168 The World Is A Mess - What To Do? Part 2

Catrin writes, "Thank you William, for this helpful and clarifying talk (podcast 167). However, what to do then? I mean, to change to a more harmonious and sustainable living on this planet, I think especially now on the environment and all the wars and conflicts, we really need to find ways to work together, not against one another. There is only one planet, as we know, and I think the planet Earth will survive, but probably not the civilization, if it continues like now. I have stopped reading and watching the news since several years back, and I try to do what I can in my circle of life, but it feels a bit helpless at times. But in any case, thank you again for all your wonderful talks and the help and hope you provide us all"

These podcasts are best when listened to in sequence from podcast one forward because each is built on the last.

Though I am a psychotherapist, these podcasts are offered to be spiritually helpful, not psychotherapy. Please reach out to one if ever needed.

Transcript

Hello everybody. This is William Cooper. Welcome to awakening together, Relaxing into happiness. I trust you're doing well today. I recently received a review with some very thoughtful questions and comments on my last podcast, Podcast 167, Entitled Why do people see the world so differently? If you haven't heard that podcast, I recommend that you go back and listen to it because that's the podcast we'll be referring to today. However, Before I read Katrin's comments, Let me give you a quick summary. The American psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg theorized that all of us go through six moral stages. We have to start at stage one and we mature and evolve up the ladder and possibly some even reach stage six. In stage one, My morality is shaped by the fear of punishment. I'll do anything to avoid punishment. Punishment stage two. I want what's best for me My morality will be shaped by the best deal I can make and get stage three I want to look good. I want people to like me. So my morality will be shaped by what makes me look good. Stage four, Law and order. Morality is about upholding laws and duties to maintain social order and peace. Law and order. Stage five, Social agreements. I realize that laws are simply social agreements for the greater good of the most number of people in society and they can be changed. So peaceful protest is acceptable. Changing laws is acceptable. It's all about prioritizing human life. Stage six, The final stage, Is where I'm very deeply clear and I follow my heart. I'm guided by internal clarity. My morality comes from someplace very deep. I follow my heart. Everybody's got to go through all six stages starting at one and as they mature, Possibly they make it to stage six. So I understand all of the stages I've been through and possibly I can begin to understand a little bit about the stage just above me, But I have no clue about any stages above that. Just seem to be fantasies or speculation or very unfounded. So if I'm at stage two, For instance, Anybody that's at stage four, I might think is crazy or fantasizing or making stuff up and certainly anybody in stage five or six, Same thing. So I might call them names and just completely dismiss them. They're woke. So it can get to be very touchy. Somebody at stage six might feel, Oh, People are people. I understand everybody below me. So they should understand me, But they don't. So it's like a one-way mirror. You can look backwards through the stages you've been through and understand where people are coming from. But they can't understand you because they haven't experienced the stages above them yet. There's no understanding. And the misunderstanding is often compounded. I understand you. Why don't you understand me? We're all people. And OK, If you're at a different stage than I am, Why don't you just change? Be at a higher stage. But people can only go as fast as they go, Nobody's trying to be at a certain stage. And somebody at a higher stage really doesn't want to go back and go down to a lower stage. And for anybody who would like to gain power, All of this misunderstanding could certainly be exploited and stirred up. So it explains why there's so much divisiveness and misunderstanding often in this world. You're at stage six and I'm at stage two. I might get really upset with you as you talk because you're so far in front of me in your evolution that what you're saying to me is unbelievable. Makes no sense. And perhaps it's making me uncomfortable. As an example, Jesus was extremely awake, But many people didn't understand him and they killed him. So with that brief summary of Podcast 167 based on Kohlberg's six stages of moral development, Let me read Katrin from Sweden's review. She says, Thank you, William, For this helpful and clarifying talk. However, What to do then? I mean, To change to a more harmonious and sustainable living on this planet, I think especially now on the environment and all the wars and conflicts, We really need to find ways to work together, Not against one another. There is only one planet, As we know, And I think the planet Earth will survive. But probably not the civilization. If it continues like now. I have stopped reading and watching the news since several years back. And I try to do what I can in my circle of life. But it feels a bit helpless at times. But in any case, Thank you again for all your wonderful talks and the help and hope you provide us all. Thank you, Katrin. And that is such a beautiful and deep question that you ask in your review that I wanted to respond to a bit in this podcast. I have to say, Though, That there's really nothing I can say in a podcast that will cover every eventuality in answering your great question. Because we're all in duality. And there are infinite scenarios. And remember, We inhabit quite a number of different realities. All at the same time, Perhaps an infinite number of realities. So the answer given that would address one reality that we experience won't necessarily address another reality. To be clear, We have to be clear on all of our realities that we inhabit, That we're working out. So any answer I give is not going to touch everything, But I'll say a few things that will touch some things. It's a beginning. It's a start. I'll let everybody fill in the gaps and respond internally to what I address and then fill in the gaps for the other realities that they habit. There's our infinite self, Our personal self, Our social self, Our physical self, Our intellectual self, Our emotional self, And on and on and on. And even within relationships, There's so many facets and twists and turns. So it's really quite a big question, As most very good ones usually are. In Kohlberg's six stages of moral development, You might notice that the first three stages revolve around the personal self. Stage 1 is centered around fear. Stage 2 is centered around an anger of being unfulfilled. And stage three is centered around hurt and feeling that I don't have enough love. These same three motivating factors, Fear, Anger, And hurt are what actually form the personality into a giant getting machine. I make a personality when I feel separate from myself, When I don't experience the infinite oneness that I truly am, The light that I truly am. Because I don't feel that or experience it, I feel alone in the universe and therefore feel afraid. Stage one, What can I do to avoid fear? Stage two in building my personality is I feel angry and unfulfilled. Therefore, I try to get the best outcome for me to fill that void that never does get filled in a personal level. I try to get everything. Best deal for me. Stage two, My morality is formed around getting a good deal, Becoming fulfilled because I feel upset that I'm not fulfilled. Stage three, I'm separated from myself. I'm cut off from myself. And who am I? I'm infinite love. Well, When I'm separated from infinite love, I feel abandoned. I feel hurt. I feel separation. So I attempt to get love. How do I do that? By looking good to you, By looking good to the rest of the world. I'm the perfect person, So the world can love me now, And I can get love, Because I really need it, Because I'm separated from infinite love myself. So both my personality and my morality is shaped by the need to get love looking good. So as we've discussed in prior podcasts, Both awakening and now moral development and the actions that flow from it are closely related. The solution to the pain of my separated personality is to directly experience and come together with truly who I am, To become one with everything, Which is what I truly am. When I'm one with everything, I experience myself as infinite peace, Therefore no fear. I experience myself as infinite joy, So therefore no unfulfillment. I experience myself as infinite love, Therefore no hurt. Hurt, And no need to have to look good so that I can get love from you. I'm no longer a beggar, But I'm a haver. I have, I am, I am love, I am light, I am well-being, I am peace. So the source of all of this discord is really a personal one where I'm disconnected from myself, That causes problems which ripple out all across society and the world. What's the solution? Well, As Gandhi said, Be the change you'd like to see in the world. Become awakened. As you become awakened, You're no longer causing pain for the rest of the world because you're no longer separated from yourself. My guru Bhagavan used to say that an unhappy person makes the world an unhappy place. It radiates out. And conversely, One awakened family helps awaken 100, 000 other families because of the light that that initial family sends out, The light of their being, Their clarity. You are the light of the world, And every awakened being reflects that. But why don't I experience myself as infinite light, Love, And peace, Radiant joy, Electric like an atomic bomb? That's what I experienced, But I didn't always experience that. Why? Because I was blocked, Because I had created mental obstructions, Emotional obstructions that were layered one layer on top of another on top of the other, Which disconnected me from my true self, My inner self. It's the same for you, For me, For all people. In my view, We're here in this world to let go of those blocks. Life pokes at us and stimulates us and gives us hardships and adversity, So we feel bad. And that's the blessing and love of life. Because we feel bad, We can locate where we have pain inside, Because our natural self doesn't feel bad. Our natural self is love, Peace, And well-being. Discord and uncomfortable bad feelings inside are things that I create. That I've been holding on to. I've created them in this life or some past life. I don't know. But I have them. I can feel them. They come up when somebody looks at me funny or cuts me off in traffic or says something that triggers me. I feel it. So I let it go. That's what these podcasts are about, How to let it go. And as I let go, There's not so many blocks, And I feel myself, I experience myself as light, Just as what everybody's been saying all along. It's the truth. You are the light of the world. And also, What feels really good when you've been suffering a long time. Is you're the light of your world. Peace is there. Love is there. Well-being is you. It's there. I say this, Katrin, To everybody. This podcast isn't directed to you. Simply answering your very deep and profound question. So answering your question of what to do on a personal level, I've discovered that awakening solves all of this. It solves it for me, For you, For everybody. Probably everybody listening to this podcast has come to a similar conclusion, And that's why you're doing your consistent daily practices. To dissolve these obstructions. What practices to do? Well, You have to listen to your heart. And when you bump up against an obstruction, A pain or suffering, You notice what practice works best for that. Overall, I think meditation is very powerful, But everybody's different. And I do a different blend of practices as different things change and shift within me and all around me. Doing our practice and releasing our obstructions so that we can feel our true self, Experience our true self, Is beautifully expressed in the Pavamana mantra, Hindu mantra, Which goes, Lead me from the unreal to the real. Lead me from darkness, Which is ignorance, To light, Which is knowledge, The direct experience of ourselves. Me from death to immortality. Aum, Peace, Peace, Peace. Jesus reflected a similar teaching when he said in Matthew 5, 14 through 16, You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, They put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, Let your light shine before others, That they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven. " And your Father in Heaven, By the way, Is our Infinite Self. It's your Buddha nature. Jesus spoke in the language and to the culture which He inhabited. So everybody uses different language and phrases, Of course. And in the Lotus Sutra, Pura! Was sitting on a hill, All of his followers were around him, And he was silent for so long that his followers thought that something was wrong. And suddenly, An immense bright light shone out from between his eyebrows and it illuminated the heavens. Also, The energy field was so strong that all of those around him became very clear. Clear and awake, At least for that experience. And you know, When I've been around awakened beings, That's what happens. When you're around them, You're awake. But it disappears when their energy field leaves, When you leave them or they leave you. The solution? Become awake ourselves. That's permanent. But the experience with the guru does show us what awakening is like. And we've talked about that quite a bit in prior podcasts as well. I mentioned prior podcasts because really the best way to listen to these podcasts is to start at podcast number one and work your way forward if you haven't done that already. Because they're more powerful that way. Each one relies on the podcasts before. So I'll just mention that now. Often because we're suffering we consider personal enlightenment because it really does remove suffering When I first started out, Oh, I was so suffering. It was so black inside Dark dark dark one problem on top of another on top of a hundred or a thousand others So even if I could release one problem, There were still two thousand other ones underneath it So it didn't even feel like I was making progress, Even though I was. Perhaps you felt that. A number of people have written in over the years saying, Well, How come when I do my practices, I feel like I'm releasing But. . . I don't feel any better and I have to reassure them that it's a process. We have many layers of ice. Each one has to be melted, But I'm here to say that now my experience is not all the ice has melted, But enough has melted that I experience myself as light, As love, As well-being. All the time, Constantly, A hundred percent of the time. And this cleansing continues. It picks up steam like a snowball rolling down the hill. At least it has for me, Because when you feel yourself as light, Everything that pops up, It feels so good to let it vaporize and unwind and release and go. So even while I'm sleeping, My dreams are of releasing. All day long, Everything is about releasing. One time I had an awakened teacher staying with me for a month or so when I lived in Austin. His name was Avasa. And I asked him, I said, Avasa, Do you ever feel Pain or suffering? He was such a beautiful being. And he says, Not too much. But he says, Occasionally, Stuff does come up. And he really enjoyed it. He looked at it with curiosity, Like, What is this? And he let it unfold and unwind, Release, Relax, And let go. And as it did, It released its energy, And his aura became even stronger. And that's what I experienced, Too. You probably do as well. So life has been beautifully crafted to trigger us to bring our stuff up so that it can release and relax and emanate its energy. Into our aura. Pain has a lot of energy, Right? Well, When it unwinds and melts and turns back into what it is made of, Which is consciousness, Love, Well-being, And peace, It throws off a giant amount of energy of goodness and joy and wellness, And we feel it. So it feels good to release, Even though it feels bad as it's releasing. So back to Katrin's question, What can we do about all the discord in the world? Ramana said, When somebody said, Ramana, Why don't you do social action? It was during World War II. The Nazis are destroying the world. There's a lot of darkness. Why don't you speak out? And he said, Social action is good and fine. And if you feel led to do it, Follow your heart and do it. There's a place for that. But I feel it's more powerful if I sit still and awaken deeply because of the light that I emanate will be much stronger for healing in the world anything I could do out in the world. " Now, I paraphrased and elaborated on what he said, But more or less that was it. So, If you want to heal the world, Heal yourself. There's still a place for doing things out in the world. Be the change that you'd like to see out in the world. Gandhi. What we've just talked about is from a personal perspective, Healing myself and healing the world out there. But what about a universal perspective? We are infinite. You and I and everything and everybody out there and in here is one. We just are looking through different lenses. Our oneness is simply looking through different lenses and it appears that we are all different. But there's only one, And that one is you. Knows what it's doing. It's infinite. Infinite intelligence, Infinite creative ability. It's what's making everything Be as it is. Although it's hard to hear, In the world of duality, There is good and bad. There are upsetting things that happen. Foxes eat cats. Birds eat worms. People eat cows and pigs. On and on and on. There are hurricanes. There are natural disasters. There are earthquakes. There are wars. There are disasters. And the infinite has orchestrated everything. It's a ever evolving painting. It's an ever evolving. Landscape. We don't like some of the duality. And we like other parts, But ultimately, Pretty much everybody feels that the Earth is beautiful. Nature is beautiful. Trees are beautiful. Lakes are beautiful. But trees die, Leaves die. And in duality, Buddha's first noble truth is, All life is suffering. How could a good, Infinite, Universal energy create suffering when it's ultimately good? The short answer is we need duality to have a world, To have a creation. Trees can't merge with cats and cats can't merge with worms. If everything merged together, There would just be one big clump and there would be no world. There has to be separation and division. Yet we just talked about separation and division within us causes fear, Unfulfillment, And hurt. So the very thing that creates the world, Which is separation, Creates pain and suffering. To have one, You have to have the other. And at the same time, You have from where it all comes, The infinite. And the infinite is not suffering. In awakening, I feel no suffering. You feel no suffering. You feel infinite peace and wellness and love. And though it's on a higher level, Which I couldn't understand once experiencing it, I see that all creation is made made of one simple building block, Which is love. It's frozen love frozen into various objects, Trees, Cats, Dogs, Cows, Pigs, Grass, Everything, Sky. It's all love. So seeing clearly from deep within you or me, All we experience is love, But at the same time, As Jesus said, Be in the world, But not of it. Therefore, We experience all love because we're not wrapped and twisted into the world. But yet we still are in the world. We inhabit the world, So we have compassion because we also understand suffering. You can't be in the world without being affected by it. And we are part of the world. So just by being. A person, An individual, A so-called individual person, There's a degree of separation even in the deepest of awakening. Even Jesus felt separation. Father, Why have you forsaken me, He said. As he was being tortured and crucified. What a horrible thing. But mostly. He was in the world, But mostly not of it. And as you awaken deeper and deeper and deeper, You extract yourself from being attached to the world, But you can enjoy everything in the world without being attached to it more and more and more. You can't ever really completely divorce yourself. But more and more and more. So you are always connected to your Buddha nature. As Buddha said, Take refuge in the Buddha. You can do that. You can rest in your heart and walk in the world. You can flow from your clarity, From your heart, And your personality can begin to reform around who you are rather than around the separation that you used to think and feel that you were, Hurt, Pain, And fear. Now love, Peace, And well-being. So how to heal the world, Katrin? You can see why I didn't want to address this in the last podcast. And I'm not even doing it completely in this podcast. It's so big. First, Awaken personally. Second, Realize that you're not in charge. What to do? Nothing. There's nothing you can do. The personality doesn't really exist. It's a fiction. It's something I made up. It's made of thoughts and emotions and habits. And those are simply objects, Things that I've created. They can melt away, And they can reform and flow from an awakened state. They constantly are changing. They're not real. They are simply the lenses that we happen to look through now. And then they change, And we see the world differently. The next time and differently the next time because they're very fluid and malleable. They're not real. They are illusory or delusionary, You might say, Depending on how clear or unclear they are. So the infinite knows what it's doing. And as I awaken, I start to experience the oneness deeper and deeper within myself. And as I do that, And only as I do that, Can I have more and more deep trust. That I don't have to fix everything, Me personally, That there is a personal self. That because, Quote unquote, God can't do it, I need to do it. So I need to step in. That's exhausting. First of all, It's Not true. And secondly, Because the personal self doesn't really exist, It only apparently exists, It's a delusion. But it's a helpful fiction. We all need a personality to move through our world. The only question is, How clear a personality do we have? But I'm not in charge of the world, Nor are you, Nor is anybody. The infinite has made this world perfectly. And right where we each are right now, Where you are, Where I am, Where everybody listening to this is, Where they are in their personal path is perfect. It may not seem perfect because how it hurt for me, It hurt so much, But that hurt was what motivated and let me see where my blocks were. The blocks were causing the hurt. So I work to release and I still have lots to release, But I've released so much that there's relief and peace and joy and wellness and an experience of oneness all the time. I say that because that's true for all of us. Of us. I say that as encouragement, Because if I can feel that, Anybody can feel that with consistent practice. Practice is simply any tool that helps you let go of what's blocking you. What is awakening? Awakening is you without your problems, You without your troubles. Release your troubles and you're not troubled. That's what all these podcasts are about, How to do that. So on an infinite level, From that perspective, Looking from your deepest self through all of this, There's nothing you have to do. What to do? Nothing. From India told me and a group of us, To do anything is to do too much. Why? Because in the sitting still, Anything that's troubling you will come up because you'll feel like moving. You'll feel like doing something. It will be excruciating. And if you keep letting go, Letting go, Letting go, Eventually all that's left is that which doesn't have to do everything because it knows that everything is okay. That's called awakening. That's called oneness. Now you are the infinite looking through the physical eyes that you call you. The Infinite looking through your eyes, Because everything is clear. So there really is nothing to do on the deepest level. It's from that perspective that Ramana said, Whatever is destined not to happen will not happen. Try as you may. Whatever is destined to happen, Will happen. Do what you may to prevent it. This is certain. Best course therefore. Is to remain silent. You are perfect right where you are and right how you are. The world is perfect. Everything is perfect. It's a beautiful picture and it's evolving in perfection. Two of my previous podcasts that might apply directly to what we've just been talking about would be podcast number 51, Which is entitled something like Awakening and Astrological Cycles, And podcast number 60, Which is entitled something like Social Action and Awakening. If this is a topic that is of interest to you, That's calling you, Even if you haven't listened to the past podcasts, I'd go straight to those, 51 and 60. So what does Ramana mean? Whatever is destined not to happen will not happen. Try as you may. Is he saying don't do anything? Don't do anything. It's of no avail. It doesn't matter. No. We are part of the universe. He was saying that he wasn't called to do social action. If your heart, If your insides say, I need to go to a no Kings rally or to do this or call my senator or do whatever. That is the divine working through you. It's a beautiful painting and it's not like we are somehow to the side and not part of that painting. You are a color and a brush stroke that the entire painting depends on. We are both in the world and also not of it. Awakening is seeing and experiencing that clearly, Being in the world, But not of it. So if the divine is using you to do some sort of social action, Then do it. You're part of that painting evolving. But don't feel that you have to do it or that the world is doomed if you don't or if others don't. They will do what they are called to do. It's inevitable. Let me illustrate that with some science. There was a psychologist at the University of California, San Francisco. His name was Dr. Benjamin Libet, L-I-B-E-T. He did a simple experiment. He asked the participant to drop a ball. He recorded when they decided to drop the ball. And when the impulse to drop the ball occurred when their brain lit up and was activated. The funny thing was that when they thought they were deciding to drop the ball was well after when their brain had already made the decision to drop the ball. Somehow something else was making the decisions and then we like a puppet respond afterwards after a time lag and we think we're making the decisions. It's just what Buddhist and Hindu philosophy has previously pointed out. The personality isn't a real thing. It just responds and believes it's a real thing, But it's just a bunch of thoughts and emotions. So naturally there's a time lag between when the infinite comes through us and when we think we are personally making that decision. The infinite makes the decision and then we co-opt it and think we're making that decision. When you look up Benjamin Libet, You'll see some short videos, Maybe a minute or two minutes going through this dilemma because people couldn't figure out, Do we have free will or not? How can this be? We think we made a decision, But the decision was already made and we're simply following along. Funny enough, About a decade earlier in 1976, A German neurophysicist named Dr. H. H. Kornhuber, K-O-R-N-H-U-B-E-R, Conducted a similar experiment and his results were the same. Something made the decision, And after a time lag, The personality thought it was making that same decision. But this is just what we've discussed in other podcasts about the nature of the personality anyway. It's not real, But rather simply functional. So, No matter what I think, I don't exist. The personality is a useful fiction. Therefore, The world is in good hands. I'm in good hands. Because I don't form myself. Something beyond me, My higher self, Has put me in this position that I'm in in my life right now, Today, Where you are right now, Today. And it knows what it's doing. It's to your highest and best good. All of us, Well, The world is also in these good hands. Everything is in these good hands. So there's nothing that we have to do to save the world. It is already perfect and right where it needs to be, As are you and me and everybody else. This becomes more and more. Apparent in clarity and deeper and deeper awakening. Though it's quite a lengthy evolution and in my process what happens is I'm suffering and feel pain, So I do my practices. It unwinds, It relaxes, It releases, It dissolves, It releases a large amount of consciousness, Love, Peace, And well-being into my energy field, I feel better and I become clearer. And as I become clearer, I feel more trusting because I feel myself more as one. As I become clearer and feel more as one, More energy runs through my system and because more light is running through my system, It bumps into the next hidden object, What has formerly been hidden and repressed, And that comes up. And that's quite painful and overwhelming. And that begins to release, Relax, Let go, Dissolve, Creating more light, More energy, More trust, More clarity, Which releases all that light, Which then goes out to the next level of hurt and suffering, Which really hurts. And I experienced that. It's overwhelming. So it's a back and forth process. Into deeper and deeper trust that everything is okay that the world is okay. So katrin i'm Still answering that question what to do. Nothing to do. It's OK. Unless. . . It's flowing through you to do something, Then do that. If you feel called to do it, Do it. But ultimately, That's just part of the whole that has all of this in its hands, In pure love, And pure purpose, And pure creativity. Everything is as it should be, Even my action or inaction. My personality doesn't change the world. There's nothing that needs to be changed. It is evolving and in good hands. I hope that makes sense on that level. Okay, Let's go back to a personal level we're in the world And let's say you're at kohlberg's stage Five for instance or stage six and your neighbor is at stage two Their morality is based on what's the best deal I can get? How can I? Feel fulfilled And they can't understand where you are at all What can you do? Can you change them? No. We all know in relationships. That you can't change the other person. That's the first law of relationships. You can't really change the other person. You can have a discussion. But they are who they are, And they're on their own path, And their own timetable, And their own evolution. You can't change them. They are exactly where they need to be. They shouldn't be changed. They don't need to be changed. Everything is perfect. You don't need to be changed. You're evolving. You're in God's hands, As are they. Or the infinite. Whatever labels feel best to each of us is fine. So they can't understand you. And you certainly disagree with them because you're at where you are now, Let's say stage five or six, And you're not in stage two. And that isn't what you feel good about being in stage two. Otherwise, You wouldn't have evolved up to stage five or six. So what do you do? We give up attempting to change the other person. Yet we can listen to the other person. We can understand. We can connect. Because that's part of being awakened in the world, To fully connect, Fully be in the world. But not of it. I just listen. Openly open-hearted active listening really listening with all of my heart and Understanding that this is a fellow human being you can only evolve as fast as you can evolve both an awakening and through moral stages Nobody's where they are because they don't want to evolve It's just that's where they are because that's where they are. The infinite has them there. It's perfect for them So I listen with an open heart, I take them in, My friend. I listen. Where's he coming from? And I take him in fully. Perhaps he can listen to me, As I talk and he can be silent. I know this isn't the easiest thing to do. And I know my neighbor might not simply want to listen to me. But I control me. I can listen. Deep listening, Deep connecting is very healing. It penetrates the world. When I have a thought coming up or an emotion in my meditation that's very difficult and it's blocking me, I, Which is the awareness, Simply watch it, Experience it, Connect to it, But don't get lost in the story of it. By simply listening and being with it, Being in the world but not of it, It begins to dissolve, It begins to heal. And that's what allows our blocks and obstacles and suffering dissolve on our personal path of awakening. It's also what helps. People come together when we listen and connect. As you know, In our personal meditations when things come up, If we get involved in the story. It makes it stronger. It keeps it as a story. If I get involved in the thought and emotion, I have to keep it alive in order to get involved in it. It's like turning on the TV and watching a show. I have to have that TV turned on to be able to watch that show. I have to have my thoughts turned on and my emotions turned on and not dissolving and disappearing. If I'm going to go into them and experience them, I keep them alive. If I want them to dissolve, If they're causing suffering. I'm just quiet. I watch them. I listen. So I do that with my neighbor. Ultimately, As I've experienced great gurus who are very, Very powerful, It seems that they simply connect to the world. So powerfully that everything dissolves away. Troubles, Diseases, Things that need to change, And we call those miracles. I've seen all these things happen, And I don't believe they're expending any effort. I simply think they're being clear. And we have that same power. We're all the same. We're all one. It's the power of the one coming through each body, Through each personality. It's you. So to heal the world? Do nothing. Simply listen. Connect. Be clear. And Katrin, In your wonderful comments in your review, You said one other thing that is relevant. You said, I stopped reading and watching the news since several years back, And I try to do what I can in my circle of life. This applies so directly to what we just were talking about, And that is connecting. Stories are lenses and they affect our feelings and our experience of our reality. If I'm given an opportunity to watch a horror show or a play that's very depressing or any kind of TV show that I know is going to be tragic and depressing, I know that if I watch that story, If I connect through those lenses, I'm going to feel bad. If I watch a horror show, Remember the old movie called Jaws? I never watched it, But I know people that have, And they're afraid to swim, Still to this day. Decades later, They're afraid to swim, That a shark is gonna get them. That's the power of a story. That's the power of a lens. In awakening, All your lenses are clear. You can be in the world, But you're not colored by these lenses. And so what you feel is the beauty of everything rather than the distortion of the lenses. News is a kind of lens. You listen to it, The political news and all the tragedies in the world. You don't feel better. You start to feel worse and worse and worse. The same with getting involved in our suffering and troubling thoughts. We feel worse and worse and worse. That's why spiritual practices are centered around not jumping into our thoughts, But rather watching them and let them dissolve. One way of not jumping in them, For instance, Is saying a mantra instead, And that way you don't get sucked into the thought. Another way similar to mantra meditation is mindfulness. And that is as you go through your day and a thought comes up, Rather than jumping into it, You just label it as thought or an emotion comes up. Rather than jumping into it, You just label it as anger, Fear, And that keeps you from jumping into it. And so perhaps you can rest as awareness and just watch that anger move through your body, Unwind, And dissipate and disappear. You don't get involved in it as it emits an extreme amount of energy as that's happening, Which eventually unwinds and turns into peace, Love, And joy, Strengthening your aura. So just as you say, Katrin, Stories affect us, Even the story of having to heal the world, Even the story that things are tragic. Maybe the world is perfect and it has to be just this way for me to feel bad and see my suffering. Because. . . That suffering wouldn't be in me unless I was doing it because nobody else is in me except me. Only me. And my natural state is peace, Happiness, And love. So when it comes up, I can do something about it. Now just to dispel any thoughts in case they come up for anybody. Yes, Some emotions that are troubling are also helpful. My friend Bob had the rule of 10. If something that is very dangerous to you, Such as a tiger or a lion, Is 10 feet away from you or within 10 seconds of eating you, You should take that emotion that's coming up, That fear, Very seriously and act upon it. But if it's past the number 10, Possibly it's psychological, And about 99% of our Troubling feelings are psychological. Might be real. But use the rule of 10 and discern. I know most everybody listening to this is clear enough that their intuition will tell them what's what anyway. And one last comment on troubling feelings. If you've had somebody very close to you that is no longer with you, Perhaps you've had a divorce or your relationship ended or they died or something like that happened. They were part of your energy field and when they're apart from you, For whatever reason, It's like sawing off the limb of a tree, There's a phantom limb that can be seen by certain instruments. Well, For a time, Maybe for a very long time, When you lose somebody, There's a biological disruption, And that has to be honored as well. So, Let's not be too simplistic about this. That's what I'm saying. The answer of your question, Katrin, Lives on so many different realms and realities. And we've just talked about a few in this short podcast. There are so many others as well. But I'm just starting off the discussion what to do in the world. I'm sure each of you will listen to your hearts and follow your guidance. And that will be addressing either these realms in a different way or other realms that we haven't even touched on. Your highest self is guiding you very, Very deeply and always perfectly and always in the right time for you in relationship to the world. Exist in the beautiful way that it does without you being exactly as you are right now. And that goes the same for your neighbor. And then all of it changes. And then that's perfect. And then that's perfect. And then that's perfect. OK, Katrin, Thank you for such a good question. I hope this podcast is helpful, And I look forward to talking to you all soon. Blessings on us all, As well as the world.

Reviews

Thank you so much William 💓 I so appreciate the time you take to answer the reviews. It is always so helpful to soak up your wisdom. Thank you for the reminder of not having " to do" (unless we feel moved to) and that it's perfectly okay "to be." Whenever I am feeling a little overwhelmed and "shoulding" on myself, I sit still and shine my light a little bit brighter. Content in the knowledge, that, yes, this can be enough. Namaste and blessings..🦋

Thank you so much William - if my reply on your last pod was a bit depressed, this is totally the opposite! It brings so much hope and so much gratitude that I can listen to your advice and guidance via Insight Timer! This podcast makes very much sense to me and is both very grounding and very uplifting at the same time. Sending you lots of big thankful blessings from the Swedish Misummer 🙏🩵🔆🇸🇪

Excellent!!! Thank you, William.

Peace and Love,
~ Jennifer Lea