Your Own Creation

So this is your first time meditating? How was it for you? Good? Okay? Do you understand the instruction? Yeah. I know your experience. I know there's a lot of different meditation techniques that are out there. And what we're trying to do here is a foundational practice of being in the present moment. Bringing our attention, using the breath as the anchor to stay present and to be more open. That's really mindfulness at its basic practice. How do we stay present and be open? Right? And then what it does is it starts to help us develop self-awareness. Okay? Ultimately, all Buddhist practices, all meditation in Buddhism is really geared towards increasing and developing self-awareness. Self-awareness. Which later becomes just awareness. Okay? So that's why I throw out the question, the inquiry question, you know, what is this? What is this? Anybody find the answer as we're meditating? Do you have any answers to that?

You know? What is this? What is this paying attention? You know, we, we have the name for it, like me, I, this I-ness, right? But what are you truly claiming to be me? What are we claiming as I when we say I? Have you ever thought of that? What is this I? You know, nowadays it's easy because everyone studied science and physics to know that this body is constantly changing, right?

Constantly changing. The cells are reconstructed, you know, die and reborn. It's happening. The reincarnation is happening moment to moment. Everything is changing. Our body is changing. Our thoughts are changing. Our thoughts are changing, right? Our body is no longer the same body at the cell, you know, cell level, cellular level from like 10 years ago, right? Completely. Even the bones have changed. But we continue to hold on to this ideal of a self. Yeah. So, we talked about the three dharma seals. To understand the impermanence. All we have to do is look at our body. It's how it's constantly changing. And we don't, we don't really think about it when we look at our self in the mirror. If you pay attention close enough, you become aware that body is not something I can claim as me. Because as soon as I claim it, it's changed. You gotta reclaim it, moment to moment to moment. And then, there's non-self, anatta, right?

It just means that even though there's an ideal, a thought of me, everything that exists, everything that exists, doesn't exist independently, as a self, as an intrinsic, inherent self. Everything that exists has supporting conditions that allow it to exist, right? Do you know anything that exists independently, by itself? Without having any dependence on anything else? Anything. Nothing, right? Nothing you can think of right now. Let me know if you think of something. Yeah. Everything relies on something else to be. Just like our body is relying upon all these different parts. Okay? And our beingness, we call it five aggregates, you know, physical form, there's sense, there's sense, contact, there's perception, there's mental formation, which is the formation, volition also included in there. And consciousness. The consciousness is really just one of the five components, aggregates, that makes up who we are. And I'm not going to go too deep into the Buddhist philosophy of principles of dependent origination, but if you look at the links, consciousness comes in

that third, third link. Based on ignorance, it creates karmic formation of that consciousness. A lot of people think consciousness is just, you know, substratum, but it's not. At least based on the Buddha's enlightenment. So, how do we find out all this? By paying attention to me. Yeah. Why? Why do we do this practice? Why? Why do we need to know? Why do we need to pay attention to ourselves? Why do we need to increase self-awareness? Ultimately, it is to reduce our suffering. Everybody's experiencing stress, right? Everybody's experiencing anxiety, fear, loss, right? Anybody have any experience of suffering, stress? Yeah. Everybody has to, as long as you're born. That's why the first noble truth is life is dukkha. It's unsatisfactory. It's unbalanced. Because it starts, the life is basically formation based on ignorance, illusion of oneself. Yeah. So by going directly to the root of all manifestation, which is ignorance, we can get rid of all the suffering. Right? So when we do this practice, what I've noticed recently with people that have been diligent is that they're experiencing a lot of suffering, they're experiencing a lot of suffering, excruciating suffering. And my answer to that is exactly what it's supposed to be. Okay? As you

progress in this practice, you have to understand that the obstacles that I have created are going to start becoming becoming more present. As we are trying to understand the truth, our ego, the sense of me, right? But when I ask you, what is that? You don't know. But that's the sense of I-ness, which is the ego. We'll resist. We'll resist. And more you try, more it's going to resist. Not just holding back. You know, sometimes it'll be like, oh, okay, it's too much for me, and I'm too busy right now. All this stuff will happen. All kinds of things will happen. The karmic debts will rush at you. Okay? So this is where we have to understand how karma works. Okay? Then you can see for what it is, and accept it for what it is.

Everything that we experience, everything that we experience visually, okay? With all our sensations, right? You can only experience what we can sense, right? All the

circumstances, okay? It's my own creation. Believe it or not. I know our ego doesn't want to believe that. Because there's so many people to blame, right? Only if he didn't, she didn't. Only if this didn't happen. Why is this happening to me? That's the victim mind, the ego, like degenerate. But if you pay attention with this practice, close enough, okay? And understand everything exists based on its supporting conditions. And when that supporting

condition is no longer there, then it cannot stay. Just like the sound. I just created a supporting condition. When that supporting condition, it changes. Everything's impermanent, right? Everything goes away. Everything comes and goes. There's nothing that just stays permanent. See that? It's gone now, right? Because that supporting condition is no longer there. Only when that supporting condition is there, something is able to manifest. And all of our experiences are based on the supporting conditions that we created. That's what we call karma. It's not a reward or punishment system. It's just basically karmic consequences of karmic potentiality manifesting. And that karmic potentiality is based on everything that we did in the past. Whether we remember it or not. Whether we admit it or not. Okay? All of our experiences. All of our experiences. This is why, for us, we take responsibility for all of our experiences. When you can take full responsibility, that's when we become master of our life. That's how you master your life. That you don't resist anymore. When the things don't go our way, we get stressed out. Right? And that stress, if you take, if you pay attention, that stress is a reaction. It's our reaction. It's our resistance. There's always resistance when you're stressed. Stressed meaning suffering or whatever, you know, anger, frustration, anxiety. All of those suffering come when we resist or when we don't get what we want. And we're also resisting that.

not getting what we want. So this practice, even though as you develop positive karma by being kind, we are developing positive karmic merits, the blessings to help you through life, this practice is not about changing outside circumstances. It's about accepting everything as is and still being peaceful. Finding that peace and joy within ourselves, despite the chaos that's happening outside the world. Okay? So it's not about gaining certain super power to make things my way. This life is not going your way. Even the enlightened beings, even the Buddha, okay? His

entire clan was decimated. After he became a Buddha, the Shakya clan, completely decimated. And he explained that that's karma. You know. So it's not the Buddha that's going to make your life easier. It's the only way you perceive what's happening outside. Does that make sense? I know it's kind of hard to accept. Especially when you're going through hard time and difficult time. When you have people that are annoying you, that are triggering you, that are doing all these horrible things, right? It's easy to say, well, if they weren't around, I wouldn't be triggered. But that means you've just given up your choice to be who you are, to that other person, to the circumstance, right? If we allow the people to trigger us, that means I've given up my choice of my own beingness. And that's why we react.

automatically. Because we've given up that choice. And that's how we live our life. That's how most people live our life. Unconscious. Unconscious. Not even know that I gave up my choice to that other person. Because if you're perturbed, that means you allow that person, or that situation, to perturbed you. Right? Do I have to be perturbed? Ask yourself that. Do I have to be perturbed? The answer should be no. It's a choice. It's a choice that we make. Whether we do it consciously or unconsciously, we're always making a choice. Even giving up that choice is also a choice that we make. It's a choice that we've been making for so long that it becomes more natural to give up the choice and allow other people to make us feel a certain way

than us choosing how we should feel. Does that make sense? So if I asked you, would you rather be happy or miserable, what would you choose? Stupid question, right? Everyone wants to be happy. But why are you choosing to be miserable? Why are you making that choice? Allowing the circumstance I impact my own beingness. How I show up should be my choice. But it's easy said than done, right? That's what we train. That's what we practice. Because our karmic direction has been trained to just react to life. To always grasp things or to do things. To push away what we don't like. Not understanding that second noble truth. All suffering comes from our own craving. Our own desire to have stuff. Our own desire to push stuff away. So our likes and dislikes is the cause of all suffering. Not because of what they said and what happened.

It's because of my resistance to it. It's because of my resistance to it and where I want something to be different. We have to at least accept that fact for this practice. Then we can start to work on our own mind. So Buddhism is really science of mind and discipline in the mind, taming the mind to find that peace and joy within. Not about finding the peace and joy by changing the outside world. But how do we find that peace and joy? No matter what's happening. Okay? We don't lose that balance. And it takes wisdom and compassion to be able to do that. Wisdom to be able to see things as is. That's part of the meditation practice. That's why we have to be present So we're not lost in our thoughts reacting. Present. Okay? Allowing this present moment to be as is, so that we can respond appropriately. Asking ourselves, what is beneficial?

Truly beneficial? Being angry? Shouting? Or taking a moment to find the center and then

respond accordingly to what is happening? Right? That's a choice. It's a choice that we can make, you know, but we have habitual energy that takes us to the different direction. So we have to set an intention and empower that intention. That intention I talk about at the relative level is to make a positive impact on other people's lives. We have to at least have that as our purpose of life. For us to even practice. Because without intention, there's no path. And then if you want to go spiritually, say I want to become fully awakened, find true liberation. Why? To awaken others and to liberate others. That's the bodhicitta. Bodhicitta intention. In order to awaken everyone, I will be awakened. Okay? And that has to become powerful enough.

Powerful enough to overcome the ego's way of being. That has to become a new way of being. That's why, for everybody that's been here, I emphasize daily practice. Right? Without daily practice of empowering that intention, okay? There's no path. So even though you want to, everybody wants to, because it sounds good, right? To be free from all suffering. But if you don't dedicate the time and effort, the energy, okay? For that, it's just a good idea. It's just a concept. It just sounds good. Yeah. So for this knowledge that I'm sharing with you, to benefit you truly, you have to do the work. Yeah. I can't do it for you. Buddha can't do it for you. No one can. So that's the difference between this practice and other spiritual religions, where you can rely on somebody more powerful. Okay? But if you

look, if you understand the karma properly, you can pray. There's prayers in Buddhism. But what you're doing is, you are using your karmic merits to make things happen. So when you pray sincerely, Okay? Your mind can create the blessings, things to happen the way you pray for. What you're doing is, you're using up your karmic energy, karmic merits. Okay? The simple, even though it's not right, simple way to explain it is like, kind of like a deposit you made, that you're using up, you're drawing to use. Okay? That's the karma. So if things are happening, and there are a lot of things happening right now for the members here too, and I'm hearing it, and it's just exactly what you have to experience. Everything that's present is exactly the way it should be.

It's hard to accept, right? All the chaos in the world, you know, all these people that's doing harm to other people, how can you say it's supposed to be that way? Karma. It's just karma. Some people are gonna be this way, some people are gonna be that way. Okay? It's just every, all these people are not awakened, not conscious. In fact,

about 80% of people are completely unconscious, and they don't even care about being conscious. Yeah. And the rest, you know, about 20% want to know the truth. They want to be kind, but they don't know the path. Except for very few. And even those that are trying to dedicate themselves to this practice, then there's obstacles that come. Life obstacles that distract people from practicing daily. Right? So, we'll send you an email from the new folks to our share folder. That has a, you know, daily practice guideline. And if you want to follow that, and then receive guidance on it. And then if you, what, if you commit to a daily practice, then we have a band app, where we join and we can share, you know, how you're practicing. And you can also, you're always welcome to set up a one-on-one interview, or, you know, or coaching session with me as well. Okay? So, let me know where you're at, situation, and then I can give you a prescription. Yeah. And

there's a lot of other meditation sessions. They'll take you out of the meditation for interviews. I don't know if you've experienced that. But I don't do that because it detracts you from practicing. So, I'd like to set up a separate one-on-one, you know, dedicated about an hour, where we can focus on your situation, how this practice can. This can help you. So, suffering will happen. It's supposed to happen. We have to practice enough to embrace it as is. Things are not going to go my way. Wanting it to be my way is the source of the suffering. You have to see that. It's a true practice. That's how you can find the peace of mind and joyful heart. Peace and joy is what creates happiness. And peace of mind can be only attained when you can let go. When you can let go. Peace of mind comes from letting go, not getting what I want.

Getting what I want is very temporary. And that, because of that desire, you manifest more desire, unsatisfied, unsatisfaction just continues. But when you let go. Like, like when you let go of expectation, there's no disappointment. Right? Yeah, you're letting go. Letting go the negative energy first. And letting go and ask yourself, what am I holding on to? What am I afraid to lose? What am I truly afraid of? If you can find peace with that, by letting that go, from letting go, you will become much, much, much more powerful and manifesting what is, what's going to bring about true happiness, not temporary satisfaction, not temporary pleasures, okay, that everyone seeks. By letting go, you'll find true happiness, true peace of mind. Certainly that's what we're trying to get to, right? And joyful heart, where does that come from? Joyful heart comes from altruistic mind, being compassionate, being kind, caring, you know, lending and help. So I talk about how being compassionate, you're already in that energy, just like we generate when we do the metta meditation, when we're being kind, we're already in joy.

You may not realize it, but once you recognize how you feel when you're being kind, it

feels good, doesn't it? Anybody feel bad when they're being kind? Yeah. But that's not being kind then, right? I mean, when you're sincerely being kind, it feels good, right? You're benefiting right there on that spot. And now science is proving it, too. About how compassion rewires the brain, you know, changes the hormone, you know, balance and all of that. Yeah. So, it's beneficial to you to be compassionate. So, why not? That's

how you bring about joy. So, this all sounds idealistic, but give it a try. I'm not asking you to believe me. I'm not here to come convince you. I'm just trying to point the finger towards the direction, okay? And if you follow that, practice it, then you'll ultimately find that peace. So, when you're entangled into suffering, notice, just embrace it. I know it's easy to say it ten times, okay? But ask yourself, how can I embrace this? Meaning, allow it to be. When we say let go, okay, what we're doing is letting go of the resistance. Okay? We allow that person to be. We cannot change anybody. If you think you can change your friend or your kids, I'm sorry, how successful really are you? Right? Yeah, just let them be. And work on my own mind to find peace with that. Okay?

That's how we deal with our life. That's how we find true peace by allowing this world to be. Okay? It doesn't mean we become passive. We do what we can to transform it. You know? To raise the level of consciousness is my intention so that we can change our society for the future. You know, that's why I returned from Korea because I felt more rooted here. And I felt that my intention was to raise the consciousness level because this country has so much influence globally that if we can raise the consciousness level here, then it would be a huge impact, right? So even if I'm just going to make a dent, you know, that's the intention. That's the intention that everyone practicing this should have, is how do we raise our own consciousness level?

That will also help other people's consciousness level. Otherwise, the suffering remains, right? The people that are causing suffering right now is because they don't know any better, right? So by judging them and by hating them or all of that, it only causes my suffering. It doesn't change anything. But if we release ourselves from that suffering, to find that peace, then your level of consciousness rises where it will start to radiate, okay? Different energy that will make an impact. That will, okay? That's why we did, we practiced that meditation for world peace together, to bring everybody together, to create that energy together. So that's why we encourage volunteering, okay? Donations, all of those are to

build up your own positive karma, okay? Buddha, even, he had all these kings lined up, trying to make a palace for him. He refused, and he still continued to, um, do daily alms round, right? Begging for food, house to house to house. I mean, he did attend certain, you know, uh, hosting by different families and things like that. But why? There's two reasons behind that. For the, for the, for the practitioners to learn to accept everything that's just given as is. If you don't receive it, then you don't receive it. Two is to allow those that are making offerings to accumulate karmic merits. Okay? So, for lay people during his time that weren't part of his Sangha, Sangha at that time was all monastic Sangha, right?

Number one thing he advised them is to accumulate positive. Positive karma, so that you will be in that position where you can practice. Okay? That you can raise your level of consciousness to where you can live a spiritual life, not in this repetitive, you know, suffering and pleasure and suffering and pleasure and suffering and pleasure and suffering and pleasure like birth and death and birth and death for eons and eons and eons. Okay? So, the modern time, you know, we have lay people that are practicing meditation, but you still need to build up your karmic merits. It may take a little bit more time, but that's why when things are not working out, you have to learn to accept that first, to find that peace. That also develops good karmic merits and continue to make efforts for the practice. Okay?

I understand that you get, your life will take you away from practice here and there, but our intention, that's why the morning puja is critical, morning puja that we do. And we

have a chanting book that we read, page one through five, as part of the morning puja. That aligns your, that aligns your spiritual alignment with Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, and that strengthens your intention. Okay? And without the intention, there's no, direction. And Buddha said intention is your karma. Where we set our intention, our volition, where we direct our mind, is where all the karmic actions, consequences will start to happen. Okay? Make sense? Hard to accept? Yeah. That ego resists. Like, I want it my way. I don't want it that way. I want it my way.

Any questions? No? Perfect? Perfect understanding? Do you have any questions? No? Not yet? Okay. Different practice, right? Have you been always doing inside meditation? Yes. Okay. That's the vipassana. Same thing,

but it's all vipassana. You know the history of vipassana, right? No, I just know that it's a particular practice anicca. I'm sorry? To practice anicca, but it's in harmony. Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, anicca. Yeah, anicca. Yeah, anicca. Yeah. So, vipassana, the current practice Vipassana by IMS, and also by Goenka, and there's several different branches. All goes back to Burma. The Burmese monks that created one aspect of practice of watching the body, body scan, which is very effective practice. But there's a confusion between Buddha's vipassana versus that vipassana. It's different. The Buddha talked about shamatha and vipassana. That's why we do anapanasati, to bring the mind to calm abiding, which is shamatha, because when your mind is calm abiding, mind is completely calm, serene, that's when the vipassana happens. It's a penetrating insight.

The reason you can't have penetrating insight is because all your thoughts are getting away. That's why how do you, how do you, shutting down the mind is really the wrong way. It's how do you calm the mind enough, with concentration, so you can actually see through the reality. And what do we see when we see the reality? We see the emptiness, empty nature, which encompasses both anicca and anatta. Right? Yeah. So, the limitation of vipassana, I've experienced, because I've practiced it as well. Because you're constantly looking at an object, right? There's subject and object. So, even when you experience anicca, when you see anicca, you're still, there's experience left of what is being experienced. So, you understand, you gain the understanding of impermanence, and you kind of actually sense it and realize it, but there is a realizer.

So, there's still identity left. That's why, at a certain point, when you establish a certain level of concentration, anapanasati, to be able to focus your attention and be present, then the inquiry has to be there, you know, the vicara has to be there, you know, the first jhana, you know, I don't know if you're familiar, as vitakka and vicara, right? And the vitakka is paying attention to something, and vicara is the sustained attention, looking at it, right? But it's not just bare attention. This vitakka is asking, inquiring, what is this? You have to flip that now. That awareness, that's looking at object, has to be flipped to, that's why this inquiry method is non-dual method versus dualistic method of looking at an object and focusing on object.

That makes sense? Yeah. Once you learn how to calm your mind with vipassana, maybe we'll work on inquiry method. Anapana sati is, anapana means in-breath and out-breath. Sati means mindful, aware, right? That's what we're doing. We're using the breath as the anchor to the present moment. The more you pay attention to the breath, when you focus, focus, focus, concentrate, concentrate, concentrate, your mind, all this activity starts to slow down because you're so focused. So if your mind is elsewhere, just keep asking Am I breathing or breathing out? Just come back to the present moment. Learn to embrace this present moment exactly as is. Keep watching yourself if you're resisting. If it's heavy, just note that. Just notice that. Keep noticing it. Notice your resistance. You don't have to judge it.

Just notice the resistance. Okay? And then you'll know that natural wisdom will come out simply by watching. By watching. Observing. Okay? Yeah. Without any judgment of it whatsoever. Just let it be. Let it be. Let it be. Does that make sense? Yeah. And you have to notice that resistance too. You don't want to. Does that make sense? I ask that because everyone here is listening to different talk right now. Everyone. I can see it in your eyes too. It's just your filtering system is all different. That's all. No one's right and wrong. It's just

everyone is hearing something different based on your own filtering system. That's why everything that you can do experience is your own creation. Your own projection of what the reality is. Everybody is living in their own world. That's why this practice brings down that. So you can see what the absolute truth is. And our devotion here, only devotion we have is to the truth. Not to the Buddha. Not to the Bodhisattvas. To the truth. Truth of what I am. Truly. What is this true nature? What is the true nature? What's the true essence behind this? You know? And as you practice this, you'll see that everything has been an illusion. This whole I-ness that you can't really find. Yeah. Because it's an illusory thought. It's the one thought that sparks everything. That ignorance. That creates the karma. That creates the karma.

It creates consciousness. It doesn't really create. It depends on those conditions, actually, to be accurate. Okay? What is it? What is it? I can tell you the answer, but it's only, you're only going to take it conceptually. That's why it's not helpful. You know what I mean? I can tell you. But when I tell you, I have to tell you conceptually, right? All words are concepts. And my word that I came up with to describe it may not be the same concept that you have, right? That's why, you know, the non-dual state has to be experienced. So, if I tell you that, you're going to take it into your own. The only thing I can tell you is what it's not. It's not any identity. It's not an identity. We think it's an identity.

That's why we don't ask, who am I? Okay? It's not a who. What is this? Or what am I? What? What is it? And if you notice, even the five aggregates, if you look at the five aggregates, that makes up who we are. The five components. If you look at it closely, okay? Buddhism is about looking at everything closely enough. You'll notice that there are all functions. It's not an identity. They're not an identity. They're not an entity. This body, form, it looks like entity. It's just formation. It's happening right now. We don't notice it, but

if you pay close attention, it's just happening. It's formation and dissolution. Formation and dissolution, right? It's ING. It's functioning. Sense, it's contact, it's happening. Perception is what happens and goes away. Mental formation. Formation, same thing. Choices, karmic volition. And consciousness also is what's happening. It's a function. Okay? By our everyday use vocabulary definition. It's all just happening. That's why it's karma. Karma means happening. It means action. That's why everything is karma. It's just happening. Coming and going. That's it. To a simple way. Everything. Everything just comes and goes based on supporting conditions. I want to ask. Is a lot of this that the illusion that we create and kind of co-create from our reptilian or animal brain so that we can function in the world, like our reactions and all that stuff.

And we have the executive center which is the prefrontal cortex that helps us to see and delineate. So if all of that is a thought and all of this is a thought, And then you're asking us, well, what is this without all of this? So there's all this stuff in the world, but then there's all this space.

Yeah. So everything that you're experiencing is just a thought. Right? That's it. If you can truly accept that, then you're done. But you don't accept that. As soon as you just go right back to me. Right? Right? As soon as you said, okay, you went right back to me. There's a me understanding that. Right? It always goes back to me. It's me. Me, me, me, me, me, me. What is it? What is I? What is it? What is it? Don't

know? Yeah, but what is it? What's creating that pieces together? Just holding those pieces together. Hmm? Thinking? What's thinking? Yeah. What is it? What does it all go back to? What happens when there's no thought? Yeah, but notice your thinking? It's a thought. It's a concept. Let that go and you'll see. It's right here. Right now. That's how I explain it to you. It's right here. The answer is right here. The truth is right here, right now. The Buddha nature is right here, right now. So when you pay attention to right here, right now, you'll see. What is here and now? What is here and now? We have explained it to people here before. What is here and now? What's up when I say here? What's here? This room? Right? Right. That's your mental projection of what here is. Take away this wall. Where are you now? When I say here.

Right? Somebody said New York. Somebody said U.S. Somebody said Earth. Somebody said Galaxy. Keep going. What's going. What is here? What is here? Here just means if you let go all your mental boundaries, mental boundaries is what we are creating. Right? So here could be this room or here could be the entire infinite space. Now. What's now? As soon as I said now, it's gone, right? Past. As I'm saying now, it's past. It doesn't exist, right? Past doesn't exist. Future doesn't exist. It's existed. So where's now between what doesn't exist and what doesn't exist? See how we think? See how we tend to think? Everything with boundaries of momentarily now versus past that doesn't exist, future that doesn't exist. That's our mental concept that we live with. It's a good way to survive.

the world and to live the world. You got to utilize it, but we became slave to that vision, to that perception, where we can't see the reality that it always has been now and always would be now. It's eternal. It's always, right? You can only experience that now. Nothing else exists. Nothing else will exist. That's where all the past trauma can be let go because it doesn't exist anymore until we conjure it up in our head how horrible it was and we leave it over and over again. And why do we fear the future? Because we conjure it up in our mind. What's going to go wrong? What's going to happen? Well, I don't want all of that resistance. That's why living in the past and the future doesn't help. Yeah, you have to plan, but you still have to plan in the now. You still have to do whatever it takes to create the future now. So everything is in the now. There's only now. Why not?

Why not be present for it? Why not live the now instead of being lost in the past and the future and ruminating? The problem with rumination in psychology tells you that we tend to ruminate negative things all the time. That's why we become negative. We suffer, right? So all this suffering that we're doing with anxiety about the future, fear about the future, regrets about the past, and ruminating all these negative things are happening in the mind So we have to train, right? So we have to train the mind. That's why we have to train the mind. Because everything is really happening in the mind. How we perceive it, how we resist it, how we accept it, all of that is happening in the mind. Right?

present moment. Can we affect a more positive outcome? Yeah. Because it's your beingness that's going to create. That's where, that's where the, you know, anybody heard of law of attraction? Anybody heard of law of attraction about thinking about something to manifest, you know,

the whole secret thing that's been popular for a while? The problem with that is a lot of people are thinking, okay, I'm going to win a lottery, you know, and then wishing it to happen with poverty in mind. Okay, your state of being is at poverty when we're desiring something, you know.

What you're saying is, I don't have any money. Right? When you want more money. When you have the desire, you know, and even though you want abundance, you're telling yourself, I'm going to be abundant, I'm going to be abundant, you know. What you're telling yourself really is, I don't have the money, I don't have the money, I don't have the money. It's going to happen in the future, it's going to happen in the future. That's the message you're sending out to the universe. That's your beingness. I don't have any money, I don't have any money, I don't have any money.

That's the energy that's going to equate to what you're going to experience. So like energy attracts like energy. So when you're at that beingness, that energy level, that consciousness level, that's the only thing you're going to attract. It's what I don't have. I don't have this, I don't have this, I don't have this. Okay, you don't have this, you don't have this, you don't have this.

Even people who have it, instead of being grateful, they always want more, they feel like they don't have anything. That's why they're sending that energy and living in the mind, the poverty mind all the time. So are we then to be grateful for where we are and what we have? Yes.

That's why gratitude is a very powerful tool. Love and gratitude. Love and gratitude are very powerful together. That's why I add the gratitude portion until I'm at the meditation. Because I want us to be grateful for the energy we can generate and rejoice in it.

Love is what? What did I say love is? Do you remember? The United States remember that? What is love?

Focus, focus, Michelle. Be right here. Right here. Nothing matters. Yes? Kindness, caring, and understanding. We've got to return to that, beingness. Love is beingness. It's not a give-and-take thing. That I will love you. It's just beingness. It's the way you show up. Being loving.

That's the power. That's the energy. Because other love are more transactional, right? If you don't love me, then I don't love you. If you hate me, why should I love you? Right? That's transactional. That's worldly relationship, usually. That's everyone's experiences. But what we're trying to establish is our beingness. Beingness, beingness, loving, being loving, being compassionate, wishing to alleviate somebody else's suffering based on our empathy, feeling that other person's suffering. That's compassion.

That's when your consciousness level rises and becomes powerful enough to impact and influence the outcomes. That's how you attract those positive energies to allow you to experience positive consequences and positive karmic effect. When we're not being loving, when we're always trying to scrounge for things and attach to my way of being, you know, my way, my way, my wants, then you're not being loving. That's why you're not really influencing what's happening to your life. That's why unconditional love, even the scale of the consciousness level, you know, unconditional love is pretty high. That's when you can truly impact.

So if you want to utilize this law of attraction to bring about manifestation of what you want, at least be at that level. You have to be at least be at unconditional loving. Otherwise, it's about me. It's about selfish energy that's going to maybe bring you some time based on your karmic energy. But you're not establishing karmic energy to attract positive, you know, energy.

Does that make sense? That's why being loving and being grateful for what I already have, that I have, okay?

Being grateful is very, very powerful. And it sends out very, very powerful energy. That's going to attract similar energy back to me. So our life experiences become loving and grateful all the time, okay? So that's a relative practice, not a spiritual practice, but that's how we can change our life. If you want a good experience of life, if you want positive things, then that's why you've got to start giving.

That's why giving is so important, okay? Not to get something back. You know, after you hear this, oh, why do you give me back if I give, you know? That's transactional. Loving is not transactional. Loving is a sense of beingness, unconditionally. Unconditionally be able to send positive energy to those people that are causing suffering, to those people that have caused me suffering.

Send them that, wishful thoughts that they will be healthy, happy, safe. When you can do that sincerely, without wanting anything back, it's unconditional. Okay? That's when you become powerful enough to attract things to positive impact your life. Okay? Make sense? So it's all in the mind.

That's why we have to train the mind.

We have to practice. Practice, practice, practice. So you don't have any of this heaviness inside the heart. That keeps you from being loving. Okay? When we have somebody we hate, or somebody that we judge, somebody that we like, I can't stand, you know? I can love anybody except for him, you know?

That is heaviness. You're holding on to your own suffering. It doesn't do you any good, benefit you, whatsoever. You can justify it all you want with whatever happened, but it's causing you suffering. So by letting go, forgiving them, and by embracing them, by sending them all this, you

know, loving-kindness, energy, you're generating your own happiness from that. Okay? That's what we need to resort to. Okay? If it doesn't happen right away, I understand. We've got a lot of habitual energy to work through. But recognize that as my own habitual energy, my own karma that I need to work through.

Okay? It's not like it's a self-feeding, you know, self-fulfilling prophecy. Yeah. That's the ego. Yeah, that's the ego. Okay? So I'm sorry I went past the time here. Okay. Okay.