Day 1 on retreat in France August 2018

but just as we're starting out in this team I want I mean I want to keep I want to repeat this fundamental point it's very important it's very important it's very important it's very important if there's a big sell or called the trip out and there's the small cell so Indian this is if this is a retreat about enlightenment so this this retreat is about the Enlightenment perspective on the human condition and the Enlightenment perspective as always the perspective from Big South not the small so very different very different very different so the nature of the big cell true self authentic self is pure imperfection already that's its nature and that's the retreat goes on we'll discuss why that is but for this morning I just want to make a statement that it is stopped so the big sell the true self the authentic self doesn't need to be work done developed or improved because it's already perfect it needs to be realized recognized and discovered which is something completely different but the realization process the recognition process and the discovery process has nothing to do with self-improvement you can't improve that which is already perfect so the bad habit that we've all grown up with is we is we're always looking into small South believing it's who we all we are home you are and then the more we look at it and go oh my god that's terrible I did this I did that I thought this I thought that I felt this I felt that I better go beg God for forgiveness soon otherwise I'm sure they go to hell when I die right is that how it works we can laugh about it all we want but these conditions these these are very deeply conditioned ways of thinking about being human they come to us from the great religious traditions and they have been deeply embedded in our psyches within our souls for thousands of years this is not an easy habit to get over so the small cells not going to go anywhere but you you you you become less interested in the small self and more interested in the big self the big self is much much much much more interesting infinitely more interesting incomparably more interesting than the small self the big self is always a source of joy freedom that ecstasy inspiration creativity freedom endlessly endlessly endlessly endlessly endlessly endlessly endlessly have this thing you never get that much you'll never get that from the small salad