0:01:14.450,0:01:24.740 Samadhi 0:01:24.740,0:01:30.640 is an ancient Sanskrit word, for which there[br]is no modern equivalent. 0:01:30.640,0:01:38.210 There is a fundamental challenge with making[br]a film about Samadhi. 0:01:38.210,0:01:54.230 Samadhi points to something that can’t be[br]conveyed on the level of mind. 0:01:54.230,0:02:00.240 This film is simply the outer manifestation[br]of my own inner journey. 0:02:00.240,0:02:06.950 The intention is not to teach you about Samadhi,[br]or provide information for your mind, but 0:02:06.950,0:02:17.260 to inspire you to directly discover your true[br]nature. 0:02:17.260,0:02:29.200 Samadhi is relevant now more than ever. 0:02:29.200,0:02:34.840 We are at a time in history where we have[br]not only forgotten Samadhi, but we have forgotten 0:02:34.840,0:02:43.700 what we forgot. 0:02:43.700,0:02:54.834 This forgetting is Maya, [br]the illusion of the self. 0:02:59.331,0:03:11.061 Part 1: Maya[br](The illusion of the self) 0:03:28.129,0:03:34.239 As humans most of us live immersed in our[br]daily lives, with little thought of who we 0:03:34.239,0:03:42.439 are, why we are here, or where we’re going. 0:03:42.439,0:03:49.680 Most of us have never realized the true self,[br]the soul or what the Buddha called annata 0:03:49.680,0:03:56.980 - that which is beyond name and form, beyond[br]thinking. 0:03:56.980,0:04:01.520 As a result we believe we are these limited[br]bodies. 0:04:01.520,0:04:10.870 We live in fear, either conscious or unconscious,[br]that the limited self structure that we are 0:04:10.870,0:04:25.630 identified with, will die. 0:04:25.630,0:04:30.890 In today's world the vast majority of people[br]who are engaged in religious or spiritual 0:04:30.890,0:04:39.750 practices such as yoga, prayer, meditation,[br]chanting or any kind of ritual, are practicing 0:04:39.750,0:04:42.340 techniques which are conditioned. 0:04:42.340,0:04:49.530 Which means they are just part of the ego[br]construct. 0:04:49.530,0:04:55.479 The seeking and the activity isn’t the problem-[br]thinking you have found the answer in some 0:04:55.479,0:05:01.260 external form is the problem. 0:05:01.260,0:05:07.350 Spirituality in its most common form is no[br]different than the pathological thinking that 0:05:07.350,0:05:10.680 is going on everywhere. 0:05:10.680,0:05:14.050 It is a further agitation of the mind. 0:05:14.050,0:05:19.480 More human doing, as opposed to human being. 0:05:19.480,0:05:28.840 The ego construct wants more money, more power,[br]more love, more of everything. 0:05:28.840,0:05:37.610 Those on the so-called spiritual path desire[br]to be more spiritual, more awake, more equanimous, 0:05:37.610,0:05:43.380 more peaceful, more enlightened. 0:05:43.380,0:05:53.141 The danger for you watching this film is that[br]your mind will want to acquire Samadhi . Even 0:05:53.141,0:06:01.130 more dangerous is that your mind might think[br]it has acquired Samadhi. 0:06:01.130,0:06:06.270 Whenever there is a desire to attain something[br]you can be sure that it is the ego construct 0:06:06.270,0:06:08.120 at work. 0:06:08.120,0:06:17.850 Samadhi is not about attaining or adding anything[br]to yourself. 0:06:17.850,0:06:26.830 To realize Samadhi is to learn to die before[br]you die. 0:06:26.830,0:06:32.360 Life and death are like yin and yang- an inseparable[br]continuum. 0:06:32.360,0:06:37.440 Endlessly unfolding, with no beginning and[br]no end. 0:06:37.440,0:06:42.630 When we push away death, we also push away[br]life. 0:06:42.630,0:06:48.820 When you experience the truth directly of[br]who you are, there is no longer fear of life 0:06:48.820,0:06:51.030 or death. 0:06:51.030,0:07:00.160 We are told who we are by our society and[br]our culture, and at the same - time we are 0:07:00.160,0:07:12.719 slaves to the deeper unconscious biological[br]craving and aversion that governs our choices. 0:07:12.719,0:07:16.360 The ego construct is nothing more than the[br]impulse to repeat. 0:07:16.360,0:07:22.880 It is simply the path that energy once took[br]and the tendency for the energy to take that 0:07:22.880,0:07:33.190 path again, whether it is positive or negative[br]for the organism. 0:07:33.190,0:07:39.760 There are endless levels of memory or mind,[br]spirals within spirals. 0:07:39.760,0:07:46.530 When your consciousness identifies with this[br]mind or ego construct, it ties you to social 0:07:46.530,0:07:54.750 conditioning, which you could call the matrix. 0:07:54.750,0:08:00.940 There are aspects of the ego that we can be[br]conscious of, but it is the unconscious, the 0:08:00.940,0:08:13.370 archaic wiring, the primal existential fears,[br]that are actually driving the whole machine. 0:08:13.370,0:08:18.649 Endless patterns of grasping towards pleasure[br]and avoidance of pain are sublimated into 0:08:18.649,0:08:31.089 pathological behaviours .... our work....[br]our relationships.... our beliefs, our very 0:08:31.089,0:08:37.150 thoughts, and our whole way of living. 0:08:37.150,0:09:08.120 Like cattle, most humans live and die in passive[br]subjugation, feeding their lives to the matrix. 0:09:08.120,0:09:12.200 We live lives locked into narrow patterns. 0:09:12.200,0:09:17.460 Lives often filled with great suffering, and[br]it never occurs to us that we can actually 0:09:17.460,0:09:25.990 become free. 0:09:25.990,0:09:34.300 It is possible to let go of the life that[br]has been inherited from the past, to live 0:09:34.300,0:10:08.300 the one that is waiting to come forth through[br]the inner world. 0:10:08.300,0:10:20.800 We were all born into this world with biological[br]conditioned structures, but without self awareness. 0:10:20.800,0:10:29.280 Often when you look into a young child's eyes[br]there is no trace of self, only luminous emptiness. 0:10:29.280,0:10:36.510 The person one grows into is a mask worn over[br]consciousness. 0:10:36.510,0:10:54.260 Shakespeare said, "All the world's a stage,[br]and all the men and women merely players". 0:10:54.260,0:11:04.290 In an awakened individual, consciousness shines[br]through the personality, through the mask. 0:11:04.290,0:11:08.960 When you are awake, you don't become identified[br]with your character. 0:11:08.960,0:11:17.030 You don't believe that you are the masks that[br]you are wearing. 0:11:17.030,0:11:29.700 But nor do you give up playing a role. 0:11:41.200,0:11:47.160 When we are identified with our character, our persona 0:11:47.160,0:11:53.140 this is Maya, the illusion of the self. 0:11:53.140,0:12:01.840 Samadhi is awakening from the dream of your character in the play of life. 0:12:12.780,0:12:19.050 Twenty-four hundred years after Plato wrote[br]the Republic, humanity is still making its 0:12:19.050,0:12:25.430 way out of Plato's cave. 0:12:25.430,0:12:36.680 In fact we may be more transfixed by illusions[br]than ever. 0:12:36.680,0:12:42.600 Plato had Socrates describe a group of people[br]who lived chained in a cave all of their lives, 0:12:42.600,0:12:44.220 facing a blank wall. 0:12:44.220,0:12:50.480 All they could see were shadows projected[br]on the wall by the things passing in front 0:12:50.480,0:12:53.440 of a fire which was behind them. 0:12:53.440,0:12:56.960 This puppet show becomes their world. 0:12:56.960,0:13:06.560 According to Socrates, the shadows were as[br]close as the prisoners would ever get to seeing 0:13:06.560,0:13:11.100 reality. 0:13:11.100,0:13:16.370 Even after being told about the outside world[br]they continued to believe that the shadows 0:13:16.370,0:13:19.430 were all that is. 0:13:19.430,0:13:24.400 Even if they suspected there was something[br]more they were unwilling to leave what was 0:13:24.400,0:13:36.000 familiar. 0:13:36.000,0:13:40.800 Humanity today is like the people who have[br]only seen the shadows on the cave wall. 0:13:40.800,0:13:44.260 The shadows are analogous to our thoughts. 0:13:44.260,0:13:47.779 The world of thinking is the only world that[br]we know. 0:13:47.779,0:13:52.150 But there is another world that is beyond[br]thinking. 0:13:52.150,0:13:55.029 Beyond the dualistic mind. 0:13:55.029,0:14:03.380 Are you willing to leave the cave, to leave[br]all that you have known to find out the truth 0:14:03.380,0:14:16.390 of who you are? 0:14:16.390,0:14:22.371 In order to experience Samadhi it is necessary[br]to turn attention away from the shadows, away 0:14:22.371,0:14:25.900 from the thoughts towards the light. 0:14:25.900,0:14:40.640 When a person is only used to darkness then[br]they must gradually become accustomed to the 0:14:40.640,0:14:49.330 light. 0:14:49.330,0:14:55.240 Like acclimatizing to any new paradigm it[br]takes time and effort, and a willingness to 0:14:55.240,0:15:16.680 explore the new, as well as shed the old. 0:15:16.680,0:15:30.330 The mind can be likened to a trap for consciousness,[br]a labyrinth or a prison. 0:15:30.330,0:15:39.779 It is not that you are in prison, you are[br]the prison. 0:15:39.779,0:15:48.270 The prison is an illusion. 0:15:48.270,0:15:54.330 If you are identified with an illusory self,[br]then you are asleep. 0:15:54.330,0:15:59.340 Once you are aware of the prison, if you fight[br]to get out of the illusion, then you are treating 0:15:59.340,0:16:06.820 the illusion as if it is real and you still[br]remain asleep, except now the dream becomes 0:16:06.820,0:16:07.820 a nightmare. 0:16:07.820,0:16:19.440 You will be chasing and running from shadows[br]forever. 0:16:19.440,0:16:26.570 Samadhi is awakening from the dream of the[br]separate self or the egoic construct. 0:16:26.570,0:16:38.610 Samadhi is awakening from identification with[br]the prison that I call me. 0:16:38.610,0:16:47.690 You can never actually be free, because wherever[br]you go your prison is there. 0:16:47.690,0:16:53.601 Awakening is not about get rid of the mind[br]or the matrix, on the contrary; when you are 0:16:53.601,0:16:58.860 not identified with it, then you can experience[br]the play of life more fully, enjoying the 0:16:58.860,0:17:03.700 show as it is, without craving or fear. 0:17:03.700,0:17:09.880 In the ancient teachings this was called the[br]divine game of Leila: the game of playing 0:17:09.880,0:17:22.039 in duality. 0:17:22.039,0:17:25.549 Human consciousness is a continuum. 0:17:25.549,0:17:31.169 On one extreme, humans are identified with[br]the material self. 0:17:31.169,0:17:37.559 On the other extreme is Samadhi, the cessation[br]of self. 0:17:37.559,0:17:46.470 Every step we take on the continuum towards[br]Samadhi, brings less suffering. 0:17:46.470,0:17:51.610 Less suffering does not mean life is free[br]from pain. 0:17:51.610,0:17:58.909 Samadhi is beyond the duality of pain and[br]pleasure. 0:17:58.909,0:18:04.299 What it means is that there is less mind,[br]less self creating resistance to whatever 0:18:04.299,0:18:22.309 unfolds and that resistance is what creates[br]suffering. 0:18:22.309,0:18:28.220 Realizing Samadhi even once allows you to[br]see what is at the other end of the continuum. 0:18:28.220,0:18:34.570 To see that there is something other than[br]the material world and self interest. 0:18:34.570,0:18:41.309 When there is an actual cessation of the self[br]structure in Samadhi there is no egoic thought, 0:18:41.309,0:18:51.020 no self, no duality yet there is still the[br]I am, annata or no self. 0:18:51.020,0:19:01.059 In that emptiness is the dawn of prajna or[br]wisdom- the understanding that the immanent 0:19:01.059,0:19:10.820 self is far beyond the play of duality, beyond[br]the entire continuum. 0:19:10.820,0:19:18.440 The immanent self is timeless, unchanging,[br]always now. 0:19:18.440,0:19:24.509 Enlightenment is the merging of the primordial[br]spiral, the ever-changing manifested world 0:19:24.509,0:19:34.269 or lotus in which time unfolds, with your[br]timeless being. 0:19:34.269,0:19:41.700 Your inner wiring grows like an ever-unfolding[br]flower as you disidentify with the self, becoming 0:19:41.700,0:20:09.580 a living bridge between the world of time[br]and the timeless. 0:20:09.580,0:20:14.539 Merely realizing the immanent self is only[br]the beginning of one’s path. 0:20:14.539,0:20:20.530 Most people will have to experience and lose[br]Samadhi countless times in meditation before 0:20:20.530,0:20:24.629 they are able to integrate it into other facets[br]of life. 0:20:24.629,0:20:32.220 It is not unusual to have profound insights[br]into the nature of your being during meditation 0:20:32.220,0:20:39.990 or self inquiry, only to find yourself once[br]again falling back into old patterns, forgetting 0:20:39.990,0:20:53.750 the truth of who you are. 0:20:53.750,0:21:00.950 To realize that stillness or emptiness in[br]every facet of life, every facet of one’s 0:21:00.950,0:21:23.619 self, is to become emptiness dancing as all[br]things. 0:21:23.619,0:21:27.600 Stillness is not something separate from movement. 0:21:27.600,0:21:30.799 It is not opposite to movement. 0:21:30.799,0:21:42.159 In Samadhi stillness is recognized to be identical[br]with movement, form is identical to emptiness. 0:21:42.159,0:22:02.440 This is nonsensical to the mind because mind[br]is the coming into being of duality. 0:22:02.440,0:22:09.649 Rene Descartes, the father of western philosophy,[br]is famous for the saying “I think therefore 0:22:09.649,0:22:11.139 I am”. 0:22:11.139,0:22:18.340 No other phrase more clearly encapsulates[br]the fall of civilisation and the full scale 0:22:18.340,0:22:23.109 identification with the shadows on the cave[br]wall. 0:22:23.109,0:22:32.460 Descartes’ error, like the error of almost[br]all humans, was the equating of fundamental 0:22:32.460,0:22:36.740 being with thinking. 0:22:36.740,0:22:51.309 At the beginning of his most famous treatise,[br]Descartes wrote that almost everything can 0:22:51.309,0:23:03.340 be called into doubt; he can doubt his senses,[br]and even his thoughts. 0:23:03.340,0:23:09.991 Likewise in the Kalama Sutra the Buddha said[br]that in order to ascertain the truth, one 0:23:09.991,0:23:17.320 must doubt all traditions, scriptures, teachings[br]and all of the content of one’s mind and 0:23:17.320,0:23:19.919 senses. 0:23:19.919,0:23:28.350 Both of these men started with great scepticism,[br]but the difference was that Descartes stopped 0:23:28.350,0:23:35.059 inquiring at the level of thinking, while[br]the Buddha went deeper- he penetrated beyond 0:23:35.059,0:23:39.739 the deepest levels of the mind. 0:23:39.739,0:23:46.859 Maybe if Descartes had gone beyond his thinking[br]mind, he would have realized his true nature 0:23:46.859,0:23:52.970 and Western consciousness would be very different[br]today. 0:23:52.970,0:24:00.889 Instead, Descartes described the possibility[br]of an evil demon that could be keeping us 0:24:00.889,0:24:04.039 under a veil of illusion. 0:24:04.039,0:24:10.940 Descartes did not recognize this evil demon[br]for what it was. 0:24:10.940,0:24:19.409 As in the movie the Matrix, we could all be[br]hooked up to some elaborate program feeding 0:24:19.409,0:24:22.250 us an illusory dream world. 0:24:22.250,0:24:27.399 In the movie, humans lived out their lives[br]in the matrix, while on another level they 0:24:27.399,0:24:32.960 were merely batteries, feeding their life[br]force to the machines which used their energy 0:24:32.960,0:25:06.720 for their own agenda. 0:25:06.720,0:25:11.399 People always want to blame something outside[br]of themselves for the state of the world or 0:25:11.399,0:25:12.799 for their own unhappiness. 0:25:12.799,0:25:20.100 Whether it is a person, a particular group[br]or country, religion or some kind of controlling 0:25:20.100,0:25:27.999 Illuminati like Descartes’ evil demon, or[br]the sentient machines in the Matrix. 0:25:27.999,0:25:35.139 Ironically, the demon that Descartes envisioned[br]was the very thing that he defined himself 0:25:35.139,0:25:36.139 by. 0:25:36.139,0:25:42.759 When you realize Samadhi, it becomes clear[br]that there is a controller, there is a machine, 0:25:42.759,0:25:48.379 and evil demon leaching your life day after[br]day. 0:25:48.379,0:26:01.250 The machine is you. 0:26:01.250,0:26:08.230 Your self structure is made up of many little[br]conditioned sub-programs or little bosses. 0:26:08.230,0:26:21.190 One little boss that craves food, another[br]craves money, another status, position, power, 0:26:21.190,0:26:25.679 sex, intimacy. 0:26:25.679,0:26:28.799 Another wants consciousness or attention from[br]others. 0:26:28.799,0:26:34.879 The desires are literally endless and can[br]never be satisfied. 0:26:34.879,0:26:40.679 We spend a lot of our time and energy decorating[br]our prisons, succumbing to pressures to improve 0:26:40.679,0:26:47.019 our masks, and feeding the little bosses,[br]making them more powerful. 0:26:47.019,0:26:56.710 Like drug addicts, the more we try to satisfy[br]the little bosses, the more we end up craving. 0:26:56.710,0:27:04.729 The path to freedom is not self improvement,[br]or somehow satisfying the self’s agenda, 0:27:04.729,0:27:12.999 but it’s a dropping of the self’s agenda[br]altogether. 0:27:12.999,0:27:18.309 Some people fear that awakening their true[br]nature will mean that they lose their individuality 0:27:18.309,0:27:20.429 and enjoyment of life. 0:27:20.429,0:27:28.519 Actually, the opposite is true; the unique[br]individuation of the soul can only be expressed 0:27:28.519,0:27:36.240 when the conditioned self is overcome. 0:27:36.240,0:27:41.649 Because we remain asleep in the matrix most[br]of us never find out what the soul actually 0:27:41.649,0:27:57.899 wants to express. 0:27:57.899,0:28:05.479 The path to Samadhi involves meditation, which[br]is both observing the conditioned self; that 0:28:05.479,0:28:14.429 which changes, and realizing your true nature;[br]that which does not change. 0:28:14.429,0:28:22.450 When you come to your still point, the source[br]of your being, then you await further instructions 0:28:22.450,0:28:28.100 without any insistence on how your outer world[br]has to change. 0:28:28.100,0:28:38.429 Not my will, but higher will be done. 0:28:38.429,0:28:43.649 If the mind only tries to change the outer[br]world to conform with some idea of what you 0:28:43.649,0:28:49.299 think the path should be, it is like trying[br]to change the image in a mirror by manipulating 0:28:49.299,0:28:51.940 the reflection. 0:28:51.940,0:28:58.330 To make the image in a mirror smile you obviously[br]can’t manipulate the reflection, you have 0:28:58.330,0:29:05.590 to realize the you that is the authentic source[br]of the reflection. 0:29:05.590,0:29:11.229 Once you realize the authentic self, it doesn’t[br]mean that anything on the outside necessarily 0:29:11.229,0:29:13.860 needs to change. 0:29:13.860,0:29:20.789 What changes is the conscious, intelligent,[br]inner energy or prana which is freed from 0:29:20.789,0:29:30.019 conditioned patterns and becomes available[br]to be directed by the soul. 0:29:30.019,0:29:35.210 You can only become aware of the soul’s[br]purpose when you are able to watch the conditioned 0:29:35.210,0:29:58.269 self and its endless pursuits, and let them[br]go. 0:29:58.269,0:30:03.590 In Greek mythology, it was said that the gods[br]condemned Sisyphus to repeat a meaningless 0:30:03.590,0:30:06.529 task for all eternity. 0:30:06.529,0:30:12.010 His task was to endlessly push a boulder up[br]a mountain, only to have it roll down again. 0:30:12.010,0:30:24.830 The 0:30:24.830,0:30:31.609 French existentialist and Nobel Prize winning[br]author, Albert Camus, saw the situation of 0:30:31.609,0:30:35.399 Sisyphus as a metaphor for humanity. 0:30:35.399,0:30:47.009 He asked the question, ‘How can we find[br]meaning in this absurd existence?’. 0:30:47.009,0:30:55.389 As humans we are toiling endlessly, building[br]for a tomorrow that never arrives, and then 0:30:55.389,0:31:09.289 we die. 0:31:09.289,0:31:15.629 If we truly realize this truth then we will[br]either go mad if we are identified with our 0:31:15.629,0:31:32.700 egoic personas, or we will awaken and become[br]free. 0:31:32.700,0:31:37.809 We can never succeed in the outer struggle,[br]because it is just a reflection of our inner 0:31:37.809,0:31:39.789 world. 0:31:39.789,0:31:45.759 The cosmic joke, the absurdity of the situation[br]becomes clear when there is a complete and 0:31:45.759,0:32:15.090 utter failure of the egoic self to awaken[br]through its futile pursuits. 0:32:15.090,0:32:23.700 In Zen there is a saying, “Before enlightenment[br]chop wood, carry water. 0:32:23.700,0:32:35.019 After enlightenment chop wood, carry water”. 0:32:35.019,0:32:41.019 Before enlightenment one must roll the ball[br]up the hill, after enlightenment one must 0:32:41.019,0:32:44.840 also roll the ball up the hill. 0:32:44.840,0:32:47.450 What has changed? 0:32:47.450,0:32:51.749 The inner resistance to what is. 0:32:51.749,0:32:58.679 The struggle has been dropped, or rather the[br]one who struggles has been realized to be 0:32:58.679,0:33:00.929 illusory. 0:33:00.929,0:33:14.649 The individual will or individual mind and[br]divine will, or higher mind, are aligned. 0:33:14.649,0:33:27.690 Samadhi is ultimately a dropping of all inner[br]resistance - to all changing phenomena, without 0:33:27.690,0:33:28.879 exception. 0:33:28.879,0:33:36.409 The one who is able to realize inner peace,[br]irrespective of circumstance has attained 0:33:36.409,0:33:39.190 true Samadhi. 0:33:39.190,0:33:45.070 You drop resistance not because you condone[br]one thing or another, but so that your inner 0:33:45.070,0:33:50.179 freedom is not contingent on the outer. 0:33:50.179,0:33:57.580 It’s important to note that when we accept[br]reality as it is, it doesn’t necessarily 0:33:57.580,0:34:04.169 mean that we stop taking action in the world,[br]or we become meditating pacifists. 0:34:04.169,0:34:10.330 Actually the opposite can be true; when we’re[br]free to act without being driven by unconscious 0:34:10.330,0:34:17.300 motives, then it is possible to act in alignment[br]with the Tao, with the full force of our inner 0:34:17.300,0:34:30.030 energy behind us. 0:34:30.030,0:34:35.810 Many will argue that in order to change the[br]world and bring about peace we need to fight 0:34:35.810,0:34:39.899 harder against our perceived enemies. 0:34:39.899,0:34:48.659 Fighting for peace is like shouting for silence;[br]it just creates more of what you don’t want. 0:34:48.659,0:34:55.489 These days there is a war against everything:[br]a war against terror, a war against disease, 0:34:55.489,0:35:00.540 a war against hunger. 0:35:00.540,0:35:13.369 Every war is actually a war against ourselves. 0:35:13.369,0:35:17.150 The fight is part of a collective delusion. 0:35:17.150,0:35:23.400 We say that we want peace, but we continue[br]to elect leaders who engage in war. 0:35:23.400,0:35:29.400 We lie to ourselves saying that we are for[br]human rights, but continue to buy products 0:35:29.400,0:35:31.960 made in sweatshops. 0:35:31.960,0:35:36.309 We say we want clean air, but we continue[br]to pollute. 0:35:36.309,0:35:42.660 We want science to cure us of cancer but won’t[br]change our self-destructive habitual behaviours 0:35:42.660,0:35:45.670 that make us more likely to be sick. 0:35:45.670,0:35:50.589 We delude ourselves that we are promoting[br]a better life. 0:35:50.589,0:35:57.569 We don’t want to see our hidden parts that[br]are condoning suffering and death. 0:35:57.569,0:36:06.690 The belief that we can win a war against cancer,[br]hunger, terror, or any enemy that was created 0:36:06.690,0:36:13.030 by our own thinking and behaviour, actually[br]lets us continue to delude ourselves that 0:36:13.030,0:36:18.589 we don’t have to change the way that we[br]operate on this planet. 0:36:18.589,0:36:23.700 The inner world is where the revolution must[br]first take place. 0:36:23.700,0:36:30.589 Only when we can directly feel the spiral[br]of life within will the outer world come into 0:36:30.589,0:36:33.950 alignment with the Tao. 0:36:33.950,0:36:41.990 Until then, anything we do will add to the[br]chaos already created by the mind. 0:36:41.990,0:36:49.369 War and peace arise together in an endless[br]dance; they are one continuum. 0:36:49.369,0:36:53.029 One half cannot exist without the other. 0:36:53.029,0:36:58.910 Just as light cannot exist without dark, and[br]up cannot exist without down. 0:36:58.910,0:37:07.079 The world seems to want light without darkness,[br]fullness without emptiness, happiness without 0:37:07.079,0:37:19.770 sadness. 0:37:19.770,0:37:38.339 The more the mind gets involved, the more[br]fragmented the world becomes. 0:37:38.339,0:37:44.430 Every solution that comes from the egoic mind[br]is driven by the idea that there is a problem, 0:37:44.430,0:37:52.950 and the solution becomes an even greater problem[br]than what it was trying to solve. 0:37:52.950,0:38:07.540 What you resist persists. 0:38:07.540,0:38:14.819 Human ingenuity creates new antibiotics only[br]to find nature getting more cunning as bacteria 0:38:14.819,0:38:16.839 gets stronger. 0:38:16.839,0:38:24.500 Despite our best efforts in the ongoing fight,[br]the prevalence of cancer is actually increasing, 0:38:24.500,0:38:32.740 the number of hungry people in the world steadily[br]grows, the number of terrorist attacks worldwide 0:38:32.740,0:38:36.270 continues to rise. 0:38:36.270,0:38:45.200 What’s wrong with our approach? 0:38:45.200,0:38:50.890 Like the Sorcerer’s Apprentice from Goethe’s[br]poem, we have taken hold of a great power, 0:38:50.890,0:38:56.109 but do not have the wisdom to wield it. 0:38:56.109,0:39:03.230 The problem is that we do not understand the[br]tool that we are using. 0:39:03.230,0:39:18.010 We do not understand the human mind and its[br]proper role and purpose. 0:39:18.010,0:39:24.130 The crisis is born of the limited conditioned[br]way in which we think, the way we feel and 0:39:24.130,0:39:35.000 experience life. 0:39:35.000,0:39:41.510 Our rationalism has robbed us of our ability[br]to recognize and experience the wisdom of 0:39:41.510,0:39:48.059 many ancient cultures. 0:39:48.059,0:39:54.670 Our egoic thinking has robbed us of the ability[br]to feel the depth and profound sacredness 0:39:54.670,0:40:02.760 of life, the numinosity of life, and to realize[br]entirely different levels of consciousness, 0:40:02.760,0:40:11.289 which are now almost lost to humanity. 0:40:11.289,0:40:17.529 In the ancient Egyptian tradition, Neters[br]were archetypal forms whose characteristics 0:40:17.529,0:40:23.420 could be embodied by those who purified their[br]physical and spiritual bodies in such a way 0:40:23.420,0:40:27.630 that they were fit to house higher consciousnesses. 0:40:27.630,0:40:38.790 The original Neter, or the divine principle[br]of this wisdom was known as Thoth or Tehuti. 0:40:38.790,0:40:44.750 Often depicted as a scribe with the head of[br]a bird or Ibis, and represented the origin 0:40:44.750,0:40:49.090 of all knowledge and wisdom. 0:40:49.090,0:40:55.720 Thoth could be described as the cosmic principle[br]of thinking or thought. 0:40:55.720,0:41:04.010 Thoth gave us language, concepts, writing,[br]mathematics, and all the arts and manifestations 0:41:04.010,0:41:05.940 of the mind. 0:41:05.940,0:41:15.170 Only those who had gone through special training[br]were allowed to access Thoth’s sacred knowledge. 0:41:15.170,0:41:26.030 The book of Thoth is not a physical book,[br]but is the wisdom of the akashic or etheric 0:41:26.030,0:41:27.319 realm. 0:41:27.319,0:41:32.710 Legend tells that Thoth’s knowledge was[br]deeply hidden in a secret place within every 0:41:32.710,0:41:42.390 human being, and was protected by a golden[br]serpent. 0:41:42.390,0:41:48.579 The archetypal or perennial myth of the serpent[br]or dragon guarding a treasure is one that 0:41:48.579,0:42:02.250 permeates many cultures and has been called[br]by names such as kundalini shakti, chi, holy 0:42:02.250,0:42:06.110 spirit, and inner energy. 0:42:06.110,0:42:12.779 The golden serpent is the egoic construct[br]which is bound in the inner energies and until 0:42:12.779,0:42:19.450 it is mastered and overcome, the soul will[br]never be able to attain true wisdom. 0:42:19.450,0:42:24.869 It was said that the book of Thoth brought[br]nothing but suffering to any individual who 0:42:24.869,0:42:32.380 read it, even though they would find the secrets[br]of the gods themselves and all that is hidden 0:42:32.380,0:42:34.869 within the stars. 0:42:34.869,0:42:42.500 What must be understood is that the book brought[br]suffering to any individual who read it, any 0:42:42.500,0:42:45.420 ego that tried to control it. 0:42:45.420,0:42:53.859 In the Egyptian tradition awakened consciousness[br]was represented by Osiris. 0:42:53.859,0:43:00.410 Without this awakened consciousness, any knowledge[br]or understanding obtained by the limited self 0:43:00.410,0:43:08.240 would be dangerous, disconnected from higher[br]wisdom. 0:43:08.240,0:43:15.849 The eye of Horus had to be open. 0:43:15.849,0:43:21.480 The esoteric meaning that we find here is[br]similar to the more familiar story of “the 0:43:21.480,0:43:23.710 fall” in the garden of Eden. 0:43:23.710,0:43:30.400 The book of Thoth parallels the book of knowledge[br]of good and evil whose fruit Adam and Eve 0:43:30.400,0:43:41.960 were tempted to eat. 0:43:41.960,0:43:49.200 Humanity of course has already eaten the forbidden[br]fruit, already opened the book of Thoth, and 0:43:49.200,0:43:54.910 has been cast out of the garden. 0:43:54.910,0:44:01.980 The serpent is a metaphor for the primordial[br]spiral that extends from the microcosm to 0:44:01.980,0:44:06.730 the macrocosm. 0:44:06.730,0:44:11.549 Today the serpent is living as you. 0:44:11.549,0:44:18.800 It is the egoic mind expressed as the manifested[br]world. 0:44:18.800,0:44:22.589 We have never before had access to so much[br]knowledge. 0:44:22.589,0:44:30.130 We have gone deep into the material world,[br]even finding the so-called God particle, but 0:44:30.130,0:44:37.420 we have never been more limited, more ignorant[br]of who we are, how to live, and we do not 0:44:37.420,0:45:28.430 understand the mechanism by which we create[br]suffering. 0:45:28.430,0:45:32.230 Our thinking has created the world as it is[br]now. 0:45:32.230,0:45:37.529 Whenever we label something as good or bad,[br]or create preference in our mind it is due 0:45:37.529,0:45:44.050 to the coming into being of egoic structures[br]or self interests. 0:45:44.050,0:45:51.000 The solution is not to fight for peace or[br]conquer nature, but to simply recognize the 0:45:51.000,0:45:59.670 truth; that the very existence of the ego[br]structure creates duality, a split between 0:45:59.670,0:46:10.730 self and other, mine and yours, man and nature,[br]inner and outer. 0:46:10.730,0:46:19.660 The ego is violence; it requires a barrier,[br]a boundary from the other in order to be. 0:46:19.660,0:46:24.180 Without ego there is no war against anything. 0:46:24.180,0:46:30.940 There is no hubris, there is no overreaching[br]nature to create profit. 0:46:30.940,0:46:38.970 These external crises in our world reflect[br]a serious inner crises; we don’t know who 0:46:38.970,0:46:41.329 we are. 0:46:41.329,0:46:48.000 We are completely identified with our egoic[br]identities, consumed by fears and are cut 0:46:48.000,0:46:50.670 off from our true nature. 0:46:50.670,0:47:00.880 Races, religions, countries, political affiliations,[br]any group that we belong to, all reinforce 0:47:00.880,0:47:04.900 our egoic identities. 0:47:04.900,0:47:10.220 Almost every group that exists on the planet[br]today wants to claim its perspective as true 0:47:10.220,0:47:15.010 and correct, as we do on an individual level. 0:47:15.010,0:47:21.130 By claiming the truth as its own, the group[br]perpetuates its own existence in the same 0:47:21.130,0:47:29.920 way that an ego or self structure defines[br]itself against other. 0:47:29.920,0:47:35.970 Now more than ever different realities and[br]polarized belief systems are co-existing on 0:47:35.970,0:47:36.970 earth. 0:47:36.970,0:47:42.559 It is possible for different people to experience[br]completely different thoughts and emotional 0:47:42.559,0:47:48.529 reactions to the very same external phenomena. 0:47:48.529,0:47:56.720 In the same way, samsara and nirvana, heaven[br]and hell, are two different dimensions occupying 0:47:56.720,0:48:00.119 the very same world. 0:48:00.119,0:48:11.839 An event that may appear apocalyptic to one[br]person, could be seen as a blessing to another. 0:48:11.839,0:48:17.319 So what is becoming obvious is that your external[br]circumstances don’t have to affect your 0:48:17.319,0:48:22.480 inner world in any particular way. 0:48:22.480,0:48:31.369 To realize Samadhi is to become a self-propelled[br]wheel, to become autonomous, a universe unto 0:48:31.369,0:48:36.490 oneself. 0:48:36.490,0:48:44.780 Your experience of life is not contingent[br]on changing phenomena. 0:48:44.780,0:48:50.609 An analogy can be made with Metatron’s cube. 0:48:50.609,0:48:57.160 Metatron is mentioned in various ancient Christian,[br]Islamic and Jewish texts, and is archetypally 0:48:57.160,0:49:05.300 related to the Egyptian Neter Thoth, as well[br]as Hermes Trismegistus of Greece. 0:49:05.300,0:49:10.339 Metatron is intimately connected with the[br]tetragrammaton. 0:49:10.339,0:49:17.400 The tetragrammaton is the fundamental geometric[br]pattern, the template or primordial emanation 0:49:17.400,0:49:25.960 of physical reality, which has been called[br]the word of God or Logos. 0:49:25.960,0:49:31.990 Here we see a two dimensional representation[br]of the figure, but if you look a certain way, 0:49:31.990,0:49:35.519 you see a three D cube. 0:49:35.519,0:49:41.849 When you see the cube, nothing has changed[br]in the figure, but your mind has added a new 0:49:41.849,0:49:46.240 dimension to your seeing. 0:49:46.240,0:49:52.009 Dimensionality or one’s perspective is simply[br]a matter of becoming habituated to a new way 0:49:52.009,0:49:56.319 of perceiving the world. 0:49:56.319,0:50:03.960 Upon realizing Samadhi we become free of perspective,[br]or free to create new perspectives, because 0:50:03.960,0:50:12.549 there is no self invested in or attached to[br]a particular viewpoint. 0:50:12.549,0:50:23.250 The greatest minds in human history have often[br]pointed to levels of thought beyond the limited 0:50:23.250,0:50:25.099 self structure. 0:50:25.099,0:50:31.980 Einstein said “The true measure of a human[br]being is determined primarily by the measure 0:50:31.980,0:50:38.250 and sense in which he has attained liberation[br]from the self.” 0:50:38.250,0:50:46.230 So it’s not that thinking and the existence[br]of the self is bad, thinking is a wonderful 0:50:46.230,0:50:53.540 tool when the mind is in service to the heart. 0:50:53.540,0:51:06.359 In Vedanta it is said that the mind makes[br]a good servant but a poor master. 0:51:06.359,0:51:13.950 The ego perpetually filters reality through[br]language and labels, and is constantly judging. 0:51:13.950,0:51:17.700 Preferring one thing over another. 0:51:17.700,0:51:23.850 When the mind and senses are your master,[br]they will create endless suffering, endless 0:51:23.850,0:51:32.460 craving and aversion, locking us into the[br]matrix of thinking. 0:51:32.460,0:51:39.519 If you want to realize Samadhi, do not judge[br]your thoughts as good or bad, but find out 0:51:39.519,0:51:45.790 who you are prior to thought, prior to the[br]senses. 0:51:45.790,0:51:57.309 When all labels are dropped then it is possible[br]to see things as they are. 0:51:57.309,0:52:05.280 The moment a child is told what a bird is,[br]if they believe what they’re told then they 0:52:05.280,0:52:07.690 never see a bird again. 0:52:07.690,0:52:52.259 They only see their thoughts. 0:52:52.259,0:52:57.609 Most people think that they are free, conscious[br]and awake. 0:52:57.609,0:53:04.539 If you believe you are already awake, then[br]why would you do the difficult work to attain 0:53:04.539,0:53:08.930 what you believe you already have? 0:53:08.930,0:53:16.130 Before it becomes possible to awaken, it is[br]necessary to accept that you are asleep, living 0:53:16.130,0:53:20.430 in the matrix. 0:53:20.430,0:53:25.920 Examine your life honestly, without lying[br]to yourself. 0:53:25.920,0:53:32.140 Are you able to stop your robotic, repetitive[br]life patterns if you want to? 0:53:32.140,0:53:40.079 Can you stop seeking pleasure and avoiding[br]pain, are you addicted to certain foods, activities, 0:53:40.079,0:53:41.519 pastimes? 0:53:41.519,0:53:49.309 Are you constantly judging, blaming, criticizing[br]yourself and others? 0:53:49.309,0:53:56.490 Does your mind incessantly seek out stimulus,[br]or are you completely fulfilled just being 0:53:56.490,0:53:59.329 in silence? 0:53:59.329,0:54:02.200 Do you react to how people think about you? 0:54:02.200,0:54:06.410 Are you seeking approval, positive reinforcement? 0:54:06.410,0:54:12.130 Do you somehow sabotage situations in your[br]life? 0:54:12.130,0:54:17.859 Most people will experience their lives the[br]same way today as they will tomorrow and a 0:54:17.859,0:54:22.829 year from now, and ten years from now. 0:54:22.829,0:54:29.390 When you begin to observe your robot-like[br]nature you become more awake. 0:54:29.390,0:54:34.809 You begin to recognize the depth of the problem. 0:54:34.809,0:54:41.690 You are completely and utterly asleep, lost[br]in a dream. 0:54:41.690,0:54:47.500 Like the inhabitants of Plato’s cave, most[br]who hear this truth will not be willing or 0:54:47.500,0:54:55.529 capable of changing their lives because they[br]are attached to their familiar patterns. 0:54:55.529,0:55:02.500 We go to great lengths justifying our patterns,[br]burying our heads in the sand rather than 0:55:02.500,0:55:05.680 facing the truth. 0:55:05.680,0:55:12.300 We want our saviours, but we are not willing[br]to get up on the cross ourselves. 0:55:12.300,0:55:19.740 What are you willing to pay to be free? 0:55:19.740,0:55:26.300 Realize that if you change your inner world,[br]you must be prepared to change the outer life. 0:55:26.300,0:55:32.470 Your old structure and your old identity must[br]become the dead soil out of which new growth 0:55:32.470,0:55:39.869 comes. 0:55:39.869,0:55:45.119 The first step to awakening is to realize[br]that we are identified with the matrix of 0:55:45.119,0:55:49.670 the human mind, with the mask. 0:55:49.670,0:55:55.249 Something within us must hear this truth and[br]be roused from its slumber. 0:55:55.249,0:56:18.349 There is a part of you, something timeless,[br]that has always known the truth. 0:56:18.349,0:56:31.749 The matrix of the mind distracts us, entertains[br]us, keeps us endlessly doing, consuming, grasping, 0:56:31.749,0:56:39.160 in a cycle of craving and aversion with constantly[br]changing forms, keeping us from the flowering 0:56:39.160,0:56:47.829 of our consciousness, from our evolutionary[br]birthright which is Samadhi. 0:56:47.829,0:56:58.380 Pathological thinking is what passes for normal[br]life. 0:56:58.380,0:57:06.329 Your divine essence has become enslaved, identified[br]with the limited self structure. 0:57:06.329,0:57:15.720 The great wisdom, the truth of who you are[br]is buried deep within your being. 0:57:15.720,0:57:27.039 J. Krishnamurti said, “It is no measure[br]of one’s health to be well adjusted to a 0:57:27.039,0:57:39.759 profoundly sick society.” 0:57:39.759,0:58:03.080 Identification with the egoic mind is the[br]sickness and Samadhi is the cure. 0:58:08.010,0:58:16.450 Next Film - Samadhi Part 2,[br]"It is not what you think" 0:58:16.960,0:58:25.680 The saints, sages and awakened beings throughout[br]history have all learned the wisdom of self-surrender. 0:58:25.680,0:58:45.089 How is it possible to realize the true self? 0:58:45.089,0:58:52.520 When you peer through the veil of Maya, and[br]let go of the illusory self, what is left?