WEBVTT

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 Welcome to my friends here and we have a new friend joining us. I'm in you're on time. I'm just starting two minutes early. You're just perfect

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 So in a moment we'll begin

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 And there may be a couple people wondering in which is beautiful. Hi, welcome

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 So I'm going to suggest all of us in the room is small, but a wheat group this evening and all of you online. Hello, everybody online. You can show that some names for me Neal

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 Awesome. Thank you. And again, we'll probably some more it's only six fifty eight. I'm jumping the gun tonight

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 Welcome everybody and welcome friends new and familiar and

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 I'll begin this evening as any

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 Traditional what is talk or meditation is begun with an aspiration and I'll remind people or offer it for the first time if it's unfamiliar to some

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 That the idea of an aspiration is to set up an intention for something noble

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 Something higher than our typical

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 something

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 worth

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 Stribing toward so in Buddha Dharma we set an aspiration or an intention to awaken fully for the benefit of all beings

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 Which is a sentence that may not make a great deal of sense in English if we haven't heard these teachings

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 What does it mean to awaken fully for now to become a fully enlightened being filled with compassion?

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 Filled with loving kindness. I spoke about two classes ago. I think filled with that quinimity

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 Filled with amplitude without any selfishness without any ego without any

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 pain or suffering. There might be actual physical pain, but it won't be experienced with suffering.

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 Oh, that's a whole class. So for now, we're going to aspire to awaken fully, but not just for

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 ourselves, which is a really good motivation. Reducing our personal pain suffering is a very good

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 motivation. It's what brings most of us to the Dharma. Absolutely nothing wrong with that.

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 But then what we do is we take it bigger. So it's not just about me. It's about whether you

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 feel you could do this or not. It's fine because it's an aspiration. It's like saying,

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 I want to become a pilot. That's an aspiration. Hello, welcome. I started a tiny bit early.

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 I want to become a pilot is an aspiration. But you can also become a pilot over the next many years

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 by taking training by sending all the things one might do. So we set an aspiration even if we're

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 not sure we can get there, but we aspire to it. So we aspire to awaken fully and completely

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 for the benefit of all beings. We aspire to awaken fully and completely for the benefit of all

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 beings. We aspire to loving kindness, compassion, wisdom, equanimity and empathetic joy. We aspire

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 to reduce suffering in ourselves and in others till it is entirely eliminated.

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 So I like to begin this evening with a meditation. We usually begin with a meditation. Sometimes

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 I do it at the end. And the last several classes have been focusing on meditation on the breath,

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 concentration or insight meditation, mindfulness meditation, different terms.

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 that don't mean exactly the same thing, but for now they'll be in the neighborhood of each other.

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 We can differentiate those in another class. But tonight I'd like to practice with open awareness

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 practice. This is quite familiar to a few of you here and probably some of you online,

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 but I want to explain it for those two who miss less familiar and remind the rest of us

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 open awareness practice. If you'd like to move into your meditation practice as I'm speaking,

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 please do so. You can either listen to the instructions to see if they are beneficial or help shape

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 or direct your experience, or you can let them just arise and pass away. Just the sound of my voice,

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 you can let it just arise and pass away and be in the open awareness meditation. I will give some

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 analogies that I give quite often to help anchor this idea of open awareness versus they're not

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 in opposition, but open awareness practice versus concentration practice. I use this one a lot. Imagine

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 you're at a gathering, some sort of party, and Easter gathering. We're entering into Easter

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 weekend here. So imagine you're at an Easter brunch. Just begin with, you celebrate Easter or not,

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 it's just a gathering with friends or family, people you really like. And it's a little bit

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 of voice. This is Aiter Tender, 20 people there, maybe. So there's some music playing and there's

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 some clattering in the kitchen and laughter and conversation and drinks, clattering and maybe some

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 kids shrieking and playing outside on these applying and there's just a lot of busyness and

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 it's lovely. It's positive and for the most part it's really pleasurable. And you enter the room

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 and you see a friend or a family member you haven't seen in a while. And you know they've been

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 on great travels. You know they've had all sorts of things happen and they're like,

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 you really want to catch up with them. What do you do? We'll probably you drift a little to a bit

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 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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 quieter part of the room.

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 And you start to have a focused conversation

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 with each other, that for tonight's purposes is insight

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 or focused or concentration practice.

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 So I'm having a conversation with you

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 and it's loud and there's lots of distraction.

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 It's nice distraction, but it's distracting

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 if you allow it to be.

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 So when I lean in and I'm having this conversation with you

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 and I'm asking about your trip

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 and you're telling me that you got a new puppy,

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 which I find very interesting.

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 And I wanna know all about that

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 and you're asking me about whatever I've been up to,

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 there's still a lot of distraction,

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 but we're choosing to focus on one thing,

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 leaning in, allowing the busyness,

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 the distractions, the other activities to fade

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 into the background.

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 They're still there, but the act of focusing on one thing

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 can allow all the other things

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 to just kind of go about their own business.

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 That's the type of meditation we've been practicing

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 in the last three or four classes, the focused kind.

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 The paying attention is best we can to one thing,

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 even if there's distraction all around.

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 That's what happens right now.

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 If I said please pay attention to the breath

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 of your nostrils, you'd have tried to pay attention

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 to the conversation of breath of the nostrils

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 while there was all sorts of busyness going around,

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 maybe the practice of the baseball bat outside,

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 maybe someone coughing in the room, maybe an itchy elbow,

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 maybe worrying about the business meeting you've got tomorrow

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 that you're really dreading, that's distraction.

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 That's the Easter brunch.

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 That's the party in your head, in your environment.

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 Now open awareness practice is not about, okay?

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 So concentration practice is when we select one thing

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 and we attempt to pay attention to it.

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 The distractions will still arise and pass away.

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 Someone in the kitchen will drop a flatter of glasses.

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 They'll be great to do and tinkling and,

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 oh no, get the broom, and that's happening.

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 but in concentration practice, you'd still attempt

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 to stay focused on that.

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 primary conversation and allow the noise of the broken glasses to just

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 be there. You wouldn't jump up and go get involved. Open awareness practice

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 would be as though you're sitting in the middle of the party, middle of the

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 Easter brunch, the middle of the gathering in a comfortable chair with your

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 eyes gently open, relaxed posture, not looking around, keeping your eyes

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 gently gazing ahead, and the parties just happening around you. And you're not

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 meditating on anything in particular. Repeat that. You're not meditating on

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 anything in particular. What does that mean? This could be really slippery when

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 we first try it. If we're used to meditating on an object like breath or

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 metto or any other object. You're allowing the mind to relax and open. The

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 senses are doing what senses do, which is guess what sensing. So your ears

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 are picking up sound sensations. Your eyes are picking up light and

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 color and form sensations, because the resting gently open. You can also

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 practice tonight with eyes closed. We eventually move towards eyes open for

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 this practice. And your tongue is still tasting and your nostrils are

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 still experiencing all factories, smells sensation, and your body is

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 still experiencing touch sensation. Maybe a cool breeze, maybe your

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 hair being blown onto your face in tickling, etc. But you're not doing anything

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 about any other. The mind is allowed to relax like a wide open space and the

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 conversations, the clatter of the broken glasses, the laughter with the

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 room, the kids shrieking and playing and giggling outside the smell of

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 the beautiful food walked into your nose. The music in the background,

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 is that feeling of the fabric on your skin?

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 All of that is just happening.

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 And you're meditating on no object in particular.

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 Just being.

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 Sounds easy.

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 Just simply be, as though I sometimes use this analogy,

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 I've got Neil's microphone on my lapel

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 to a good better sound quality to our listeners online.

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 And you're a microphone.

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 This microphone is just being.

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 Not literally, because I don't think it's sentient.

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 But it's not preferring to catch the sound of that

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 and ignoring the sound of this.

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 It's not choosing every other word to pay attention to.

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 It is a neutral receiver, which your five senses are.

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 So in open awareness practice, we attempt

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 to be simply receiving sounds may arise and pass away.

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 And that may capture the attention.

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 In the party, if I'm talking to you, I'm deliberately

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 really trying to focus on our words, our conversation,

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 your body, your eye movements.

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 In open awareness, there is no preference

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 for any of the conversations.

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 Noise's sound smells.

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 But attention likes to do stuff.

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 We're asking attention to chill out

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 and to just rest in awareness.

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 But attention's going to go, oh, someone dropped glasses.

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 Or, oh, I like this song.

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 That's OK.

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 Just drop it and come back to sinking into no object in particular.

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 Just receiving.

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 We're going to practice this way for something like 20 minutes

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 or so.

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 This is a meditation, which, if you're

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 used to concentration practice, can seem quite confusing

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 for some.

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 And you might attempt to do it, and it might all fall apart.

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 Just be a whole big crazy loud daydream

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 that used to happen to me a lot.

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 No problem.

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 You can choose to do it.

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 meditate on the breath after five minutes or so of exploring this and it just feels like

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 I don't think this is right for me right now like a little more instruction on it or a little more

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 practice on it. Great. Go back to the breath. But for most of us, I'd like you to practice

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 what is quite a different feel or experience? It's a different experience of the mind than the

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 concentration practices and they're both really important to develop. That's probably plenty of

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 teaching for now. So in a reasonably relaxed and yet upright posture but not rigid, very comfortable.

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 If you wish to practice eyes open, gentle eyes, just basically facing ahead with other practices

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 you're instructed to look down and choose a spot on the floor. That's an excellent practice.

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 That's for a different mind reason. For this one, it's just a gentle open-eyed gaze.

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 Kind of almost blurred in that where I'm looking, there's kneel and Carolyn in my foreground

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 and then there's a wall and a door and an exit sign. And I'm attempting not to let my eyes

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 focus on any of those particular things but to rather be a gentle gaze.

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 And just whatever arises and passes in the visual field, I happen to be looking through a mainly

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 glass door to a row. So as well, my relaxed gaze is sort of 10 feet from me. In the distance,

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 there's awareness in the eye consciousness of a car zooming by. But I'm not then looking directly

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 and focusing at the car and trying to see what color it is or anything. It's just doing its car

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 driving by thing. And I'm resting in awareness as things arise and pass away.

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 Notice the mind is thinking or creating stories or concepts.

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 Just attempt to allow that to fade into the background as though it's a distant conversation

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 at the Easter branch that you can't really make out and you're not trying to.

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 It's just there, it's just sound, just mental sound.

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 You're not trying to repress thinking or get rid of it.

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 Just see if you can reduce your attachment to this storyline.

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 Just let it be chatter in the background as you relax as best you can into awareness.

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 Paying attention to any mental dialogue.

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 (bells chiming)

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 (bells chiming)

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 (bells chiming)

00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:29.780
 Now I'm going to take a moment or two and just kind of review the

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 meditation for yourself. Some may have found that working with open

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 awareness, if you chose to practice that it kind of fell apart of it, that there

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 was more room for chatter and busyness that can certainly happen. Others may have

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 found this, I don't know if it would be easier as if it were, but maybe a little

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 maybe it took a little bit easier to just relax the mind into open awareness.

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 Let me be clear that most of the time, at least in the beginning and maybe

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 the middle, it's not that you're seeking or expecting the mind to be open

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 vast empty. That is absolutely a meditation experience and it may arise

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 earlier later, but it's about simply being that sensitive microphone

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 receiver. That's just there, it's not seeking an object, it's attempting to

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 not get tangled in an object, you know, if the greatest band in the world, the

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 who obviously, was in a recording studio and there were a bunch of microphones.

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 Each microphone isn't allowed to say I'm only going to listen to Roger

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 Daltry's vocals, I'm only going to listen to Pete's guitar and in my

00:35:44.620 --> 00:35:50.940
 perfect scenario, both Keith Moon and John Edwards, also alive. So the other microphones

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 aren't going to say I'm going to listen only to the best bass player in the world.

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 If you want to argue with me, I will not hear it. That's the incorrect way to do it, right?

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 is partial to, partial to.

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 I want this, I want that.

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 Clearly, it's the greatest band in the world.

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 You're all like, we have our own greatest band

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 in the world, awesome.

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 In this style of meditation, one is impartial.

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 There is no greatest band.

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 There is no preferred sound.

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 There is no preferred storyline in the head.

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 There is no preferred scent of the sense

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 coming you're just receiving.

00:36:25.320 --> 00:36:26.960
 Well, you aren't even receiving.

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 Awareness is just aware.

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 So that may or may not have had anything

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 to do with the experience you had.

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 Right after I shared that in my visual field,

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 or people in chairs in a door in glass,

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 and then cars going by.

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 Right after I said that, a police car

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 is went by in a row.

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 A story you wanted to go, right?

00:36:51.800 --> 00:36:53.840
 Is there something you're off to do?

00:36:53.840 --> 00:36:56.560
 Is it washer, police car day?

00:36:56.560 --> 00:36:58.280
 Stories want to proliferate.

00:36:58.280 --> 00:37:01.880
 When all that happened was my eyes were gently focused forward,

00:37:01.880 --> 00:37:04.760
 and in the background, one, and because they're fairly

00:37:04.760 --> 00:37:07.040
 distinctly colored with the stripes and the patterns

00:37:07.040 --> 00:37:10.400
 on the white car, the concept was recognized in the brain,

00:37:10.400 --> 00:37:13.880
 our CMP car, two, three.

00:37:13.880 --> 00:37:17.960
 Clearly, there was a little bit of story making starting.

00:37:17.960 --> 00:37:21.760
 And then I attempted awareness, attempted to just let it be,

00:37:21.760 --> 00:37:28.720
 and open up again, open up into larger awareness.

00:37:28.720 --> 00:37:32.120
 So that's a little introduction for Sama Reminder for others,

00:37:32.120 --> 00:37:37.280
 and certainly worth doing a lot more classes on,

00:37:37.280 --> 00:37:40.040
 and also practicing more open awareness, which generally,

00:37:40.040 --> 00:37:42.880
 in most of my retreats, I do some open awareness,

00:37:42.880 --> 00:37:44.760
 where some of you will speak to in your interviews

00:37:44.760 --> 00:37:47.200
 and suggest that you practice almost entirely

00:37:47.200 --> 00:37:48.360
 with open awareness.

00:37:48.360 --> 00:37:54.440
 We very much need to develop proficiency in both.

00:37:54.440 --> 00:37:59.640
 If one trains as a concentration meditator, so to speak,

00:37:59.640 --> 00:38:00.640
 for death.

00:38:00.000 --> 00:38:05.000
 And you can lock and load on the breath or an object, say a crystal.

00:38:05.000 --> 00:38:08.000
 Your heart or meditation, there's many.

00:38:08.000 --> 00:38:11.000
 But we'll use breath the most common and the most available.

00:38:11.000 --> 00:38:17.000
 And you can stay locked and loaded without any distracting thought,

00:38:17.000 --> 00:38:20.000
 without noticing anything but breath for two hours at a time.

00:38:20.000 --> 00:38:21.000
 That's really great.

00:38:21.000 --> 00:38:24.000
 It can help you develop a great deal of calm and penetrative insight,

00:38:24.000 --> 00:38:28.000
 and lead to some really, excuse me,

00:38:28.000 --> 00:38:31.000
 deep meditation experiences of water,

00:38:31.000 --> 00:38:33.000
 called the jonic absorptions,

00:38:33.000 --> 00:38:35.000
 where the sense of self and your body dissolves,

00:38:35.000 --> 00:38:39.000
 and there is no concept, and it's very deep, very focused and very calm.

00:38:39.000 --> 00:38:41.000
 Those all have great value.

00:38:41.000 --> 00:38:44.000
 But how much use is that in daily life,

00:38:44.000 --> 00:38:49.000
 if you're super-sonically good at concentrating on one thing?

00:38:49.000 --> 00:38:53.000
 But then you've got to walk into a business meeting,

00:38:53.000 --> 00:38:56.000
 where there's many more than one thing.

00:38:56.000 --> 00:39:00.000
 Maybe some warring egos a little bit, some really exciting ideas,

00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:02.000
 some concerns that the budget isn't there,

00:39:02.000 --> 00:39:06.000
 some assigning of roles and some tempting donuts

00:39:06.000 --> 00:39:08.000
 when you're not eating sugar or whatever.

00:39:08.000 --> 00:39:10.000
 And there's all the things.

00:39:10.000 --> 00:39:12.000
 And you're like, I'm freaking out now.

00:39:12.000 --> 00:39:15.000
 The mind is scattered and it's stressed and it's distressed.

00:39:15.000 --> 00:39:17.000
 I just want to go meditate.

00:39:17.000 --> 00:39:20.000
 Run off to the bathroom because no one really questions you're going to the bathroom.

00:39:20.000 --> 00:39:21.000
 Nobody says you can't go.

00:39:21.000 --> 00:39:23.000
 So it's always a good place to escape.

00:39:23.000 --> 00:39:26.000
 And you escape there and you just like, just stay calm.

00:39:26.000 --> 00:39:28.000
 Just stay peace.

00:39:28.000 --> 00:39:30.000
 I just want to focus on my breath.

00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:32.000
 That's not a bad thing.

00:39:32.000 --> 00:39:36.000
 You can be a very wise, mental health,

00:39:36.000 --> 00:39:40.000
 meditation health break to take your out of business or triggering

00:39:40.000 --> 00:39:42.000
 and end into focus.

00:39:42.000 --> 00:39:44.000
 However, can you hear how limited you are?

00:39:44.000 --> 00:39:45.000
 Right?

00:39:45.000 --> 00:39:48.000
 If one can only get calm,

00:39:48.000 --> 00:39:49.000
 and I'm exaggerating a little bit,

00:39:49.000 --> 00:39:51.000
 but not a great deal, maybe.

00:39:51.000 --> 00:39:54.000
 If we can only get calm without distractions

00:39:54.000 --> 00:39:58.000
 in a quiet room focusing on our breath,

00:39:58.000 --> 00:40:00.000
 that is a wonderful achievement.

00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:04.000
 and it's very worthwhile, but it's not going to serve you

00:40:04.000 --> 00:40:06.880
 as well as you might like in your entire life.

00:40:06.880 --> 00:40:09.560
 It should carry over to some degree,

00:40:09.560 --> 00:40:12.560
 maybe less reactive, more able to kind of re-center

00:40:12.560 --> 00:40:14.800
 in the middle of a difficult conversation.

00:40:14.800 --> 00:40:18.160
 But we also want to develop this awareness

00:40:18.160 --> 00:40:20.200
 where all the things are happening

00:40:20.200 --> 00:40:23.400
 and you can be calm and aware

00:40:23.400 --> 00:40:25.960
 and non-judgmental and non-preferential.

00:40:25.960 --> 00:40:28.920
 So for whatever reason this business meeting keeps coming up

00:40:28.920 --> 00:40:31.560
 and analogy tonight, don't know who that's about,

00:40:31.560 --> 00:40:33.280
 maybe someone out there.

00:40:33.280 --> 00:40:35.080
 So if you're in the business meeting

00:40:35.080 --> 00:40:40.240
 and you're feeling calm and curious and open-minded,

00:40:40.240 --> 00:40:41.360
 what a beautiful phrase.

00:40:41.360 --> 00:40:43.480
 We use that phrase in English, right?

00:40:43.480 --> 00:40:45.040
 They're really open-minded.

00:40:45.040 --> 00:40:47.360
 Well, we're going to tweak that a little bit here.

00:40:47.360 --> 00:40:50.160
 We're practicing being open-minded.

00:40:50.160 --> 00:40:53.680
 And when you think about, we use that term in English,

00:40:53.680 --> 00:40:55.960
 when we say, oh, he's she there, open-minded.

00:40:55.960 --> 00:40:59.320
 We mean, they don't have strong opinions

00:40:59.320 --> 00:41:01.080
 about what they like and what they don't like

00:41:01.080 --> 00:41:02.080
 and you're wrong.

00:41:02.080 --> 00:41:04.280
 I think it's more or less how we use it, right?

00:41:04.280 --> 00:41:05.880
 You're surely surely open-minded

00:41:05.880 --> 00:41:09.400
 if you're into going to Burning Man,

00:41:09.400 --> 00:41:10.600
 she thinks that is fine.

00:41:10.600 --> 00:41:12.000
 If you're into going to classical music,

00:41:12.000 --> 00:41:15.520
 she thinks that's fine, open-minded.

00:41:15.520 --> 00:41:17.480
 Not, oh, I like that, I don't like that.

00:41:17.480 --> 00:41:18.360
 You're right, you're wrong.

00:41:18.360 --> 00:41:21.840
 So that's a little something there we can play with.

00:41:21.840 --> 00:41:25.000
 So when our mind is open at the business meeting,

00:41:26.120 --> 00:41:28.640
 we might hear Richard propose something

00:41:28.640 --> 00:41:31.280
 that you hadn't heard before

00:41:31.280 --> 00:41:32.960
 and you don't really see how that could work

00:41:32.960 --> 00:41:34.720
 or how it might help the problem.

00:41:34.720 --> 00:41:36.480
 But instead of going, no, that won't work,

00:41:36.480 --> 00:41:40.160
 close-minded, it might be, you know, that's interesting.

00:41:40.160 --> 00:41:41.640
 I hadn't really thought of that.

00:41:41.640 --> 00:41:44.400
 Can you sketch it out for me more?

00:41:44.400 --> 00:41:45.840
 I don't quite see the vision.

00:41:45.840 --> 00:41:48.840
 I don't quite know how eating more oranges

00:41:48.840 --> 00:41:53.000
 will make world peace, or whatever.

00:41:53.000 --> 00:41:56.520
 Help me see it, instead of note, close.

00:41:56.520 --> 00:41:59.320
 What if someone comes at you in the business meeting

00:41:59.320 --> 00:42:00.520
 in a personal--

00:42:00.000 --> 00:42:05.760
 way. You know, Cheryl, you really drop the ball on X, Y, Z. And that's, I think, part of the budget

00:42:05.760 --> 00:42:10.320
 problem is you didn't, you know, estimate well enough what we would need. And now we're in trouble,

00:42:10.320 --> 00:42:14.320
 and that means we may have to cut other programs. We all believe in including you. That's pretty

00:42:14.320 --> 00:42:22.160
 personal. Is it? Feels personal. That can feel like a salted that can feel really negative.

00:42:22.160 --> 00:42:27.520
 But if you're in open awareness, you can, this may sound like a stretch, but this is what we want

00:42:27.520 --> 00:42:34.480
 to practice toward is, okay, Neil has opinions, he's sharing really what it is, is concepts,

00:42:34.480 --> 00:42:40.240
 which are not a positive negative or neutral. They're just concepts being verbalized through his

00:42:40.240 --> 00:42:45.920
 concepts and his words, which makes sound waves. Honestly, that's all it is. It's not even Neil,

00:42:45.920 --> 00:42:54.000
 it's just sound waves. Sorry, buddy. And the sound waves are reaching my antennae receivers,

00:42:54.000 --> 00:43:01.680
 my microphone. And being translated into my concepts. First of all, he's English words,

00:43:01.680 --> 00:43:07.680
 because we both both speak English relatively competently. It's being translated into English word

00:43:07.680 --> 00:43:13.600
 concepts in my own mind that are just concepts. But because he's saying Cheryl, you messed up,

00:43:13.600 --> 00:43:17.600
 and you made mistakes, and it's going to mean we cut programs we care about, and maybe I'm annoyed

00:43:17.600 --> 00:43:21.600
 with you, or I'm disappointed in your leadership, which might be valid points, by the way.

00:43:22.480 --> 00:43:29.760
 The receiver is neutral. It's when Cheryl gets involved and has emotions about the concepts,

00:43:29.760 --> 00:43:35.680
 emotions about the tone in the singing, in the bass string, in the whatever. That's where one gets

00:43:35.680 --> 00:43:43.840
 into trouble. What if there was a non-defensive open mind? And not put on, I like, oh, dude,

00:43:43.840 --> 00:43:48.480
 everything's cool. I don't mean to be derogatory, but like really where everything is cool.

00:43:50.400 --> 00:43:54.480
 Okay, yeah, I think he makes some really reasonable observations there. I don't really look,

00:43:54.480 --> 00:43:59.680
 I'm going to backtrack and see if there was places I missed things, or it could have made

00:43:59.680 --> 00:44:00.680
 different.

00:44:00.000 --> 00:44:05.680
 decisions. And then maybe the team we can brainstorm that. Here we are now. I'm

00:44:05.680 --> 00:44:08.960
 wondering if people have thoughts about what they might propose we do in the

00:44:08.960 --> 00:44:12.720
 interim, what we try to figure this out. That sounded pretty great, right? I

00:44:12.720 --> 00:44:17.840
 wish I was always that leader. When I'm with my small team, I'm not always that

00:44:17.840 --> 00:44:23.760
 leader. So how does this relate to open awareness? I'm attending to draw

00:44:23.760 --> 00:44:30.640
 a practical bridge between why meditate and how it can be helpful in real

00:44:30.640 --> 00:44:34.240
 life. And I think that's really important to revisit

00:44:34.240 --> 00:44:42.720
 sometimes. Because I personally enjoy, for the most part, and benefit from

00:44:42.720 --> 00:44:47.200
 for the whole part, long meditation retreats, three months, four months,

00:44:47.200 --> 00:44:51.280
 where I'm completely disconnected from the world. You know, we

00:44:51.280 --> 00:44:55.280
 know, no texts, no contact with my family or loved ones. There's an emergency

00:44:55.280 --> 00:44:58.560
 number if someone dies or the house burns down that they could call and

00:44:58.560 --> 00:45:03.120
 teach you could decide whether that information would be shared with me

00:45:03.120 --> 00:45:08.960
 and normally it would be if it was quite big. But it's not for everybody,

00:45:08.960 --> 00:45:11.920
 and it might not sound very fun, and it's not always very fun.

00:45:11.920 --> 00:45:17.920
 But why would I do that? Well, because I don't like suffering,

00:45:17.920 --> 00:45:22.720
 and I have found in my limited way that when I work with the mind,

00:45:22.720 --> 00:45:27.360
 and I train the mind, and I practice more, there's not a direct linear

00:45:27.360 --> 00:45:32.240
 correlation to, I put in this many hours, I suffer this percent less.

00:45:32.240 --> 00:45:39.440
 But overall, there is more calm in the mind more often.

00:45:39.440 --> 00:45:44.320
 Overall, there's more reasonableness, equanimity, or maybe grace, the way I just

00:45:44.320 --> 00:45:48.400
 modeled how maybe I could hear tough feedback in a meeting,

00:45:48.400 --> 00:45:54.080
 and, you know, be non-defensive and curious and effective.

00:45:54.080 --> 00:45:57.680
 Boy, I'm sure not there yet, but there are changes.

00:45:57.680 --> 00:46:02.000
 So one might go,

00:46:00.000 --> 00:46:07.960
 for a weekend or four months or a year to train the mind, but I, this is just

00:46:07.960 --> 00:46:12.720
 personal, this isn't necessarily a deep-darmant teaching. I would be disappointed

00:46:12.720 --> 00:46:18.760
 if after all that hard work of multiple three and four months for treats, I didn't

00:46:18.760 --> 00:46:25.440
 feel any different except when I was on retreat. That would be like, okay, let's

00:46:25.440 --> 00:46:31.640
 look at that. Is the dharma about going to a remote location? Does that feel

00:46:31.640 --> 00:46:38.560
 very remote, but remove from daily life and training the mind and having some

00:46:38.560 --> 00:46:42.800
 insights, maybe some breakthroughs, maybe some cool experiences, maybe some

00:46:42.800 --> 00:46:49.280
 more understanding of one's mind. But when I leave retreat, it all falls

00:46:49.280 --> 00:46:55.400
 apart and I'm just this neurotic, reactive, difficult, challenging, sad, anxious, and

00:46:55.400 --> 00:47:02.120
 also sometimes happy as ever. Kind of sort of, I mean, to some degree, I think we

00:47:02.120 --> 00:47:06.880
 could all say, yeah, I just tend to retreat and I really got some stuff and it really

00:47:06.880 --> 00:47:12.200
 felt different and now I'm a total frickin mess. So hold this lightly, both

00:47:12.200 --> 00:47:19.280
 are both are accurate. They both end, yes, and so yes, and I'm still at times, far too

00:47:19.280 --> 00:47:25.960
 often in my view, reactive, feel negative, feel anxious, worry about things too

00:47:25.960 --> 00:47:30.160
 much, can be unpleasant toward others when I'm stressed and all sorts of

00:47:30.160 --> 00:47:34.880
 things that aren't admirable or wholesome. But overall, there is more

00:47:34.880 --> 00:47:42.080
 grace. Overall, there is more patience. Overall, there are small, but noticeable

00:47:42.080 --> 00:47:49.520
 improvements towards the wholesome over time. And a compliment I received from my

00:47:49.520 --> 00:47:55.200
 brother, who's a fine, fine fellow, but a man, if not a lot of words, about

00:47:55.200 --> 00:47:59.980
 about personal things. He said once, you know, it's been

00:48:00.000 --> 00:48:05.000
 meditation you do, it's so obvious how much you've changed.

00:48:05.000 --> 00:48:07.720
 This was around 10 or 15, it was pre-ricured.

00:48:07.720 --> 00:48:10.400
 So more than 15 years ago, probably.

00:48:10.400 --> 00:48:13.360
 And it meant a great deal because my brother

00:48:13.360 --> 00:48:15.360
 isn't inclined to necessarily make

00:48:15.360 --> 00:48:18.200
 more personal observations, super smart guy,

00:48:18.200 --> 00:48:21.760
 but it felt very meaningful coming from him.

00:48:21.760 --> 00:48:26.160
 And I thought, okay, keep it up, kiddo, right?

00:48:26.160 --> 00:48:30.320
 My brother just says you've changed a lot.

00:48:30.320 --> 00:48:34.400
 But I will say it's easier when I'm, you know,

00:48:34.400 --> 00:48:35.920
 retreat a short or a long one.

00:48:35.920 --> 00:48:38.200
 I'm a much nicer person when I spend one day here

00:48:38.200 --> 00:48:40.240
 meditating with you all.

00:48:40.240 --> 00:48:42.400
 It's more grace, it's more, I feel great right now.

00:48:42.400 --> 00:48:44.480
 I didn't feel great an hour before I came.

00:48:44.480 --> 00:48:47.520
 Some difficult things happen today,

00:48:47.520 --> 00:48:51.520
 but people I really love that are in a horrible suffering.

00:48:51.520 --> 00:48:54.880
 And I was really painful to hear and to sit with them

00:48:54.880 --> 00:48:59.000
 and on the phone and it then left me kind of depleted

00:48:59.000 --> 00:49:02.680
 and in Dukka, right?

00:49:02.680 --> 00:49:06.320
 Partly out of compassion and partly out of my lack of skill.

00:49:06.320 --> 00:49:08.720
 And then on the way here, it was like, okay,

00:49:08.720 --> 00:49:09.560
 a bit better.

00:49:09.560 --> 00:49:13.240
 And then I walked in and there was so much more ease

00:49:13.240 --> 00:49:16.120
 in the mind, so much more calm in the heart

00:49:16.120 --> 00:49:20.320
 because we're dipping our toes in the Dharma together

00:49:20.320 --> 00:49:22.560
 because I see beautiful people

00:49:22.560 --> 00:49:25.160
 who have an interested suffering less.

00:49:25.160 --> 00:49:29.280
 And I imagine the other people online

00:49:29.280 --> 00:49:31.200
 they have an interest in suffering less.

00:49:31.200 --> 00:49:36.200
 So why practice if it doesn't leave the cushion?

00:49:36.200 --> 00:49:39.000
 There's a really important question.

00:49:39.000 --> 00:49:42.400
 And I welcome skepticism around, well, okay,

00:49:42.400 --> 00:49:43.880
 you know, if I'm kind of nice and calm,

00:49:43.880 --> 00:49:45.320
 I mean, one makes the joke.

00:49:45.320 --> 00:49:47.560
 It's a pretty obvious joke, but still kind of funny

00:49:47.560 --> 00:49:49.920
 which is like your dad, you're meditating

00:49:49.920 --> 00:49:52.280
 in your meditation room in the corner of the drive

00:49:52.280 --> 00:49:54.800
 that, you know, kind of set up a little bit private

00:49:54.800 --> 00:49:57.800
 maybe a privacy screen and got a little bit statue

00:49:57.800 --> 00:50:00.240
 and maybe a beautiful image of.

00:50:00.000 --> 00:50:02.120
 That's flour and you've got your cushion

00:50:02.120 --> 00:50:04.160
 and you're meditating, you're feeling kind of good.

00:50:04.160 --> 00:50:06.360
 And your friend, partner, roommate, comes in

00:50:06.360 --> 00:50:07.200
 and slams the door.

00:50:07.200 --> 00:50:08.640
 You're like, "Be quiet, I'm meditating."

00:50:08.640 --> 00:50:13.640
 Oops, wait, wait, these are really important moments.

00:50:13.640 --> 00:50:16.080
 'Cause in, and let's keep meditating

00:50:16.080 --> 00:50:18.240
 and try not to bark at your whoever.

00:50:18.240 --> 00:50:21.160
 And if you do, go, okay, wow, right?

00:50:21.160 --> 00:50:24.280
 I'm practicing for calm and all sorts of other things,

00:50:24.280 --> 00:50:25.120
 eventually, I hope.

00:50:25.120 --> 00:50:28.160
 What's wrong with this picture?

00:50:28.160 --> 00:50:29.840
 Well, nothing's wrong with the picture,

00:50:29.840 --> 00:50:31.680
 but it's an observation that

00:50:31.680 --> 00:50:34.640
 that the point I'm attempting to make,

00:50:34.640 --> 00:50:37.480
 perhaps a little clumsy is when,

00:50:37.480 --> 00:50:41.520
 if we can pretty much only calm down like this,

00:50:41.520 --> 00:50:43.080
 that's a wonderful start.

00:50:43.080 --> 00:50:43.920
 That's the good news.

00:50:43.920 --> 00:50:44.760
 It's a really great start.

00:50:44.760 --> 00:50:46.680
 It's actually a hell of an accomplishment.

00:50:46.680 --> 00:50:48.360
 If you can sit down in the quarter of your garage

00:50:48.360 --> 00:50:51.360
 and feel 10% calmer and 10% happier

00:50:51.360 --> 00:50:54.280
 and 10% more relaxed and 10% brighter,

00:50:54.280 --> 00:50:56.080
 fan frickin' tastic.

00:50:56.080 --> 00:50:59.440
 But if it's contingent on no disturbance, right?

00:50:59.440 --> 00:51:01.080
 It should often feel like it is.

00:51:01.080 --> 00:51:02.700
 So someone's signs are like, ah,

00:51:02.700 --> 00:51:04.080
 you recommend meditation.

00:51:04.080 --> 00:51:04.920
 They didn't do anything.

00:51:04.920 --> 00:51:06.240
 It was just sound, you're a receiver.

00:51:06.240 --> 00:51:07.080
 It's all on you.

00:51:07.080 --> 00:51:07.920
 Ah-ha.

00:51:07.920 --> 00:51:12.160
 Let's have the same meditation the next day

00:51:12.160 --> 00:51:13.440
 in the quarter of your song,

00:51:13.440 --> 00:51:16.320
 where you're in your garage or wherever, anywhere,

00:51:16.320 --> 00:51:18.880
 but in your home for purpose of this analogy

00:51:18.880 --> 00:51:23.480
 and you're who are meditating and practicing

00:51:23.480 --> 00:51:26.400
 and the same person coming in and slams the door,

00:51:26.400 --> 00:51:27.960
 but you're in a bit of a commerce state.

00:51:27.960 --> 00:51:29.840
 You're in a bit of a more expansive state.

00:51:29.840 --> 00:51:31.240
 It'll be like, door slam.

00:51:31.240 --> 00:51:33.880
 Won't be a big deal.

00:51:33.880 --> 00:51:36.880
 Might startle you, your physiology a little bit,

00:51:36.880 --> 00:51:40.680
 'cause the physiology might be kind of resting

00:51:40.680 --> 00:51:42.640
 into stillness and some quiet.

00:51:42.640 --> 00:51:44.840
 So the bang might, the physiology might go,

00:51:44.840 --> 00:51:46.400
 ooh, a little bit.

00:51:46.400 --> 00:51:47.920
 But the mind can go, oh yeah.

00:51:47.920 --> 00:51:51.600
 Johnson and still be calm.

00:51:51.600 --> 00:51:55.000
 That's a really big deal and it feels really good.

00:51:55.000 --> 00:52:00.000
 because one can observe, normally, that would have rattled the heck out of me.

00:52:00.000 --> 00:52:07.480
 Well, because there was more awareness I'm going to put forward as well as the attention.

00:52:07.480 --> 00:52:09.720
 So there wasn't as much clinging to, "I've got to be here.

00:52:09.720 --> 00:52:10.720
 Let me alone."

00:52:10.720 --> 00:52:14.520
 There was like, "I'm here and someone dropped a whole thing of glasses in the bathroom or

00:52:14.520 --> 00:52:21.480
 in the kitchen and these mashed everywhere and it's not a big deal."

00:52:21.480 --> 00:52:27.440
 It's interesting to try to describe this because a lot of it is a felt experience of being

00:52:27.440 --> 00:52:31.840
 in meditation and there's a big noise and it doesn't really rattle you one time.

00:52:31.840 --> 00:52:32.840
 It's registered.

00:52:32.840 --> 00:52:35.040
 The loud noise is registered.

00:52:35.040 --> 00:52:37.800
 I don't know if any of you here.

00:52:37.800 --> 00:52:39.400
 I know Kim was there.

00:52:39.400 --> 00:52:40.400
 I don't know.

00:52:40.400 --> 00:52:47.200
 I don't think Neil was there, but anyway, around a long time ago, 10-ish years or more,

00:52:47.200 --> 00:52:52.600
 maybe 12, maybe 14, I was teaching, I think, a 10-day retreat on Dem and I at the no

00:52:52.600 --> 00:52:56.560
 longer there wonderful center that used to be there, the Hermitage.

00:52:56.560 --> 00:53:01.280
 And we've been told, some were after, some were after, some were, it was a huge feel.

00:53:01.280 --> 00:53:03.880
 I mean, it was this gigantic tree.

00:53:03.880 --> 00:53:06.760
 Was it a maple or an oak?

00:53:06.760 --> 00:53:13.720
 Like really a huge, huge treat, like kind of cathedral grove level circumference and huge,

00:53:13.720 --> 00:53:18.320
 huge branches were, you know, super thick and we were told, you know, don't meditate under

00:53:18.320 --> 00:53:19.320
 that tree.

00:53:19.320 --> 00:53:22.720
 It's not necessarily all that stable a branch could fall off or something.

00:53:22.720 --> 00:53:27.120
 So it's beautiful, it is enjoy it, but please don't go Buddhist tile and meditate under

00:53:27.120 --> 00:53:30.680
 the tree, which we observed because made sense.

00:53:30.680 --> 00:53:33.080
 So it was an, were you there?

00:53:33.080 --> 00:53:43.640
 So it was an evening class, it was dark and I was giving a talk and the tree, a limb,

00:53:43.640 --> 00:53:51.240
 I don't know how big, like, would that be like eight, 10 feet around of the limb, sheared

00:53:51.240 --> 00:53:53.400
 off and crashed to the ground.

00:53:53.400 --> 00:53:58.960
 One of the staff was in the kitchen and saw it happen and it happened in about a second.

00:53:58.960 --> 00:54:08.960
 [BLANK_AUDIO]

00:54:00.000 --> 00:54:03.200
 It wasn't like crack, crack, crack, crack, crack.

00:54:03.200 --> 00:54:04.360
 Bang.

00:54:04.360 --> 00:54:05.600
 It was.

00:54:05.600 --> 00:54:06.320
 Bang!

00:54:06.320 --> 00:54:09.480
 Like we thought it was a shotgun or something.

00:54:09.480 --> 00:54:11.920
 And if anybody been under it, there'd be a squished.

00:54:11.920 --> 00:54:14.640
 Like an ant under a giant split.

00:54:14.640 --> 00:54:17.600
 But the point was, this was in about day eight or nine

00:54:17.600 --> 00:54:19.200
 of a really deep retreat.

00:54:19.200 --> 00:54:20.520
 I was working people.

00:54:20.520 --> 00:54:24.120
 They were meditating hard for long days.

00:54:24.120 --> 00:54:27.280
 You know, sitting, walking, sitting, walking, silent,

00:54:27.280 --> 00:54:28.840
 silence, really focused.

00:54:28.840 --> 00:54:31.080
 They're not really engaging with each other.

00:54:31.080 --> 00:54:34.400
 And it was so interesting to see the reactions in the room.

00:54:34.400 --> 00:54:37.640
 It was probably something like 24 people, 25 people

00:54:37.640 --> 00:54:40.520
 crammed into this small year.

00:54:40.520 --> 00:54:43.280
 And this body in mind were pretty calm

00:54:43.280 --> 00:54:46.440
 after eight or nine days of the glory of sharing this dharma.

00:54:46.440 --> 00:54:47.760
 That's not always the case.

00:54:47.760 --> 00:54:52.760
 And so the experience for this body in mind was huge love

00:54:52.760 --> 00:54:57.000
 bang, unruffled physiology.

00:54:57.000 --> 00:54:57.720
 I didn't jump.

00:54:57.720 --> 00:54:58.480
 I didn't look.

00:54:58.480 --> 00:54:59.880
 I didn't react.

00:54:59.880 --> 00:55:02.960
 There was the very much loud noise.

00:55:02.960 --> 00:55:04.600
 And in the room, there was, as you imagine,

00:55:04.600 --> 00:55:07.560
 a variety of responses with some shrieks.

00:55:07.560 --> 00:55:08.240
 Makes sense.

00:55:08.240 --> 00:55:10.080
 It was a terribly loud noise.

00:55:10.080 --> 00:55:11.840
 There were certainly concepts, right?

00:55:11.840 --> 00:55:13.000
 I did have a concept.

00:55:13.000 --> 00:55:15.000
 I'm also responsible for the safety of all these beings

00:55:15.000 --> 00:55:16.000
 in my view.

00:55:16.000 --> 00:55:19.040
 Was that a gunshot, right?

00:55:19.040 --> 00:55:22.000
 Because if so, that shouldn't be happening on Denman Island.

00:55:22.000 --> 00:55:24.000
 And these are a hunter out there that

00:55:24.000 --> 00:55:26.880
 needs to be told about to do that.

00:55:26.880 --> 00:55:28.640
 But there was this calm.

00:55:28.640 --> 00:55:31.400
 And some people in the room, it was a bit of a calm.

00:55:31.400 --> 00:55:33.200
 Others was like a shriek, which is fine.

00:55:33.200 --> 00:55:34.800
 It's totally normal response.

00:55:34.800 --> 00:55:36.480
 Please, it's not judgmental.

00:55:36.480 --> 00:55:40.640
 But depending where each mind was, whether it was a calm

00:55:40.640 --> 00:55:44.960
 and open and grounded, that sound was simply a sound arising

00:55:44.960 --> 00:55:45.640
 in past noise.

00:55:45.640 --> 00:55:50.440
 It was a very loud sound, very loud, and a very abrupt sound.

00:55:50.440 --> 00:55:54.640
 That's all it was.

00:55:54.640 --> 00:55:58.400
 So we had the whole spectrum of huge reactions.

00:55:58.400 --> 00:55:59.440
 And then chatter.

00:55:59.440 --> 00:56:01.360
 And this is a real--

00:56:00.000 --> 00:56:04.960
 silent retreat. So like, oh my god, what was that or something? It's fine. Like, no judgment.

00:56:04.960 --> 00:56:09.440
 Like literally no judgment. That was not an unreasonable thing to do. And then that person

00:56:09.440 --> 00:56:13.520
 collected themselves and stopped talking for them. And it was no big deal. And I wasn't mad about

00:56:13.520 --> 00:56:22.320
 any of it. It was just more, wow, what a cool test, an unintentional test of if the concentration

00:56:22.320 --> 00:56:31.920
 is deepening, if the physiology, the bottle is set body, excuse me, is settling. The central nervous

00:56:31.920 --> 00:56:44.000
 system and the mind biochemically, physiologically and meditationally slow down. So there's less reactivity.

00:56:44.000 --> 00:56:48.800
 Well, you know, we say I was, I'm really jumpy today, right? I'm going to be overslept,

00:56:48.800 --> 00:56:53.840
 over caps and innated, under slept, over caffeinated, worried about things, having difficult

00:56:53.840 --> 00:56:57.840
 emotions go on. These things happen to me as well, of course. And there's times where I'll be more

00:56:57.840 --> 00:57:03.600
 jumpy. Well, things will irritate your body, you impact the nervous system. So when one works with the

00:57:03.600 --> 00:57:13.760
 mind and it settles more, not like settles is dostian, which as low as you go. And it's calmer. The experience

00:57:13.760 --> 00:57:24.160
 is as though there's more spaciousness between the stimulus and the response. So in the microseconds,

00:57:24.160 --> 00:57:31.200
 I'm not sure it takes a very loud noise to reach your eardrum across, I don't know, from here to the

00:57:31.200 --> 00:57:37.040
 end of that third car there. It wasn't super far away. But I don't know what that takes,

00:57:37.040 --> 00:57:43.520
 microseconds or something from from the boom reaching the ear. It only takes then microseconds

00:57:43.520 --> 00:57:51.040
 for the eardrum for it to reach your neurology. So that actual physically measurable, if we had

00:57:51.040 --> 00:57:58.560
 it like clicker measure, that doesn't change. But the experience in the being, it can feel much

00:57:58.560 --> 00:57:59.560
 slow down.

00:58:00.000 --> 00:58:03.480
 So it's there, there's not an instant response,

00:58:03.480 --> 00:58:05.400
 even though it's an instant recording inside

00:58:05.400 --> 00:58:07.880
 and maybe a very close to instant concept,

00:58:07.880 --> 00:58:09.640
 what the heck was that?

00:58:09.640 --> 00:58:13.240
 But the experience can be, oh,

00:58:13.240 --> 00:58:18.720
 that could be helpful in a contentious business meeting,

00:58:18.720 --> 00:58:19.880
 couldn't it?

00:58:19.880 --> 00:58:24.880
 Less reactive, less knee jerk, less defensive, more, oh,

00:58:24.880 --> 00:58:26.520
 tell me more.

00:58:27.880 --> 00:58:31.240
 Now I think we can many of us, hopefully to my all of us,

00:58:31.240 --> 00:58:35.200
 I hope everybody hasn't been in a scary car accident situation,

00:58:35.200 --> 00:58:38.520
 but a lot of us have or an imagine it.

00:58:38.520 --> 00:58:41.440
 Have you ever had that experience during a moment of crisis

00:58:41.440 --> 00:58:44.360
 like the car hits ice and starts to fishtail

00:58:44.360 --> 00:58:47.760
 and you see yourself heading towards pole

00:58:47.760 --> 00:58:50.600
 or something like that or maybe you see your dog

00:58:50.600 --> 00:58:53.680
 or your toddler race out into traffic

00:58:53.680 --> 00:58:56.080
 and there's a car coming, you know, anything like that

00:58:56.080 --> 00:58:58.880
 that's a crisis point, a danger point of some kind

00:58:58.880 --> 00:59:00.960
 or perceived danger point of some kind?

00:59:00.960 --> 00:59:03.240
 Have you ever had the experience of time slowing down?

00:59:03.240 --> 00:59:04.520
 Anybody?

00:59:04.520 --> 00:59:07.080
 Holy smokes, isn't it bizarre?

00:59:07.080 --> 00:59:11.800
 And you could see it, you can see the implication,

00:59:11.800 --> 00:59:15.200
 you can see maybe or maybe not an action you can try to take

00:59:15.200 --> 00:59:18.280
 to prevent it, there can even be a quick analysis

00:59:18.280 --> 00:59:20.920
 of a couple of things to do,

00:59:20.920 --> 00:59:25.920
 all of which should not be possible in that microsecond.

00:59:26.800 --> 00:59:27.640
 Right?

00:59:27.640 --> 00:59:32.680
 So I had a car accident, some of you've heard about,

00:59:32.680 --> 00:59:35.520
 it was a long time ago now, probably more than 20 years.

00:59:35.520 --> 00:59:39.520
 It was my little Miata sports car, the other one,

00:59:39.520 --> 00:59:43.800
 and I was driving in Maple Bay from my old place I used to rent

00:59:43.800 --> 00:59:47.360
 and it was a cool day, but there was no ice on my driver

00:59:47.360 --> 00:59:49.960
 which tended to ice and there was no frost on my deck

00:59:49.960 --> 00:59:52.120
 when I let the dog out which tended to be frosty.

00:59:52.120 --> 00:59:53.880
 So I was under the impression,

00:59:53.880 --> 00:59:56.680
 it was probably three-ish degrees, wasn't icy.

00:59:56.680 --> 00:59:58.560
 But there was a little anomaly right there,

00:59:58.560 --> 01:00:00.400
 there was a pipe that tended to see.

01:00:00.000 --> 01:00:03.920
 seat onto the road in a little dip and no, no.

01:00:03.920 --> 01:00:06.240
 It turned into black ice on the regular,

01:00:06.240 --> 01:00:08.520
 even when everything else was thought around it.

01:00:08.520 --> 01:00:09.760
 It wasn't driving very fast.

01:00:09.760 --> 01:00:12.400
 It was barely a few hundred meters

01:00:12.400 --> 01:00:15.240
 from my driveway and I've time to accelerate very much.

01:00:15.240 --> 01:00:17.960
 But the front of the car hit this little bit of black ice

01:00:17.960 --> 01:00:20.440
 and it started to fish tail like this.

01:00:20.440 --> 01:00:24.160
 And then it felt so slow.

01:00:24.160 --> 01:00:26.240
 It felt so slow, it fished hailed.

01:00:26.240 --> 01:00:28.680
 And then the passenger side,

01:00:28.680 --> 01:00:30.960
 there was an ascending bank there.

01:00:30.960 --> 01:00:33.800
 So the wheels hit the bottom of this ascending bank

01:00:33.800 --> 01:00:35.800
 and then went up and up and the car went on its side

01:00:35.800 --> 01:00:37.680
 and it flipped over.

01:00:37.680 --> 01:00:38.760
 And then I'm upside down.

01:00:38.760 --> 01:00:40.280
 I'm belted in in a big puppy coat.

01:00:40.280 --> 01:00:42.400
 I'm a little dog with me.

01:00:42.400 --> 01:00:47.400
 And the car's squished a bit and the windows all broken

01:00:47.400 --> 01:00:51.160
 with glass, but it's not a very tall car anyway.

01:00:51.160 --> 01:00:53.720
 So upside down and squished with this big puppy coat,

01:00:53.720 --> 01:00:58.120
 I'm like, I don't know how I can get out that door

01:00:58.120 --> 01:01:00.280
 plus I'm upside down and strapped in.

01:01:00.280 --> 01:01:03.800
 Plus I'm worried about my dog and is she okay?

01:01:03.800 --> 01:01:04.640
 She was.

01:01:04.640 --> 01:01:06.480
 And all of this is happening.

01:01:06.480 --> 01:01:08.120
 And then I noticed, I'm upside down

01:01:08.120 --> 01:01:12.240
 and I noticed fluid dripping out of the upside down car.

01:01:12.240 --> 01:01:15.400
 And because I've watched too many movies,

01:01:15.400 --> 01:01:17.320
 I immediately thought that's gasoline

01:01:17.320 --> 01:01:20.000
 and my car's gonna explode, which is not entirely stupid.

01:01:20.000 --> 01:01:22.200
 It turned out it was like probably water.

01:01:22.200 --> 01:01:24.440
 But you know, you're upside down trapped in a car

01:01:24.440 --> 01:01:26.280
 with your dog and you see the dripping.

01:01:26.280 --> 01:01:29.080
 It's like Bruce Willis time or something

01:01:29.080 --> 01:01:30.440
 is gonna explode.

01:01:30.440 --> 01:01:34.720
 So I kind of size up the situation

01:01:34.720 --> 01:01:37.360
 and I managed to get the belt undone

01:01:37.360 --> 01:01:38.560
 and kind of drop and bump my head,

01:01:38.560 --> 01:01:40.240
 which is why I have a neck injury.

01:01:40.240 --> 01:01:43.360
 And I think I shucked off my coat

01:01:43.360 --> 01:01:46.800
 so I could wiggle out of the squishy window

01:01:46.800 --> 01:01:50.480
 and get out there and then my dog crawled out behind me

01:01:50.480 --> 01:01:53.760
 'cause she's no dummy and she's running around on the road.

01:01:54.960 --> 01:01:59.960
 All of that happened in probably a couple of seconds, right?

01:02:00.000 --> 01:02:03.040
 because I went, we went, we went, but Cheryl's out of the car.

01:02:03.040 --> 01:02:06.880
 In the time it took a man who was standing across the street,

01:02:06.880 --> 01:02:10.880
 she's a two-lane street, to run across to the car to save me.

01:02:10.880 --> 01:02:14.320
 All of that happened and I'm out and he's like, "Are you okay? You need to sit down."

01:02:14.320 --> 01:02:16.240
 And I said, "Get my dog." He says, "Your dog's gonna be fine."

01:02:16.240 --> 01:02:19.280
 I said, "Get my dog. If you don't get my dog and she gets run over,

01:02:19.280 --> 01:02:22.240
 this becomes a very bad warning." And he went, "Okay."

01:02:22.240 --> 01:02:26.800
 And he got my dog. So the mind was that lucid.

01:02:26.800 --> 01:02:31.360
 That clear made some good decisions, made up a story about how the car was

01:02:31.360 --> 01:02:35.120
 gonna go up in a far-right ball of smoke and I was gonna be roasted like a marshmallow.

01:02:35.120 --> 01:02:38.480
 All of that in a couple of seconds, that doesn't make sense.

01:02:38.480 --> 01:02:42.160
 You saw how long it took me to your rate it, right?

01:02:42.160 --> 01:02:52.800
 So when the mind is focused, things can be experienced very slowly.

01:02:53.840 --> 01:02:58.800
 The mind was focused. It was an instant trauma.

01:02:58.800 --> 01:03:04.480
 There was an instant worry about my dog primarily and me living and decisions needed to be made.

01:03:04.480 --> 01:03:11.200
 It was really good meditation. The mind was laser focused on the problem,

01:03:11.200 --> 01:03:14.960
 but there was awareness of the Easter party as well, like this and this and this and this,

01:03:14.960 --> 01:03:17.760
 the car made blow up and I'm in the thing in the coat and how do I get out?

01:03:17.760 --> 01:03:21.280
 All of that happened. There was no sense of panic.

01:03:21.280 --> 01:03:25.200
 There was no sense of drama. There was no sense of upset. It was just clarity.

01:03:25.200 --> 01:03:31.600
 You've had similar experiences, many of you. Generally around, you're not great situations.

01:03:31.600 --> 01:03:37.360
 Someone's having a heart attack and you're not medically trained. Several of you here are,

01:03:37.360 --> 01:03:40.880
 but you're not. But you're like, "Okay, call 911, describe what you're seeing."

01:03:40.880 --> 01:03:46.080
 Like, it doesn't always happen that way. We can certainly freeze in a moment of

01:03:46.080 --> 01:03:51.120
 crisis as well. No shame, no blame. The body is going to do what the body is going to do.

01:03:51.120 --> 01:03:56.240
 But why am I using these examples? I'm using examples I hope you can relate to.

01:03:56.240 --> 01:03:59.840
 About these, this is the power and the mystery of what the

01:04:00.000 --> 01:04:10.900
 mind can do. When the mind is focused, it can do extraordinary things and without negative

01:04:10.900 --> 01:04:18.640
 emotion being on board. So I just want to put that out for you to kind of chew on and kind

01:04:18.640 --> 01:04:22.880
 of think about and how the heck does it relate to the beginning of the class where we

01:04:22.880 --> 01:04:29.960
 practice some open awareness? Well because I really want to start developing this exploration

01:04:29.960 --> 01:04:39.480
 of aspects of mind. So often meditation in a secular sense, mindfulness taught in a secular

01:04:39.480 --> 01:04:45.600
 or a medical sense, all of which are good things. But mindfulness is often taught as a thing

01:04:45.600 --> 01:04:50.520
 on its own. That's certainly better than nothing and I applaud all the wonderful secular

01:04:50.520 --> 01:04:57.160
 teachers who teach mindfulness meditation for stress reduction, for anxiety, for calm,

01:04:57.160 --> 01:05:02.880
 for coping with chronic pain. It's fantastic, a huge fan of that. But it's only a small

01:05:02.880 --> 01:05:09.720
 part of the puzzle to help reduce suffering. There needs to be a mind that has developed

01:05:09.720 --> 01:05:21.120
 qualities in concentration. Mindfulness is an aspect of that. It's mindfulness and samata which

01:05:21.120 --> 01:05:25.760
 is calm and penetrative insight. There's really three parts but it's fine to just call

01:05:25.760 --> 01:05:29.240
 it all mindfulness for now. I just want to note that it's not entirely accurate when we

01:05:29.240 --> 01:05:35.720
 go more into it, we'll pull them apart. But the ability to concentrate is incredibly helpful.

01:05:35.720 --> 01:05:44.580
 But the ability, as I've said tonight, to be adaptable and open and be able to make wise

01:05:44.580 --> 01:05:50.640
 compassionate, non-defensive decisions in the midst of a really busy party with broken glasses

01:05:50.640 --> 01:05:54.760
 and maybe the kids that we're having fun are now screaming each other, "Hey you, you're

01:05:54.760 --> 01:05:59.280
 watching us, what's going on?" Maybe you're drunk, uncle's causing a huge uproar now and

01:05:59.280 --> 01:06:01.960
 all the families.

01:06:00.000 --> 01:06:02.280
 because they're coming out in the knives or doing those,

01:06:02.280 --> 01:06:05.280
 whatever it is, positive or negative.

01:06:05.280 --> 01:06:10.200
 Can one be like the eye of the hurricane?

01:06:10.200 --> 01:06:15.800
 Can you be in the middle of the life of Easter brunch

01:06:15.800 --> 01:06:20.800
 and be open, compassionate, non-defensive,

01:06:20.800 --> 01:06:25.880
 feel curious, be unmoved,

01:06:27.280 --> 01:06:30.320
 which allows you to handle maybe the screaming kids

01:06:30.320 --> 01:06:34.360
 and the drunk uncle and clean up the glass

01:06:34.360 --> 01:06:35.840
 without being upset about it.

01:06:35.840 --> 01:06:37.440
 Just be helpful.

01:06:37.440 --> 01:06:39.840
 Just to prevent harm, so no one cuts through food.

01:06:39.840 --> 01:06:45.200
 But to only develop concentration practice,

01:06:45.200 --> 01:06:47.320
 which is incredibly important

01:06:47.320 --> 01:06:49.320
 and it's incredibly helpful to start there.

01:06:49.320 --> 01:06:52.440
 And it's incredibly helpful to do that for your whole life.

01:06:52.440 --> 01:06:54.240
 But you know what's even more helpful

01:06:54.240 --> 01:06:56.480
 according to the Buddha and the great teachers

01:06:56.480 --> 01:07:01.120
 and helpful experiences is to also develop

01:07:01.120 --> 01:07:04.680
 the ability to become when it's all happened.

01:07:04.680 --> 01:07:08.760
 Beyond your cushion, maybe practicing concentration

01:07:08.760 --> 01:07:11.000
 and a big cacophony happens and it's just noise

01:07:11.000 --> 01:07:13.200
 rising and passing away into the smile

01:07:13.200 --> 01:07:17.320
 and then staying with the object to be unperturbed.

01:07:17.320 --> 01:07:21.480
 And those languages to be unmoved, to be unperturbed,

01:07:21.480 --> 01:07:24.560
 are references to when the historical Buddha,

01:07:24.560 --> 01:07:27.840
 Shakyamuni Buddha, this is a different mudra here.

01:07:27.840 --> 01:07:31.400
 This is the teaching mudra, very, very wise choice

01:07:31.400 --> 01:07:33.080
 to have all in a teaching cable.

01:07:33.080 --> 01:07:36.760
 But many Buddha statues are also the Buddha cross-legged

01:07:36.760 --> 01:07:38.360
 and he's got one hand in the lap

01:07:38.360 --> 01:07:40.040
 and the other hand is touching the earth.

01:07:40.040 --> 01:07:42.360
 Yeah, there's several mudras

01:07:42.360 --> 01:07:44.120
 and these are a couple of the more popular ones

01:07:44.120 --> 01:07:45.880
 in the statues.

01:07:45.880 --> 01:07:49.320
 And this is at the moment of the Buddha's full awakening

01:07:49.320 --> 01:07:51.920
 when he became an enlightened being.

01:07:51.920 --> 01:07:54.520
 In the month of May, I believe in our calendar

01:07:54.520 --> 01:07:57.800
 under a full moon, sitting under the boi tree.

01:08:00.000 --> 01:08:02.880
 Going through the battles, if you've heard the historic

01:08:02.880 --> 01:08:06.880
 or mythical or both story, he sits down

01:08:06.880 --> 01:08:09.640
 and he's not going to get up from under that tree

01:08:09.640 --> 01:08:11.720
 until he's a fully awakened,

01:08:11.720 --> 01:08:13.920
 until he's penetrated the nature of reality,

01:08:13.920 --> 01:08:17.680
 until he's seen the depth of the cause of suffering,

01:08:17.680 --> 01:08:21.280
 the cure for suffering, the cessation of suffering.

01:08:21.280 --> 01:08:25.320
 And during that night,

01:08:27.160 --> 01:08:32.080
 Mara, the demon, the devil comes to tempt the Buddha off the path, right?

01:08:32.080 --> 01:08:35.280
 You're doing so well and you're basically enlightened,

01:08:35.280 --> 01:08:37.480
 basically, just one little bit to go.

01:08:37.480 --> 01:08:40.960
 And so why don't you give yourself a break, buddy?

01:08:40.960 --> 01:08:42.880
 Here's all the beautiful dancing girls.

01:08:42.880 --> 01:08:44.680
 Here's the beautiful food and here's the drink

01:08:44.680 --> 01:08:46.960
 and here's the riches and here's the palace

01:08:46.960 --> 01:08:48.480
 and you are born to be a king

01:08:48.480 --> 01:08:50.960
 and now you can be in basically an almost enlightened king.

01:08:50.960 --> 01:08:52.520
 How great is that?

01:08:52.520 --> 01:08:55.840
 All the temptations and all the fears,

01:08:55.840 --> 01:08:58.400
 all the monsters come to snakes

01:08:58.400 --> 01:09:02.400
 and the monsters and your work here and your grief and your losses

01:09:02.400 --> 01:09:06.600
 and your pains and your selfishness and all the stuff

01:09:06.600 --> 01:09:09.080
 coming in match and all of our demons,

01:09:09.080 --> 01:09:11.520
 we've all got them in their slightly different variations,

01:09:11.520 --> 01:09:13.520
 color and form, but we've all got them.

01:09:13.520 --> 01:09:15.360
 They're all like your worst nightmares

01:09:15.360 --> 01:09:17.320
 or being played out in real time,

01:09:17.320 --> 01:09:20.080
 so you can remember that tree, that does not sound.

01:09:20.080 --> 01:09:22.880
 All of that, all of that, the temptation,

01:09:22.880 --> 01:09:27.640
 the seduction, the pain, and the Buddha touched the earth

01:09:27.640 --> 01:09:31.640
 and he says, "As the earth is my witness, I shall not be moved."

01:09:31.640 --> 01:09:37.880
 That's sitting in the middle of the cacophony, the hurricane,

01:09:37.880 --> 01:09:41.400
 the boisterous positive and/or negative Easter brunch

01:09:41.400 --> 01:09:43.240
 and being unmoved.

01:09:43.240 --> 01:09:47.120
 Don't misinterpret that as meaning, you don't care,

01:09:47.120 --> 01:09:49.080
 because sometimes when we say I'm not moved by that,

01:09:49.080 --> 01:09:51.120
 it means we don't care, we're not emotion touched by it,

01:09:51.120 --> 01:09:53.800
 we don't have to think about it, or language is tricky.

01:09:53.800 --> 01:09:57.920
 So being unmoved is you're not gonna move me from this

01:09:57.920 --> 01:10:00.520
 as the earth, as the earth.

01:10:00.000 --> 01:10:07.320
 earth as the earth where the weird linoleum is my witness. I won't be moved. It

01:10:07.320 --> 01:10:11.720
 will come. It will go. It will be tempting and I will not engage. It will be

01:10:11.720 --> 01:10:16.760
 frightening and I will not run. It will just come and go. And then what will

01:10:16.760 --> 01:10:20.840
 happen? More will come and more will go. And then what will happen? Different

01:10:20.840 --> 01:10:24.440
 things will come and different things will go because the life's gonna keep

01:10:24.440 --> 01:10:31.080
 life. Anybody notice that? It's gonna keep going on. Sometimes we get these

01:10:31.080 --> 01:10:35.400
 periods of time, maybe an hour, maybe a week, maybe a stretch of a few months,

01:10:35.400 --> 01:10:39.640
 where things are going really well. It doesn't mean every minute of that day

01:10:39.640 --> 01:10:43.960
 or a week or a couple of months is great. There's so many sub-tos and moments of

01:10:43.960 --> 01:10:50.480
 anxiety. But overall, things are going well. What you're engaged in is

01:10:50.480 --> 01:10:54.720
 interesting and worthwhile. Your finances are okay and not really a worry. The

01:10:54.720 --> 01:10:59.320
 people you love are doing pretty well. You're doing fun things. You're studying

01:10:59.320 --> 01:11:03.320
 drama. You're going to retreats. And you're going to concerts and plays. And

01:11:03.320 --> 01:11:06.560
 you're inviting people you love over to keep them beautiful food. Things are

01:11:06.560 --> 01:11:11.240
 going really well. Enjoy the highlight of it. Enjoy that a lot of it. Sometimes we

01:11:11.240 --> 01:11:15.800
 have periods in our life where things are pretty useful. Celebrate it. Enjoy it.

01:11:15.800 --> 01:11:21.320
 But don't foolishly think it's going to be that way forever. That makes it

01:11:21.320 --> 01:11:26.120
 more precious when you remind yourself this too will change. So enjoy the

01:11:26.120 --> 01:11:31.440
 hell out of it. Be grateful for the reprieve group. Be grateful for the times

01:11:31.440 --> 01:11:38.720
 where there aren't acute losses right now. Were daffodils or blooming and the birds

01:11:38.720 --> 01:11:47.120
 or chirping and the worms are everywhere today. Be not moved then when the

01:11:47.120 --> 01:11:51.280
 weather changes in your mind and in your life when the rough things come, when

01:11:51.280 --> 01:11:55.920
 you hit the black ice, when we have the losses of our mentors of our beloved

01:11:55.920 --> 01:12:02.280
 pets, of our parents, of our friends, of our relationship.

01:14:00.000 --> 01:14:04.380
 not with rage and grabbed by this graphic throw them up and unless that was

01:14:04.380 --> 01:14:08.620
 wholesome and needed to happen which on rare occasions it might be. And then you

01:14:08.620 --> 01:14:12.740
 go out and make sure the kids stop beating each other up but the meat should do a

01:14:12.740 --> 01:14:16.100
 time out until they're ready to compassionate and apologize and make sure

01:14:16.100 --> 01:14:19.380
 there's no shards of glass and use it down and enjoy the peace.

01:14:19.380 --> 01:14:32.580
 metaphor. Enjoy the peace to life. You won't like every dish. Some of them

01:14:32.580 --> 01:14:36.680
 might give you an upset system. You might be allergic to some. But enjoy the

01:14:36.680 --> 01:14:42.840
 peace. Enjoy it now. We don't know if we get it tomorrow. Hopefully we'll get

01:14:42.840 --> 01:14:51.320
 lots of them and train the mind and train the mind to be a great athlete. I

01:14:51.320 --> 01:14:55.080
 think is how I want to present that this evening. A great athlete. A great

01:14:55.080 --> 01:15:00.920
 athlete. Unless maybe they're a power lifter. But a great athlete in a more

01:15:00.920 --> 01:15:06.080
 flexible sport needs a number of fitnesses and skills right. They need

01:15:06.080 --> 01:15:11.460
 flexibility. They need endurance. Cardiovascular fitness. They probably need

01:15:11.460 --> 01:15:16.960
 muscle strength. They need balance. They need a lot of different things to

01:15:16.960 --> 01:15:23.200
 make a great athlete. Your mind is waiting to be a great athlete and it needs

01:15:23.200 --> 01:15:29.320
 concentration. It needs open awareness. It needs to catch concepts and calm

01:15:29.320 --> 01:15:34.320
 them. It needs to catch negative judgments and and the three poisons of

01:15:34.320 --> 01:15:39.800
 clinging in aversion and ignorance and to name them and go aha I see you I

01:15:39.800 --> 01:15:46.360
 will not be moved. It needs to be miles down the road of a negative story but

01:15:46.360 --> 01:15:50.760
 then wake up and go wait a second. This isn't entirely real. It's creating a

01:15:50.760 --> 01:15:53.440
 lot of consternation. I'm going to pull back. I'm going to regroup. I'm going to

01:15:53.440 --> 01:15:58.440
 practice. I'm open heart practice. I'm going to attempt to regulate myself

01:15:58.440 --> 01:16:01.960
 within this it means

01:16:00.000 --> 01:16:13.840
 to be a flexible, trained, bidable, intelligent, multi-factorial mind, which is why, as brilliantly

01:16:13.840 --> 01:16:20.320
 important as meditation on breath is. It's the meditation, anapanasatim, mindfulness of breath,

01:16:20.320 --> 01:16:28.000
 that the Buddha taught as the most effective meditation for each and every type of mind and being,

01:16:28.000 --> 01:16:33.520
 sort of one-size-fits-all, whatever your struggles and strengths are, you can really benefit from

01:16:33.520 --> 01:16:42.160
 that meditation. But it was one of 42 meditations the Buddha taught. And the Buddha, I don't think,

01:16:42.160 --> 01:16:49.120
 was into time wasting or adding on things for bells and whistles. So each of these

01:16:49.120 --> 01:16:52.960
 meditations have a slightly different purpose. It's a slightly different exercise in the gym.

01:16:53.520 --> 01:16:59.600
 It's a slightly different bit of advice from your coach. And they're all meant to help build

01:16:59.600 --> 01:17:06.960
 a flexible, well-rounded mind, heart, thought pattern, and behavior.

01:17:06.960 --> 01:17:15.840
 So I began with a little bit of practice with open awareness meditation. So it's like we've all been

01:17:15.840 --> 01:17:21.760
 powerlifting for a while, and now it's time to do some real great flexibility training as well.

01:17:22.560 --> 01:17:29.120
 Otherwise, you're only strong, but you're rigid. Not so good. Or you're really flexible,

01:17:29.120 --> 01:17:34.400
 but you have no strength, no stamina. Not so good. Better than nothing. Start with one, for sure.

01:17:34.400 --> 01:17:42.480
 But for well-being, for a well-rounded athletic mind, you need to train in different areas.

01:17:42.480 --> 01:17:52.480
 So I think for tonight, it's entirely different from what I thought I was going to talk about.

01:17:52.560 --> 01:17:59.760
 Oh, there you go. What a road. In a moment, we'll have a few minutes of meditation.

01:18:00.000 --> 01:18:05.600
 four minutes or so, and then I'll close with a dedication of merit. We open with the aspiration,

01:18:05.600 --> 01:18:09.760
 and then we close with the dedication of merit, which if that's an unfamiliar term,

01:18:09.760 --> 01:18:16.960
 it's been an odd term in English. It refers to, we kind of take the good intentions,

01:18:16.960 --> 01:18:23.200
 the practice, the good thoughts of us all, and we dedicate it to our own well-being and

01:18:23.200 --> 01:18:28.640
 to the well-being of others, similar to how we open. But I'd like to make a few announcements

01:18:28.640 --> 01:18:35.920
 first, and these will come out in the newsletter soon, and the descriptions and the registrations

01:18:35.920 --> 01:18:39.840
 will open soon, especially for the first one, which is we're going, we being Iowa and Terma,

01:18:39.840 --> 01:18:44.480
 blessed bunch of people, many of whom were in the room, who may call this happen. Thank you,

01:18:44.480 --> 01:18:52.000
 thank you, thank you. We will be holding a one-day meditation retreat at the chapel at Bethlehem

01:18:53.040 --> 01:18:59.120
 on May 9th, which is the Saturday before Mother's Day, because we wouldn't want to hold it on Mother's Day.

01:18:59.120 --> 01:19:04.640
 Oh, it wouldn't be good, and I mean that, so we're very pleased that the only day that either

01:19:04.640 --> 01:19:10.800
 the chapel or the other building at Bethlehem's available, there's one day on a Saturday or Sunday,

01:19:10.800 --> 01:19:15.840
 it's booked all year. Was that day? And we said, "Yes, please." So there'll be a one-day retreat,

01:19:15.840 --> 01:19:20.880
 it'll be something like 10 a.m. till 6 p.m. There's the option you could purchase lunch and have lunch

01:19:20.880 --> 01:19:26.240
 on the site or bring your own. So I hope many of you will join us. There may be an online option

01:19:26.240 --> 01:19:31.760
 if you would like to join us from afar, and that will be an out soon, but it's a done deal,

01:19:31.760 --> 01:19:37.440
 I just need to write the description and give it to me, which I will do tomorrow or the next day.

01:19:37.440 --> 01:19:42.720
 And then you've been hearing about Save the Date for a seven-day retreat, August 27th

01:19:42.720 --> 01:19:48.160
 to September 3rd, a Thursday to Thursday. That's not Labor Day weekend, Labor Day weekend's

01:19:48.160 --> 01:19:53.360
 the following weekend, it's late this year, which is great because holding it over along,

01:19:53.360 --> 01:19:58.240
 we can sometimes trick you for people, they have other family plans. So that's a seven-day retreat,

01:19:58.240 --> 01:20:00.040
 And I'm very pleased to announce all the time.

01:20:00.000 --> 01:20:02.840
 I made a request of law in the mark at which he has

01:20:02.840 --> 01:20:09.160
 Joyfully accepted he is going to come and teach a few classes during that week a meditation retreat that I'm

01:20:09.160 --> 01:20:13.300
 Offering so it will be too too for the price of one

01:20:13.300 --> 01:20:18.400
 You get the warm-up band and you get the who basically so you should all come

01:20:18.400 --> 01:20:23.120
 And we're working out the details and the description of that and they'll come up soon

01:20:23.120 --> 01:20:25.120
 but save the date and

01:20:25.120 --> 01:20:29.900
 Registration for that one up within about 10 days because it's things Bethlehem has to do to

01:20:30.240 --> 01:20:32.240
 Coordinated all and get it all sorted

01:20:32.240 --> 01:20:38.240
 So happy happy joy joy and as every year since I can barely remember when the

01:20:38.240 --> 01:20:43.280
 Annual holiday retreat is something like the 11th to the 13th this year

01:20:43.280 --> 01:20:48.560
 I'm not quite sure but whatever that Friday to Sunday is about 9 or 10 days before Christmas

01:20:48.560 --> 01:20:52.080
 And that is

01:20:52.080 --> 01:20:58.440
 We booked it. We've just booked it for all like the years to come. It's like yeah, yeah, just always book it is book for 26 is book for 27

01:20:58.440 --> 01:21:02.360
 So we'll keep doing that as long as we drop breath. I hope

01:21:02.360 --> 01:21:07.320
 Yes, so thank you for your kind attention

01:21:07.320 --> 01:21:16.520
 Always happy to be with you. If you'd like to support island Dharma if you'd like to support the teacher feel free to offer Donna

01:21:16.520 --> 01:21:17.960
 Which is the way to

01:21:17.960 --> 01:21:22.920
 upcoming gas and I save any Donna. I am very grateful to receive

01:21:22.920 --> 01:21:28.040
 It's not necessary. It's always received with gratitude, but it's an offering that is optional

01:21:28.040 --> 01:21:33.000
 I save it all in a special account and I'm saving for a long retreat next year

01:21:33.000 --> 01:21:37.720
 And so I want to thank each and every one of you for any Donna because it helps make that possible

01:21:37.720 --> 01:21:45.480
 Taking three or four months off from your work and not being paid plus the cost of the three or four months retreat is somewhat

01:21:45.480 --> 01:21:46.920
 sizable and

01:21:46.920 --> 01:21:50.680
 The generosity of many people in this room and online and others make that

01:21:50.680 --> 01:21:53.080
 possible so I'm very grateful

01:21:53.720 --> 01:21:59.960
 So I hope to see you a week from tonight. The what is that the ninth of April Thursday this is

01:22:00.000 --> 01:22:04.480
 another class, both here and online. And then we have, I haven't even told Neil or Shelley,

01:22:04.480 --> 01:22:10.080
 but Wendy and I have booked a couple of more dates for, I think, one or two in May, and then

01:22:10.080 --> 01:22:14.160
 a couple in June that I'll give you so you can at least put them kind of as a save the date thing.

01:22:14.160 --> 01:22:23.280
 Yeah, I think that's planning for now. So we'll sit together in open awareness just for a few

01:22:23.280 --> 01:22:27.280
 minutes. Then I'll ring the bell and dedicate the merit.

01:22:30.000 --> 01:22:40.000
 [SOUND]

01:23:00.000 --> 01:23:14.000
 [BLANK_AUDIO]

01:23:14.000 --> 01:23:24.000
 [BLANK_AUDIO]

01:23:30.000 --> 01:23:40.000
 [BLANK_AUDIO]

01:25:00.000 --> 01:25:02.680
 (bells chiming)

01:25:02.680 --> 01:25:29.640
 (bells chiming)

01:25:30.000 --> 01:25:32.760
 (bells chiming)

01:26:00.000 --> 01:26:07.000
 We dedicate the merit, by the merit of this strengthening activity shared together this evening.

01:26:07.000 --> 01:26:14.000
 May there be a cessation of the defilements that we need the anger and the hatred in all beings.

01:26:14.000 --> 01:26:20.000
 May all beings be well, may all beings be happy, may all beings be free from suffering.

01:26:20.000 --> 01:26:29.000
 May all beings dwell in an equanimity without judgment, withoutism, and with the ability to take compassionate action

01:26:29.000 --> 01:26:37.000
 to create more wholesome change in oneself and in the world.

01:26:37.000 --> 01:26:46.000
 Thank you for your kind attention. Thank you all.

01:26:46.000 --> 01:26:55.000
 Good night, lovely beings online. If you're within striving distance, try to come in person the odd time.

01:26:55.000 --> 01:27:06.000
 It's really lovely to be in the room together, and I'm also very grateful to Neil and to all of you online that aren't really realistically able to come to class in person, but appreciate joining us online.

01:27:06.000 --> 01:27:11.000
 That's beautiful too.

01:27:11.000 --> 01:27:14.000
 Bye for now, everybody.