Episodes
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In general, most people think of the ego as the way we view ourselves and our relationships with others. A dictionary definition is: “Someone's ego is their sense of their own worth. For example, if someone has a large ego, they think they are very important and valuable. He had a massive ego; never would he admit he was wrong.” Understanding the Yogic/Vedic perspective of the ego can lead to clarity on how to have a better and happier life.
The foundation to understanding “ego” is to understand consciousness and that it does not, and cannot, arise from matter. Consciousness emanates from a spiritual energy, the energy known by its characteristic – life. Consciousness is the inherent quality of the ‘soul’ or the ātma/self.
The ancient Vedic teachings describe how the embodied ‘soul’ is covered by two bodies and ‘lends’ consciousness to these two bodies. The first is the gross physical body (sthūla-śarīra), which we readily see or perceive, and the other is the subtle body (liṇga-śarīra). This subtle body/covering of the soul is comprised of three ‘layers’, the mind (manaḥ), the intelligence (buddhi), and the false ego (ahaṅkāra) or false sense of self. When I identify as the labels attached to the body (male, female, tall, short, race, etc.,) I am oblivious of my true spiritual identity and have adopted a ‘false self’ as me.
Spiritual enlightenment means to discover my true and eternal spiritual identity beyond these temporary and changing material identities.
The verses I quoted in this talk:
The soul is atomic in size and can be perceived by perfect intelligence. This atomic soul is floating in the five kinds of air (prāṇa, apāna, vyāna, samāna and udāna), is situated within the heart, and spreads its influence all over the body of the embodied living entities. When the soul is purified from the contamination of the five kinds of material air, its spiritual influence is exhibited. - Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.1.9
The pure and transcendental consciousness of the atma (self) is unchangeable. When the mind receives the reflection of that consciousness it is able to perceive and appears like the seer. Yoga-sūtra 4.22
The mind, being able to perceive due to its reflecting both the atma (self) and objects of perception, appears to comprehend everything. – Yoga-sūtra 4.23
Even though the mind has accumulated various impressions (and desires) of various types it is always at the disposal of the atma (self). This is because the mind cannot function without the power of the perceiver. – Yoga-sūtra 4.24
When the soul is under the spell of material nature and false ego, identifying one’s body as the self, the person becomes absorbed in material activities, and by the influence of false ego one thinks that they are the proprietor of everything. – Bhāgavata Purāṇa 3.27.2
One who is enlightened in self-realization, although living within the material body, sees himself as transcendental to the body, just as one who has arisen from a dream gives up identification with the dream body. A foolish person, however, although not identical with his material body but transcendental to it, thinks himself to be situated in the body, just as one who is dreaming sees himself as situated in an imaginary body. – Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.11.8
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The time in which we live is described in the Vedas as the “age of chaos, quarrel and confusion.” We experience this in so many competing political ideas/beliefs, social philosophies, value systems, and ideas of morally proper behavior.
There are competing propositions on how to arrange the external components/components of our lives to produce harmony and peace. The common denominator for most of the proposed solutions is a false assumption - the idea that my body IS “ME”, when in fact I am a spiritual being occupying and using this body and mind. My body is not “me” it is “mine”. Therefore, trying to make my body or mind happy is not the same as "me" experiencing happiness.
Temperance (delayed gratification), is a foundation for a happier and more peaceful life, but I also need spiritual nutrition.
In the talk, I mention the need to develop a personal and daily meditation practice. These are the links to learning and practicing mantra meditation and some guided meditations to follow.
https://soundcloud.com/acharyadas/sets/meditations-for-wellbeing
https://acharyadas.com/kirtan-meditation/meditation/
https://acharyadas.com/kirtan-meditation/kirtan/
Some quotes I used.
The last century was “the rise of an idea that has come to dominate our society. It is the belief that satisfaction of individual feelings and desires is our highest priority.” - Adam Curtis, BBC documentarian and writer.
The business model of big social media companies "is to create a society that is addicted, outraged, polarized, performative and disinformed. That's just the fundamentals of how it works." - Tristan Harris, Big Tech critic.
"One who is not connected with the Supreme Soul can have neither transcendental intelligence nor a steady mind, without which there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be any happiness without peace?” - Bhagavad-gītā 2.66
A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires -- that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still -- can alone achieve peace, and not the person who strives to satisfy such desires. Bhagavad-gītā 2.70
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Missing episodes?
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In this world self-worth to the worth of others is most often equated with physical appearance, net worth, who you know, what you do (your career or occupation) and what you achieve.
These ideas run counter to the spiritual perspective and are considered ignorant in spiritual teachings. When you erroneously conclude that you are your physical body and/or mind, you’ll measure your value based on material considerations, but no material condition is relevant to your true value.
Value that is measured against the physical body or mind is limited and temporary like everything else material. The lack of self-esteem and feelings of worthlessness are caused by ignorance of one’s spiritual identity and a sense of separation from the Supreme Soul.
Our intrinsic value is infinite because we are spiritual in essence, part and parcel of and connected to the Supreme Soul by an eternal bond of kinship. Each of us is an eternal spirit soul, a child of the Supreme Spirit Soul, living only temporarily in a material body.
When you realize you are the eternal spirit soul, part and parcel of the Supreme Spirit Soul, you will know real freedom and value.
Some verses I quoted:
For one who has conquered the mind, the Supreme Soul is already reached, for he has attained tranquillity. To such a person happiness and distress, heat and cold, honor and dishonor are all the same. Bhagavad-gītā 6.7
…. One who is equal toward the desirable and the undesirable; who is steady, situated equally well in praise and blame, honor and dishonor; who treats alike both friend and enemy; and who has renounced all material activities -- such a person is said to have transcended the modes of nature. - Bhagavad-gītā 14.24-25
One who always sees all living entities as spiritual sparks, in quality one with the Supreme Soul, becomes a true knower of things. What, then, can be illusion or anxiety for such a person? - Śrī Īśopaniṣad, Mantra 7
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We have all experienced being let down, hurt, and wronged by others in our lives. This can leave us confused, sad, angry, and disappointed.
I can then hold resentment and anger because of past transgressions of "others" against "me", but by doing that I then become “enslaved” by that and constantly live in the shadow of my offender.
If you want to heal relationships, release emotional burdens, and achieve inner peace the great spiritual wisdom traditions of the world extol forgiveness as a transcendental light that illuminates our hearts and liberates us from suffering.
The verses I quoted in this talk:
The duty of one seeking enlightenment is to cultivate the quality of forgiveness, which is illuminating like the sun. The Supreme Soul (Hari) is pleased with those who are forgiving. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 9.15.40
“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5:43–44).
A saintly person is merciful and never injures others. Even if others are aggressive he is tolerant and forgiving toward all living entities. His strength and meaning in life come from the truth itself, he is free from all envy and jealousy, and his mind is equal in material happiness and distress. Thus, he dedicates his time to work for the welfare of all others. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.11.29
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In the natural course of life, we will encounter different “storms”, periods of difficulty that can be very challenging and disturbing.
Living a spiritually oriented life will bring both perspective and solace and make it so we can pass through these periods without our life being turned upside down. Having a realistic view of life and the world is not just necessary but critical to living peacefully and purposefully. Unfortunately, society under the influence of Social Media has created so many unrealistic expectations which erode people’s resilience and peace.
In this talk we quote the Serenity prayer and a yogic text.
“Lord, grant me the SERENITY to accept the things I cannot change,
COURAGE to change the things I can,
and WISDOM to know the difference.”
Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of that which is material there is no endurance and of the eternal [the soul/that which is spiritual] there is no change. This they have concluded by studying the nature of both. - Bhagavad-gītā 2.16
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Grief is understood as not just sadness but a very great sadness, especially at the death of someone or a great loss. In some cases it can deeply affect how one lives their life from that point.
In the ancient Sanskrit language, one of the words they use is śocaḥ which not only means grief or sorrow, but can also be used to describe burning or a flame.
In this talk, we explore how in many cases grief has arisen out of an unrealistic expectation, like holding on to the false hope that I and others who are dear to me will never die. Yet death (or things/situations coming to an end) is the only thing that you can dependably rely on that will happen in “life”.
The ancient Vedic texts address what is the natural course of things and the crucial knowledge that we, the spiritual beings, residing within the body, never die. We exist eternally..
Some of the verses I quoted:
Just as the fruits and flowers of a tree in due course of time undergo six changes -- birth, existence, growth, transformation, dwindling and then death -- the material body, which is obtained by the spirit soul under different circumstances, undergoes similar changes. However, there are no such changes for the spirit soul. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 7.7.18
Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa said: While speaking learned words, you are mourning for what is not worthy of grief. Those who are wise lament neither for the living nor the dead. - Bhagavad-gītā 2.11
It is said that the soul is invisible, inconceivable, immutable, and unchangeable. Knowing this, you should not grieve for the body. - Bhagavad-gītā 2.25
O descendant of Bharata, he who dwells in the body is eternal and can never be slain. Therefore you need not grieve for any creature. - Bhagavad-gītā 2.30
Yet there is another unmanifest nature, which is eternal and is transcendental to this manifested and unmanifested matter. It is supreme and is never annihilated. When all in this world is annihilated, that part remains as it is. - Bhagavad-gītā 8.20
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When many people think of the two words “religion” and “spirituality” nowadays they could have memes floating around in their minds and not clear and objective ideas. In this talk, we examine these terms from the ancient Vedic perspective.
It is really difficult to cover such an important topic in an abbreviated way, and while this is quite a long talk we have not really covered the topic as extensively as we could have if there was more time.
Here are the Vedic texts or verses I quoted:
A worshiper who faithfully engages in the worship of the Lord in the temple (church) but does not behave properly toward other worshipers or people in general is called a prākṛta-bhakta, a materialistic devotee, and is considered to be in the lowest position. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.2.47
He is a perfect yogī who, by comparison to his own self, sees the true equality of all beings, in both their happiness and their distress, O Arjuna! Bhagavad-gita 6.32
He by whom no one is put into difficulty and who is not disturbed by anyone, who is equipoised in happiness and distress, fear and anxiety, is very dear to Me. Bhagavad-gita 12.15
“The Supreme Soul is very satisfied with the transcendentalist when they greet other people with tolerance, mercy, friendship and equality.” - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 4.11.13
The humble sage, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste]. Bhagavad-gita 5.18
A person is considered still further spiritually advanced when he regards the honest well-wishers, the affectionate benefactors, the neutral, the mediators, the envious, the friends and enemies, the pious and the sinners all with an equal mind. Bhagavad-gita 6.9
Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord, Isvara. One should therefore accept only those things necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota, and one should not accept other things knowing well to whom they belong. Śrī Īśopaniṣad mantra 1
Some look on the soul as amazing, some describe the soul as amazing, and some hear of the soul as amazing, while others, even after hearing about the spiritual being, cannot understand him at all. - Bhagavad-gītā 2.29
In this way the conditioned soul living within the body forgets his self-interest because he identifies himself with the body. Because the body is material, his natural tendency is to be attracted by the varieties of the material world. Thus the living entity suffers the miseries of material existence. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 7.13.28
One who is enlightened in self-realization, although living within the material body, sees himself as transcendental to the body, just as one who has arisen from a dream gives up identification with the dream body. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.11.8
This is the truth: As sparks of similar form spring forth by the thousands from a strongly blazing fire, so from the Absolute Truth are produced the various living beings, O gentle one, and there also do they go. - Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 2:1:1
As tiny sparks fly from a fire, so all the individual souls have come from the Supreme. - Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad, 2.2.20
The same jīva is eternal and is for eternity and without a beginning joined to the Supreme Lord by the tie of an eternal kinship. He is transcendental spiritual potency. - Śrī Brahma-saṁhitā 5.21
He who sees systematically everything in relation to the Supreme Lord, who sees all living entities as His parts and parcels, and who sees the Supreme Lord within everything never hates anything or any being. - Śrī Īśopaniṣad mantra 6
The kirtan at the end is a cover of "All I want" by Kodaline
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This is a continuation of the previous talk and is the Q&A portion which you might find interesting.
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This talk was delivered in Brisbane, Australia. We explore the pivotal role forgiveness plays in our own peace and happiness. There was a full-house both here and when we covered the same topic 2 nights later on the Gold Coast which shows how many of us need this.
All the great spiritual wisdom-traditions of the world glorify forgiveness as being indispensable for authentic spiritual growth and living a happy peaceful life. So what exactly does that mean and how do we do that?
One of the verses I quoted is from an ancient yogic text which goes:
The duty of a wise person is to cultivate the quality of forgiveness, which is illuminating like the sun. The Supreme Soul (Hari) is pleased with those who are forgiving. - Srimad Bhagavatam
The talk is a bit longer than usual but there was so much interest and so many questions we broke the talk into 2 parts. Check out Part 2 for the Q&A portion.
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Text-book definitions of social anxiety disorder include “Individuals with social anxiety disorder fear negative evaluations from other people.” One of the significant characteristics is an overwhelming fear of humiliation.
While social anxiety may be more common or pronounced now, it is not something new. Around 400 B.C. Hippocrates described the condition stating that such a person “dare not come in company for fear he should be misused, disgraced, overshoot himself in gesture or speeches, or be sick; he thinks every man observes him."
So it could be categorized as extreme self-consciousness.
We don’t want to get into discussing a diagnosis or treatment of this condition but provide another perspective that can be extremely helpful in dealing with such experiences.
The commonly held idea is that our physical bodies and states of mind are our identities – who we actually are. This paradigm is contested by the ancient Yogic teachings which teach that you are neither the body nor the mind (including your feelings and emotions). You are an eternal spiritual being residing temporarily within the physical body and covered by the material mind.
Spiritual cultivation (mindfulness and meditation) means the growth in appreciating my spiritual being or identity. This state brings tremendous resilience, stability, and balance to our lives.
These are some excerpts from Vedic texts referencing the balance and resilient nature of someone progressing on this spiritual path. “one who is equiposed in honor and dishonor” Bhagavad-gita 12.18-19
“… even-mindedness amid pleasant and unpleasant events…” Bhagavad-gita 13.8-12
“ … who is wise and holds praise and blame to be the same; who is unchanged in honor and dishonor, who treats friend and foe alike….” Bhagavad-gita 14.22-25
For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy. Bhagavad-gita 6.6
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Many people think they possess a soul – we refer to “my soul.” But if that’s the case, then who are you (the one possessing the soul) and what exactly is the soul?
One dictionary definition is – “The spiritual part of a person that some people believe continues to exist in some form after their body has died, or the part of a person that is not physical and experiences deep feelings and emotions.”
This of course is speculative and lacks the clarity offered by Yogic wisdom. The ancient Sanskrit word for what people refer to as the ‘soul’ is very revealing. It is “ātma” which literally means the ‘self’. In this understanding you do not have a soul, you are the soul.
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An internet safety organization in the UK warns that school children are using AI image generators to create indecent fake images of classmates. Another article was headlined - Kids who use social media are more prone to making dangerous decisions. It was about a study of 1.4 million adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19 from 1997 to 2022 and found that frequent or daily social media usage increased the probability of alcohol consumption by 48 percent, drug use by 28 percent, and tobacco use by 85 percent, compared to those who used social media infrequently or not on a daily basis.
While many will rightly say “We need more safeguards!”, this overlooks the glaring failure in modern society to appreciate the great need for a personal moral compass. It is about external controls vs internal controls, or Can I do it? vs. Should I do it?
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This is one of the talks from my recent visit to the USA – it is in Austin, Texas.
Many people do not have a very clear concept of what is material and what is spiritual which is the subject I was asked to speak on at an Austin Kirtan event.
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The inspiration for this talk was something I heard on a short piece of a podcast of Joe Rogan talking to Oliver Anthony (Chris Lunsford) who came out with the recent viral hit “Rich Men North of Richmond.”
Answering a question from Joe Rogan about what inspires him, Oliver quoted the following from the Bible:
Proverbs 4:23-26
23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
24 Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.
26 Give careful thought to the[a] paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.
Guarding our heart is critically important. As they used to say in the early days of computer programming, “Garbage in – garbage out!”
We have both a higher and a lower nature. We need to curb our lower nature and cultivate our higher nature. This means consciously choosing what it is that we will hold to be valuable, what we will treasure. There is another incredibly wise quote I saw when I was looking up the Bible quote above.
Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
The need for guidelines in life that produce outcomes that are objectively in my interest – my eternal well-being – is all important.
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
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The Vedas teach that there is a higher Transcendent Reality, a Higher Truth, an Absolute Truth.
According to Vedic wisdom there is one unique living being amongst a vast ocean of conscious and eternal beings.
This one Supreme Soul is known by many, many different Names.
We are all connected to the Supreme Soul. There is an eternal bond of kinship, of love between all living beings and the Supreme Being. In the spiritual reality, we are all connected because we are all parts and parcels of that Supreme Soul.
We’re not speaking here of the limited idea that there is a Hindu god or a Christian god, a Buddhist god or a Muslim god.
There is only one Transcendent Reality, one Absolute Truth.
That Supreme Truth is also referred to as the Supreme Soul and as the Supreme Original Cause of all Causes.
The Śrī Brahma-saṁhitā states:
īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ
sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ
anādir ādir govindaḥ
sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam
He who is the origin of all, who has no other origin and He who is the prime cause of all causes. He is known as Govinda and He has a beautiful and eternal blissful spiritual form. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead also known as Kṛṣṇa. - Śrī Brahma-saṁhitā 5.1
The transcendental sound Kṛṣṇa means the “All-Attractive”.
When we speak of Krishna, we are speaking of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Cause of All Causes, the Original Person.
The day that Lord Krishna appeared upon this Earth over 5,000 years ago in His original transcendental form is known as Janmastami – and is celebrated by hundreds of millions of people worldwide.
When we speak of Krishna, we are not speaking of a foreign person. We’re not speaking about somebody with whom we don’t already have a relationship.
The original Cause of all Causes appears in this material dimension in His transcendental form, making it possible for us to meditate upon Him and hear His transcendental instructions on how we can come back to Him, reunite with Him.
This world is not the home of the spiritual being. It is a temporary place that we are residing in. Spiritual life means to return to our true home to the eternal spiritual dimension with the Supreme Soul.
What is Krishna’s relationship with us and our relationship with Krishna?
Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita, “I am the goal, I am the sustainer, the master, the witness, the abode, the refuge and the most dear friend. I am the creation and the annihilation. I am the basis of everything, the resting place and the eternal seed. I am the seed giving father of all living beings.”
Our eternal desire for that perfect love is a spiritual desire that cannot be completely fulfilled in this limited world with limited material personalities.
Pure love for Krishna resides eternally within the hearts of all living beings, it is simply covered. No one can give us this love. Spiritual love is already there, it is part of our very being.
That pure spiritual love that is already there within the depth of our heart of hearts, is awakened or uncovered by our immersion in the beautiful, transcendental sounds, the Holy Names of Krishna.
Thinking of Krishna, meditating upon the beautiful form of Krishna, chanting His sweet names, purifies the heart and mind so that this love is awakened.
Simply take shelter in His holy names, sing His names, rest in His name and you will actually know the spiritual happiness and inner peace that you have been looking for, for your whole life.
Take Krishna into your heart and embrace Him. Embrace His holy name. He is not different than His name. When you embrace the Holy Name of Krishna, you are embracing Krishna. When you welcome the Holy Name of Krishna into your heart, you are welcoming Krishna into your heart.
If you want Krishna, if you want love for Krishna, if you want to be connected with Krishna, if you want to be free from the emptiness that comes from being separated from Krishna, then you need to consciously give your heart, give your life to Krishna.
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We have just celebrated the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King. One of his most famous addresses was the “I have a dream” speech where he stated:
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
Reading some current commentaries, we see how if this phrase is quoted by a “white” person then it is considered racist. What has the world come to?
From a spiritual perspective, this is incredibly ignorant. It seems we have entered an age when the old maxim “don’t judge a book by its cover” has now been replaced by “you must judge a book by its cover.”
Such ideas will not bring peacefulness and happiness but result in “othering” people, sowing division and hate and causing pain and suffering.
The spiritual perspective to be cultivated when dealing with all others is laid out in the following ancient texts:
He is a perfect yogī who, by comparison to his own self, sees the true equality of all beings, in both their happiness and their distress, O Arjuna! Bhagavan-gita 6.32
He by whom no one is put into difficulty and who is not disturbed by anyone, who is equipoised in happiness and distress, fear and anxiety, is very dear to Me. Bg 12.15
“The Supreme Soul is very satisfied with the transcendentalist when they greet other people with tolerance, mercy, friendship and equality.” - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 4.11.13
"The duty of one seeking enlightenment is to culture the quality of forgiveness, which is illuminating like the sun. The Supreme Lord, Hari, is pleased with those who are forgiving. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 9.15.40
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Navigating the lunar surface can be used as an analogy for navigating the mind. One needs to carefully plot a course that avoids the dangers and pitfalls and takes advantage of smooth terrain.
The opposite to this approach is like being swept away in raging flood waters filled with dangerous debris, where one has no control. Our choice is to either take control of the content of our mind, or to hand that job over to someone else.
“They have literally rewired our brains so that we are detached from reality and immersed in tribalism.” – Tim Kendall, former director of Facebook.
Our job is to infuse our minds with goodness. Living a “good life” commonly means having the facility to consume the best that money can buy. But this is not being good, to ourselves, others and the planet. Living a good life should mean to be good to all others and to the planet.
But what about those who would do me harm? Why should I be good to them? The answer is “for my own sake.”
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Responsibility andaccountability are really interesting topics that have a huge bearing on ourlife, both from a spiritual as well as material perspective. We examine the urgent need to refocus ourlives using these principles so that we may become happier and live betterlives.
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We cannot change the past. We cannot change the things that have happened to us, but it is within our power to decide what type of future we will experience. We often spend too much time going over past experiences, often the bad ones. “That person said or did such-and-such to me!” This is a waste of valuable time and changes nothing. What we do have control of is “where to from here.”
The cultivation of a more spiritual approach to life can really change our experience of life going forward. But what do we need to do, to experience that? How do we make better choices that produce better outcomes?
That is the subject of this talk.
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Some of the main headlines we see in the news these days is the devastating effects of climate change around the world. Hottest temperatures on record, massive amounts of rainfall and flooding, record drop in the Antarctic ice sheet etc.
A leading environmental lawyer and advocate former who formerly served as dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and as the former Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme made the following insightful statement:
“I used to think that top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and climate change. I thought that thirty years of good science could address these problems. I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and apathy, and to deal with these we need a cultural and spiritual transformation. And we scientists don’t know how to do that.”
Wow – its all caused by selfishness, greed and apathy – spiritual sickness.
Another quote I use is from the banker Paul Mazur of Lehman Brothers around 1920:
"We must shift America from a needs, to a desires culture. People must be trained to desire, to want new things even before the old had been entirely consumed. We must shape a new mentality in America. Man's desires must overshadow his needs."
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