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Good morning.

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(Ethereal music)

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It has been quite a privilege

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being able to grow up
in two quite different ways of life.

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I was born in Germany,

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and at the same time had the chance

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to learn more about an ancient art
coming from the Shaolin Temple.

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When you grow up in an Asian family,

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it is quite common

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that firstly, you don't argue
with your father,

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and secondly, you either
become medical doctor,

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engineer, or lawyer.

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Elsewise your parents
will be very unhappy.

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So having that said,

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I finished my academic education
with two university degrees,

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an MBA,

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and quite a collection
of different certificates and diplomas -

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everything that my parents thought
would be useful to have.

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But throughout this education,

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I felt something was missing.

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Because I was learning
about many different aspects -

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how the plant is working,

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what an atom is made out of,

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how a political system is functioning,

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but somehow, the subject was missing

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to learn something about myself.

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So with the age of four,

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for the first time

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I got introduced
into the monastic practices,

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and I was very happy to find out
that the main part of these practices

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were dealing with the exploration
and the discovery of yourself.

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There was mental training,

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development of behavior
combined with the physical training,

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all aspects of what nowadays 
is known as Shaolin Kung-Fu.

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Now, despite the wishes of my parents

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to somehow go out in the market
and try to manage the world,

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I decided to continue this monastic life

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and start learning more
about myself first.

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Now, in the preparation for this talk,

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I was asked to share a few words on

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what is important in this lifetime,

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and see,

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it's already challenging

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to put three decades into a single talk.

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But the picture I would like to show you

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summarizes very much

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what I consider
as being valuable in this lifetime.

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There is something
about sharing with others.

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There is something about connection.

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There is the training
and development of yourself.

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It is to enjoy your time,
even doing nothing.

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And one main aspect is

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to find a way

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and do the things you like to do.

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Now, when I received the invitation

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to have a talk at today's event,

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especially under the slogan
"High, Higher, Highest,"

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something very particular
came up on my mind,

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and a master from the Shaolin Temple

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once told me a story
that I would like to share with you.

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(Flute music)

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A man was living close to a mountain,

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and every day he was thinking:

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How would it be to climb that mountain

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and what would I see on the peak?

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So finally, the day came, 
and the man went on the journey.

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Arriving at the foot of the mountain,

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he met the first traveler.

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So he asked,

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"How did you get up the mountain,
and what did you see from the top?"

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And so the traveler shared his path,

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and also the view that he had.

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But then the man was thinking,

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"The way that this traveler described
to me sounds very exhausting.

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I need to find another way to climb."

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So he continued to walk
on the foot of the mountain

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until he met the next traveler.

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So once again he asked,

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"How did you climb up that mountain,

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and what did you see from the top?"

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And so again the traveler
shared his story.

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Still not being determined
on which direction and which way to go,

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the man asked 30 more people,
30 more travelers.

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When he finished talking to all of them,

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he finally made up his mind.

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"Now that so many people
already shared with me their paths

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and especially what
they all saw from the top,

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I don't need to climb there anymore."

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It is very unfortunate

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this man never went on the journey.

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Now, to conclude this story,

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firstly,

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each individual needs to find
the most suitable way

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to climb that mountain.

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But secondly, there is information

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possible to be shared with words,

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but it is impossible

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to share the experience of clarity

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when you are standing
on that peak by yourself.

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To invest the right effort

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in climbing that peak,

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it's very much what
all the Buddhist practices,

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the Shaolin training,

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or any spiritual practice is about.

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Clarity means you see more clear.

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When you see more clear,
interrelations become more apparent.

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When you see more clear,

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there is no need to believe anyone
or believe anything.

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Seeing clear means 
you can distinguish for yourself

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which is the proper direction to take

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and which decisions do I have to make

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in order to make my goals
or aspirations start to shape?

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Now, at today's talk,
you will have the chance

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to become inspired 
by quite a lot of different travelers.

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But in this particular talk,

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I can't, and I won't tell you
which way to go.

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It's just that along
your personal journey,

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you will encounter challenges.

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Those challenges will either prevent you,

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or some of them even stop you,

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from moving on and climbing that mountain.

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In the Shaolin Temple,
we refer to them

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as "the five hindrances."

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The five hindrances are describing
different states of the mind.

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In those states of the mind,

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it becomes very hard to see clearly

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and therefore engage
in the right decisions.

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The first hindrance
is called "sensual desire."

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Sensual desire arises in the moment

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when you are paying
attention to something

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that is giving you a positive emotion.

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This positive emotion can originate
from five gates of your body:

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Seeing, hearing, smelling,
tasting, or feeling.

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So in your mind,
you climb up that mountain.

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After one mile of walking,

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you discover a beautiful restaurant

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surrounded by beautiful people.

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You smell delicious food
and the great variety of beverages.

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When you follow that temptation,

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you have already lost your track.

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When this temptation becomes so strong

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that you don't want
to leave that place anymore,

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then the sensual desire
has turned into an obsession.

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In both cases,

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remaining at that place means
that you can't get clarity.

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The second hindrance, "ill-will,"

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describes the state of the mind

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that arises from negative emotions.

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In that state of the mind,

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you have an aversion,
a rejection, or simply a dislike

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against either an object, a situation,
or can be even a person.

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To simplify, it means:

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You are climbing the mountain,

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and it starts to rain,

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but you don't like rain.

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You discover the roads are bumpy,

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but you don't like bumpy roads.

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In order to cross the river,
you need to swim,

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but you don’t like swimming.

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Whatever it is that you dislike,

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it won’t make it a pleasant journey

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unless you learn
to let go of this ill-will.

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It’s more likely even
that you won't continue that journey.

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The third hindrance originally
translated as "sloth and torpor."

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"Sloth" means it’s
the heaviness of the body.

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"Torpor" means it’s
the dullness of the mind.

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It is characterized by sleepiness,

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non-motivation,

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lack of energy,

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and oftentimes can manifest itself

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in a state of depression.

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Now, a simile used in Buddhism
describes it as "imprisonment."

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You find yourself locked in a cell.

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It becomes very hard

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to make any type
of mental or physical effort.

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So in order to continue your path,

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there is only one option left.

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You need to find a way to get out
from that hole, from that cell.

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Now, the fourth hindrance
is called "restlessness."

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It is the state of an unsettled mind.

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"Unsettle mind" means
your mind cannot settle.

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(Laughter)
Settle where?

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Settle in the present moment.

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An unsettled mind
either is worrying about the future

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or traveling into the past

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and rejecting,

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judging about an event
that happened into your past.

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A simile used here is the monkey mind,

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constantly jumping
from one branch to another,

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unable to stay for too long time
at the present moment.

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The problem is there is no time
to see clearly anymore.

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Now, the last of the five hindrances
is called "skeptical doubt,"

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and it's very closely related
to a state of mind

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which is based on indecisiveness.

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It is very easy in that state of mind
getting lost in thoughts.

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Can I do this?

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Is this the right path?

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What will the others say?

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What if this? What if that?

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The mind cannot synchronize
with your own actions anymore.

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And the result is

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that you are getting disconnected

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with the goals and aspirations 
that once you have set to yourself.

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When the way is filled
with too much doubts,

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more often you will stop
instead of moving on.

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That we know the five hindrances now,

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what are we going to do about them?

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You need to align and structure
your life in such a way

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to prevent those hindrances from arising.

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If you are not successful,

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you need to use techniques
in order to remove them.

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Each of these hindrances is placing
the dark cloud on your mind,

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or on the way of your climb.

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Simply remember one thing:

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Just let it rain.

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(Sound of rain)

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This is a four step method

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to help you removing those hindrances.

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The first step is recognize

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in what state of the mind
you are finding yourself in.

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[Recognize, Accept,
Investigate, Non-Identity]

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Afterwards, learn to accept, acknowledge,

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and allow the situation or a person

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to be the way how it is,

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to be the way how they are.

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Investigate your
emotional and mental state,

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and ask questions:

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Why did it come up?

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What is going to be the consequence
if I remain in that state?

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And ultimately, non-identification means:

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It is the practice.

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I am not the body.

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I am not the mind.

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I am not my emotion.

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It's just that I can see
all these three aspects about me.

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All of our lifetimes,

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all of our lives are too unique

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to copy the path from someone else.

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To bring meaning to your life,

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to bring value into your life,

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you need to learn and master yourself,

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and don't let the hindrances stop you.

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If any of you chooses

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to climb that path to clarity,

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I would be very happy
to meet you at the peak.

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(Music) (Applause)