Opening Meditation and Practice Accountability

Adam Wes: Alright, let us get started.

We will begin with a short meditation—just a couple of minutes.

Praveen, we would love to see your camera.

Praveen S: Adam, I am in the middle of traveling, and…

Okay.

Praveen S: Absolutely.

Welcome, everybody. My Zoom keeps dropping off for some reason. I am not sure why. Hopefully it will not happen again—it has already happened about five times.

Alright. Namaste, welcome. Hi, Kira. Hi, Mom. Hi, Ariella. Hello to everyone else.

Some people could not make it.

Ariella, how is your practice going? I cannot hear you.

Ariella: My husband had surgery, and it is… I have not been… I have been very focused on him, and also dealing with issues concerning my mother in South Africa. I am sorry, I have not been able to focus on my—

You do not have to make an excuse.

Ariella: That is…

That is just reinforcing your reasons, anyway. The whole idea behind meditation is that it gives you clarity, so you are more leveraged in the way you manage your life—unless you truly do not have enough time.

If there is a lot going on, the point is that this is a leveraged way to deal with life’s circumstances. Because it brings within you an abundance of—detached love, perhaps? An abundance of stillness, which gives you clarity, so your decisions are correct.

Unless you are literally digging ditches for 14 hours a day—though even then, perhaps, taking a break to sit down and meditate halfway through would probably help get the nervous system into a state where it can find more time.

So, yes, nobody needs to make an excuse. You could simply say, "I have not done it yet," because that just means you have not made the connection between—okay, do you have five minutes a day? Of course you do, right? So five minutes a day would be enough to say, "I did not do a lot, but I did five minutes every day." Consistency is what matters here.

Five minutes a day means it is a part of your life. Zero means it is not even a consideration—it is a second thought, right? And this is one of the challenges—not with any one individual, but most people do not know how to get into meditating consistently.

And the key…

Ariella: When I go to bed… when I go to bed.

Is…

Ariella: Go ahead.

Oh, I did not say anything. When you go to bed?

Ariella: Right. When I go to bed at night, I say a short prayer, and I go into the light—into the light of the divine. So, I do not know if that counts.

Colleen: It sounds like meditation to me.

Of course it counts. That counts, Ariella. How long do you go into the light? That is great.

Ariella: Oh, about three minutes. But I can certainly increase that to five minutes.

Okay, got it. Yes, do five minutes. Light of the Divine—that is what we call meditation here at the Love Light Sangha. That is wonderful; good job.

Alright, so, I know… Mom, you did meditation this week, yay!

Colleen: I did some. I did not have a good excuse, like things going on in my life, but… you know, I keep busy in my own way, and then I forget. So I only did it three times.

Okay, that is progress—good.

Well… We are not Olympic-level meditators yet, if that is the case. Where is the Olympic team I am looking for here?

I do not know how you all do it. If I do not meditate, I do not feel good. I do not feel magical, and I do not like that. I start to feel mundane when I do not meditate, so perhaps you need to find the discomfort in not attending to your spirit—especially for those who are very spiritual.

Alright. Let us continue.

Defining Principles as a Spiritual Framework

Today's sermon is on principles. Principles are an essential aspect of being true to yourself and finding happiness.

Principle, as I am using it here, is the way you engage with things in your life—a way you relate to circumstances.

So, one person may have a principle of always being very considerate in whatever they do. Someone else might have a principle of always being very efficient. Perhaps someone has both of those.

Usually, one may be prioritized over the other—they are slightly in conflict. Those could be principles. "Cool" could even be a principle.

Colleen: Catching the acid.

Can you all hear me?

Colleen: You are cutting out, so we only got a part of that.

Really? Okay. Let us see… Can you hear me now? Okay.

So, there are various forms of principles that people have, which inform the way they relate to life and circumstances. Principles are a constant in response, a constant in change.

Most people have a set of principles. Most people unconsciously have a set of principles that they usually inherit…

Colleen: You are cutting out and you are frozen again.

Colleen: Oh, dear.

Colleen: I will text him and tell him he is… oh, he is gone.

Colleen: There he is.

Okay. I switched off my phone internet—something is wrong with my Wi-Fi. Can you hear me now?

So, there are all kinds of principles that people may have. One might be, "Everything I do, I am cool." Have you ever seen those people? What is that movie you like so much from the 1950s? They are all smoking—what is that movie called? Come on. You know that movie with the…

Colleen: And then you keep cutting out, we just see you frozen. Are we missing every other word?

Well, what is that movie with the rival gangs?

Colleen: Fair enough.

Yes, you do. It is a movie from the 1950s. They recently did a remake of it. West Side Story. So, in West Side Story, their principle is being cool. Everything is about being cool.

So, each of us has a set of principles that we may consciously apply, or we may have a set of principles that is much deeper and more subtle. These are the principles that we would want to live by. They are the real…

Can you hear… can everybody hear me?

Kira: Somewhat. You know, I wonder if you have tried just removing the HD video? You can keep the video on, but if you remove the HD setting, that might help the connection. If you go to Settings, then Video and Effects, and scroll down, there is a checkbox in the camera section labeled HD. If you uncheck that, it might help improve the connection.

Okay.

Kira: Are you there?

How is that?

Kira: So far, let us see how it goes.

Can you hear me, Mom? Alright, maybe we will try it. It is surprising that my internet is like this. I have this special internet—super-fast, gigabit internet. I cannot even believe how fast it is, but it is a little unreliable in a big city. So, I am running on my phone right now.

Alright. So, Kira, what did you hear from what I shared so far?

Kira: I heard you talk about principles—how some principles may be prioritized over others, how that remains a constant. Principles remain a constant amidst change and, you know, just the way that we go through life. Then I shifted into troubleshoot mode.

Alright, so…

Principles are a dimension—they are ineffable. They are an ineffable dimension of awareness that we inhabit. When we live to be cool, when we live to be efficient, when we live to be considerate, we experience a subjective, ineffable state of mind.

All of this is involved in spirituality. What are your principles? It is involved in being true to yourself. Many people do not consciously know what their principles are, and therefore, they lack the clarity to maintain integrity. They do not have the clarity to be the truest expression of their spirit.

Part of enlightenment is being conscious about who you are and who you are choosing to be. Principles are involved in that. It is important to become aware of your top five principles. I would say every individual might be able to delineate five top principles that are most endemic to their spirit, their personality, and who they want to be in life.

Principles give us a very special gift. From moment to moment, we get to be who we want to be. There is a gift in the integrity of showing up in any situation as who you really are. We cannot always control circumstances, but we can control the way we show up. When we have that as a constant, it creates peace of mind and a kind of joy in integrity. It is a feeling of, "Okay, well, I am still getting to be me."

For some people, it can be difficult to maintain the principles that you really want. For example, you may be considerate until you lose your temper, or you may be considerate until it is just too inconvenient to be considerate. But then, we always feel that discord—"I am a considerate person, but I just was not being considerate, and I value that so much." So, there is this feeling of discord within.

Part of knowing one's principles is being true to them in all circumstances. This is a measure of integrity. Our collection of principles is ineffable—it is beyond words.

Just because someone has the principle of being, let us say, efficient, another person may have that same word as their principle, but it will not be the same thing. For every individual, there is a subtle difference. They may be very closely related, or they may be quite different, in fact, because they may have very different semantic definitions of it.

So we need to use the word to find the principle that is the truest expression of what we are. Often, you can simply feel your heart and ask, does that feel right?

Contemplation, which is one of the three pillars we discussed last week, is a very important practice for your principles. This week, you could contemplate your principles and ask yourself, what are my principles? Who am I?

You can play a little isolation game with it. For example, if I were in this situation, would I prioritize this principle or that principle? You can ask yourself, what would I do? Or, what would I want to do? Perhaps do not just ask what you would do, but what is your aspiration? I think that is more aligned.

It is not about your current capacity to do it; it is about your aspiration. Capacity can develop and evolve toward that aspiration.

Personal Principles and the Relationship to Karma

I have five principles. Actually, one of them is really two, so now I think of it as six, but for a long time I thought of it as five. I am very happy when I am in touch with those principles.

One of them is gentleness. I love to be gentle. I do not like to be not gentle. When I am not gentle, I think, whoa, that is not who I want to be. Gentleness in every way.

Principles apply to everything we do. When you pour a glass of tea, be gentle. When you do math, be gentle. When you drive your car, be gentle. That means no crazy screeching, no honking, no jolting—all of those things.

Now, there may be someone who has a principle of speed, someone who loves motorcycles and race cars. For them, they would not want to be gentle when they drive. They might say speed and safety together.

Hello there.

Kira: Hold on one second, it is cutting in and out. It has been perfect this whole time, but right now it is cutting.

Colleen: You are frozen.

Quote. So… Let us see…

Can you hear?

Kira: Almost.

Alright, I am back. Can you hear me?

Alright, so… what are the principles that you live by? This is a key point, so you understand it is the law of response to circumstantial conditions.

So, Mom, do you know your principles? I could tell you a number of your principles, since I know you so well. Oh, another great thing about—

Colleen: You said you had five principles. You told us gentleness.

Well, I told you one. Another thing about principles is, if you really become attuned to your own, you can often see them in others.

And that is a very important quality—first, if you want to help another person, and second, if you want to deal with another person, especially if they are problematic.

You can… And then the—

Kira: It is cutting out a little bit.

Behavior. Ameness is one. Hmm. I am sorry, this is a little frustrating. Maybe we should—

Kira: We had a really good stretch for, like, the past… eight. First woman.

Okay, can you hear me fine now? I was just saying, kindness is another one of my principles.

With principles, you get to be the person you want to be. You get to be that person, and then your actions— I am these things, and then my actions will unfold in certain situations.

Now, this is very much associated with karma. When you know the karmic repercussions—how your attention field changes as a result of your actions—you will be very selective about your principles.

I love heart and light. Gentleness and kindness are very, very good for the karma of heart and light. If you are the opposite of those two things, it is actually harder to access heart and light. So, this is part of the reason those are two of my favorite principles.

Anybody want to share a couple of their principles before we go on? I would share all of mine, but I want to do it when there is coherence with the internet. Maybe we will do that later, or another time.

Kira: I think positivity is one of my principles. It seems inherent. It is not one that I am actively trying to do, but it is a natural principle. I feel that I do not have to try hard to do that one. It is just going on.

Well, I can hear my echo way too much. It is not about trying hard at all.

Kira: I heard you say, it is not about trying hard at all, in fact, it is…

When you are embodying these, it is not about trying at all. There is no trying. Unless you are rebuilding your karma, then you are evolving. But the one that is probably most easy for you, if you are in alignment with yourself, is a very top principle.

So, because she said it, I will say positivity is actually another one of my principles. Very much so. And the people who are in your life tend to be similar.

So, Kira and I both love positivity. That is actually one of the things we experience together when we get together.

We reinforce each other's positivity, and we just get along that well because that is the way we do things. Some people are very different. They will get together and be very negative, and they want that. That is not what we tend to do.

But yes, Kira, you are one of the most positive people I have met, which is why I think you are such a good friend. That is one of my absolute top principles, so… Nice.

Colleen? Mom?

Colleen: You know, people like them, I like positivity, I like kindness, I like gentleness. I am still thinking.

Okay. I think… may I share which one really stands out for you? Kindness. This is the most kind person I have pretty much ever encountered in the whole world, right here. My own mom.

Colleen: Well, that is good to do. Thank you.

Yes, and you would live by that. You would choose kindness over just about anything else, I would say. Almost anywhere, in any situation. So it is fun to figure out what your…

Colleen: You are freezing again.

You know, some people have five principles, but some people have one.

Kira: Some people have five, but some people have one.

Yes, you may have one principle. Somebody who is very, very focused—they only care about one thing. Some sages do this. I do not think it is necessarily required for a sage, but I have seen some sages do it. For example, if you think of the sage who is just about truth, or just honesty—they do not care about anything else. They are just going to do truth, truth, truth.

It is a little bit more difficult when you start mixing them together, although perhaps there is an underlying principle that they are all really pointing to. It depends how you think about it. For example, kindness, positivity, and gentleness—maybe the principle there is heart.

Right, so… And, yes, Ariella?

Ariella: Yes, my principle is to be loving, but I think it includes gentleness, kindness, and positivity.

Nice. Beautiful. Well, you know, when you look at this, one of the things I was contemplating today is, I was describing it as a basis function in mathematics. This is like X, Y, and Z. When you put them together, you can go anywhere in this three-dimensional space by adding, and the span of a basis is the kind and gentleness.

You can make a distinction between a principle and a value. A value is something that I find valuable in the world, in life. A principle is the way that you are. Your principles are closely connected to your values, so if you value heart and love, you are going to act in these certain ways. This needs to be subjectively defined for each individual.

Try to make a distinction between those. Is that the principle? It is both, right? So it is an interesting thing to look at. And is there a distinction? Maybe when you look at being loving, they are different in that space of loving.

Sometimes gentleness and positivity are very different things. Gentleness might be very quiet, positivity might be really bright, but positivity can also be very quiet as well.

Thanks for sharing, Ariella. Did you want to share more? Okay.

So the concepts here are karma, principles, and principles in relation to values, which we will do another week. Values is a different thing. But delineate your principles. Maybe do your top three, your top one, your top five—I tend to do the top six.

And I have another five or six more that I could talk about, but generally it is these six. And those six are the way I maintain an assessment of my alignment. Like, okay, is it this, this, this, this, this?

Colleen: Would you consider gratitude as a principle?

That was just in my mind. Okay, so gratitude is my fourth principle. You are getting a lot of the… be my fourth principle. Can you hear me?

Colleen: Yes, but you cannot have—

Totally.

Colleen: On and off.

Can you hear it? Can you hear me now?

Kira: Yes, you said we are guessing a lot, gratitude is your fourth principle, and I am about to guess your next one. So…

So…

Kira: So…

Period.

Kira: I just have to…

Let me turn the volume down; I am hearing a major echo. Yes, gratitude is my fourth principle, and I think—perhaps that is your principle too, Mom? I used to pair that with positivity, because gratitude is a very positive thing. But actually, for me, I think they are quite separate. Positivity and gratitude, I believe, should be considered separately.

Kira: Mindfulness.

Okay, fine. Kira is right. My fifth principle is mindfulness. Yes. Mindfulness is a very, very important…

Kira: You are cutting out again.

…to be… In your mind? Mindfulness and silence go together. Really, to stay present and sing a song. Praveen… Can anybody hear me now?

Praveen S: Yes, Adam.

Hi.

Okay, good, Praveen is there. So yes, mindfulness is another one of my principles. I really take these things seriously. I think it says a lot about how committed someone is to their principles.

If I am pulled away from mindfulness or kindness by the expectations of others, I will really insist—no, let me be. I am going to be mindful, whether you like it or not. So, mindfulness—let me just tell you the other one.

It is independence.

Independence is very related to freedom. Independence means I can… and peace, too. When you have independence, you have a lot of peace, because you are not constantly pulled by dependency.

Now, when I say independence, I do not mean just circumstantial, although that is part of it. I want circumstantial independence as well, but it is more about inner independence—the independence from needing to escape into entertainment…

…entertain.

Kira: That moment was the last word.

Needing to…

Kira: Adam, do you have any… I have a companion sitting there all the time.

Needing… Okay, oh. Can you hear me?

Kira: Do you have any apps in the background that you do not need, that could be closed? That could also help.

Oh. Maybe that is it. Okay, I am back.

Alright, so independence is one of my six principles. Now you know my six principles, and you know a lot about me. This will be public on the website, so maybe other people will know about my six principles, but that is alright. These principles are…

…very essential to enlightenment.

Kira: Enlightenment was the last word.

Let us…

Pendant.

Kira: It is hard to hear. I can experience pee…

Kira: We cannot hear you, Adam.

Experience.

Kira: Experience.

Complete, whole…

Colleen: Eds, we cannot hear you. You are just frozen and cutting out, and he is gone.

Hello?

Colleen: No, I cannot.

Can you hear me now? I see the problem—I am doing a speed test on my internet. Must be one of the neighbors watching…

Colin Wes: Adam, can you give me…

Yes.

Colin Wes: …about integrity?

You are very, very muffled, I cannot hear you.

Kira: He said, what about integrity?

Integrity… integrity is… I would say that is… let us see, integrity. I usually think of integrity as more of a meta principle. Although that might be a principle for somebody. They might say, no matter what my situation is… for me, it is more that integrity holds all principles. But for somebody else, they might say, when I am in a situation, all that matters is that I am true to myself and that I am following my principles. That could be…

…something they emphasize. So yes, beautiful. That is a good one.

Or, you know what is interesting? I just realized that your semantic definition for integrity has a little bit more richness and specificity than the one I am using right now. It is like…

…doing the right…

…anything in a business situation, or, you know…

I love that. I thought that is probably your top—yes, that…

Colin Wes: I basically… there are different aspects to integrity, like, for example, you and Mom will not cross the road unless you are at a pedestrian crossing. And that is part of your integrity. I would have no hesitation to cross the road in the middle and jaywalk, because I am a bit of a rebel. But I still do not compromise my own integrity.

That is… you know, unfortunately, it does not go very well with a capitalistic system. Because we are being cheated left, right, and center. And, and, stipulated by capitalism, because ultimately, you know, it all comes down to money.

But still… if you take Costco as an example, you can still do that with Ontario Group. Love it. This is a Costco plug.

Yes, and that is…

Colin Wes: …like…

I loved hearing you share today, Dad. Thank you. That was wonderful.

Well, and look at—one of your principles is a little bit of bending the rules, out of some form of…

Colin Wes: Cannot hear you, Adam.

Can you hear me now?

Colin Wes: No.

Colleen: Hi, Ken, we can hear you.

Everyone can hear me. I think it is your… So, one of the principles I feel from you, and I learned from you as well, is—not that I necessarily do it all the time. I think I took it to a bit of an unhealthy extreme at one point in my life. But it is bending the rules.

And justice. That is maybe the word. Can you hear me? So, I feel that maybe that is one of your principles, too. It is like integrity and justice.

So what you are talking about is the injustice that you feel, and how justice makes you jaywalk when, to you, there should not be a rule about that right there. And Mom and I, we like to follow the rules to a T, because there is a little bit of, you know, maybe a little of… versus…

…respect, integrity there, or trust integrity.

So there is a little bit in trust, but there is an emphasis on it in that certain way. Alright, Ella?

Colleen: You are kind of frozen again.

Can you hear me? Hello. Well, maybe I am better?

Colleen: That is your key cut.

Okay. Yes. I am not sure why, but my internet is actually very slow right now. I am not getting a proper connection. My upload speed was less than a megabit.

Colin Wes: Adam, I know why your internet is slow. You have a 10-year-old modem.

I do not have a 10-year-old modem. I have a brand new modem as of last month.

Colin Wes: Oh, really? Yes.

Yes, I am getting 6 megabit upload and 7 megabit download. That is very, very slow.

Colin Wes: Something is wrong with the table or something. Yes.

Your microphone is extremely muffled, Dad, so you should try to hold it closer—better.

Colin Wes: Maybe? I do not know why. Okay, I am using Apple earphones now. My microphone is better, right? Anyway, I think Ariella wanted to say something.

Colleen: And she just puts her hand up every time Adam's voice goes away.

Colin Wes: Oh, I see, okay. Well, I am going back on mute.

We can hardly understand what you are saying.

Colin Wes: Alright.

I am on you. Okay. Praveen, would you like to… journey…

Praveen S: Yes, Adam, hopefully you can hear me.

Wonderful.

Kira: I can hear you, Praveen. Yes, thank you.

Praveen S: So I… Adam, I am…

Thank you.

Praveen S: I have seen… Yes, I have seen these principles in some of the other people, which I would like to embody. The first one is, I would say, humility, and patience, and tolerance.

Oh, beautiful.

Praveen S: I have seen this consistently in many of the CHS.

Beautiful. That is interesting. I love those three as well. I am thinking, wow—patience, tolerance, and humility. Gorgeous. Thanks for sharing, Praveen.

So this week—and you know, I love humility too. All of those are great. It is interesting to try to think, well, what do I emphasize? Right? If you go for a walk, you can walk with all your principles.

It is like, what is your swagger? What is your gait? Do you walk to be cool? Do you walk to be humble? Maybe put your hands behind your back, right? That is the humble thing, right? Do you walk to be efficient? Do you walk to be kind? All different energies. You can embody the energy with the most minimal actions.

So try to embody all five principles on your walk at the same time. You see, there is a level of mastery involved in this.

The mastery of yourself—it is to be a connoisseur of consciousness. Of your own consciousness. A connoisseur of consciousness. That is actually something I came up with earlier that I wanted to share with you.

So, revise, refine, and bring forth the fullest expression of those principles within yourself. And contemplate them. Perhaps once a week—maybe every Tuesday—you contemplate them, or maybe you contemplate them for this whole week and get really clear on them.

I have spent years and years contemplating these, and really getting clear on what it means for me to be who I want to be.

And when you meditate, you can actually do them too. So, Praveen, when you meditate, you can meditate on humility. You meditate on the light, but you can say, okay, well, I am humility right now.

Praveen S: And…

And it is really a beautiful thing to be extreme in your principles. Take those three principles that you just shared, and take them to an extreme. And enjoy that. It is fun.

That is an interesting way to look at it. This is not about, you know, “Oh no, I have to do my principles.” It is fun to do your principles. It is fun to show up and be humble to the extreme. Tolerant to the extreme. Integrity to the extreme. Right? Kindness to the extreme.

It is fun to do that, and it helps us progress to enlightenment, because we are consciously choosing something that is good karma, which ultimately will help us.

Now, “cool” could be a principle of yours, and think of that as being playfully true to yourself. Like, everything I do is cool. Sometimes I meet a guy or a girl who is just all about being cool, and you can just tell—the way they dress, the way they walk. As long as it is not about ego, but it is about full self-expression, that is fine.

Think about the jazz musician who is just so cool. That is actually a guy I just thought of right now. I used to play music with him. And he was just the coolest guy, and we all wanted him to be cool, because that is who he is.

That guy used to do a show. It was a burlesque show where he was singing, and he would wear these 1920s overalls. A big, big Black guy, he would be smoking a cigar on the stage, singing spoken word.

In, like, a dive bar?

Colleen: Cutting out again, Ed.

Colleen: You are frozen!

Alright. Can anybody hear me? Is anybody out there? Did you hear what I said about the cool guy?

Colleen: Off of it.

Oh. Yes, so he would just be cool, he would be on stage, and there would be smoke drifting, and the spotlight would be shining through it. There would be burlesque dancers, and he would be singing in a very chill way, just being himself. It is very much about—it is very much an artistic mentality, to find out what your principles are.

Colin Wes: Talking about Jet Baker?

Nice, Dad. No, it was… what was that guy's name? I am forgetting his name. He plays in Santa Monica, or he used to. He had me come and play as a backup musician for him one time.

You remember I used to go to those hotels and play… 15 years ago. 14 years ago. 12, 13 years ago, maybe. Alright. We… Oh! Andrea.

Well, Andrea is… two minutes late for being one hour late. Wasn't it?

Andrea P: What is it?

It is at the same time every week!

Andrea P: I do not know, it was an hour before.

Well, I was going to text you, but then I thought I do not want to be annoying and text everybody every time before the session.

Andrea P: Sorry, I… I have too many things, and I just… I was thinking it was at 8, I know, and then it was like, is it at 8? Maybe it was at 7? I am not sure if… but, well, hi and bye, but sorry.

Yes.

Andrea P: I will meditate now.

Well, today we talked about principles, and we actually did not even do our meditation, largely because the internet has been in and out. But it is so good to see you, even for a moment. My heart feels—

Andrea P: And also, David did not— I am sure he did not come because he broke his knee. He just texted me, so, just so you know.

Oh, that is terrible.

Andrea P: Yes, so—

We will have to message David and send him get well wishes.

Andrea P: Yes, yes, yes, please send him good vibes.

Yes, if that is your principle.

So today we talked about principles, and just to sum it up for Andrea—thank you. A nice little recap. It is always nice seeing your big smile. Principles are the way we engage with life, and they are a constant of our integrity. They are a constant in how we relate to things, how we hold our energy.

We went through my principles, which are kindness, gratitude, gentleness, positivity, mindfulness, and independence. Those are my five—or six. It used to be five, but I split positivity into gratitude and positivity.

The whole idea is to contemplate your principles, to find out which principles are most central to you, and really refine and master them. Could you go on a walk and embody all your principles? Could you make dinner or breakfast and embody all your principles? You can meditate on the principles and feel them.

Praveen said humility, tolerance, and patience were his principles. Kira's is positivity. Colleen's is kindness, and Ariella's is love. So, think about your principles. Try to find out who you really want to be.

When you choose your principles consciously, it helps generate the right kind of karma. Make sure your principles are true to yourself and aligned with enlightenment. They should be principles that help you move into states of dissolution, freedom, and greater consciousness.

Principles can also be very playful. Playfulness might be your principle. I am sure you have met people who are just constantly playful. Or, coolness might be your principle. If you are an entrepreneur, one of the principles I used to live by was absolute efficiency. That was a big thing for me—total efficiency. I used to live by that. Or diligence. I used to live by that too—just get as much work done as possible, period. I did not care if it was kind, I did not care if— you could get into that, but that was not very good for my karma when I was doing that.

I used to think, okay, I need to make this business happen, and then I just pushed through everything, and I was not necessarily kind. So kindness can sometimes take more work, but now I understand kindness is ultimately quite efficient. In kindness, we collaborate, we do not create problems for ourselves, and we use gravity to make things happen.

So principles can change, but ultimately, we want to find the principles most central to who we are.

This week, think about your principles. This is different from values. A value is what you care about, what you find valuable—like human connection, or healthy food.

Andrea P: Yes, like community.

Yes, those are generally values. Your principles and values will be related to each other, because if your principles do not support your values, you probably need to adjust them. Otherwise, you will not be getting what you really want.

Andrea P: I love it. I will work on that.

Wonderful, wonderful. So that is the topic for this week. It was a small group, and my dad had some beautiful things to share. His principle was integrity.

And I think justice is one of his principles as well. Integrity and justice.

Andrea P: Sorry. Great.

Well, namaste, everybody. Let us do a 10-second meditation. Oh! Nice, Kira! I love that.

Yes, everyone, if you would like, put your principles in the chat. Give it a try. Remember, a principle is a way of holding your energy and a way of responding to things.

Could you close your car door with that principle? Maybe ask a playful question—can I close my car door with kindness? Yes.

I really always personify my things. I say hello to all the things in my apartment. For example, "Hello, Crystal, hello, Cup," and I do that because it allows me to practice kindness with everything. "Hello, Cup, it is so nice to see you today." It allows me to practice kindness with everything.

Friendliness, nice, Kara. Yes, so maybe take a moment and write down 20 principles. Just write down all your principles, and then contemplate them, refine them, and get clear on—do I have 5? Do I have 1?

Oh, I love this. I love seeing everyone write your principles in here. Wonderful. Let us see, I want to see everyone's principles.

Oh, Praveen has a nice list. Praveen, you are great, good job. I love this. Friendliness, yes, so are you.

And when you are looking at other people, consider, what are their principles?

Is this person my best friend because we share 80% of the same principles, or all of the same principles? A principle could be simplicity, or silence.

To me, that is all involved in mindfulness and independence. When you find that word, it points to an ineffable reality beyond the principle. So think of it as a portal for you.

You are like, okay, whenever I say kindness, I feel it. It means something to me. It helps you step into something that is beyond words. It is personal to me.

Alright, well, maybe, maybe—

Well, next week, the spring cohort starts. Sprinko—wait, let us meditate for a second. Let us do one minute of meditation, and then I will make an announcement, and then we will finish.

Because otherwise it feels a bit odd to not at least have a meditation for a moment. You may—

Audio shared by Adam Wes: Sneaky.

Oh, that felt wonderful.

Audio shared by Adam Wes: Aww.

We are not getting our meditation in today. That was a—

I saw a lot of light immediately. Oh, you can stay in your light palm if you want. And because I went into light, I saw five more things about principles.

Community Announcements and Upcoming Programs

Businesses operate according to principles. If you look at Microsoft, Apple, Tesla, or SpaceX, they each have a set of principles that they live by and embody. Similarly, in music—if you listen to the song we were just playing—artists also have their own set of principles. So, you can start to contemplate the idea of principles in general.

Dum… Alright, so… oh, we lost Ariella. I wanted to share that with her.

Spring Cohort starts next week, which means there will be new people joining us. I am going to do a five-part series on Introduction to Enlightenment for the next five Love Light Sanghas.

Also, we have the meditation resolution happening again. We did it four months ago, so about a third of a year has passed, and now we are doing it again. I would love for everyone to join and participate. It would be wonderful if you can do it. It is at 6 p.m., Monday through Thursday.

It will be integrated into the Tuesday night class. I have set up pricing based on country on the website, so if you go there, all the information is available. If you need a scholarship, just let me know. It is very important to me that everyone has the opportunity to participate. If you need assistance, just let me know and we will work something out.

If you are able to pay, that is wonderful. Your support is very helpful and appreciated.

And yes, I am currently advertising, so hopefully we will have a whole group of new Sangha friendships and beautiful experiences with people. I would love to have a big group. Please invite your friends—it would be great.

Andrea was actually the inspiration for the meditation resolution back in December. She suggested it, so we are doing it again, Andrea. I hope you can join us.

Let us see… There is also Coding Constellations. We are starting a new coding series that is designed for total beginners. So, if you want to try something new, this is the time. It is for coding and math—total beginner coding—and we are focusing on a fairly simple math topic. Well, it is not that simple, but it is trigonometry.

Oh, yes, it is trigonometry, which is quite accessible, and I think it is very intuitive. So, if you are interested, you can get to know some math as well.

If you go to the website, there is a section labeled "Spring." There is also a pop-up that appears, which will give you a link to the information.

So, Andrea, will you set an alarm or a timer so that you know when the class starts? And try to be five minutes early?

Andrea P:

Andrea P: Yes, I am always early, but today has been a bit crazy.

Andrea P: Actually, I have an alarm to meditate every day at 7 p.m., and it just went off. I thought, no, no, this is at 8. I am not sure what happened.

So, for you right now, it is 8:15?

Andrea P: Yes.

Okay, so you are one hour off. Well, I love that you do that. You are meditating at the time we are planning to meditate anyway.

By the way, with the meditation resolution, I am planning to keep it a bit simpler this time. It will really be 15 minutes, maybe 16.

And there will be no lengthy introduction.

Ariella, we are talking about the meditation resolution, which you really should join. It starts next week and goes for 31 days. It is 15 minutes a day at 6 p.m.—exactly 15 minutes.

And because we are doing it with the Love Light Sangha, we do not need to have a separate session for it. So, it is a little more streamlined than last time.

The plan is to keep it to just 15 minutes. So, why did you make a face, Andrea?

Andrea P: No, I just—no.

I am always listening with my eyes.

So, Ariella, if you go to the website, I highly recommend you join. And please invite your friends. This is really worthwhile.

Ariella: What is the website?

S, F, I… dot school, slash spring.

Ariella: Oh my goodness, I need to write that down.

I will text it to you.

Ariella: Yes, please.

And yes, if you invite your friends, this is something that is really good for beginners. Everyone knows they should be meditating, so this is an opportunity to be responsible with your spirituality and actually do it. Whether or not people continue, you know, you could invite—

Ariella, you can invite some of your children, or friends who have been saying for years, "I want to meditate every day." I will be there supporting everyone with consistency. That is the primary value of this.

And I know, Kira, you are very busy, so we will keep it to 15 minutes.

I appreciate that response. Once I am in the room with everyone, I want to go for 45 minutes, but we cannot do that.

Dum dum. Alright, everyone. I will see you soon. Have a beautiful evening. We went over time today, I know, but that was because the internet was really unstable.

And it had a lot to do with Andrea being late, since she restarted our session. It is all your fault.

Andrea P: Jordan, you are welcome.

Sorry, and you are welcome, exactly. Alright, Praveen, nice to see you. Bye, Mom. Good job today. Contemplate your principles.

Right.

Ariella: Thank you so much, love and blessings.

Another blessing.