Student Talks: 9/24/2021 - Key Lesson: Part 1: Love is effortless attention. Part 2: In remembering the Divine, in that recollection of the truth of ourselves, we bring to the forefront of our heart and mind an all-encompassing Presence that cannot punish itself, or any other; whereas in forgetfulness, we forgo this relationship, and fall under the authority of a dark nature whose intent is to...

Topics covered: When you are in double attention you are alone; Peace isn't possible on a global level; An aspirant realizes "I am responsible for the world."; Your true nature is like a river -- even as you are looking at it, it's changing; The heart has its own intelligence; You must learn to ask for something different; We don't remember ourselves because we don't own our own mind; You don'...

Topics covered: You can only 'be the bridge' when you are present and in double attention; Forgiveness is the grace of being shown there is no 'you' the way you imagine; Real prayer is you consciously bearing yourself; There are no shortcuts in the spiritual life; When only one center is in charge, there's pain; A spiritual intention is the deliberate creation of second force; Everything you d...

Topics covered: Review of the lunch exercise to come back to double attention while sensing your emotional state before taking a bite of food; One of the main reasons for a spiritual exercise is to see that you're asleep; Setting an intention is a deliberate invitation for second force; Most of what we call emotion is just the byproduct of whatever thoughts are passing through us; We want to b...

Topics covered: Discussion of the lunch exercise to wait three seconds before talking; Exercises are not given or practiced to achieve a result, they are intended to allow you to see what is within your power and what is not; The patterns you have are the tracks of a self within you; The character creates the pattern, not vice versa; Put your attention on the pattern maker; Real change doesn't...

Never accept the lingering presence of any negative state. These unconscious forces must appear within us, but they must never be allowed to define us or our actions. The awakening mind – or even one disposed toward such an end – is fully capable of recognizing the difference between states of darkness and light, between what "serves" and what "steals" the new life stirring within us. Here a...

The divided mind looks for difference; it ceaselessly judges all that it sees in order to confirm its false (and fearful) perception that it's separate and apart from life. But the awakening mind... sees within itself a living symmetry between all things above and below, and knows this similarity to be the framework of Love.

The Kingdom of Heaven -- the True Self for which we seek -- dwells within us, and above us at the same time. To sense this as true, even in the smallest way, is an invitation and an instruction, all at once. For not only must we know 'where' these Divine forces meet and marry within us, but that we must also develop the attention we need to be able to stand 'there'...in the midst of their eter...

Topics explored in this dialogue: When we let go of ideas that no longer serve us, we come into a new order of ourselves; When you wonder if you can let go and still remain in charge of yourself, ask instead, how in charge of my life am I when I'm angry, frustrated, and nervous; We are each created with the gift to put our attention on what we want; If you want to know what people really value...

Student Talks: 8/20/2021 - Key Lesson: Part 1: A rose doesn't "try" to be beautiful; it never struggles to win one's attention, or to prove its value. Any part of us -- pressing on us to try and make a favorable impression -- of any kind, upon anyone for any reason -- is a form of useless suffering born of trying to escape the fear of being seen as "no one."

Topics covered: If we didn't resist situations then wouldn't there be no drive to change anything; Does growth from this life carry over into the next one; Assuming there is no free will, why did God create 'good' and 'bad'; How can you find your true self while going through intense, chronic physical pain; Does your 'triangle of attention' exercise activate the third eye; How do I reconcile m...

Topics covered: No real spiritual work can be done without the ability to attend to the moment; Attention is the manifestation of will; There is no soul until there's will; Real will is choiceless; Surrender is an early form of will; Humans are in-between animals and conscious human beings/angels; Intention is the first stage of will; I can't escape my destiny unless there's a change in the na...