Awake In The Light: The Bhagavad Gita, Ch2, Verse 69

What is it like to walk through the world fully awake when everyone else seems to be asleep? This week, we will be diving into Chapter 2, verse 69 of the Bhagavad Gita. In these weekly lectures, we focus on specific ancient teachings that we can all apply to our day-to-day lives and personal spiritual journey!

Transcript

So today we are reading from the Bhagavad Gita. This is Stephen Mitchell's version. There are many beautiful versions out there that we can use. And today we are looking at chapter two, Verse 69. I'm going to read a little bit before this just to give some context. But this is a conversation between Krishna and Arjuna. Arjuna is all of us. He is the hero's journey. We all live in this crazy world. And we live according to what our parents taught us, What we learned in school, What we learned in church, What we have gleaned ourselves from books and teachers and what have you. And then very often we come to a point in life where we're like, There's more than this. You know, There's more than what's going on. And this is where Arjuna finds himself. In the story, He's on a battlefield, And he's surrounded by confusion. And. Krishna's helping him see a different way of looking at things, Because that's the challenge. Very often like the world we grew up in. The families we grew up in, The people we hang out with, Even the society, The culture we live in. Kind of keeps us stuck. It's almost like we don't understand. We can't see the forest for the trees because all we've ever known. Is the forest, Like we can't see it. And so. Arjuna has had to come to right to the edge of himself. And Krishna saying, There's another way to look at this. And so. Arjun is basically like, Okay, So you're saying that there's this whole other way of living. This wise man. There's always a man in the Gita. And so tell me what this wise man is really like. So I'm just going to go back a couple. I'm not going to read it all. I'm just going to go back a couple. Arjuna says. How would you describe the man whose wisdom is steadfast, Krishna? How does the wise man speak? How does he sit, Stand, And walk? Krishna said, When a man gives up all desires that emerge from the mind and rests contented in the self by the self. He is called a man of firm wisdom. And it's important to know that self is capitalized there. So it's not necessarily the self that is Katrina. It is the self with a capital S that animates Katrina. Katrina is still relevant. But it's the self, The energy, The. The life force, The wisdom that animates me. That is what we want to connect with. He whose mind is untroubled by any misfortune. Whose craving for pleasures has disappeared. Who is free from greed, Fear, Anger, Doubt. Who is unattached to all things, Who neither grieves nor rejoices if good or bad things happen. That man is a man of firm wisdom. And he continues on with this teaching about we have to release our attachments to the sensory world. We have to let go of all of that because the problem is and it's not that we aren't to live in it. But we have to release the attachment. Because out in the world, In the world of senses, Everything is about the duality of pleasure and pain. If I have this experience, I find that pleasurable. If I have that experience, I find that painful. And we can easily spend our whole life simply running towards pleasure. Or running away from pain. But the reality is we want to have some kind of balance inside. We want to have some kind of centeredness. That says, Hmm, Maybe that pleasure I shouldn't be running towards. And maybe this pain is actually really good for my journey. You know, In the land of maybe I should try a little harder to break this habit. So he goes on, Krishna goes on with this discussion about the importance of having self-control, About not being taken away by cravings and habits. Discernment, Discernment. Oh, It's another word. That Equanimity. We need to have an equanimity inside of us. That says, At all times, Maybe any of it is great. You know, It isn't that we can't enjoy the pleasures of life and it's not that we ignore the pain. But that we live in their quanimity. And he goes on to keep on teaching. And we have other recordings of all of these teachings. This is today's teaching, Chapter 2, Verse 69. In the night of all beings, The wise man sees only the radiance of the self. But the sense world where all beings wait. For him. Is as dark as night. In the night of all beings, The wise man sees only the radiance of the self. But the sense world where all beings wait. For him. Is as dark as night. I want to read another version. This is Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's version. That which is night for all beings. Therein, The self-controlled is awake. That wherein beings are awake. Is night for the sage who sees. Let's try that again. That which is night for all beings, Therein the self-controlled is awake. But that wherein beings are awake. Is night for the sage who sees. That's some crazy grammar going on right there. So let's see what Paramahansa Yogananda says. That which is night. To all creatures. Is wakefulness to the man of self-mastery. And what is wakefulness to ordinary men. That is night. For the divinely perceptive sage. And I'm just going to. . . Read the first paragraph of Paramahansa Yogananda's. While creatures slumber and delusions gloom. The x-ray eyes of the seer are open to wisdom's light. The power of maya that keeps all beings engrossed in the wakefulness of attachment to immaterial objects. Induces in saints. Only the slumber of non-attachment. What do you get from that? What's your sense of wit? He's trying to say. What is night versus wake? Now this is the interesting question. In some ways, This verse is based on There's a history in India where the Swamis, Or some Swamis, Would pray at night. And during the day, They would stay inside. Not all, But there are some who would. You would never see them outside. During the day. But at night. They would go to the temple and they would do their ritual. Their rituals and their praying and their chanting. If we are awakened, We will not be disturbed by the pulls of the desires. We will have equanimity to all things, Totally. We wise being knows secrets. And what's really interesting about these swamis who would pray at night. Is it there was something? Well, Actually, I shouldn't speak to what these Swamis were thinking, Because that's kind of ludicrous. One thing that comes to me when I would hear about these people. Is there's a quiet in the night. Where you can connect with God. Whereas in the daytime, When most of the world is awake. It's almost like the energy of the world is all about, Gotta go get this, Gotta go do this, Gotta go do this, Gotta go do that, Gotta go do this, Gotta go do that, Gotta go. And it's a challenge. It's a challenge to actually. Be a part of all of that. I remember I was reading about this one, She was a female Swami, She was like in her 90s, And Swami Rama talks about her in his book, Living with Himalayan Masters. And she would go to the temple. Because there were no people there at midnight. She didn't want to be there around other people. She wanted to be there by herself in silence. But this teaching is not saying. To live at night and go to sleep in the day. That's not what they're saying. They're not saying that everybody should suddenly become night owls and not work and not make food and not do, You know what I mean? That's not necessarily functional for society. But what they are saying is, As we all become. Enlightened. The things of the world stop becoming quite so interesting to us. And I don't mean that we don't take part in the world. But we stop realizing or we stop thinking. The material world is actually all that there is. With life experience, We start to realize there's a lot more to life. And this can happen whether you're on some official spiritual path. Or you've just gotten older. You know, When you're very young. You can get really caught up in all the dramas of life. And you've got to know this about that and this about that and you want to memorize that and you want to sound very clever about that and you want to know everything about that and you want to be powerful and you want to be rich and you want to do all these things and your whole being is totally obsessed with this. There is no time for contemplation. There is no time to connect with God. There is no time to connect with who you are because everything is out there. And with simple life experience. You will go through all the things. Some will work and you will achieve that fame, You'll achieve the money, You'll achieve the. . . Three-car garage, Whatever it is that we desire. And then when do you realize? Wow, That doesn't really feel like much. Nice to remember. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, Years ago, They wrote Good Will Hunting, The movie. And they were like in their early 20s, I think when they won the Oscar for best screenplay. And Matt Damon said, You know, It was such a blessing. To get that Oscar when he was 24, 27, However old he was. He said, Because sometimes people spend an entire career chasing this Oscar. And he said it was the strangest, Most sobering experience to sit at the end of the day. Holding this golden statue. And realizing that it meant nothing. And he said, To get this out of the way this early in my career. Has allowed me to now, I can just go and enjoy acting. Now I can just go and relax. So this is like kind of a classic example. That in this very small example, Matt Damon, Matt Damon is now enlightened to the reality the awards. Hollywood. So he now, He no longer is interested in that. He is no longer what this guy over here might just be trying to get the Oscar for all he's worth and his whole world is just wrapped up in trying to get the right parts with the right directors, With the right cast, Because all that matters is getting that. And to Matt Damon, He's looking at that and he sees nothing but darkness. But he does see light. Perhaps in roles that are interesting to him. He does see light in something that's insightful. And you know what I'm saying? And again, I'm putting a lot of words in Matt Damon's mouth, But there's something really interesting about life experience. Wayne Dyer used to tell this story of, I don't know, There was a brother-in-law who had had a near-death experience. And one day after, It was about like a month or two months after this, His brother-in-law had lived and survived. And he went over to his sister's for a big gathering, A big family gathering, And it was pure chaos. All the normal chaos. You know, Somebody over there was mad at somebody, And the kids were running like crazy, And the dogs were barking, And something was burning in the oven, And people were like, Ah! You know, Like they were all freaking out. And he looks over in the corner and his brother-in-law is just sitting in the easy chair just watching it all. And his brother-in-law used to be the one that would have been right in the center of it all. And he said to his sister, You know, What's with Bill? Or whatever his name was. And she said, Oh, Ever since his near-death experience, He has what he calls the big picture. And he just enjoys everything. And that happens in life. You don't have to have a near-death experience. But sometimes. . . It's like the death of things that happen in our lives. Like you might think, Oh no, My career is everything. Everything, My whole identity is caught up in my career. It's so important. And all your life is focused on that you've sacrificed family and you've sacrificed your health you've sacrificed all your hobbies you've sacrificed your spiritual journey because everything is about career. And then maybe you lose your job. Maybe you get downsized. Maybe the company closes. And you're sitting there and you're like. And maybe you fall into a great depression, Who knows? Or Maybe a light goes on inside of you and you think, Wow! I suddenly have time for all the things that make me happy. And you start focusing on your relationships and you pick up that old hobby that you used to love as a kid. And suddenly your whole life starts expanding in all the wonderful ways. Because of course, When we start doing things that are in alignment with our soul, There are these positive ripples that go out into every aspect of our lives. We don't even have to try. We just have to act in alignment with our soul. Or live meditatively, Or connect with the self, However you want to say it. And all these wonderful things happen. So now take this person who has lost their job. But is also Now. Living in alignment with their soul. If they come across someone, And this person's like, Oh no, You know, Right now I'm just really building in my career and everything. But you know, They're risking divorce and all these things. They've alienated themselves from their children and stuff. Well, This other person might look at them and say, I have to tell you that there's actually more to life than that. And the other guy will go off. No, That's not true. And this is a huge part of this teaching. That the enlightened one sees nothing but darkness. In the life of an ignorant one. And I say ignorant, Not in a rude way, But just simply in one who doesn't know. That's all that ignorant means. We're all ignorant on different topics. And the one who is in that place of unknowing. Cannot fathom. What the other person is saying. They can't fathom it. They can't fathom that this person's like, I'm telling you, Man. Take some time. Spend time with your partner. Pick up that old hot hobby. Go for a walk in the woods. Oh, I don't have time for that. You have no idea how busy I am. Like, You have no idea how busy I am. I mean, If you were in my position, You would 100% be doing exactly what I'm doing. But of course that isn't true. Because they know now. And that's what this is saying. I'm just going to read this again. In the night of all beings. The wise man sees only the radiance of the self. In the sense world where all beings wait. For him is as dark as night. In the sense world where all beings wait. For him. Is as dark as night. And we'll go back to the first half of that in a second. Have you ever had that experience that there's some aspect of what society believes is really important? Or maybe it's even family. When I say society, I might mean family. Maybe your family's like, You know, All that matters is. What you do for a living, Or all that matters is that you have seven children, Or all that matters is that you follow this particular religious pattern. And maybe you do it for a time because you don't know any different. And then through many sequences of events, You come to a place where Wow, That's not helpful at all. And you change. And you no longer can understand. What your family's interests are. And again, There comes a challenge, Right? That you kind of don't relate necessarily to your family. But that's okay. I think there's a great and wonderful grace about Loving everyone. With humility. To kind of say. Everyone's on a journey. I don't see what you see, But. . . That's okay. I too will learn something new. Tomorrow. The first half of this. In the night of all beings. The wise man sees only the radiance of the self. So to think of, Let's just take the average person completely entrenched in the dramas of the world. And the attachments to the material world. Their night. Is whatever they are asleep to. Are we asleep to? When we are totally focused on the exterior world. What are we asleep to? I'd love to know what you guys think. Who would say to that. And to even think of times of your life. Win. You've just been lost in whatever. Maybe you were lost in child rearing, Lost in business. It could even be lost in, Let's say you've had a medical challenge. And you're in a lot of pain or you're really suffering or you're living between doctor's visits or something. And you're completely, Completely engrossed in that. What do we become asleep to? Who we truly are. The joy possible in the present moment. Our divinity, And my right to experience pleasure. The rhythms and needs of the body. My gifts. That's our conditioning. Grief has consumed me in different times in my life. But we become asleep to it. We become asleep. To so much of our true nature. And what this is saying is. . . In the night of all beings. The wise man sees only radiance of the self. But isn't that true? When we take a moment and look within. At what we are, What we have been asleep to. There is only radiance there. There is only bliss there. And it's right there all the time. Like it's not hiding. It's right there. We are just asleep to it. So if you imagine the person of great wisdom. They are so wide awake. To what the rest of the world is asleep to. And whatever the rest of the world is wide awake to, The person of wisdom. Finds irrelevant. This person here is like, Oh, I can hardly wait to make my first million. Person over here of great wisdom is like. Whatever. And does it matter? Does it matter whether it's a million dollars? Are we saying you shouldn't make money? No. If you make a million dollars, Rock on. You can have a lot of fun. But you're not gonna sacrifice love and life and everything for it. It's like, So you make a million dollars. Or you lose a million dollars. Or you make $5. You know what I mean? And again, Money isn't irrelevant in this world. We need shelter. We need food. We need that. But there's an attachment that the wise do not have. I'd like to pose the question, What does it mean to see? What you're asleep to. Is it as simple as awareness? It's a really good question. Imagine that seeing is seeing the truth. Not just being aware of a situation, But that we see the truth of it. So for example, Let's say you're in an abusive relationship. You might have awareness that it's abusive. You might have awareness that maybe your partner came from a difficult childhood. Maybe, You know, You came from whatever, If you can see what it is. But we may not necessarily have gotten to the truth of the matter. The truth might be. That this person is terrified. Who you're really dealing with is a very terrified nine-year-old. Who grew up in a very difficult situation. And they are emotionally still nine years old because that's where they stopped being allowed to grow. And there's something really powerful about seeing truth. Because now. You can have compassion for that nine-year-old, But you're also not expecting an adult relationship with this person, Because they're always going to have a tantrum. They're always going to try to beat you up emotionally, Physically, Mentally. But then we also see the truth in ourselves that, Ah, I am not here just because I'm a victim. I'm also here because I want to save them. And I want to save them because that would make me feel good about myself. And I want to save them because maybe that's what my parents did or that's what my mother did or my father did. And I actually have something wrapped up in this myself also. There's a difference, And that's just one example. That's not everything. But you know what I mean? There's a difference between the awareness. And seeing truth. Because as soon as you see truth, All drama disappears. All attachment disappears. Even in the relationship, You're no longer attached to being in the relationship. Because you recognize the person for who they are and their struggle. You also recognize an attachment inside of you to being in that relationship. But the truth? Is like that razor sharp thing that Once you know, It's a great question, Thank you for asking. It's also really interesting to think about our ignorance. Where Very often, Our ignorance comes from patterns from our past. So let's say, For example, You were raised in a family. Where everybody lies. And they could be like overtly manipulating you. That could be a thing that, You know, You just can't trust whatever anyone says. It could be lies where someone says, Hey, So how come you're selling the house? And your mom says, Oh, Well, It was time for a change. But the reality is that they're having massive financial problems. Maybe it's none of your business, But lying is the norm. Or maybe you might say, Well, How come you're leaving your husband? Oh, Well, You know, It's just I've just had it and it's this and that and then he did this and then he did that and blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah. But you're omitting everything you did, And you're omitting all of your part in it. We live in a very strange world where lying is the norm. Sometimes it's just to make ourselves look good. Sometimes it's sheer habit. Sometimes we want to protect the other person because we're afraid that our truth isn't whatever. And so let's say you've lived your whole life like this. Maybe even at work, Someone says, Your boss comes up to you and says, Hey, How are you doing? And you know it alive. I'm doing great. How are you? What an amazing day. Isn't this a beautiful November? But the truth is. . . Your partner just told you that they want a divorce? And they're taking the kids and you're going to lose everything. That's the truth. But you're going to lie. Because that's what society is all about. I'm not saying that's what society is all about, But there are aspects, Right? So let's say this is your life, And so what this does, This pattern, Which is completely insidious to a lot of people, Meaning They don't even know it's there. Because they've been raised in it. And if someone said to you, Oh, You lie all the time. You're like, I do not. I'm an extremely honest person. And then. Your eyes start to open to the truth that you're a people pleaser and that you're eternal peacekeeper and blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah. And it's like, Oh, Well not that. I mean, Yeah, Of course I'm not going to tell the truth about that. Well, And also that, I mean. Do you hear what I'm saying? There's actually, I just finished reading this book, Living with Himalayan Masters, And there was this one story where this man came up to the Swami and it was like, Please give me a teaching. My life needs a change and blah, Blah, Blah, Blah. And he had, I don't know whether he was a station master, Like a train station, But he had been taking bribes and there was all kinds of corruption in the business. And the Swami looked at him and said, For three months you must tell the truth. In all circumstances. Well, Inevitably. People came in to find out what was going on at the station. And so when they said, Are you taking bribes? The guy had to say, Yes. Are those people over there taking bribes? The guy had to say, Yes. The funny thing is his whole life fell apart. His wife and daughter left him. He lost his job, His friends, Like this crazy thing. Because in a world where everybody lies, Him telling the truth just wasn't working out in theory. Anyway, The funny thing is. . . Eventually, His life became much better. But now let's imagine that in all of our lives. Let's say you just sort of start telling the truth. Amity and truth does not mean judgment of others. I mean. . . You're just going to be honest now. Someone says, How are you? How are you doing? Or what are you feeling? Or whatever. You tell the truth. There may be bumpy parts. There may be moments where it's hard and certain relationships may fall away. Certain things at work may not work anymore. You may have to face some difficult truths that you personally have been avoiding. But if you can stick it out. Very interesting things will happen. Because there's something about. Living in your truth. There's something about living in alignment with who you actually are. First of all, The people who want you to lie all the time, They will disappear from your life. Family, Friends, Co-workers, The ones that just want you to lie to them and just commiserate about whatever they think is going on in the world. But soon, People will come to you because they know you'll tell the truth. And all of a sudden you'll be surrounded by people. Who seek the truth. Who want to get underneath the strange fabric of society. And they want to know what truth feels like. Because it feels good. Feels alive. All those lies, All those woven confusing tapestries that we're living under. It suffocates us. And then all of a sudden you start telling the truth. And life, Like it's like the nature of life changes. Two months later, You don't even recognize your world. Because you are now surrounded by people who love honest conversation. You're surrounded by people who love taking action based on that truth. You're suddenly realizing that you're happier because You're simply living in alignment with who you are. Because you're no longer. Lying to yourself about things. So let's call this a new state of enlightenment. And then one day. You know, Someone from your old life shows up. And they say, Well, You know, What's new? And you're like, Wow, You know what? I have just started being honest in every aspect of my life. And I can't tell you. How joyful it is. And what does that person say? Wouldn't work where I work. I'll tell you that right now. That's one sure way for me to lose my job, Then my house, Then my family, Then everything. That's not going to happen. And I mean, If you had my family, No way you'd be honest. So again, There's a complete disconnect. Between the person. Who has been living this life of truth. And the person who still believes. That lying is the only way to live. And so now, Just to take for a moment the path of enlightenment. And we often think of this as this very airy, Fairy, Exalted journey of the gurus in the Himalayas. But it isn't like that. It's like simply saying, I am going to choose truth. And then living that way. And then choosing the other virtues. Kindness. You could do the same thing. You could say, You know what? For one month, I am going to choose kindness. And again, The people you live with, The people you grew up with, The people who you work with, They'd be like, Kindness? Are you kidding? Dog eat dog world, My friend. You are gonna be eaten alive. And again, Kindness doesn't mean being walked on. It just means recognizing that. Everybody's got a journey. I don't need to add to that. Or maybe. It's gratitude. And you say, You know what, For one month. I am going to be grateful for every single thing that happens to me. Does it mean that you don't take care of yourself and you accept abuse and you accept difficult situations? No. Because you're also honoring truth. And you're seeing the truth. And you also are allowed to take action based on that truth. And you're allowed to be grateful. For that path. Imagine love. Imagine choosing that you are just going to be loving. I used to have a a bumper sticker on my car that I got in Hawaii. And it said, The answer is love. Can you imagine that being your daily sadhana, Your daily practice? That no matter what, You choose love. And again, It's funny that I have to keep saying this, But it's true in our world. This does not mean accepting abuse or bad behavior. Or living in a situation or circumstances that aren't good for you. That's not what any of that means. It means choosing love, And maybe it means choosing self-love. Or it means loving this other person. Or understanding their perspective. And then when you can understand their perspective, You're able to see the truth. And then you're able to find reconciliation or a solution. So now imagine you're on this journey. And you're embracing truth. And you're embracing kindness. And you're embracing love. And you're embracing kindness. Devotion and you're embracing, You know, Taking action based on that truth. And you're on this beautiful journey of enlightenment. There's going to be a lot of people in the world who won't understand that. Because that's not their goal. The world. That we live in, The society that we live in. Is focused on division. He said, She said. They're right, They're wrong. Victim triangles. There's the persecutor. Here's the victim. Here's the savior. Look at that. And now let's tell stories about it. And let's have drama about it. And we're never going to take any action. We're just going to increase the drama. So everyone's adrenaline's through the ceiling and we all know that we are together and those people are wrong. Well, Someone whose whole desire is connection within. Desiring truth, Love, Kindness, Devotion. Understanding. Well, You're not going to have a lot of interest in drama. Or power struggles. Or attachments to whatever. It's just not going to be interesting. And the people who are super attached to all of those things. Are going to think you're the ignorant one. They're going to think that you're the one that doesn't care about the important things. The two really don't understand each other. What do we do? How do we do this? Because we live in the world. We have jobs, We have people, We have. . . Family. We may have health issues. We may have financial struggles. We may have struggles with all kinds of things in the world. So what do we do? We make sure that we take time. For quote, Meditation. So historically, They would say, Slowly. Decrease the time spent in the material world. Until you have enough time for meditation. That it all blends together. But what does this mean for most people? It might literally mean meditation. It might mean. . . Make sure you have time for some kind of personal practice. Make sure you make time for the yoga. You know it's that saying that Everyone's got 10 minutes a day to meditate. And if you don't have 10 minutes, Then you need to meditate for an hour. Because life is out of balance if you don't have time to meditate for an hour. But it doesn't necessarily mean meditation sitting in Buddhist Zen meditation. That's not necessarily what it means. It means looking at your life. And saying. Am I spending time? Doing things that bring me in alignment with my soul. And that simply means. Am I doing things that bring me genuine joy in my soul? And I don't want to say things that bring me joy, Things that bring me pleasure, Because someone might say, Oh man, That's just me sitting and binging Netflix. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about soul joy. Nobody's soul incarnated on earth to watch Netflix. I like Netflix. I'm not against it. That's not soul time. That's downtime. That's something else. That's veg time. That's my brain's so tired I can't think time. Sore time. Might be singing in a choir. Painting. Reading. Playing with grandchildren. Walking in the woods. Dancing. Studying the piano. Learning Russian. What is it that you do that does not contribute to your material wealth? In the world. It does not contribute to your status in the world. You're not doing it for anybody else? What do you do just for you and your soul? That is what we need to integrate into our lives. It's almost again looking at, If you look at our life right now, Whatever it is your circumstances are. Especially when we're overwhelmed. To ask herself the question, What am I asleep to? Right now. What am I not noticing? Because whatever you're not noticing, We need to bring back into focus. A lot of us have this experience. A lot in now. Moments. Like for me, Historically, I used to get brutal migraines. Like three-day migraines like just out down for the count you know my kids would just sort of walk around me because mom is down right she's just Well, I'll tell you. If you've ever had a migraine. The moment that migraine lifts, And you can think again and your head isn't pounding. It is honestly like you're reborn. It is light. All the pressures of the universe are gone. And you are thankful for every tiny thing. Everything. You're thankful for dogs barking and waking you up in the middle of the night. You're thankful for coffee. You're thankful for sunshine. You're thankful for breath. And I can last maybe two, Three days remembering the pain of the migraine. And if someone came to me and they'd be like, Can you believe this? I heard this on the news or the neighbor did this or my mom just said this to me and I'm so angry. I will live in a three-day bliss state after that migraine. And there's nothing you can say that's going to take me out of it. I will not commiserate with you. Whatever nasty thing you're angry about. Because I am so happy to not have a migraine in this minute. So I kind of have this like three days of enlightenment post migraine. And then slowly I slip back into the commiserating and the struggle and the worrying about money or this or the future or something. And then something else happens. And whatever that thing is, Maybe it causes a four-day. Extension of a bliss state. And we tend to oscillate like this throughout our life. And this is again, It kind of circles back. To the beginning that says, Simply the act of living longer, Brings us to a very interesting state of equanimity. If we're lucky, Not everybody, But if we're lucky, We're paying attention. Because we start to realize that Yeah, I'm not going to spend a lot of time chewing on that out there. Like, For example, The migraine thing is interesting. Because when you have a migraine, And all migraines are different, But when I would have a migraine. You start to realize that Thinking hurts. Like if you were to ask me. What is your name? What is your full name when I have a migraine? I can actually feel the muscle in my brain that's trying to access that information. And it hurts. It's like there's a tourniquet on that muscle and it's like, Please don't ask me that. Please don't ask me to think, It hurts so much. And so after a migraine, If someone comes to me and they're really twisting about something in the world. And to really understand. Hmm, How do I say this? On some level what is happening in the world might be real? But the vast majority. Of what's being talked about out there. Isn't real. It's a he said, She said, I read this article on Facebook. I saw this thing. Did you hear this thing on the news? Can you believe that this person is divorcing that person? None of it is real. And I sit there and I become very aware that I am not going to risk a migraine even entertaining what you're talking about because this isn't real. And that's an interesting thing. You know, If you've gone through enough dark nights of the soul. You really do start to look at society differently. And you start to see. The strange drama that's out there. That who are all the world's a stage. You start to just watch it going. Yeah, I'm not really going to play in that world. Because there's actually a very rich world inside of me. And it isn't being small as selfish. It's being. Big S self-centered. That there is an entire universe inside of each one of us. And it is rich, And beautiful, And eternal, And full of light, And full of growth, And full of expansion. Slowly that the dramas of the external world truly become like the night to you. They become so uninteresting. And it's fine. Like it's not a judgment. Here, I'm going to reread it one more time. Ready? Heaven is within, Exactly. In the night of all beings. The wise man sees only the radiance of the self. But the sense world, Where all beings wake, For him, Is as dark as night. I can relate. People think I don't care or have compassion. I explain that I do. In what I have control of in my world. And they seem to start to understand. Exactly. So true, We are a universe. I love that, Kind of explains where I am in the moment, But I didn't have words for it. I would love to know where you're at right now. What you're thinking about or what you're taking away from. Today's talk. Peace also starts from within and radiated outward. Totally. The internet wants us to be outraged like it's a moral imperative. Isn't that strange? It's very strange. And I think the most beautiful thing is that All we have to do is be quiet. All we have to do is close our eyes. Just breathe. And there's this entire beautiful light-filled universe inside of us. It's right there all the time. It doesn't even have to be developed. It's right there all the time. It's wild like as soon as we just simply say all right i'm going to leave that alone for a little while It's like this part just goes, Ah, Really? Okay, Here. And you can just feel this lovely peace. That I'm okay for being kind and feeling like that. With family. Who feel like sparky outsiders. Knowledge is hidden by selfish desire, Totally. Your attention is currency and drama is a good way to get it. So important to be intentional. I think it all comes back to being who we truly are and living in alignment. Well, Thank you everyone for being here. Hope you have a great week and I'll see you next week.

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