with, -
22:51 - 22:54that I'm here to judge,
I'm here to evaluate, -
22:54 - 22:57I'm here to debate,
I'm here to argue with. -
22:58 - 23:00I was asked many years ago
-
23:02 - 23:03—'cause my wife sitting here,
-
23:03 - 23:05she may have
a different story about this— -
23:05 - 23:07but I was asked years ago
-
23:07 - 23:10"why didn't we fight
as often as some couples?" -
23:10 - 23:14and I said because early
we realized we were both wrong! -
23:14 - 23:17(Laughter)
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23:17 - 23:24And we have trouble
coming to terms with our minds, -
23:24 - 23:28and by mind
I mean to include our heart energy. -
23:29 - 23:32In the Buddhist tradition
mind and heart are the same symbols, -
23:33 - 23:35at least in the Chinese version.
-
23:36 - 23:42So this is called—for sutra reference—
practicing with the body, in the body. -
23:44 - 23:48Learning to practice mindfully
with our nervous system: -
23:48 - 23:52how it gets activated,
how we can soothe ourselves, -
23:52 - 23:54how we can calm ourselves,
-
23:54 - 23:57how we can uplift ourselves
without harming ourselves. -
23:58 - 24:00It's just a set of skills.
-
24:00 - 24:03Our ancestors had them,
they're already in our bodies. -
24:04 - 24:05We just need to remember
-
24:05 - 24:09and to retrain ourselves
in our own genius. -
24:10 - 24:17Be aware of your own agenda
when you are listening to others. -
24:19 - 24:22No blame, no judgement, just awareness.
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24:24 - 24:29Be aware of what would be called
"the mind in the mind". -
24:29 - 24:31When you get this information,
-
24:31 - 24:37whether it's watching
the January 6th Committee report, -
24:41 - 24:46or any other piece of information
following this year -
24:47 - 24:49in the US politically
and the years before it, -
24:52 - 24:53pay attention to
-
24:54 - 24:59what seeds or impulses
in your consciousness -
24:59 - 25:01get activated when you listen.
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25:02 - 25:05I haven't got to a point
—where I tell you the truth— -
25:05 - 25:08I could not see Donald Trump's face
without getting activated, -
25:10 - 25:12but I knew I was being activated,
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25:14 - 25:14and so I decided
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25:15 - 25:17I wasn't going to
let that clown activate me. -
25:17 - 25:19(Laughter)
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25:20 - 25:25So we can master our bodies and our minds
if we decide to take charge, -
25:26 - 25:32and not just operate
out of our conditioning or reactivity. -
25:33 - 25:37Every piece of news,
every word or smile, or look, or sound, -
25:38 - 25:45can activate seeds of wholesomeness in us
as well as seeds of unwholesomeness in us, -
25:46 - 25:52as well as neutral seeds,
as well as memory capsules can open, -
25:52 - 25:56and sometimes they are beautiful
and blessed when they open, -
25:56 - 26:02and sometimes we remember pain and agony,
in our bodies and in our minds. -
26:04 - 26:05So understand when you—
-
26:06 - 26:11when I'm listening, I am reading, I'm studying,
I am interacting with my own mind. -
26:15 - 26:15Third
-
26:16 - 26:18—this is number six
if you're keeping a list— -
26:18 - 26:23is something I call society in society.
-
26:24 - 26:26We have got to learn
—or I'm trying to learn— -
26:27 - 26:30how to look at society
from the inside out, -
26:32 - 26:38and for me that means learning to recognize
the patterns of our conditioning: -
26:42 - 26:47learning to recognize the assumptions
that we've been taught about how to live, -
26:47 - 26:55how to date, how to love, how to work,
how to pray, how to celebrate, -
26:56 - 26:59and be aware of those assumptions,
-
27:00 - 27:03and then you can make a choice
about those assumptions. -
27:04 - 27:10But we are so wired for reaction,
we seldom, or not often, reflect. -
27:11 - 27:14I find myself learning to reflect,
to pause, to wait a minute -
27:17 - 27:19and not be in a rush
to come up with a response. -
27:21 - 27:23That's very important.
-
27:24 - 27:26This is true
in your relationships as well, -
27:26 - 27:30'cause a relationship
is constant communication, -
27:32 - 27:34and communication's not just what's said.
-
27:34 - 27:40This is the other thing to
—number 6 on sociality—keep in mind, -
27:40 - 27:42when you hear news
about your society, -
27:42 - 27:44societies of the world,
-
27:45 - 27:47pay attention to what is said
-
27:48 - 27:51but especially pay attention
to what's not said. -
27:52 - 27:55Pay attention to whose voice you hear
-
27:55 - 27:58and pay attention
to whose voices you do not hear. -
28:00 - 28:01I saw a—
-
28:01 - 28:05I had a memory capsule open this morning
thinking about a friend of mine. -
28:05 - 28:10We were working together in India
when the Peter projection map came out, -
28:10 - 28:13that actually showed
the true size of Africa and for -
28:13 - 28:14(Laughter)
-
28:15 - 28:19hundreds of years people thought
Africa was the size of, you know, Connecticut. -
28:19 - 28:20(Laughter)
-
28:20 - 28:25and that's information
-
28:26 - 28:34that conditioned thousands of minds
about Africa and its value. -
28:35 - 28:38Don't mis-under estimate
any of these things. -
28:39 - 28:41That's why it's used in advertising
-
28:41 - 28:46and people pay millions of dollars
to have people interact with our minds, -
28:49 - 28:50with their own intent.
-
28:52 - 28:58So always have your agenda,
is what I've learned, and I keep learning, -
28:59 - 29:00always have your agenda.
-
29:02 - 29:05I don't mean a fixed rigid thing,
I mean have an intention. -
29:07 - 29:09I decided to spend some time
-
29:10 - 29:16listening to the interviews of people
who were just at the Wallmart shooting, -
29:18 - 29:27and I spend sever hours just listening
to this woman's agony and pain and tears, -
29:29 - 29:37and I could feel her experience
of not knowing how to be human again. -
29:40 - 29:42That lived the shock of what she saw
-
29:42 - 29:46—she was in the break room—
hiding under the table. -
29:46 - 29:52The shock of what she witnessed
discombobulated her nervous system. -
29:52 - 29:53She could barely speak.
-
29:54 - 29:56Her face was contorted,
-
29:56 - 30:01and I could feel that contortion
inside of myself. -
30:03 - 30:05It was not unfamiliar to me.
-
30:07 - 30:12So the more we can practice
media interactions, -
30:13 - 30:18whether that's a game
or a conversation or a movie -
30:18 - 30:19—all of which I enjoy—
-
30:19 - 30:21or a book
—for god's sake I have too many— -
30:23 - 30:27I am learning over and over again
too about Larry's mind. -
30:28 - 30:31I'm learning what ideas I'm attached to
-
30:31 - 30:33(Laughter)
-
30:33 - 30:35and what ideas I never thought of.
-
30:36 - 30:43I'm learning to pay attention
to the mind of the author -
30:43 - 30:45whose sending me this.
-
30:48 - 30:54And as a person who likes to study
—it's just, I'm neurotic that way, but— -
30:55 - 30:59I learn the author's mind,
not just their words, -
31:01 - 31:04and so they become friends for me.
-
31:04 - 31:07They become mentors,
they become companions. -
31:07 - 31:13And you have books or poems
or people in your mind space and memories -
31:13 - 31:15who do that for you too I know.
-
31:16 - 31:17Remember them.
-
31:20 - 31:23You know our brain is wired such,
is really hard wired such, -
31:23 - 31:28that we can have
a wonderful day for 12 hours -
31:28 - 31:30—wonderful day—
-
31:31 - 31:37and one person, in one car,
with one gesture can ruin it. -
31:38 - 31:41Our brain is wired
to hold on to negativity, -
31:42 - 31:46and it's wired that way
as a safety precaution -
31:46 - 31:47(Laughter)
-
31:48 - 31:49in case you meet that car again
-
31:49 - 31:50(Laughter)
-
31:50 - 31:54So, it's important
—in neuroscience we've discovered that -
31:54 - 32:00it takes, for every negative
unwholesome encounter a person has, -
32:00 - 32:01moment by moment,
-
32:01 - 32:05it takes five wholesome encounters
to re-balance the brain -
32:06 - 32:11in terms of what it remembers
and how it's wired to respond to life. -
32:13 - 32:18So we've been taught
we shouldn't be happy, really, -
32:19 - 32:34we should strive to win, regret losing,
and not find joy in our lives. -
32:36 - 32:38If we do, there's something wrong with us.
-
32:39 - 32:45So you must watch out for the context
of the information that is being given. -
32:47 - 32:49Whats the story behind this?
-
32:49 - 32:53Think of every piece of information
as a visit to the Wizard of Oz, -
32:53 - 32:55(Laughter)
-
32:55 - 32:57and you want to look behind the curtain.
-
32:58 - 32:59We live in a world in which
-
33:01 - 33:08spell-casters and magicians and goblins
all work on the Internet. -
33:10 - 33:11Hello!
-
33:12 - 33:16You can make up anything
and get a group next week to believe it. -
33:18 - 33:21This is how disoriented
our minds have become -
33:21 - 33:25in terms of not being trained
how to handle information, -
33:26 - 33:29in what ever media form
that information may come. -
33:29 - 33:31You know society
-
33:31 - 33:34—I heard a great quote
from Caroline Myss, a few weeks ago— -
33:35 - 33:39society used to change
at the pace of literature, -
33:41 - 33:45society used to change
at the pace of philosophy, -
33:47 - 33:51of theology,
of a new scientific breakthrough, -
33:52 - 33:59and now society is changing
by millions of opinions -
34:00 - 34:06gathered in a neural space online.
-
34:08 - 34:09That's a big shift,
-
34:10 - 34:17and we don't have a collective mechanism
for functioning this way. -
34:18 - 34:21This is why we experience
things being fragmented. -
34:21 - 34:25We don't—we're at a place
we've never been as a human race— -
34:26 - 34:28and part of this is just beautiful
-
34:28 - 34:32because people around the world
are standing up for Iran -
34:32 - 34:33and they're not Iranian,
-
34:36 - 34:43people are standing up
for the women and men in the streets -
34:43 - 34:44with blood and tears.
-
34:47 - 34:51People are standing up
for the protesters in China, -
34:52 - 34:53around the world
-
34:53 - 34:59and holding up blank sheets of paper
representing the desire for free speech. -
35:00 - 35:00So also
-
35:00 - 35:09when you receive information and news
don't get sensationalized about it, -
35:10 - 35:11'cause that's a gimmick.
-
35:12 - 35:16You know, it's like somebody says
"there'll be a train wreck at 12 o'clock" -
35:16 - 35:17(Laughter)
-
35:18 - 35:19"on this corner"
-
35:19 - 35:22and at 12 o'clock
there'll be hundreds of people there, -
35:22 - 35:24waiting to watch the train wreck,
-
35:24 - 35:26whether a train comes or not.
-
35:26 - 35:27We don't have time for that.
-
35:31 - 35:34Remember to look at society
from the inside out. -
35:34 - 35:38What are the archetypes
that are operative in that society? -
35:41 - 35:46And if the rivers don't rise,
my grandmother would say, -
35:46 - 35:47I hope to next year
-
35:47 - 35:53do some work and retreats
on the four core archetypes of Carl Jung -
35:53 - 35:57and relate those to
the hidden forces of social change. -
35:58 - 36:00The anima—animus.
-
36:00 - 36:01Oh boy, we've got to miss
-
36:01 - 36:02(Laughter)
-
36:02 - 36:03we've got miss there.
-
36:04 - 36:07It sounds funny until you see
young men everywhere killing people... -
36:08 - 36:12then you begin to recognize
the imbalance of that archetype. -
36:14 - 36:17We have destroyed the capacity
of some of these young men -
36:17 - 36:20to recognize their own
feminine energy inside -
36:21 - 36:22—if I can use that word—
-
36:23 - 36:26their own soft energy,
their own kind energy, -
36:28 - 36:34and no training in how to handle
anger, or frustration, or fear. -
36:38 - 36:41Also we have to
take a look at the persona -
36:41 - 36:42(Laughter)
-
36:42 - 36:47which really has,
in the last 25 years, become a business. -
36:49 - 36:51Now Hollywood left Hollywood
and came in to the house -
36:51 - 36:58and so now all of us are on TV,
all of us are on a screen. -
36:58 - 37:02We're all in the world
of flat screen consciousness, -
37:03 - 37:04and that means
-
37:04 - 37:08everything on the flat screen
appears of equal value, -
37:09 - 37:10and it's not.
-
37:12 - 37:16This is why discernment
is an important part of spiritual practice. -
37:17 - 37:22Not everything is worthy of
your time, you energy, your thought. -
37:23 - 37:27Use that for your own agenda,
for your own sense of purpose, -
37:27 - 37:30for your own sense of destiny,
-
37:30 - 37:35for your own sense of healing,
and justice, and a better world. -
37:35 - 37:37Don't just waste your energy.
-
37:38 - 37:44So I do look at
a lot of different news reports, on purpose, -
37:44 - 37:47but I make a conscious choice
I'm going to do that, -
37:48 - 37:52and some news reports
I'll only look at for certain reasons, -
37:53 - 37:55to get certain kinds of information.
-
37:55 - 38:00Be selective in what you decide
to invite in to your mind: -
38:01 - 38:04the content
that will come flooding in, -
38:05 - 38:08the emotional energy
that comes flooding in to your mind. -
38:11 - 38:14And if you want to look deeply
in to a topic or an issue -
38:14 - 38:19because it's aligned with your vocation,
or your sense of work in the world, -
38:19 - 38:23or your purpose in life,
do so, -
38:23 - 38:25but look deep.
-
38:27 - 38:30Look in to
the causes and conditions of these things. -
38:31 - 38:34You know, if one is to look at,
for example, -
38:34 - 38:38the reaction going on
in the streets of China, -
38:38 - 38:40the reactions going on in Iran
-
38:41 - 38:44—and these are just two big things
we keep track of— -
38:44 - 38:47but this is going on around the world,
it's going on in Mexico, -
38:47 - 38:50and what is it
that's going on around the world? -
38:50 - 38:54People are rejecting patriarchal ideology.
-
38:56 - 38:57That's what's happening.
-
38:58 - 39:01If you want to know why men are upset,
that's why. -
39:03 - 39:11They're loosing their mind hold
over the planet; loosing a sense of power. -
39:13 - 39:16This is archetypal energy,
it's not just personal, -
39:16 - 39:19and so we have to work
at deeper and deeper levels -
39:20 - 39:25in order to reach places
where we can and are ready to heal. -
39:28 - 39:30A shadow, oh boy.
-
39:30 - 39:31(Laughter)
-
39:33 - 39:36That's a life of work.
-
39:38 - 39:41That's my biggest critique of the world
based on my own experiences, -
39:41 - 39:49the most difficult thing is to admit
that we are not perfect, in a healthy way. -
39:52 - 39:53We have this,
-
39:54 - 39:59what in Buddhism Thích Nhất Hạnh
liked to call the Self Esteem Complex, -
40:00 - 40:03where I am better than you
or you are better than me -
40:03 - 40:04or we are equal
-
40:04 - 40:07or I'm up and you're down
or I'm down and you're up. -
40:08 - 40:12None of that is an adequate description
of the miracle of being a human being -
40:13 - 40:15so we have to just
stop being stupid about it, -
40:17 - 40:20if we are to understand our own wholeness,
-
40:23 - 40:28at least in part enough to create
the nuance of wholeness our planet needs, -
40:29 - 40:32and then that journey will continue
through generations of course. -
40:33 - 40:36We're not the penultimate
-
40:36 - 40:37(Laughter)
-
40:38 - 40:39solution to things,
-
40:39 - 40:50we're not saviors, we are adventurers,
learning how to navigate our inner worlds, -
40:51 - 40:57because I'm convinced learning to navigate
our inner worlds is the work of the future. -
40:58 - 40:59It's certainly the work now,
-
41:00 - 41:03but is the work of the future,
we just don't know it yet. -
41:05 - 41:08We are creatures of 10,000 capacities,
-
41:09 - 41:10and many of us live our whole lives,
-
41:10 - 41:15if we're lucky enough
to live long in this world, -
41:17 - 41:20operating as if
we only have 10 capacities. -
41:23 - 41:26We get trapped in to thinking
everything is material, -
41:27 - 41:29and we forget it is not just material.
-
41:29 - 41:34The universe is not just material,
it's also energetic—it is also energy. -
41:34 - 41:36Don't get trapped
in to the Newtonian paradigm -
41:36 - 41:38that everything is separate
-
41:38 - 41:42and nothing really affects anything else
unless it's in direct physics. -
41:43 - 41:45Everything affects everything.
-
41:45 - 41:48This is part of what
we're experiencing in the world. -
41:48 - 41:49That's why it's crazy.
-
41:50 - 41:51(Laughter)
-
41:51 - 41:56That's why it is
—we don't have a story to hold this. -
42:00 - 42:03We're in a place
we never imagined as a species, -
42:04 - 42:06over the last 200,000 years,
-
42:06 - 42:09but because of the 200,000 years
-
42:09 - 42:15we have within ourselves what we need
to take the next stage of evolution, -
42:16 - 42:19with courage,
which is what this is, people. -
42:20 - 42:25We are in a metamorphosis journey,
we're in the cocoon -
42:25 - 42:26(Laughter)
-
42:26 - 42:30and trying to figure out
the next shape we are becoming -
42:31 - 42:35with no instructions that appear clear,
-
42:36 - 42:37but there are instructions.
-
42:40 - 42:46The first one is to, if you see some news
and it's not beneficial to you, ignore it. -
42:48 - 42:49That's what I do.
-
42:49 - 42:50(Laughter)
-
42:50 - 42:53If you see something,
hear something, read something, -
42:53 - 42:56that is beneficial to you,
take it to heart. -
42:58 - 43:00Make it a part of your practice,
or your journaling, -
43:01 - 43:04or your music, or your dance, or your art.
-
43:04 - 43:06Make it a part of your life,
-
43:06 - 43:10so that you continue
to be nourished by the good, -
43:12 - 43:18because we live in a world
of tabloid media as an art form, -
43:20 - 43:23we are presented
constantly, and daily, -
43:23 - 43:29no matter what we're talking about,
as extremes. -
43:30 - 43:32Just look at our language.
-
43:32 - 43:35Later turn on the television,
and look at our language -
43:35 - 43:38across networks, across countries:
-
43:38 - 43:44it is doom, it is savage, it is—
-
43:44 - 43:48I'm talking about words used today
to introduce clips in the news, -
43:49 - 43:55and so learning how that word,
savage, doesn't get stuck on me. -
43:55 - 43:57It just goes straight through.
-
43:58 - 44:02Learn what to hold on to
and what not to hold to, -
44:02 - 44:03when it comes to you.
-
44:05 - 44:10So many of us actually have been
living our lives in extreme exhaustion -
44:10 - 44:14because we have been
carrying other people's anxieties. -
44:17 - 44:20You know it's like
the old joke about Atlas, -
44:20 - 44:23who's holding the world,
runs by you and says "hold this", -
44:23 - 44:24(Laughter)
-
44:24 - 44:27and without thinking
you hold it and he's gone. -
44:28 - 44:34Literally many of us are just exhausted
holding other people's fears and anxieties, -
44:36 - 44:39and what we need to be holding
is each other's broken hearts, -
44:41 - 44:42and brilliant minds.
-
44:46 - 44:50If we want to hold each other accountable
lets hold each other accountable -
44:51 - 44:54for a higher calling in this world.
-
45:00 - 45:13There's discipline involved in how we, how I,
learn to read, interpret, reflect on, the news, -
45:13 - 45:16but I just don't ever
watch the news by itself. -
45:18 - 45:19When I get up in the morning,
-
45:19 - 45:22before I even get out of bed,
I have a meditation I do. -
45:24 - 45:25It's about aging.
-
45:25 - 45:26(Laughter)
-
45:26 - 45:28So, before I put
my feet on the floor, -
45:28 - 45:31I don't forget who's
putting their feet on the floor, -
45:32 - 45:35and then I,
I have options, -
45:35 - 45:39I spend some time
just in listening to birds, -
45:43 - 45:48watering plants,
walking slowly on the Earth, -
45:49 - 45:51saying to myself
"Mother Earth, here I am". -
45:53 - 45:57Greeting this blue sky,
letting it fall on me, -
45:58 - 46:01'till I can feel myself
standing on the blue sky, -
46:02 - 46:06and standing under the blue sky
at the same time. -
46:11 - 46:16I study other people's insights,
teachings and learnings, -
46:17 - 46:22so I try to keep my mind as
—life long learner is a popular phrase— -
46:23 - 46:27across disciplines:
evolutionary psychologies, astrophysics, -
46:28 - 46:32Buddhist psychology, sociology,
anthropology, mythology. -
46:33 - 46:36All these things are of interest to me,
what can I say. -
46:36 - 46:40And it keeps my mind from getting fixated,
-
46:40 - 46:45'cause at least once a week I read something
or I study something from someone else, -
46:46 - 46:47and it can be from long ago.
-
46:47 - 46:54It can be Plato and his allegory of the cave
which I think everybody should read again, -
46:56 - 46:59because that's what we are experiencing
right now, -
47:00 - 47:02We've been conditioned so well
-
47:03 - 47:06that we don't even know
we've been conditioned, -
47:06 - 47:08now that is skill.
-
47:10 - 47:13And I don't mean somebody sat down
and planned this out. -
47:15 - 47:17I'm talking about a natural occurrence
-
47:17 - 47:25that happens in society,
in any organization, in any group. -
47:26 - 47:27It's fine.
-
47:28 - 47:29We just have to be mindful
-
47:30 - 47:34that our minds and our bodies
are not separate from our social existence. -
47:35 - 47:37So many of us have been conditioned
-
47:37 - 47:40to believe when someone
walks in to a grocery store -
47:40 - 47:42and starts shooting people
-
47:42 - 47:44there's something wrong with them.
-
47:45 - 47:46And there is.
-
47:47 - 47:50But in order for something to be wrong
with them like that, -
47:50 - 47:53there is something wrong
with the rest of us too. -
47:56 - 47:58There's something wrong with our minds,
-
47:58 - 48:05and how we condition ourselves
to be violent, how we glorify it, -
48:06 - 48:08how we worship it,
-
48:09 - 48:13We're not much further from really just
-
48:13 - 48:14(Laughter)
-
48:14 - 48:15primitives,
-
48:17 - 48:24unless we do the spiritual work
to learn to live without doing harm, -
48:25 - 48:36as our first response
to frustration, to fear, to being alive. -
48:37 - 48:44There's a word from
—I learned from my research training— -
48:45 - 48:48it's called, you may have heard,
it's called titration. -
48:48 - 48:56So whatever input you're going to get,
whether it's a book, a movie, a TV show, -
48:56 - 49:03a friend, a conversation,
take little bits at a time. -
49:03 - 49:05It's the old phrase:
-
49:05 - 49:09"How do you eat an elephant?
One spoonful at a time." -
49:10 - 49:11When your looking,
-
49:11 - 49:16especially some place
that your curiosity has been piqued, -
49:16 - 49:20don't give up your curiosity,
it's a very important quality of you, -
49:21 - 49:24but take a little piece at a time.
-
49:25 - 49:27And the same if you want to look in to
-
49:27 - 49:31the causes and conditions
that created suffering. -
49:32 - 49:39Know what you can handle emotionally
without getting re-traumatized yourself. -
49:41 - 49:43Okay. Take care of yourself.
-
49:44 - 49:48Take things a little bit at a time
but take them deeply: -
49:48 - 49:53that's the difference in consumption,
in transformation with information. -
49:56 - 50:02Recognize your own heart and mind
in what you hear, in what you see, -
50:02 - 50:03and the more I work with this,
-
50:03 - 50:08I realize this is how I'm learning
to practice with all phenomenon. -
50:09 - 50:14The bee, the bird, the tree, the fox:
-
50:15 - 50:23I am learning to recognize what is there,
in a non-judgemental way: it's just there. -
50:24 - 50:28I had a great professor in my PhD work,
the name of Dr Lawki (?). -
50:29 - 50:34He passed away by now
but he was a stickler on methodology -
50:35 - 50:38and the one word he used in every class
-
50:38 - 50:40—he wrote it really big on the blackboard—
-
50:40 - 50:42was evidence
-
50:42 - 50:43(Laughter)
-
50:43 - 50:44and he says:
-
50:44 - 50:48"don't turn a paper in to me
with no evidence" -
50:48 - 50:49(Laughter)
-
50:49 - 50:51"I don't care what you believe,
-
50:52 - 50:55I don't care what your teacher
told you to believe, -
50:55 - 50:57I want evidence for your thought,
-
50:58 - 51:01and why you reached
the conclusion you reached." -
51:01 - 51:05Why you reached that view,
why you appreciated that practice, -
51:05 - 51:13explain, understand how you are interacting
and changing with all the phenomena of life. -
51:14 - 51:15So everything
-
51:15 - 51:21—I met four small,
almost baby, doves today— -
51:22 - 51:26they were sitting on our fence
watching us -
51:26 - 51:32and I appreciated
their communication of safety. -
51:33 - 51:36They felt safe enough to rest here,
-
51:37 - 51:42and so I was able to ask myself
"How's my safety meter today, Larry?" -
51:45 - 51:51and not being disturbed by a disturbing world
is the essence of the practice, -
51:53 - 51:56and it does not mean being indifferent.
-
51:57 - 52:03It does not mean turning your head aside,
it does not mean hiding from anything. -
52:04 - 52:07It means fearlessly looking
at the whole of life, -
52:09 - 52:13and understanding that you
are at the center of it. -
52:14 - 52:18There's some great comments years ago
by Stephen Covey, coming to my mind, -
52:18 - 52:20to know the difference between
-
52:21 - 52:25your circle of concern
and your circle of influence. -
52:27 - 52:33Those are two different things in his thinking
—and I heard about this a long time ago— -
52:33 - 52:37and the thing I want to remind myself
and you of: -
52:37 - 52:41that you're not just a circle of concern,
though you are; -
52:42 - 52:45not just a circle of influence,
though you are; -
52:45 - 52:49but you are a circle of energy
that can go in either direction. -
52:51 - 52:53Understand this about yourself:
-
52:54 - 52:56You're not just a clump of matter
-
52:58 - 53:01with the visitation from a train of thoughts
from time to time, -
53:03 - 53:04you're cosmic being,
-
53:07 - 53:10and boy oh boy what would happen
if we started to act that way? -
53:11 - 53:14Think that way?
Care that way? -
53:15 - 53:16Approach justice that way,
-
53:17 - 53:20and wellness that way,
and community that way? -
53:20 - 53:21We are cosmic beings.
-
53:22 - 53:27We are manifestations of a reality
we don't understand. -
53:27 - 53:32We cannot even get our mind around,
and we don't have to. -
53:32 - 53:36All we have to do
is to learn how to be present. -
53:42 - 53:44Peggy and I had
the luxury of having breakfast -
53:44 - 53:48with Thích Nhất Hạnh one time
when he received difficult news. -
53:50 - 53:54This was a time he was still exiled
from Vietnam and could not return. -
53:55 - 53:56He had a family member pass away
-
53:56 - 54:03and he could not go back
for the funeral ceremonies. -
54:04 - 54:06And we were with him
when the phone call came -
54:08 - 54:10and the information was passed on
to his ear, -
54:11 - 54:13and we watched his energy change.
-
54:16 - 54:24He slowly got up, bowed to us,
and went out and did walking meditation, -
54:27 - 54:33slowing everything down,
calming everything down. -
54:34 - 54:39Stepping in the wonders of noble silence.
-
54:41 - 54:46He came back in thirty minutes or so
a different person; -
54:47 - 54:48face different, energy different,
-
54:49 - 54:53and Peggy leaned over to me and said
"that would have taken me six years." -
54:53 - 54:55(Laughter)
-
54:56 - 54:58This is the benefit of practice.
-
54:59 - 55:01This is why I do it every day.
-
55:02 - 55:07It's not that I don't get disturbed,
but this being disturbed never becomes me. -
55:10 - 55:12You understand what I'm saying?
-
55:12 - 55:15We were just in Minneapolis
a few weeks ago, -
55:16 - 55:21working with Zen centers
and Buddhist dharma communities there, -
55:21 - 55:26and went to the places of the riots
and George Floyd square, -
55:26 - 55:32and I cannot even think about that
without being activated, -
55:36 - 55:41but my activation
now moves me even more -
55:42 - 55:48in the direction of
'what does it mean to have a well society?' -
55:50 - 55:53Most of our language about everything
is prescriptive -
55:54 - 55:58and analytical and we're sick,
-
55:58 - 55:59(Laughter)
-
55:59 - 56:03and we have very little feedback
from our media, -
56:03 - 56:08from what we read and what we write
—most of us—that affirms our existence, -
56:11 - 56:16that affirms our right to be here
on this precious planet. -
56:16 - 56:18So when you interact with the media,
-
56:18 - 56:23and when you interact with the news,
don't be taken at the flood. -
56:26 - 56:35The flood of opinion,
the flood of misperception. -
56:37 - 56:39You know it's like the women in Iran
-
56:40 - 56:44and the people in the streets of China
and Colombia and France, -
56:44 - 56:48and you can go around the world,
are like they're waking up from a trance. -
56:50 - 56:53It's like one morning people woke up
-
56:53 - 56:57and went "Hey, wait a minute,
this doesn't make any sense, -
56:58 - 57:05to live this way, to be treated this way,
to be harmed this way" -
57:08 - 57:12and so what is happening
is the world stands up -
57:13 - 57:15and people from everywhere
stand up for one another, -
57:15 - 57:17like we belong here together.
-
57:22 - 57:25Places that think they're in power
are shaking. -
57:29 - 57:30It's like deer in the forest
-
57:31 - 57:34that can tell a new wind
is already in the air. -
57:37 - 57:40So please my friends
put your energy in to the new wind. -
57:46 - 57:51I had what I thought
was an ear infection here -
57:51 - 57:54and a friend of mine took me
to one of his ear specialists -
57:54 - 57:57—a very funny Cuban physician—
-
57:58 - 58:01who did all the tests,
cleaned my ears and everything, -
58:01 - 58:06and he said "you don't have an ear infection,
that's the good news, -
58:07 - 58:09the bad news is
you have something worse" -
58:09 - 58:10(Laughter)
-
58:10 - 58:12and he started laughing
and so did I -
58:12 - 58:15and what he said was "you have, you know,
-
58:15 - 58:18there's a bone in your ear
that's connected to your balance, -
58:18 - 58:19it's disintegrating."
-
58:20 - 58:23So I thought, well,
that goes along with the rest of me -
58:24 - 58:25(Laughter)
-
58:25 - 58:29so I don't have a problem with disintegrating,
that's why I'm here. -
58:31 - 58:35The question is, what do we emit?
-
58:37 - 58:40One of the things
in the Yogachara tradition -
58:40 - 58:46is they talk about our energy,
and our words, and our thinking, -
58:46 - 58:49and our behavior perfumes the world.
-
58:56 - 58:59The question is:
what are we perfuming the world with? -
59:04 - 59:08And more and more people
around the world are stating to realize -
59:09 - 59:20"You know, we don't like this smell,
this death, this violence, this horror, -
59:21 - 59:28this oppression, this rape,
this casual murder, this brutality. -
59:29 - 59:34We don't like it,
we don't need it, to be fully human." -
59:35 - 59:36We've somehow been convinced
-
59:37 - 59:42that we have to guarded by giant gorillas
not to become giant gorillas ourselves. -
59:42 - 59:44That doesn't make any sense.
-
59:46 - 59:49A new sensibility is in fact emerging,
-
59:50 - 59:57and so when you receive information
hold on to yourself, -
59:59 - 60:02hold on to your precious soul and heart,
-
60:02 - 60:03don't lose yourself,
-
60:05 - 60:07because whatever the information is
-
60:07 - 60:08—this is probably
-
60:08 - 60:12the most uncomfortable thing
I realized about learning something— -
60:14 - 60:20whatever it is I learn
I will one day forget, permanently. -
60:21 - 60:25And that helps me from getting
too wired about stuff, -
60:26 - 60:30to uptight about things,
too fixed about things, -
60:30 - 60:35too extreme and certain about things.
-
60:36 - 60:39The other wonderful thing
that I've been practicing with -
60:39 - 60:42as I go through the world we live in,
-
60:46 - 60:50which the Buddha sometimes called
the world of a thicket of views. -
60:52 - 60:54We live in a world
of billions of opinions. -
60:54 - 60:57Now we have 8.9 billion people
-
60:59 - 61:04and (?) most of us have difficulty
sorting the opinions in our own head. -
61:06 - 61:12To imagine that we can together
sort our way in to the future, -
61:13 - 61:19lead each other in to the future,
for me, is why were here. -
61:20 - 61:22It's why we were born.
-
61:23 - 61:25This is our great work.
-
61:27 - 61:30We will not finish it,
and we are not supposed to. -
61:31 - 61:33We're supposed to be the bridge,
-
61:35 - 61:36so that our future ancestors
-
61:36 - 61:40and past ancestors,
who are always along for the ride, -
61:40 - 61:41(Laughter)
-
61:41 - 61:43can finish it too.
-
61:45 - 61:49There's a discipline involved
in not being disturbed by a disturbing world. -
61:51 - 61:55And the most important part
of this discipline for me is silence. -
62:02 - 62:04I start the day by silence.
-
62:04 - 62:07I start the day by listening
to the sounds of the world. -
62:08 - 62:11So I don't think I'm isolated,
-
62:12 - 62:14so I'm in touch
with the wonders of life, -
62:15 - 62:21and then noble silence throughout the day,
just here or there, -
62:21 - 62:28taking time to stop running around
for whatever reason, and pause, -
62:29 - 62:32and as this happens
-
62:32 - 62:34we become more and more
stilled in ourselves, -
62:38 - 62:43and that stillness in ourselves, that solidity
like mount Fuji within ourselves, -
62:44 - 62:47it's what we need
to transform our world. -
62:51 - 62:54It's what protects us
from falling in to hate, -
62:54 - 62:56as a motivator for changing our world.
-
62:59 - 63:01Equanimity guards us
-
63:04 - 63:08from using the energy of jealousy
in the hopes of changing our world, -
63:09 - 63:11or the energy of greed,
-
63:15 - 63:19though all of these things
are in our own consciousness. -
63:21 - 63:25It is our skillfulness
in learning to recognize ourselves -
63:27 - 63:31that will free ourselves from ourselves,
-
63:32 - 63:34and as we free ourselves from ourselves
-
63:34 - 63:38we become more capable
of freeing each other. -
63:42 - 63:47In neuroscientific terms we become capable
of profound coregulation, -
63:50 - 63:55which is the ground of co-creativity,
which we are wired for, -
63:57 - 64:04we have just been convinced
that we are not, that we are only shadow. -
64:06 - 64:10I'm talking about the fourth archetype now,
the soul, wholeness. -
64:11 - 64:14We're not just this,
we're not just that, -
64:15 - 64:22we're the whole of life
in the present moment. -
64:26 - 64:29The tears I cried watching the women
march in the streets of Iran -
64:29 - 64:33were my tears and their tears.
-
64:34 - 64:42And as I realized that
I went beyond cause, -
64:44 - 64:50I went beyond politics,
I went in to depth humanity, -
64:52 - 64:54and it's from this depth
-
64:55 - 64:58—which we all...
it's a well we can all fall in— -
64:59 - 65:01is available,
-
65:03 - 65:05but you have to develop a discipline
-
65:05 - 65:07—and many of you have I know—
-
65:07 - 65:10of nourishing this,
nourishing this, nourishing this, -
65:10 - 65:12but nourishing yourself
-
65:12 - 65:17please minimize your judgement
upon yourself. -
65:18 - 65:23So many of us—there's a friend of mine
who wrote a book many years ago. -
65:23 - 65:24His name was Marty Selman.
-
65:25 - 65:28It was on communication
—he was a super-salesman kind of guy— -
65:29 - 65:31and his research showed
that the average person -
65:31 - 65:34speaks to themselves
over two thousand times a day. -
65:37 - 65:39You talk mostly to yourself.
-
65:41 - 65:42I talk mostly to myself,
-
65:42 - 65:48so it's very important to know
who we invite to have a conversation with, -
65:48 - 65:49who we invite in,
-
65:50 - 65:53and how we receive our guest
—in thinking of Rumi— -
65:54 - 65:55how we be the host.
-
65:58 - 66:01And sometimes being the host
means to let things be. -
66:03 - 66:04You know this.
-
66:04 - 66:05(Laughter)
-
66:05 - 66:08Sometimes being the host
means to let things go, -
66:09 - 66:13and sometimes being the host
means simply to let things flow. -
66:15 - 66:20So we don't have to grasp
after information, images, -
66:21 - 66:23as the definition of our lives.
-
66:24 - 66:31We endure our experiences, of our senses,
our sights and sounds, and movements, -
66:31 - 66:38of our body and our mind,
but we don't intend to be lead astray. -
66:44 - 66:49I want to end with a favorite poem of mine
that is connected -
66:49 - 66:52to what I think is the core practice
-
66:52 - 66:59of not being carried away
by the world, suffering and craziness. -
67:03 - 67:04Pablo Neruda
-
67:06 - 67:08It's called 'keeping quiet'
-
67:10 - 67:14Now we will count to twelve
and we will all keep still -
67:16 - 67:22for once on the face of the earth,
let us not speak any language; -
67:23 - 67:29let's stop for a second,
and not move our arms so much. -
67:30 - 67:36It would be an exotic moment
without rush, without engines; -
67:38 - 67:41we would all be together
in a sudden strangeness. -
67:43 - 67:46Fishermen in the cold sea
would not harm whales -
67:47 - 67:50and the man gathering salt
would not look at his hurt hands. -
67:52 - 67:56Those who prepare green wars,
wars with gas, wars with fire, -
67:57 - 68:01victories with no survivors,
would put on clean clothes -
68:02 - 68:08and walk about with their brothers and sisters
in the shade, doing nothing. -
68:09 - 68:13If we were not so single-minded
about keeping our lives moving, -
68:13 - 68:16and for once could do nothing,
-
68:17 - 68:23perhaps a huge silence
might interrupt this sadness -
68:23 - 68:31of never understanding ourselves
and of threatening ourselves with death. -
68:33 - 68:44Now I'll count up to twelve
and you keep quiet and I will go. -
68:46 - 69:02(Bell sounds four times)
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