The most perfect relationship to reality

hello everybody nice to see you all our journey continues so what I wanted to talk about today was um the whole relationship between Awakening to the higher state of consciousness called Enlightenment as an experience as it relates to the human predicament of action so what is Enlightenment look like as an action not not merely as a higher state as a feeling as an inner experience or an experience of knowing but what does it look like because it must look like something it must look like something and it must look like something good because if it has anything to do with what enlightenment is supposed to be all about it must look really good it must look fabulous wonderful extraordinary profound and at times even miraculous but I think this is a very uh interesting inquiry to think about the mystery of Enlightenment in the context of what it actually looks like The Human Experience is really all about not just about what we feel inwardly and what we think inwardly what we know inwardly but how we express ourselves outwardly what we do what we say how we behave how we move our bodies how we act what our actions Express so I want us to speak a little bit about what enlightenment actually looks like I remember once about 10 years ago one of my students was writing a paper about Enlightenment she was reading about a lot of different awakened Masters and she came to me and she was struck she said one description of what little Enlightenment looks like is that it looks like that response which is always most appropriate in any given circumstance so to repeat this one person who said Enlightenment looks like what that most appropriate response might be in any given moment and the whole question of appropriateness is very interesting in relationship to the question of right action so what does our Behavior look like what does the expression of our Persona look like when it's enlightened when it's come when which means it's when it's supposed to be when it's supposed to be coming from a conscious aw Awakening to [Music] the knowledge of being of no the nosis of an absolute context to life an absolute dimension of reality what does our action what does human behavior look like when it's coming from knowledge of the absolute it must you must have a certain kind of quality and a certain kind of vibration and a certain kind of feeling and a certain kind of insight that is very unique to that higher state of consciousness and I believe this to be true and I thought that this point that it looks like the most appropriate response in any given circumstance was very interesting because um I guess if we're aspiring for higher Consciousness and uh want to know what the evolution of Consciousness looks like it I guess would always look like what we what we could could consider the most appropriate response to any given moment I'm sure you've all had the experience being with um other people but some people seem to respond to the inev inevitable constant change of life in ways that are consistently seeming appropriate and reasonable rational context appropriate and some other people who might not be quite so quite so rational and quite so balanced in their self- nature having knck of constantly responding ways to feel very inappropriate and make one uncomfortable so it would be good just to start thinking about what does what does appropriateness look like what is appropriate what is appropriateness look like in the context of the Awakening to Enlighten awareness which is to Pursuit fundamentally of inner Freedom so if I'm if I'm pursuing inner Freedom first and foremost and if I claim to have arrived at a level of inner freedom that's significant and profound and stable in what ways would my responses to the challenges in my own life look like what would they look like what would they feel like how does inner Freedom Express itself through the human Persona in the context of appropriate behavior it's a complex question I don't think I'm going be able to answer it tonight but um I want everybody to think about that what does appropriateness look like and especially in relationship to Enlightenment itself as a higher state of consciousness to make it very simple I have notice that um if someone has made real progress significant spiritual progress in the enlightenment process which is all about transcending the small self the fears and desires of the ego someone who has actually had some success a me a measure of success in transcending their small self transcending the fears and desires of the small self acts differently than someone who hasn't because such an individual possesses more their behavior is animated More by more spiritual depth and more spiritual depth mean is more spiritual context for our relationships and relatedness means the actions we take the choices we make will if you have the eyes to see will Express greater context greater greater depth greater alignment with the deeper dimensions of reality and the deeper dimensions of life and a greater sensitivity to the multi-dimensional nature of the infinite contexts in which we're all always working with him so I like to encourage people to think about what enlightenment looks like not just from the inside because everybody's looking from the inside what does it look like from the outside I think when we're always looking what enlightment looks like from the inside we tend to be looking at how we feel or how we think we should how we think we should feel tends to be too hyperfocused on the subjective dimmension of The Human Experience so it's very helpful and educational to make to make the effort to learn to look at the effect of the Awakening to enlightened Awareness on the on our what could be more considered our more outer or more objective relationship to our personal circumstances and the context that we happen to be in so what does it look like from the outside this is look spontaneous natural unselfconscious eess self-aware sensitive or does it feel very personal and very Mindy very personal very Mindy very egoic usually we don't even know what the differences are between these two states of Consciousness until we actually begin to awaken when we begin to awaken we begin to tell the difference between what ego Walks Like talks like looks like is like and what a more eist State of Consciousness is all about it's something that's very hard to to understand be sensitive to without the experience of higher Consciousness itself or or at least moments of eess awareness so so try try to try to try every day today spend a little bit of time looking at if you can try to try spend a little time every day looking at your own looking at yourself looking at yourself your body mind personality the experience of your body your mind and your personality not just from the inside out but try to question what does it look like from the outside in very difficult but it's a good uh it's a good experiment to see what do what what do I look like how do I seem how do I appear how do I show up not just looking from the inside but looking from the outside so most um spiritual Seekers who are seeking for enlightenment not very many people do that these days anymore but those who do tend to have a misunderstanding about what it looks like in terms of the fact that many of us associate The Awakening to enlightened awareness this the State of Consciousness the State of Consciousness that we experience when we a wake into enlightened awareness as a state of perfection and I think that the state of perfection expresses itself perfectly so there so there's an assumption it has been for a very long time that this that a state of perfection expresses itself outwardly as an expression of perfection and um doesn't really work that way it's possible to what so extraordinary about the Awakening to Enlighten awareness itself because Enlightenment is is not nothing as I've been saying quite a bit lately Enlightenment is not nothing it's not just emptiness or voidness but is the it is the felt presence of something very specific it's a particular kind of quiet ecstasy and joy it's pregnant with awakened intelligence and miraculous infinite depth or what feels like or seems like miraculous infinite depth and that state that that miraculous State of Consciousness that feels so intoxicatingly liberated and inherently free is the experience of the up Perfection the experience of that State of Consciousness experience of that state of conscious Consciousness as a as a feeling of knowing could only be described as the experience of that which is perfect Beyond Duality beyond all pairs of opposites it's the experience of an absolute Singularity that's vibrating with what's what feels like Cosmic intelligence which is experienced as as knowing profound knowing in that state the experience of that State of Consciousness feels like feels like Perfection and I believe that it that it is the state of perfection but but it's a state of perfection in in the context of that which is understood to be a non-relative or absolute dimension of reality so Perfection exists in the universe but Perfection exists as Perfection exists and can be found looking at the very deepest dimensions of the interior of all of reality one finds if you dig deep enough into the deepest interior dimension of reality itself eventually you could come upon a place a space and knowing a being that is pristine that is beyond thought Beyond cognition it's beyond duality of any kind and that Myster that mystery that one finds there is perfect to use Mythic language it's it's the Awakening to the direct perception of God Consciousness but I don't like to use that word very much because it sounds very dualistic there's a state of knowing Beyond Duality beyond all pairs of opposites and that then that and that alone there and there alone is where we discover and experience that which is perfection that which is perfect and the experience of the inherent Perfection of the deepest dimensions of reality this God principle whatever you want to call it it's the it's the no it's the nosis or the knowing of that which is the source of spiritual Liberation enlightened awareness and and the most profound expressions of spiritual transformation so it is possible if we go deep enough to experience that which is perfect and and the direct cognition the direct experience of that which is perfect is the very thing that is so transformative about the Awakening to enlightened awareness it's the direct cognizance the direct experience of perfection that which is perfect which changes us at a soul level it's not a mere not a mere psychological shift not a psychological shift it's not something that happens in the psych psych Psy psychological self something that happens in our souls because the glimpse of perfection just it changes us it changes you forever what has seen what feels like the highest truth and if you let it touch you deeply enough you you will you will not remain you not remain unchanged so it's it's possible to experience Perfection and that's what's so fantastic about Spiritual Awakening when it's real the real thing it's that experience of the Perfection that exists the very source of all of reality it's the highest and the deepest and the most profound experience erience we can have as human beings which far as I understand [Music] and it's real and it exists and it's knowable and realizable but the what what's so interesting here what I want you all to understand is that we can experience that which is perfect just the way I've been describing it but we can't be that which is perfect because at a at a physical level our body is always a work in progress our never is our body is never an expression of perfection because Perfection is a static State and everything that everything that is born in manifest reality everything that's in a state of becoming in manifest reality everything that emerges manifest reality it's in a process of birth and death constantly it's in is in is in inner and outer experience of change development growth the solution ution and death so anything that anything that has a beginning and has an end is not perfect it's all a work in progress and our bodies minds and personalities are all Collective expressions of works and progress we're all works and progress some of us are progressing more than others but we're all works in progress at every at every at every level of manifest existence for all works in progress so any anything that's a work in progress is not perfect because it's always changing so the fundamental Point here is that Perfection is not attainable in ter in manifest existence and manifest reality Perfection is unattainable and manifest reality and manifest existence even though it may be experienceable experience you can experience it at the highest level but you can't manifested which to put it to use very simple language which means nobody's perfect nobody can be perfect Perfection human human Perfection is unattainable which is this that's good news and bad news because because lazy spiritual Seekers people who don't want to make the effort to develop in the first place will feel like they're let off the hook because they realize it's since Perfection is unattainable they don't have to make any any any effort anymore but uh just because spiritual just because Perfection is not attainable doesn't mean that infinite development is not possible so while that in manifest reality in manifest existence in whole process of becoming of the universe Perfection is unattainable the point I keep making the point I want everybody to understand is that the the reaching for Perfection the spiritually the spiritually ambitious person strives to become the best person they can be and the reason we strive to become the best person we can be is because we've had a we've had a a vision P we have experienced a revelation about the about the nature of the highest and deepest dimension of reality where we experience that which is perfect it's what it's like to see God so to speak to have that kind of Awakening once you've seen and experienced and known directly that which is perfect you cannot never forget that Revelation that Vision that inner knowing and that it's that Revelation alone that inner knowing is is what spiritually inspires all of us in our inherent imperfection to strive to improve ourselves to better ourselves to become more perfect so the revelation of perfection inspires us to reach for perfection even though ironically said Perfection that we can never reach and it's learning how to hold that Paradox that Duality that tension between the knowledge of perfection and the and this and the that which is inherently perfect which is US inherently imperfect which is us ever striving for a Perfection that will never reach someone who knows that they're inherently imperfect and knows that they'll never be able to reach Perfection but still feels the experiences the the the spiritual obligation to try to reach for it anyway because that's the only way we're going to develop is a humble person someone who Embraces their own inherent Perfection realizes that Perfection is unattainable but strives for it anyway a humble person it's a very big difference between a spiritually awake person who's trying to become more perfect and one who isn't all of those all of us who had the gift of Awakening to The evolutionary Empire feel ourselves compelled to always reach Beyond where we've come because from a certain point of view there's always further to go as imperfect beings we can never arrive at Perfection there's always going to be further to go so leaning into this challenge this spiritual leaning into this enormous spiritual challenge of aspiring to reach a Perfection that's unreachable puts us in a very unique position metaphysically and spiritually it uh makes it possible for us to express a kind of vulnerability know a kind of vulnerability undefended vulnerability that's very rare because if you're always trying to reach Beyond where you've come for the highest reasons you're your soul so to speak is always going to be exposed your soul will always be exposed which makes one extraordinarily vulnerable much more vulnerable than most people would prefer to be but I don't know any other way this this can really work if you want it to be real and what what's beautiful about what's beautiful about what I'm describing to you is that our egos usually have a lot of trouble with the fact that this this might be this the spiritual path the promises of Enlightenment the spiritual path of promis of Enlightenment we might find is some is an unending Pursuit of the possible no matter how far we awaken no matter how far we come no matter how enlightened we become they'll always be infinitely further to go which means there's no rest for the weary ever from a certain perspective and if that's something that makes us that doesn't frighten us or threaten us or feel make us feel uncomfortable and we're in good shape because it's another part of our s which just wants it all to be over wants to be let off the hook so we can go back to sleep and that's not the spiritual impulse so the evolutionary The Awakening to The evolutionary context of Spiritual Development adds this new twist to the whole process of Awakening which puts us in an infinite context of becoming more conscious potentially we find ourselves in a situation where the pursuit of Greater Consciousness and greater awareness we realize there an infinite Pursuit because we can always become more conscious and what I find every what I for br me person what I find the most compelling what the most compelling aspect of Enlightenment for me continues to be its infinite nature so if we're dealing with a a state of consciousness and in a goal that is infinite it defies linear thinking linear measurement and linear M mming and every in every possible way and leaves us always nowhere from a certain point of view nowhere and always farther to go so if we if in terms of putting this in in an inter subjective context if the if the ultimate nature of reality at the deepest and highest level is can somehow be defined as infinite then if our relative selves which is which is the Machinery the biological psychological and psychic Machinery that we that we are using here to navigate our way through time and space if this if this um relative biological mechanism can meet other biological mechanisms in an infinite context then we have a lot of room to move alone and together means that means means means we find we potentially can find ourselves in an infinite context with infinite potential if we can let go deeply enough of our minds to experience it for ourselves it's just so much there so much that's possible if we can awaken to the deepest dimension of reality where we can experience this inherent Perfection for ourselves as the first step awake The Awakening to Enlighten awareness directly for ourselves so we know it for sure we're sure about it I'm sure that it it is the highest truth then learn then learning how to how to allow that Discovery to become our map so now if we awaken in this way we could say well we have a map it's a map of of the infinite it's a map of infinity what is that possible could that possibly mean it means that the infinite it means that we we we are have become self-aware of the fact that we're in an infinite context that infinite context changes absolutely everything and it potentially makes all things possible in an infinite context all things are possible that so much of what we have thought previously has to be let go of so much that is unconsciously so many things that were unconsciously convinced about without even knowing it need to be discovered and let go of in order to be able to operate in this new territory allowing together so the in the teaching of evolutionary life the what I always advise people to do in terms of a a a focused practice of attention that can help us greatly to achieve the very ends that I'm speaking about is to learn how to not know the ego always knows better the ego's very very good at knowing better my ego knows better than yours does you probably feel that your ego's knows better than mine and it's not important about what the issue the issue is not important because I'm sure there's some things I know more than you and certain things you know more than me it's not the issues that are the point in this particular context I'm speaking about it's the ego's feeling of superiority when it when it believes that it knows better better than the other then the others that's when we start taking very fixed positions without even knowing that we're taking fixed position so we want to learn how if we if we're interested in the Awakening to aligned awareness in a way that is deep and profound meaningful and purposeful and then it can help us to become more aware of what's appropriate behavior appropriate responses we have to learn learn how to become an expert in not knowing but not already knowing that's not easy for most people it's very difficult and a lot of people find it frightening and the the the actual inner experience of not knowing comes from dying to the small self doesn't have to be a permanent death but it needs to be a small death at least the temporary death of the small self this is only when the small self dies even if only temporarily we can begin to experience what it means not to know so the a powerfully developed experience of not knowing is the same as cognizance of that which is infinite which the same thing so you can practice this when you're sitting in meditation of course you can but that's not the only time to do it you can do this any time you want is to allow yourself to become cognizant of the infinite context of your own experience in every single moment and allow yourself to feel it deeply deeply deeply so deeply that you become utterly overwhelmed by it UT overwhelmed in the most positive way possible so you want to become an exper we want to become experts and knowing what it means not to know not just as a spiritual idea but as a metaphysician relationships all in Human Experience it's the POS inner position of absolute freedom and then we want to be able to balance that through that we want to balance that in a equally with [Music] the power of awaken curiosity about life and about reality somebody who already knows everything which is the egoic position can't see anything new can't discover anything new because they already know everything if you already know there's no room for that what you don't already know so one of the qualities of Awakened Consciousness one of the qualities of enlightened awareness is innocence and humility which means I know I don't already know I know I don't already know and I'm not shy about that I'm not afraid if other people know how much I don't know but because I'm curious about what I don't know so it means knowing that we don't know and wanting to know I know that I don't know and I want to know I like a child like an innocent child who's very curious about life about reality wants to understand so the metos in relationship to all of reality that we want to learn how to assume in one sentence is not knowing and wanting to know not already knowing not always already knowing knowing and always wanting to know it's when not knowing and curiosity become one metaphysician but they're not already knowing and the Curiosity in this case are not are untainted by the Mind untainted by the ego Express a pure a purity a purity of motivation it expresses innocence and transparency authenticity on a human level because what does enlightment look like that's what it looks like it looks like authenticity and transparency earnestness it means free from pretense free from duality egoic person is very full of pretense conscious and unconscious positions of pretense and Duality and when these masks these false personas or masks Fall Away we have an opportunity to be utterly free from pretense to be so completely authentic undefended and vulnerable and real so [Music] the the most perfect response to life in any given moment will be a result of being firmly grounded and not already knowing and always wanting to know if you are firmly grounded and not already knowing and always wanting to know your responses to life your unselfconscious responses to life will look more will look much more authentic much more real much more vulnerable much more sincere much more true and deep and meaningful than than otherwise so once again there's no such thing as a perfect response we can have a more perfect response because we're striving for a Perfection that we cannot reach So within in the realm of striving for a Perfection that we cannot reach we can always do better and we're striving to do a little bit better because it's the only thing there is to do that will Express that will express it itself and reveal itself in deep deeper degrees of authenticity vulnerability transparency and Beauty Consciousness and un and cognition is undefended by ego is beautiful people we become people become beautiful when they drop their egos we become beautiful people imper imperfect as we are we can be we can vibrate with beauty and depth and love in ways that are utterly free from pretense and falsehood we dropped a small cell and we will appear to be so much more perfect than people who don't do those don't do that we will not attain perfection in this in this life as I said we can experience it we can't we can't be it but we but but we can become more perfect and those who are striving to become more beautiful for all the right reasons become beautiful people they express something that's beautiful because con undefended Consciousness is beautiful well you all find out you you find out this is true there's a there's a miracle and a mystery inher in inherent in Consciousness itself that is indescribably beautiful wonderful delightful ecstatically so and when that begins to express itself through the human personality the personality expresses the beauty behind the mystery of Consciousness and self and we all become very beautiful and our responses tend to be much more appropriate context appropriate because we're not so lost in our minds anymore we have our feet on the ground and we're paying much more attention to the context in which things are happening within and without and also there's no as long as the as long as as long as the body is still alive as long as we're still breathing as long as we still still breathing we never off the hook because no matter how how beautiful or how context appropriate our response may have been in the last moment there always going to be the next moment and the next moment in the next moment it will give us an opportunity to see how free we are or not so the predictable nature of life and the inherent imperfection of our Humanity bestows upon all of us an infinite opportunities to put all this to the test I think we'll all know how well we did or not once we dropped dropped the body but until then how well we we're going to do I believe is utterly and utterly completely dependent upon a capacity to not already already know and the sincerity of how much we actually want to know so learning how to embrace the that that that metapos constantly is the way the inner Freedom that the inner freedom of enlightened awareness as it's a state of consciousness as an inner experience and as an inner knowing comes from not already comes from not already knowing the expression of enlightened awareness as an appropriate action comes from wanting to know what's so fascinating about all this is that when we put these kinds of principles into practice and we when we feel these principles come alive within us within our own subjective experience it's amazing how it's amazing because we see we seen Glimpse that so much is possible so much that is so beautiful so possible between us if only we had the eyes to see it there's nothing in the way except their own lack of self- knowledge otherwise it all looks good all right thank you very much maybe we can sit together for a couple of minutes and then I'll be happy to try and answer your questions okay I'm I'm editing there are any questions anel yeah I have a first question and for anybody else please write your questions in the chat box at the bottom of your Zoom window and I will read the question the first question is from Juan and he is asking if I understand correctly our enlightened awareness expresses itself limited by our stage of development integral Theory what practice do you recommend for growing up to a higher stage can you read that again if I understand correctly our enlightened awareness expresses itself limited by our stage of development integral Theory what practice do you recommend for growing up to a higher stage well I think I was just speaking one I was just describing my this um this disposition of not already knowing and wanting to know and I was speaking in great detail about that and I was speaking about the need [Music] to transcend the small self and new to awaken into an evolutionary context and and do I think that the question is about the stage development not the Awakening but you read it again what practice do you recommend to for growing up to higher stages one I don't think there is any there's no there's as far as I understand there's no particular practice that can help us with what you're asking for you you can learn you can learn intergral theory and learning about integral Theory means you you learn about these different St stages of development and you can have a learn to have a good intellectual understanding of the distinction between lower stages of development and higher stages of development but as long as this understanding remains at an intellectual level it won't help you very much so in the way that I approach this I very much put more emphasis on the waking up in the stage development because I'm a teacher of Enlightenment and teacher of enlightened awareness so this is what I'm know I know more about and have a deeper understanding of but I think for for me the the at least in the way that I teach this and share this the it's the Awakening to the higher States Of Consciousness Beyond ego awaken genuine humility in the self and I don't think it's possible for us to genuinely gr grow and evolve through through through these higher stages into these higher stages and through these higher stages unless we have unless there's a a a profound degree of humility we've awakened to a profound degree of humility and I think that if we my in my ongoing experience of working with these these Concepts and these these states of Consciousness the more genuine humility that that we can nurture in our overloaded egos the more possible it becomes to actually you get a glimpse what these higher stages are all about and what they actually mean [Music] so so what I would encourage you to do would be to just find a spiritual teacher that can help you to wake up good luck find find an awakened spiritual teacher that you believe in that gives you faith that has the power to awaken you to to your own depth it will help you to see through your small self through see your ego and at the same time as you're doing the spiritual work of self Transcendence with a with a genuinely awakened teacher you can read integral Theory and learn about stage development and see how well you do is no this this is this is difficult this is difficult stuff but uh do everything you can to awaken to enlighted awareness to wake up to Enlighten awareness for real transcend your small self and read about integral Theory then then you tell me how you doing there's no mag one there's no magic bullet but but coming from my my perspective which is just my own perspective I feel that the The Awakening part of this the waking up part of this is much more important than the understanding of theory of integral Theory integral Theory can help us help us to interpret our experience with more accuracy and in a bigger context but it won't won't be able to save us from our from our minds and egos so find find a realized teacher who you feel is the real deal and can help you to wake up commit yourself to working with him until you become fully enlightened and in the meantime read of an incal Theory study it I hope that does that help can't hear you what no I thought I thought your talk was about about spring awaken light and and Enlightenment in in life yes yes absolutely so so I I I all my time all the time my mind was this idea which I just read you know and out of what you said curiosity that our our awaken Enlighten experience is limited limited by our stage yeah and I just have I have meditated for many many years yeah and I found I didn't I didn't really in this worldw uh terminology I didn't really grow up so much so I I I I always find I don't know how I I can meditate I have I mean I'm not light of course no I I have some little bit of intuition what is Awakening so I was wondering know because of the talk the way of expressing your life no you said you are in a kind of see life in very much more open Infinite context yeah so I was was anyway what what you said is limited I cannot do that because it's limited by by my own growth stage anyway so whatever you said doesn't but one but one listen listen to me I appreciate what you're saying thank you but if you if you if we learn how to be not so sure about you you said I cannot do that because I am not there he said I cannot do that because I am not there I would I would lovingly tell you how do you know you could be if you weren't so sure that you weren't there you could be if you weren't so sure that you weren't there that's what I meant so so we have to be very careful when we're talking about Enlightenment and the evolution of Consciousness not to speak from our ego and our intellect because the ego and the intellect always thinks it knows better so you're saying I don't know I'm not there and and I would I would say to you lovingly how do you know you might you might not think you might not think you're there you might not believe that you're there that doesn't mean that you're far away so even in this even in that you can start to feel something gets starts to open up oh oh I see that's a very different way to think about it um I don't really know that's very interesting I didn't really know I was looking on the map of states and stages and I thought I was here I was looking on the map of states and stages and I thought I was here but now I realize I have no idea I really have no idea and the more we allow ourselves to have no idea the space opens up and the suddenly there's more depth there's more possibility and uh so you could be one you could be a lot closer than you think I'm I'm telling you the truth when I met my own Guru in 1986 I thought I was very far away and he showed me in 10 minutes that I was right there took a long time 10 minutes so when I went in the room to see him I I said I said to him how much effort does it take to be to become free and he told me and do takes no effort and I had no I did not understand what he meant I didn't understand what he meant and then I had a vision and in the vision I realized that my true self was always free had never been unfree it took 10 minutes it didn't take a lot of work I didn't he didn't tell me go go meditate for 15 years in a cave and come back and we'll talk he he he he he he made it clear to me that Enlightenment is is is ever present it's never far away and then he revealed it to me and just saying a few words he he revealed my true self to me and so this is why I keep emphasizing that we should not be so sure about where we think we are at better to not be so sure and in terms of the the growing up with the integral stage is this we just have to continue to learn about them because this the whole idea of the the stages of Consciousness the stages of of growth this is a very it's very fascinating and I think it takes many years to really understand what these stages are all about at the beginning just just understanding that Consciousness evolves through through separate stages these distinct stages and that the stages actually exist and they're all real they exist within all of us it's very fascinating so then we just we learn about these stages and we study ourselves our ways of thinking we see is it that I think it's been conditioned by this by the particular stage of development that I'm at and we start thinking about the nature of stages when we think about ourselves it makes us tick about how other people take how other people think we start seeing these stages within us and in other people we start seeing it everywhere all around us different stages of Consciousness we start seeing dece start seeing different stages of Consciousness in all human beings we meet you become more conscious of these stages slowly and progressively over time till it becomes a a natural part of our cognitive process we start seeing stage development inside us and outside us and all around us all the time and it takes it takes a long time it becomes just a something we're paying attention to all the time but um but for me one the most important thing is freeing the freeing the freeing the freeing the soul liberating the soul so we don't want we don't want our we don't want our Enlightenment to become tra trapped in our intellect and and one the another thing I want to tell you is that um Nobody Knows the answer to your question nobody knows there are different people have have different degrees of understanding of the theory some people's theoretical understanding is much more developed than others you understand some some people have a much more developed intellectual understanding on others but nobody knows in with any kind of finality this is all this is all the leading edges of human thinking so nobody really knows some people know more than others but nobody knows absolutely there's no there's no no one who's uh who's who's a who's an objectively recognized master of stage development there are a lot of people that know a lot about stage development but but but this is it just it's so new this kind of thinking that no nobody has a final understanding of these things so my my point to you is don't worry about it so much it's not as important as you think it is if you if you once you awaken to these stages of devel vment you become aware of them you learn about them and you can't forget it because it's so important and then you just you keep paying attention you keep learning and you'll slowly learn more and more and you learn more by introspecting in terms of the nature of your own inner experience observing how your friends think when they talk when they express their opinions trying to see where What stages of development these ideas came from in other people in your friends in your teachers in politicians in different writers and thinkers and start seeing these different stages acting and speaking through different people and seeing how they how the stages are acting and acting and speaking through you then you learn about them slowly slowly Ken Wilbur told me personally he said Andrew these stages speak through US said these stages of Consciousness speak through us what might feel like our own personal opinion it's just the expression of a particular state or stage of consciousness the stage itself speaks through us so are we aware that when these stages are speaking through us when certain feelings that we having our expressions of a particular stage of Consciousness they're not unique to us but this comes over time takes a long time just pay attention keep keep learning pay attention keep learning pay attention keep learning pay attention keep learning and it'll come but the but the Awakening to Consciousness The Awakening to Enlightenment that doesn't take time that's a different thing takes no time what no time at all thank you so much thank you very much thank you the next question is from Kami she is asking thank you for this talk today I'm grateful my question as Andrew mentioned if a soul always is exposed and is open how does an individual Safeguard themsel in the difficult reality in this outside world as all people are not aligned with the action of Enlightenment by being uh intelligent Yeah by being being being intelligent and and protecting yourself be intelligent make constructive choices and don't be don't spend time with negative people we all have to we all have to know how to protect ourselves we all have to become good at learning how to protect oursel from people who have bad motives that comes from awakened intelligence and self-respect the more the more you respect yourself the more careful you're going to be with how who you spend your time with the self-respect is very important self-respect intelligence and soul strength will enable you to protect yourself does that help ra me we cannot hear you but your microphone is open I wonder if it's on your side that you don't have a microphone yeah we cannot hear you sorry for that there is one other question andw okay and it's is Wonder all there is is Wonder all there is is that the question yep no one wonder is part of what there is but there's all kinds of all kinds of other responses to life who asked the question uh I think it's you're Henry yeah Su User it's it's written can you see him Andrew no I I can't oh hi could you ask could you say more please um the reason I asked the question Wonder all there is is because I don't live in wonder I live in knowing I live in experience I live in that state uh least that's what I interpret as my state but the the State of Wonder that occasionally occurs because I do not know is seems to be the open door for what all is Created from I I agree with you I agree with you wonders when we are when we're in touch with the with the the Majesty of uh the inherent majesty and Myster of Consciousness itself and then we are awake to The Wonder of it all there's there there a wonder is a good word wonderful full of wonder but I'm sorry I'm not I'm not I don't remember what the question was it's Wonder all there is is wonder wonder is Wonder is an important part of what there is but there's a lot more than Wonder yeah I mean I I I recognize there Wonder all there is is I I don't know I mean anyway I I appreciate how that may be the beginning of what manifests everything into into existence and so it it just be begs for me oh yeah remember I need to drop into the Wonder again to allow to recognize what is you know that there's an infiniteness to it that is very well said that's very well said and I think that um every day would be a good amount of time to stop into the water the more the better that you think more the more the better don't you think no no I'm in agreement I I mean there's no better State than a state of Wonder and then from there exactly I manifest into something and now I in some dualistic dance which is still beautiful but it's not necessarily you know it's almost like I need to take responsibility of it for it that's right so the know what you're saying is true so the the not already the metap position I was describing of not already knowing and wanting to know that entertaining that position every day can help us to experience more and more of that State of Wonder that we're talking about because because the State of Wonder that you're describing is the experience of metaphysical relief from the tyranny of Duality what did you say it's a metaphysical relief and release from the tyranny of Duality that's when everything is suddenly all that's when suddenly everything's worth it and suddenly suddenly it doesn't matter how bad it may have been Suddenly It's all perfect and wondrous and extraordinary profound and miraculous it couldn't have been any other way and there's only gratitude absolutely was there anything else thank you I don't have more questions so holding attention between the I don't already know but I want to know holding that metaphysical tension between those two polarities keeps the door to the infinite wide open that's the good news thank you very much everybody