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A class on Chapter 3 & 4, The Yoga of Action & The Yoga of Wisdom, from the Bhagavad Gita, as translated by Stephen Mitchell, Three Rivers Press, New York, 2000. The class spent time on the passage: Desire dwells in the senses, the mind, and the understanding: in all these it obscures wisdom and perplexes the embodied Self. Men say that the senses are strong. But the mind is stronger than the senses; the understanding is stronger than the mind; and strongest is the Self.
Comment
A class on Chapter 3 & 4, The Yoga of Action & The Yoga of Wisdom, from the Bhagavad Gita, as translated by Stephen Mitchell, Three Rivers Press, New York, 2000. The class spent time on the passage: Desire dwells in the senses, the mind, and the understanding: in all these it obscures wisdom and perplexes the embodied Self. Men say that the senses are strong. But the mind is stronger than the senses; the understanding is stronger than the mind; and strongest is the Self.
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The transcription begins with a guided meditation, followed by a recap of the previous meeting, focusing on the concept of I-consciousness and the three strands of our nature. The speaker shares a teaching from Sri Ramakrishna about the I-consciousness and desire. They mention that confusion and paradox are necessary for wisdom and discuss the importance of dedicating actions and thoughts to God. The transcription then transitions to a discussion about desire as the force that drives a person to evil actions. The speaker explains that desire resides in the senses, mind, and understanding, and it obscures wisdom. They emphasize the need to control the senses and destroy the evil of desire to know the truth. Let's all get settled in our chairs and bring ourselves into the present moment. Noticing each other in the room, aware of our friends on Zoom. And we're going to begin by making the sound of Aum together in preparation for that. Let's ground our feet on the floor, touch with Mother Earth. Let's ground our tailbone in the bottom of our chairs. Let's notice where our hands are. Clench together. Just notice your hands. And raise the top of your head to straighten your spine. Tailbone grounded. Head high. Deep in-breath. Aum. Aum. Aum. Shanti. Shanti. Shanti. Last week we had a lively meeting. Does anyone have anything to share as a result of last meeting? Thoughts that came? Questions that came up? Just a quick recap of last meeting before we proceed. Last meeting, two items came up that I can recall. And one is the I-consciousness. The illusion of the I-consciousness. I, me, and mine. You know, our very name, Unity, represents our consciousness of being united with each other. And yet, we still have this feeling of separateness, which is enhanced by our language. I, me, I. We also learned about the three strands of our nature. The three strands of our nature. Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. So, the Gita tells us it's not I or me or mine that's doing the doing and thinking the thinking. Rather, it's our God-given nature. And there are three strands of our nature. Our Sattva nature, our contemplative nature, discerning nature. Our Rajas nature, our action aspect. And our Tamas aspect, the lethargic, disinterested aspect. So, they are the ones that are doing the doing, not I. Not I. I came across something I want to share with you. It's from the Gospel of another guru named Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna, who talks about this I-consciousness. So, let me read it to you. And I want to mention one other thing. If you find any of these teachings confusing in any way, that's good. That's very good. If what comes up for you is certainty, be careful. Because certainty is the enemy of change. And we need change in order to grow. The Greeks had a metaphor for confusion. They said that the temple of wisdom has two pillars through which you must enter to achieve wisdom. One pillar is confusion. Confusion. To enter the temple of wisdom. And the other pillar is paradox. In other words, the same thing is both true and untrue at the same time. So, if that's confusing, that's okay too. Let me read what Sri Ramakrishna had to say when someone asked him, why does a seeker keep an attitude of love towards God? And Ramakrishna said the answer is that the I-consciousness persists. That's our I-consciousness. It disappears in the state of deep God-aware meditation, which is called Samadhi in Indian tradition. It disappears, no doubt, but it comes back. In the case of ordinary people, like you and me here, the I never disappears. You may cut down the prasithya plant, but the next day new shoots sprout up. Even after the attainment of knowledge, this I-consciousness comes up. Nobody knows from where. You dream of a tiger, then you awake, but your heart keeps on palpitating. All our suffering is due to this I. And we're going to learn more about what this I-consciousness does today. One of the favorite things that our I-consciousness does is desire. Our I-consciousness has desires, desires for outcomes. All our suffering is due to this I. Once God asked Moses, oh, you look on me, God asked. Moses replied, oh God, as long as I have the feeling of I, I see that thou art the whole and I am a part. With the feeling of I. Thou the master and I am thy servant. But when, oh God, I have the knowledge of truth, then I realize that thou art I and I am thou. Thou art I and I am thou. And then Ramakrishna goes on to teach and says, this relationship of master and servant is the proper one. Since this I must remain, let the rascal be God's servant. Let the rascal I be God's servant. In other words, can we dedicate all our actions to God? Can we dedicate all our thoughts to God? It's a large challenge. It may be confusing. So Ramakrishna finishes up and he said, I and mine, these constitute ignorance. My house, my wealth, my learning, my possessions. The attitude that prompts one to say such things comes of ignorance. On the contrary, thou, God, art the master and all these things, God belongs to thee. House, family, children, attendants, friends are thine. Not mine. Hallowed are. Questions? Well, let's breathe into that. Just a comment on that. Yes. It's interesting that because the context of Ramakrishna was 1850s, 1860s, 150 years ago, maybe more than that, 175. But it's interesting they talk about Moses and God in the Christian sense, even though Ramakrishna was not. It's just interesting how they brought that into the statement or the reading there. Yes. About Moses and Jesus, even though Ramakrishna was, I don't think he was Christian, might have been Hindu or Brahmin or. Yes. So it's just that. Yes, another guru with whom I had the pleasure of knowing down at Yogaville, Sat Chit Ananda, said, truth is one and paths are many. And down there, if you ever happen to go there, there is a meditation center. Beautiful meditation center. It's shaped like a lotus, opening lotus. And it has two stories. On the top story or top level is the meditation room. And underneath is a circular room with niches all around the room. And in each niche is an homage to all the various religious traditions in the world. All of them. Underneath the meditation space. Truth is one and paths are many. Thank you, Al. Are we ready for the Bhagavad Gita? Here we go. This is the end of chapter three, which will get us ready for the beginning of chapter four. Arjuna said, Krishna, What is it that drives a man to an evil action, Krishna, even against his will, as if some force made him do it? What is it that drives a woman or a man to an evil action, Krishna, even against his will, as if some force made him do it? Any guesses? What is it? Tribalism. Tribalism. That drives a man to evil action, Krishna, even against his will, as if some force made him do it. Everyone's looking at their books. Desire. Desire. I think of Geraldine Jones from the Flip Wilson show. The devil made me do it. The devil made me do it. The devil made me do it. Decisions. My first decision that they make along a path. Decisions they make along a path. Let's hear what the Blessed Lord had to teach us. The Blessed Lord said that force is desire. That force is desire. It is anger arising from the guna called rajas. We've got three gunas, sattva, rajas, and tamas. Rajas is the nature, part of our nature. Action nature. The Lord said, desire, anger arises from the guna called rajas. Deadly. All devouring. That is the enemy here. Desire. As a fire is obscured by smoke. As a mirror is covered by dust. As a fetus is wrapped in its membrane. So wisdom is obscured by desire. So if you're heading towards the temple of wisdom. Desire is going to be a blockade getting in your way. But if you're willing to persist through confusion and paradox. Enter the temple of wisdom. Wisdom is obscured by desire. He goes on. Wisdom is destroyed, arjuna, by the constant enemy of the wise. Which, flaring up as desire, blazes with insatiable flames. Sort of looks like hell, doesn't it? Desire, the enemy of the wise, flares up like a blaze. And it has insatiable flames. Sounds like hell. Now he goes on to give us some information about desire. We need to look at the anatomy of desire. We'll do a little exercise in a few minutes to help us get centered in that. The Lord says, Desire dwells in the senses. Our eyes, taste, ears, touch. Desire dwells in the senses. The mind. Which is the repository of our thoughts. The understanding, or the discerning intellect. Another word for the understanding. An aspect that helps us examine what's going on with the senses. And be aware of what's going on in our mind. Our discerning intellect, our understanding, is that part of us that's aware of what the mind thinks. The sense of sense. In all these, it obscures wisdom and perplexes the embodied self. That's the capital S self that is beyond the ego, small s self. So desire perplexes our embodied capital S self. So when you're in touch with that capital S self, as Sri Ramakrishna taught, and in a state of samadhi, in union with the divine, I don't know if I've ever been there, but it seems like a good path to head off to. And have a desire to obtain. So desire gets a bad rap, actually, doesn't it? Desire gets a bad rap. But isn't that desire for the physical? Ah, desire for the physical, yes. The material world? Yes, desires are that. But you can desire, as you say, a relationship with God in that fashion. Yes. It's confusing, isn't it? Or it's a paradox. I don't think it's wrong. So sometimes we will say selfish desire is the enemy. Selfish desire is the enemy, and inspired desire, the desire for being in touch with our Christ consciousness, which is a capital S self, is a useful desire. You said here, the force is desire and anger. Well, underneath anger is usually fear. And don't we desire the material things in life because it makes us feel safer? Material things in life could make us feel safer, or at least our desire tells us so. But you said that actually the fear is what's propelling the desire. Sure, fear is underneath anger. That's true. Very insightful. Thank you for sharing that. So wisdom is destroyed by the constant enemy of the wise, flaring up his desire, selfish desire. Insatiable flames. Now where does that desire dwell, do you remember? It's in the senses, it's in the mind, and in the understanding or discerning intellect. In all these, it obscures wisdom and perplexes the embodied self. Therefore, you must first control your senses, Arjun. Then destroy this evil that prevents you from ever knowing the truth. You must control your senses. What does that mean, to control your senses? It certainly doesn't mean denying, none does it. What does it mean to control your senses? How does that show up for you? If you had a desire to control your senses, what would you do? What would you be committed to doing? To question your senses. For instance, I'm hearing something, is that true? It may be, it may be not. I'm seeing something, is that right or wrong, good or bad? One person may enjoy hot tamales, another person may not enjoy hot tamales. Yes. Yes, so what I hear Rob saying is, the path to control the senses is not to deny them or reject them, but rather not to be had by them, not to be a victim of our senses. So can we step back from our own senses and notice, ah, I'm desiring a chocolate fudge sundae right now. And notice that's my desire. It's going to make me happy. It's going to make me happy. It might give me a tummy ache afterwards, but it will make me happy in my mind now. So there's a difference between what we desire, you have a right to your actions, eating a chocolate fudge sundae, and you don't have a right to your actions fruit. Oh, tummy ache. Tummy ache. Or maybe a feeling of satisfaction. So, I'll give an example. Yesterday, I was so lethargic. I had many things I wanted to do. In the middle of the day, I just sort of thought, you know, no. And took my little napper with me. So how do I distinguish between the rajas, doing that, the third one, the tamas, I meant tamas. Right. The tamas. The whole question was about the tamas, not the rajas. Did you doubt your tamas? Yeah, tamas had me yesterday. I even told Jesus. So I, so, there. I got it. So, where do we come from? Source. To where will we return? Source. And when we came here, we were given a God-given nature. God gave us nature. The nature has three strands, according to this way of looking at things. Sattva, rajas, and tamas. They're all good. They're all bad. They're beyond good and bad. They're the nature that God gave us. So, if our rajas strand of our nature arises, and we say, well, I ought to go cook a lot or wash the dishes, and then the tamas aspect of our nature says, no, I don't feel like it. I think it's time for a nap. All is good. It's just a reflection of who you are. So, if you wash the dishes, good. If you take a nap, good. Thank you, God, for my nature, which I was given. I have all three aspects. I'm grateful for them, whichever one shows up. That's my nature. So, I posed my question about what's the distinction between my desire and the, I meant to say, tamas. And the way you've answered that says to me, if I can not care about the outcome but what we've been learning and let those things be in my life that way. Yes. I think I heard you say, Gail, is there some judgment going on here that one of these is better than the other? I think I heard that. So, Raja's action is good, wash the dishes. Tamas is not so good, take a nap. Hmm, that's interesting. So, can we step back from those ideas of judgment that we have and notice, ah, that's how I am holding these. It's like a hierarchy, one is better than the other. But maybe not. That's very helpful. And I still, I'll have to reflect on how desire plays into that. According to the scripture, what Krishna said is, desire is in the strand of our nature called rajas. So, that's what he told us. Let me go back to where I said that. He said, the blessed Lord said, the force that makes us nubile is desire, it is anger arising from the guna called rajas. Deadly and all-devouring, that is the enemy here. So, our desire is embodied in part of our nature, a nature which we can call rajas. Thank you. Making some distinctions here. Yes. So, therefore you must control your senses. But, here's the paradox, we don't control our senses, do we? Our senses sense, thank you God. I have my senses, I taste, I smell. But, we can step back from them and notice them and be aware of them. So, in that sense we can control them, because then we have them, but they don't control us. So, by having them, not letting them control us, and that way we control them. See, it sounds very paradoxical, because we control them by not controlling them. We actually understand or are just simply mindful of them. But, in that mindfulness of not really doing anything, then we are actually controlling them, or rather not allowing them to control us. And therein lies the paradox. So, we're getting closer to wisdom, maybe. Closer. Closer. Closer. Moving the ball downfield. So, here we go. Men say that the senses are strong. Senses are strong. But, the mind, where the thoughts reside, is stronger than the senses. And the understanding, the discerning intellect, is stronger than the mind, the thoughts. And strongest is the capital S self, the Christ Consciousness. Can you see how these three aspects of our nature, our senses, our mind, and our understanding, is based on our I delusion. Our senses are strong. I want this. I taste that. I feel this. I see this. I hear this. But, the mind is stronger than the senses. The mind is thinking. What should I do? Where should I go? How should I behave? What should I say? The understanding, also based on the I consciousness, is stronger than the mind. My critical intellect says, hmm, I see I'm having these thoughts and senses and ideas. And I, as a separate I, am stepping back from them to get some perspective. And then, Krishna teaches, and strongest is the self. When we become dissolved in that God Consciousness, or as Ramakrishna put it, speaking of Moses, I realize that thou, God, art I. And I am thou, God. So, which of us, who of us has been there? I don't know if I have. However, what a lovely path to head in. What a lovely path to head in. So, the point here is desire. Krishna says, men say the senses are strong. The mind is stronger than the senses. The understanding is stronger than the mind. And strongest is the capital S self. And he concludes by saying, knowing the self, sustaining the lower case self by the upper case self, Arjuna, kill the difficult to conquer enemy called desire, the flames of desire. So, I suggest that when we come to classes like this, we may have an intention to know the capital S self better. And be able to sustain our lower case self, our I Consciousness self, sustain our ego self, by that Christ Consciousness, or capital S self. And then the strong words of Krishna, kill the difficult to conquer enemy called desire. It's just a great image. Questions? Before we do a little exercise. Yes, sir. Well, a comment that just occurs to me. What I'm perceiving, and what I'm finally able to get voice to, something clicked for me. The difference between this more eastern approach, than a traditional western approach. At no point, unless I've missed it, does Krishna say to Arjuna, you are a bad person because you have desire. It's just simply a recognition that desire naturally occurs. Wherein I think so in many of our western teachings, if you have that desire, or you have a desire, you are a bad person. So there's, in my opinion, a healthier approach to the spiritual life, by not making somebody who has desire bad. And not having to beat it out of them externally. Because God's mad at you. And also that everyone has desire. And everyone has desire. So why would we all be bad? Or good? Yeah. Thank you. So as was suggested, since everybody has desires, why not put us in a position of having, devoting everything to God. And devoting all of our actions and our thoughts to God. So that way the rascal I remains, but in a relationship of master and servant. My I-consciousness is a servant. I dedicate this class to God. I dedicate my actions to God. I dedicate my eating of breakfast to God. I dedicate my driving of the car here, and arriving early or late to God. Thank you God. Thank you God. Thank you God. For all things. And thank you in particular for my mind. We all have blessed minds. Thank you for my mind. Now I know my mind sometimes has judgments. And I know my mind sometimes is focused on I, me, and mine. Thank you for my mind. Thank you. Thank you for my mind. Ways of just separating ourselves a little bit from that I-consciousness. Thank you for my mind. And thank you for my discerning intellect. My discerning intellect. All right, let's do a little exercise. Okay, we'll do a little exercise. Just for fun. Are we all feeling light? Or are we feeling heavy? How are we feeling? Take a breath. So, if you're feeling any heavy, let's let it go. Another breath. That feels great. Let's do a third one. Take a deep breath. And we lighten up. We lighten up. It's no mystery that as we lighten up, we become a little more enlightened. So lighten up. Lighten up. Lighten up and open yourself to a little bit of enlightenment. So, here we go. We'll do a little exercise. All those in the room, we'll do it a little differently than our Zoom friends. So, those in the room, pick a partner and make eye contact with that partner. Pick a partner. Make eye contact with your partner. And those on Zoom, imagine in your mind, as you close your eyes, Zoomers, someone you love being right in front of you. And you are going to speak to that one you love and have them speak back to you. So, deep eye contact. I suggest you gaze at a point right between the middle of the eyebrows. Find a place between the middle of the eyebrows and your partner. Question, Ellie? No, I'm sorry. My hearing aids have a blue tube and Siri was repeating what you were saying. Thank you, Bob. Siri was repeating what I said. I'm sorry. Maybe we should ask Siri for some guidance. All right. So, we are light. We are light. We're feeling light on the path to enlightenment. And we're now gazing at our partner, virtual or real, at a point right between the eyebrows. Now, say to your partner, desire dwells in the senses. The mind. And the understanding. And the understanding. In all of these, it obscures wisdom. In all of these, it obscures wisdom. And perplexes the embodied, capital-S, self. And perplexes the embodied, capital-S, self. Breathe into it. The second part of the exercise is for those here in the room, gently give your eyelids permission to close. Give your eyelids permission to close. And now, as we're fond of doing, say to yourself, desire dwells in the senses. Desire dwells in the senses. The mind. The mind. And the understanding. And the understanding. In all of these, it obscures wisdom. In all of these, it obscures wisdom. And perplexes the embodied, self. And perplexes the embodied, self. Om. Breathe into it. Breathe into it. Anything come up you wish to share before we move on? Om Shanti. Om Shanti. Steve, I have a thought that occurs several times. About the Buddhist philosophy of the middle way. Meaning, neither extreme one way or another. Does that have a place in this philosophy that we're talking about now? So, Mead brought up the Buddhist tradition of choosing the middle way. And the question is, how does that relate to this philosophy? Buddhism, of course, arose from the Hindu tradition. Arose from it. So, thoughts? How is the middle way connected with what we've been learning today? Anything come up for people? Releasing the attachment. I think, to me, that's what the middle way is. To having the desire, but releasing the strong attachment. You know, to having a particular outcome. So that it is kind of like in the prayer that we use, this is something better. If we're affirming that as we move forward, then we're not upset that we didn't get this specific thing. And we continue. But then we're able to look back at a later point and say, Jesus, it's really good this didn't happen. But at the time, it was the thing I wanted most. So, by learning to step back from our desires, even our blessed desires, take a look at them, we have more power to choose a middle way, rather than be sort of a victim of our desires. A lot more peace as well. And more peace, right. When we can step back from our idea of ourselves, it just is a more peaceful place to be, isn't it? All right, let's go on with our scripture. The blessed Lord then said, I taught this imperishable doctrine to Vivi Swat, God of the sun. But over the dwindling ages, the doctrine has been lost. Arjuna. And then he says something really interesting, which I think is appropriate to our times. Whenever righteousness falters, and chaos threatens to prevail, I take on a human body and manifest myself on earth. For some of us, I think we're observing righteousness has failed some place or the other, and we're perhaps noticing some chaos, perhaps even our own mind or the outside world. Wow. If Krishna has therefore taken on a human body, where are you, Krishna? Where are you? Then he says, Krishna says, Released from greed, fear and anger, absorbed in me, God, and made pure by the practice of wisdom, pressing through our confusion and paradox, many have attained my own state of being, this Samadhi. However men try to reach me, I return their love with my love. Whatever path they may travel, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, so on, whatever path they may travel, it leads to me in the end. Truth is one, paths are many. Actions cannot defile me, since I am indifferent to results. Not like us, who have our desires. Actions cannot defile me, since I am indifferent to results. All those who understand this will not be bound by their actions, and will be willing to release the fruits of their action. Then he says, what are action and inaction? What are action and inaction? We can think of our Gunas, contemplated Rajas action, Thomas taking a nap. He has a rhetorical question, what are action and inaction? The matter confuses even wise men, so I will teach you, and free you from any harm. The difference between action and inaction. Here we go. Standing between the two pillars, wisdom and paradox, ready? Here we go. He who can see inaction, in the midst of action. He who can see inaction, in the midst of action, and action in the midst of inaction, is wise, and can act in the spirit of yoga. Watch yoga. Yes, James. James is thinking. Who can see inaction, in the midst of action, and action in the midst of inaction, is wise, and can act in the spirit of yoga. So that's one of those little sayings, to put in your mind perhaps, and see what comes up for you, as you perhaps repeat it to yourself, if it's a little confusing. So are we open to the truth, embodied here to come forth, when they are ready, not when we're ready. Can we let go our desire to see the truth, so that the truth may come forth, when the truth is ready, and not when we are ready or desiring. With no desire for success, no anxiety about failure, indifferent about results, he burns up his actions in the fire of wisdom. So desire for success, anxiety about failure. Are we indifferent to results? Not too much. But to the extent we can, we burn up actions in the fire of wisdom. Surrendering all thoughts of outcome. Wow, that's pretty tough. When we do something, we've got in mind an outcome, don't we? When we turn that key, we want the car to start up. No way. Surrendering all thoughts of outcome. In other words, just being in the moment, accepting of whatever shows up, unperturbed, self-reliant. That's the capital S, self-reliant. He does nothing at all, even when fully engaged in actions. That's a paradox. He does nothing at all, when fully engaged in actions. I don't have an answer for this. It's a paradox. He does nothing at all, even when fully engaged in actions. So if we try to explain it, we may be in trouble. But can we be open to it? There is nothing that he expects, nothing he fears. In other words, has no fear about which to get angry and have desires. Nothing he expects, nothing that he fears, serene, free from possessions. This is not my computer, it's God's computer. Not my glasses, they're God's glasses. This is not my eyesight seeing you, it's God's sight in me, or my ears hearing you. It's God's ears hearing you. This is not even my body. No. This body was given to us when we showed up to be a good caretaker for it. Like St. Francis said, the body is my donkey. I wash him, I feed him, I exercise him, but I am not the donkey. Serene, free from possessions, even of our body. That's a hard one. Untainted, acting with the body alone. Content with whatever happens. The card didn't start. Content, not neutral, but content with whatever happens, unattached to pleasure or pain, success or failure. He acts and is never bound by his action. So we have a couple more to go here and to finish up this chapter. Steve, I'd like to just make a comment. Yes. You were saying a good analogy in the animal world, which is animals have a lower, I won't say reptilian brain, but particularly predators. Let's take the example of a lion. A lion. Okay. So the lion's essence in nature is to hunt. So in that sense, the lion is a warrior. So the lion's action is to hunt the gazelle or the zebra, but the lion waits patiently in ambush. So the lion has inaction, even though in the bigger, in a time sequence, there's inaction. He's waiting. He's stalking his prey. But the bigger goal is to kill the gazelle or the zebra. So there's inaction in the action. And I guess that's my point in that. I mean, I know you're saying as humans, we have a higher consciousness. We're able to discern and have intellect and consciousness. And, you know, we do have that reptilian brain, but a lot of creatures, if we take the example of the lion, who is a warrior and a hunter, he takes inaction in the bigger scheme of action. Yes. Yes, I hear your share. And yet, why are we prone to judging that we have a higher consciousness and they have a lower consciousness? Notice how we have this idea we are somehow better and they are somehow not as good as. So can we notice that judgment? Step back from it. Let's finish up here. When a man is let go of attachments, when his mind is rooted in wisdom, everything he does is worship, and his actions all melt away. Everything he does is worship, and his actions all melt away. God is the offering. God is the offered, poured out by God. God is attained by all those who see God in every action. Even if you were the most evil of evildoers, Arjuna, wisdom is the boat that would carry you across the sea of all sin. Wisdom. Nothing in the world can purify as powerfully as wisdom. Practiced in yoga, you will find this wisdom where? Out there? Inside. Kapilasa. Practiced in yoga, you will find. Are you open for it? Are you open for the wisdom that's in you? Krishna says you will find it within yourself. Questions before we close? No, I was just reacting to Rob's comment, because I don't see the lion, or the cat, that the predator would have. They don't have the intent. They're not hunting. They're hunting so that they can eat. They're not doing it for sport. And so, that was just... But by definition, he is a predator. But then we forget, we're at the top of the food chain. Is that... Yeah, but I mean, is it not your intention? It's what you're saying, there's no judgment that the lion is doing his job in God's balancing. He's just doing his job. But, well, he... There's no good or bad, but... What I hear is, we're having a conversation about eluding the action of a fellow creature to another fellow creature, us. So, eluding our perception of how a fellow creature, a lion, behaves, eluding that to how we behave. So, there's some verity there, and there's some not-verity there. Just like in most stories, there is some verity there, and there is some not-verity. I think the lesson is just to be open to what is true for us, and be respectful and at peace for what is true for others. And notice that each of us is on a path in a different place, and can we respect where others are on their path, and most important, respect where we are in our paths, which will then give us that respect for others. Thank you, God, for where I am on my path. I'm so appreciative of where I am right now. And thank you, God, for all of the people who are around me, who are at different places on their paths, see things in different ways. And some of the things I hear are meaningful and work for me, and some of the things I just accept. So, I'm grateful. I'm very grateful. And we can close our session today with an attitude of gratitude. So, let's close with three aums. Get our feet on the floor, our bottoms attached to the bottom of the chair. Notice where your hands are. Raise your head high so that your spine is straightened. And now, let your heart beat with gratitude as we make the sound of aum with a deep in-breath. Aum. Aum. Aum. Shanti, shanti, shanti. Go in peace.
