Renunciation

Adam Wes Hi, Mom.

All right, we're missing a few people. Let's give them a moment to show up.

Hi, David. Nice background, Sepanta! For everybody who might not know, that's one of my art pieces. I like that one.

All right. Namaste, everybody.

Well, people must have sensed the topic for today, which is why they're not here. Perhaps it's a little intimidating. Can you guess what it is? I like David's smile. David's like, "Exactly. That's why I'm here." And Sepanta's just like, "There is no world. I am eternal."

So the topic for today is renunciation. Renunciation, which is the way to happiness, is actually more of a gift of joy than some sort of imposition upon one's life, which I think is the way it's usually received.

We'll go into renunciation today. I actually have a nice little outline. I'll put it up on the screen. Let's see. Can I zoom in here? Man. There you go.

Let's go through this. Renunciation is an absolute joy of mine. It's brought me a lot of healing. It's alleviated many of the human difficulties that I think anybody in this world has felt to some degree. I'd like to go over in detail what it really means and what's really involved in renunciation. So let's do it.

You'll have to excuse me. I've had quite a busy day, so I have to reconnect with this. I did this a couple of days ago. But we'll do that together, and that's part of the reason why we have these classes: to reattune to these principles that ultimately bring happiness, humility, righteousness, love, power, and all the wonderful qualities that I think we really, really want. I think most people want those things.

Renunciation is to divest yourself of worldly pursuits. Now, this does not mean that you quit your job and don't feed your children. It means something more subtle, so we'll go into that. Try to hold a lot of space as we go through this to find out what I'm actually saying and sharing.

In essence, one is divesting interest in the world where everybody else feels so interested. Right? One of the qualities is to feel that you need nothing from the world, that there is a sense of completeness inwardly, that we're in the world, but the world is not a means of our happiness. Right? There's a sense of wholeness and freedom.

I'm going to try to connect with it a little bit better. I've got some slamming doors going on with my neighbors. It's distracting. Come on.

There's this quality within, and maybe also the meat. See more of it that way.

You know what? I might just take this document down. Every time I try to do this, it distracts me. I'm going to read a few of my quotes.

"I need nothing from this world, and yet I'm in this world."

"There is a happiness that cannot come from things, but comes from a transformation of consciousness."

Usually, people feel happiness comes from circumstances, but here's a very alternative, contrary theory: happiness doesn't come from things. It comes from your own state of consciousness, and the transformation of that consciousness is really what is required.

In renunciation, we're seeking that transformation of consciousness. We're seeking to discover the feeling that we are happy from an uncaused happiness within. There's a dignity in this. We feel that...

You know what? Maybe we should meditate first. I feel like I need to meditate with everybody. It's a good thing we have a group of people who know me well and are friends, because I'm feeling a little unclear.

We'll start with the meditation, and then I may talk about renunciation within the meditation. The way that I do these things is as a channel, so it's not really from my head. I have to be in the state that I'm describing. Today, I don't feel very much renunciation. I've had so many meetings. Thank you, Sepanta.

I've had so many meetings, and I'm not very connected with it. Perhaps the lesson is that when we sit in the experience of something and describe it, that's not superficial knowledge. If I were to just say a bunch of words right now, it would be superficial knowledge. But if I go into the state and describe that state, that's a description of direct perception, very much like what we do with math.

A lot of people speak from conditioned mind. They have memorized a bunch of slogans and a bunch of facts, and they're not speaking as an expression of their state of mind. It's a very different thing, and you can feel when people are speaking from that state of mind. Sometimes meditating first can actually be a better path, because we'll be in the state. We'll feel inspired by that state, and the words will flow naturally.

It's actually called extemporaneous. This is an interesting word that I just recently learned. It's the way of writing and communicating where you don't premeditate what you're going to say. It just comes out.

This is the mechanism of extemporaneous communication: to be in the state and then just speak from that state. You can already see that now I'm speaking again. I couldn't speak because I was trying to read the words, and now I'm describing something that I'm looking at. It's almost like looking at a Platonic solid and describing its symmetry. I can look at it and describe it, and the state becomes like that.

Now that I've said that, maybe we'll start with just a little bit of silent meditation. I can start describing renunciation, and if it doesn't happen, we'll do our meditation first.

Let's bring your attention to the heart, or to the silence and the stillness. Try to feel the universe.

When we feel attachment to things, to becoming, to being something, there's a sense of incompleteness.

"I want something. Without it, I'm not at peace."

"I want somebody to think this way of me. Without that, I feel incomplete or uncomfortable."

In renunciation, we say, "Enough with it all." We say, "I don't care anymore," because we recognize that all of that was a self-imposed affliction.

We reach a level of maturity, you might say spiritual maturity, where we're not seeking gratification through things and circumstances. We've tasted the pain of that attachment and become aware of that pain and its cause. This has led us to turn our attention away from it.

You might say we let go. We're not interested in all those attachments anymore. The burden, the baggage of it, has become too much, and you simply let it go.

I would argue that this is a type of maturity. When the soul comes back over and over through lives, or even within a single life, you've had enough experiences. You need not hanker after that same piece of chocolate cake over and over. You've had it enough. You've dated every girl in the neighborhood. You've had enough of it, and you're now ready to let go and be free.

Renunciation brings freedom. It's not simply freedom. It's a blissfulness of wholeness. It's needing nothing from the world anymore. What arises from that is a deep sense of dignity.

Perhaps we can say the universe put on a little show a moment ago when I wasn't able to say anything. Do I seem like I care? I don't care, because I love myself, I trust myself, and I have a degree of renunciation. I don't want anything from anybody.

When I do want something, I recognize that as something that needs to be uprooted as soon as possible, because that's not the direction of spirituality.

There's a very powerful dignity that can arise from saying, "I am guided by freedom, integrity, and being."

There's freedom in not being attached. No longer can I be manipulated or exploited by a situation or another, because I don't want anything from it. Only in the soil of that freedom can my integrity grow and rise.

Integrity means, "Come what may, I will live by the principles that I know to be true. I will be true to myself."

To take it further, then we become artists. To be an artist, you have to be authentic. To be authentic, you cannot be a people pleaser. To create your art with utter authenticity is an expression of freedom, an expression of renunciation, an expression of integrity, and an expression of self-acceptance.

The creation of that art may be an official, formal art piece, or it may just be the way you walk. If you walk as a true expression of yourself, then you're being free. But if you're constantly worried about how people are perceiving you, you're not free. You're walking a little differently, and I think we all experienced that in middle school.

That's why I say it's a kind of maturity. When we become mature, we own ourselves. We own it. We own who we are, and we're not trying to get things from the world.

Not only do we cease to exploit the world, but we also cease to be exploited by the world. It's as if all the parts of the world become free and can gravitate together the way they're meant to. I would call that Dharma, which means truth, things, or duty.

I am an expression of what I am, cosmically created with an intrinsic nature, and I shall live out my destiny as a true expression of that, as it unfolds in integrity. Come what may, I will act as a true expression, and therefore there is a destiny unfolding.

Choicelessness. Total acceptance.

These are almost benefits, you could say, of renunciation. But the heart of renunciation is a spiritual fervency, a yearning for something that can only be created by a deep sense of presence, a deep sense of freedom.

If you've had a deep meditation that is so much better than any sensorial experience, if you've touched God, then once that happens, you say, "Oh, I just don't care." It's a very natural thing to happen. Something greater has come along. God is greater. You've touched it.

Now, I could say God. I could say the universe. I could say consciousness. It depends on what word works for you. I say God just because I think a lot of people are trying to figure out what God is. There are a lot of words, like, "God is greater." We hear that, right? There are various ways that it's said, but ultimately this is helping us to understand: What is God?

When we touch an ecstasy, a happiness that is like a million suns, that is like a heart expanding to the universe, then it's very difficult to care if somebody's judging you. It's very difficult to care about some sensorial attachment. These things fall away because we've matured.

We've matured in the sense that we've had our experiences in life, and we've come to the conclusion that happiness is uncaused, that life is about spirit.

What does spirituality mean? Essence. Focus on the essence versus focus on the gross. We concern ourselves with spirit, with the spirit within.

Renunciation is quite diverse. It includes all of these things. The amazing thing that happens is that when we're free, we live our highest expression of life. We may experience that chocolate cake or that girlfriend, but we do so from a place of wholeness.

That's a really profound thing, because if you're in a relationship with somebody and you don't feel incomplete, that relationship becomes very healthy. Two whole people coming together become complementary, not the completion of each other, which is where unhealthy relationships develop.

It's not just about relationships. It's also about everything you relate to in the world. You may have a dessert or not, but you won't do it from a place of insufficiency.

As long as we're fulfilling our insufficiency, we're not free. If you were to really look at humanity, I think most people believe that without the things they need, they're insufficient.

This is a fundamental shift, a new axiom, a new hypothesis that can be the foundation of life completely: If I sit and find my wholeness, stop seeking gratification and escape from my insufficiency, but find wholeness, then I will be happy.

That's totally flipping it around, right? Do you guys agree? Do you see that? Society is very much based upon needs. Everybody says, "I have my needs," right? Whatever my needs are, usually I want to try to get rid of them, right?

For example, "I need to have $10,000 in the bank at any moment. Otherwise, I have anxiety." Not anxiety, but some sort of discomfort, right? That is a need.

To confront each of these needs, ask, "What are my needs?" I would actually say they're more like wants. We need certain things to be true to ourselves. We want certain things that lead us not to be true to ourselves. It's a very different thing.

You play the guitar, so you need your guitar. Otherwise, you can't play. You run every day, so you need your shoes. You need shelter. You need healthy food. Maybe you even need to be a husband or a wife, because that's being true to yourself.

Most things are not needs. They're wants. In renunciation, we say, "Okay, what are all these wants?" We accept our life unfolding, whether wants come or they don't. We're more interested in integrity and more interested in freedom, so we renounce the world, and we find this powerful freedom in doing so.

All right, let's see. I'm actually touching a lot of the points now.

To cry your way into the depths of love. In letting go of all the attachments, there's a yearning in this that perhaps you can discover within.

The spiritual extremist is one who has made this choice.

There is a silence reverberating between the stars, an affection in the deepest recesses of the heart, that we can find through renunciation.

Does anybody want to say anything? Any questions, comments, challenges? You can challenge me if anybody wants to be honest and has a challenge.

Sepanta M I wanted to say something, if you don't mind.

Adam Wes Yeah, please.

Sepanta M Thank you. When you were telling me things, I was writing. The idea came to my mind, and I reached three sentences. Perhaps I got some knowledge from before.

It means doing things without expectations. Living without expectation is like absolute happiness.

Adam Wes Oof.

Sepanta M Owning without being owned, and loving without attachment. These three came to my mind, and I thought it could be nice to share them.

Adam Wes I love it. Thank you for making sure those were included. I love it. Yes.

Maybe ask yourself: Can you really love without renunciation?

Sepanta M It is a thing that I work on myself. It's not easy at all, especially the first one, doing things without expectation. It's not easy at all. I don't think I can reach a place without expectation of anything, but I can be close to zero. The closer you get to zero, the happier and happier you feel, because you don't do things for any outcome. You do things because of something else. I cannot express it.

Adam Wes Because it's being true to yourself? Because it's following your heart?

Sepanta M Exactly, because it's being true to yourself. Thank you.

Adam Wes And that's integrity and love. All these things connect. Through renunciation, we can access integrity, love, and freedom. I mean, all the best things. But it takes a lot of introspection and work.

I must say, one of the most powerful things you can do is meditate. Meditation itself is a metaphysical act in renunciation.

You sit down and say, "Oh my God, I don't want to be still. I need to do all these things. I have to do this. I have all these needs and attachments."

You are effectively erasing the karma of incompleteness when you meditate. The first hour may be painful and uncomfortable, and it may seem like, "What? I'm supposed to be peaceful."

No, you're not supposed to be peaceful when you meditate. You're supposed to be moving in the direction of freedom, and sometimes that is not peaceful at all. It's like quitting cigarettes. It'll eventually be peaceful, but if you've been smoking a long time, your body's going to go through all types of resistance.

What are the costs here? We're talking about major costs. I aspire to love the people in my life as deeply and truly as I possibly can. If I don't do this, how can I really feel that love?

I've got my mom sitting right here. I want to love her until there are tears in my eyes. I have to become love. My faculty, my capacity for love, has to grow.

This is very Bhakti. Bhakti is the path of the heart, of love. The more we love, the more we become free. The more we become absorbed, the more that absorption helps us love. There's this union between love and meditation. Sometimes it's called devotion.

Thank you, Sepanta. Beautiful, beautiful. Love it.

When we come together as Sangha, we're reattuning to these things. I like to pick a principle that comes to me. There are so many we need to cover, but they're often very similar. It's really the same thing from different perspectives.

Again, we're talking about freedom. Again, we're talking about humility. Again, we're talking about silence, right? But what is renunciation in that constellation, in that interconnected map?

What do you think, David?

Namaste, Sepanta. And hi, Tom! I'm not sure who Tom is. I'm grateful you're here. Thank you for joining. You're welcome to turn the camera on if you feel like it.

Tom Yeah, sorry. It's the middle of the workday. I had to jump in late.

Adam Wes Nice to see you. Nice to meet you. We're talking about renunciation today, and then we're going to begin the meditation soon. We're just going into what it means to renounce and what is involved in that. Hopefully, you can jump in and have it be meaningful for you at this point.

David, do you want to add anything?

David P Yeah. Right now, the book I'm reading during my morning routine is by a doctor called David Hawkins. I don't know if the title in English is the same as in Spanish, but it's Letting Go.

Adam Wes Nice!

David P Which is kind of what you're talking about.

Adam Wes Super aligned with what we're talking about. Amazing.

David P Basically, it's letting go of who you thought you are, who you thought you were, your identity. Letting go of your fears, letting go of your emotions. Just open your hands, don't resist, but accept and let go.

That, combined with what I've learned with you, is that love is like a fluid that comes from my heart just because I want it to come out of it. That's the only reason I need for this. I don't need it to be transactional. Love is not transactional at all, so it makes it easy because then you're not expecting anything in return, right?

You just decide to do things. You decide who you want to become. You decide what your identity is.

Adam Wes I'm processing. Wait, let's listen to one thing. You decide what your identity is. Let's pick that apart, because I think there's something there.

Do you decide when you see the truth of your own heart, or is it more revealed, and then your actions are a true expression of that? On one level, we feel we're deciding.

David P For instance, I have decided that my values are love, freedom, peace, energy, light, and abundance.

Adam Wes The jewels.

David P The jewels. Those are my values, and I study them. I have decided that because they resonate with me.

Adam Wes I would say that you didn't decide that at all.

David P Perhaps it was revealed, like you said?

Adam Wes Because you said they resonate with you. Did you decide for them to resonate with you?

David P Yeah, I don't know. Perhaps...

Adam Wes It just happened.

David P They just happened to, yeah.

Adam Wes It's a subtle distinction that I was noticing in your wording, because one of the things we feel in renunciation is choicelessness.

When you follow the heart, it just goes where it knows is right. The duck goes into the pond. But the duck's a duck, and it's meant to be in the pond.

David P Yeah, you're right.

Adam Wes It's interesting to look at the words. I know that if this wasn't a spiritual context, people might be like, "Adam, shut up. You're being a jerk. Just let him talk."

David P No, no.

Adam Wes But these words matter because they're indicative of the subtle paradigm inside.

Another thing I wanted to say is to give up self-importance. This is very paradoxical. I'm going to give up self-importance, and then I'll end up just doing what I'm meant to do. Some people will like me. Some people won't. I'll get some things that are nice. I'll get some things that aren't. I simply think of self-importance as enormous baggage.

David P That prevents us from being free.

Adam Wes From dissolving into what we actually are. We let it go. No self-importance.

It doesn't mean you're mean to yourself, either. It means that everybody's infinitely important. Everybody's the child of the universe, right? There's no need to feel important or not important. We are as we are.

The leaf on the tree doesn't say, "I'm important." It says, "I'm this beautiful leaf. Period. I have a little hole over there and a little red over there. It doesn't matter. I am what I am."

Daniel, would you like to share something? Then we'll meditate.

Daniel V I was just thinking about what David said and what you were saying later. For example, with values, in some way they are revealed to you. It's what you actually feel is true for you.

But there are people who have these values, and in some cases they do not show them. You still have this choice of acting on those values, don't you?

Adam Wes Did you say they do not show them?

Daniel V Yeah. Inside, they hold these values to be true, but they do not act as they should, as if they actually held these values, because of fear or...

Adam Wes Exactly. Beautiful. Right there, because of fear, because of attachment.

In renunciation, the paradox is that we fulfill our values because we accept ourselves and we're no longer exploited by our attachments.

Say you value love. This is a big one for men. "I'm going to be the most loving man. I'm going to be sensitive. I'm going to be gentle. I'm going to be considerate."

If all the bros and the guys were like, "Dude, you're not being manly," then maybe, if I cared, I wouldn't be that. But if I value love and I want to be a true expression of myself, I won't have a self-reflection. I'll just give myself the gift of being true to my values.

Integrity comes out of that freedom. The freedom comes from the renunciation. The renunciation ultimately comes from turning your attention.

If you get happiness from the guys accepting you, you're not going to do that. But if you get happiness from being free, from being absorbed in the unknown, from meditation, from turning your attention from circumstantial gratification to intrinsic ontological ecstasy, then the whole computer program runs differently.

The operating system has changed. The BIOS has been hacked, man. You hacked your BIOS. For people who don't know what the BIOS is, it's like the very core of a computer programming system.

That's essentially what we're talking about here: hacking the BIOS. Hack the BIOS. Renounce, right? Do the opposite of everybody else.

What's really interesting is that people gravitate to those who have this level of integrity. They'll say, "Wow, that Daniel guy? He doesn't care about nothing, man. That guy is amazing. He's like a pillar of truth. He's like a giant tree. You can't push him over."

People love that. I think this is what people like Michael Jackson and Gandhi, great people who are in the history books, did in all different walks of life. That's what made them great.

Ironically, we renounce, and then we have the best life we can possibly have.

All right, let's stop on that. Thank you for helping me bring that out, Daniel. When you said fear, this is a great way to overcome fear. You have to go through the fire of it, right? Then you come out the other side, and you're naked because your clothes burned off. Your skin's nice and intact because that never could be touched by it anyway.

All right. Tom, I hope you liked the topic. Cool. And Mommy, very quiet. Do you want to say anything? You're good? Okay.

Colleen I'm just happy hearing all of you speak and giving me lots to think about.

Adam Wes Okay. We're missing Sam and Vin. I feel like I have to remind everybody. Just so you know, put it on your calendar. I didn't remind them today.

All right, let's dive in. We'll do a meditation for 15 minutes or so, and then just a short description of our experiences.

Remember, in meditation, we're opening up the possibility of freedom. We're trusting that without fulfillment of our attachments, we will be deeply happy and free.

Try to become absorbed in the moment. Leave the self-reflection behind and just be what you are.

It's good to bring your attention to the heart center and let it begin to accumulate the substance of love, just by bringing your attention there.

Feel the dignity of wanting nothing from others, standing in your freedom and your integrity, not being pulled by attachment and desire.

Continue to feel your heart. If you're capable, feel your navel center simultaneously. One inch below the belly button, there is a dantian, as it's called in Chinese, or a chakra in Sanskrit. It is the energy of the will.

The renunciant has a heart and will, among other things.

Well, we're going to have to add the third eye. Let's do the entire dantian system, feeling the heart, the navel, and the third eye simultaneously.

You can feel the dignity of renunciation when you activate these chakras, the three dantians, simultaneously.

If you've become a light mystic, where you can experience the light, really, we want to feel these three chakras while being immersed in the causal planes of light, which appear as divine brightness within the mind.

This will be our last song. Just enjoy the ride. Let the music carry you and your energy.

When you're ready, we can come out of the meditation.

How was your meditation, Mom?

Colleen It was very nice with you. Very relaxing, and a ton of colors. Yellow was very prominent, which it usually isn't.

Adam Wes Oh, nice. That's perhaps the navel center you accessed a little bit there.

A ton of colors?

Colleen Hmm.

Adam Wes Oh, wonderful! Tell us the whole collection!

Colleen No, there were just a lot.

Adam Wes So many you can't list? That's fantastic.

Colleen But yellow was very prominent.

Adam Wes Okay. Did you see anything that was different from the rainbow spectrum?

Colleen It was some kind of deep burgundy, but I wasn't sure if it was burgundy or purple. It might have even been black, but it was just for a moment.

Adam Wes It sounds like you maybe got into the black clear light mixed with your usual red.

Colleen Yeah.

Adam Wes Good. Beautiful.

Colleen Very, very relaxing. Thanks.

Adam Wes More than relaxing, though. Renewing. Transformative. Mystical. But also relaxing. Right? Yes, you agree? Okay.

Ariella? How are you doing? Thank you, Ariella, for everything.

Ariella You're welcome. Wow, this was a very powerful session for me. The whole thing about renunciation was challenging for me.

I am focused on something I think I've shared with you. I was asked by the Higher Self of my granddaughter, while she was still in the womb, to get out the message of needing to communicate with them before birth. She's five already, and I haven't gotten the message out. I've written the book, but it's not published. I don't have a website yet and all that kind of stuff.

It's not what I want, but it's what I've been asked to do.

Adam Wes That's included in renunciation.

Ariella It was really hard for me to let that go. But in the meditation, when we focused on those three chakras, I was able to let it go completely. That was a great blessing. Thank you.

Adam Wes When you say "let go," do you feel that renunciation means you would not do your duty to do that service? Do you feel that there's a conflict there?

Ariella Yeah.

Adam Wes That's not renunciation, because renunciation doesn't mean you stop eating, sleeping, walking, or moving, right? Renunciation has less to do with the outer expressions of your actions and more to do with your inner relationship to them.

Actually, you said you were asked to do it and you're not doing it for you. That's exactly renunciation. Renunciation means you don't do things for gratification. You don't do them for you. You do what is asked of you. You go where God tells you.

Ariella Okay.

Adam Wes Do you see how that's renunciation? You're becoming an instrument of the divine.

Ariella Yes.

Adam Wes That requires one to renounce their sense of self-importance, their sense of gratification.

Ariella Okay.

Adam Wes In fact, to realize your vision, perhaps even go deeper into it. Why don't you have those things yet? Maybe it just wasn't time. It would be an act of renunciation to accept the natural unfolding of things. Accept destiny.

Another thing is that perhaps some attachment somewhere is preventing the full flowering of that cosmic request.

Ariella Yes.

Adam Wes It's not inconsistent. Now, renunciation for some people does mean going to the cave, but for some people it means starting a multibillion-dollar corporation. It depends. It really depends.

The word Dharma is very relevant here, because Dharma means duty.

Ariella Okay.

Adam Wes What is your duty? That means, what has God asked of you? Will you follow those instructions and do them?

It also means truth, which is the true expression of what you are. Not your decisions, but a revelation of, "I am what I am. I act as I act. My integrity flows. My destiny is revealed, and I renounce all gratification. I am in time, but out of it."

There you go. I'll leave it at that. But you see, that was really important to connect for you.

Ariella Thank you, Adam. I really appreciate that.

Adam Wes Yeah. Maybe see how it can empower what you feel to be that noble, noble truth and important act of yours.

Ariella Okay. Thank you, thank you.

Adam Wes Thank you, Ariella. Namaste.

All right, we're a little over. Does anybody feel like they have something they'd like to share? You guys are good? Okay, wonderful.

Well, nice to see you. I am personally contemplating why there aren't more people here. I wonder, does it have to do with going into the truth? Maybe people just aren't interested in renunciation and feeling their energy? But I don't think that's really the truth. I think people are just very busy, and they need reminders.

If anybody has any feedback, there's a little, tiny question: Am I doing a good job? Are people not here because I'm doing a bad job? I don't think that's the case, but if it were, I'd love to know it so that I can make the change. More information can be empowering.

I'd love to see this group growing. I didn't really promote it much today because I was overwhelmed with a lot of responsibilities and other things, so that might be the reason.

I hope to see everybody here next week at the same time. If you care to donate $3 to $33, you can do so on the website. Thank you to everybody else who's donated. I'm really grateful. Namaste.

See you soon! Bye, everybody!

Ariella Heaven's blessings.

Adam Wes Love and blessings, Ariella. Thank you so much. Thank you, David. Thank you, Dan. Thank you, Dad.

Renunciation is the turning of attention away from gratification and insufficiency toward inner wholeness, freedom, integrity, and true expression.

• Renunciation is a gift of joy, not an imposition upon life.
• It concerns the inner relationship to actions more than their outer expression.
• Happiness does not come from things. It comes from a transformation of consciousness.
• Attachment, becoming, and the desire for approval arise from a sense of incompleteness.
• Freedom from attachment creates the soil in which integrity can grow.
• Spiritual maturity means no longer seeking gratification through things and circumstances.
• Relationships become healthy when two whole people come together without trying to complete each other.
• Giving up self-importance allows a person to accept themselves and live according to their values.
• Meditation opens the possibility of freedom, even when resistance and discomfort arise.
• Love, meditation, and devotion support the growth of the capacity to love.
• Dharma is the true expression of what one is, the duty that unfolds through integrity.
• Renunciation accepts the natural unfolding of life and allows one to become an instrument of the divine.

Spend time in meditation, becoming absorbed in the moment and turning attention away from circumstantial gratification toward inner wholeness. Feel the heart, and if it is accessible, include the navel center and third eye. Rest in the dignity of wanting nothing from others, while allowing freedom, integrity, and love to be present.

• Notice wants that are being treated as needs.
• Observe moments when approval, gratification, or circumstances seem necessary for peace.
• Bring attention to the heart and allow the substance of love to accumulate there.
• Become absorbed in the moment and leave self-reflection behind.
• Notice where attachment may be preventing a true expression of personal values.
• Remain attentive to the natural unfolding of duty and Dharma.
• Recognize discomfort in meditation as part of moving in the direction of freedom.

• What do I feel I need from the world in order to be at peace?
• Where do I already experience wholeness without a cause?
• What might unfold if I were true to my values without seeking approval?