159 The Awakening Process - "The Lord Is My Shepherd" - Q & A

In this Q & A we looked at Awakening in terms of Knowing vs believing and faith in context of the 23rd Psalm. How do we develop the deep trust experience by the lamb for the "Shepherd"? Then, we discussed the inner movements of Awakening based on one listener's practice of the "Awakening Meditation" and her unexpected experience in a crystal shop. Also, the experience of another listener with the surfacing of implicit foreboding holiday feelings and, happily, with Yogananda's reenergization exercises. Etc..

This recording of a live Q & A has been edited for clarity, length, and helpfulness.

These podcasts are here to support your personal path of awakening whatever that might be. I feel they are most powerful when listened to in sequence from podcast one forward because each is built on the last. Though they, also, all stand on their own. If anything does not resonate, please disregard it and follow your heart. All my podcasts and website are free. Enjoy!

Though I am a psychotherapist, and these podcasts are offered to be spiritually helpful, they are not psychotherapy. If psychotherapy is ever needed, please reach out to a psychotherapist.

www.williamecooper.wordpress.com for more support. You may, especially, enjoy the short contemplations and the resource page which gives you some supportive material.

Transcript

Hello everybody.

Welcome to Awakening Together,

Relaxing into Happiness.

I trust you're having a good week.

This is William Cooper.

How is everybody today?

It's good to see you all.

Hello everybody.

Hey Claire.

Hi Jennifer.

So,

While you're thinking about a question that you'd like to type in,

Hey Patricia,

I'll talk a little bit and as different things come to you just type them in and we'll let that guide our discussion.

And I do have some questions and comments that people have sent in and I want to talk about them in the beginning.

But I want to start with what does it feel like in true awakening,

In full awakening?

Have you ever felt vulnerable and afraid and uncertain?

We all have.

Lonely,

Not knowing the way.

And in the midst of all of that,

I suppose belief is helpful.

Maybe faith is more helpful.

But a deep knowing that everything is okay,

That you're held,

That you're cared for by the universe or by God or by your higher self,

Whatever you want to call it,

When you know that that is you,

I don't even know what the word for that is.

Heartwarming?

Safe?

I think the best way to convey that right now for me is to read the 23rd Psalm.

A lamb separated from the rest of its herd is afraid.

I mean,

Sheep have no defenses.

They don't have sharp teeth.

They don't have claws.

They don't have horns.

They can't run fast.

And a lonely sheep surrounded by wolves in some dark lost valley somewhere,

It's got to be very frightening.

And Jesus told the story about the shepherd who left his other sheep to find the one lost lamb.

Now,

You know,

That was on a Sabbath,

And to do something like that on a Sabbath was punishable by death.

But his heart was bigger than the law.

That is the love of the shepherd for the sheep,

For that one lamb.

And as Jesus said,

You are far more valuable than that one lamb you are.

Yet somehow we don't always feel it,

Because there's a separation between our persona,

The lens that we look through and that we experience life through.

There's a distance between our persona and our higher self,

Our true self.

That higher self loves you and is holding you and is guiding your life so perfectly.

But we often don't feel that love.

We don't experience it because we don't take it in.

We feel separate.

We're at a great distance from our true self.

In awakening,

That distance closes,

And you become one with your true self.

So from that perspective,

From the perspective of a lamb who knows what it's like to be loved and cared for and guided and protected and sometimes even found and rescued by her shepherd.

We read the 23rd Psalm.

Receive your higher self through the words of the 23rd Psalm.

The Lord is my shepherd.

I shall not want.

He guides me to lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside quiet waters.

He refreshes my soul and directs me along the right paths.

So even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil for you are with me.

Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.

You bless,

Love and hold me so deeply,

Even in the presence of those who wish me harm.

Your goodness and love follow me all the days of my life,

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

So beautiful.

That's awakened.

That's the awakened experience.

That's oneness.

The first jewel in Buddhism is take refuge in the Buddha.

Rest in your heart,

Just like that lamb did in Psalm 23.

We're all a very loved lamb in that regard.

What these podcasts are about,

As most of you know,

Is the how to do that.

I could tell you all day long.

Yeah.

Rest in your heart.

Okay.

Yeah.

Well,

How?

I'd love to.

Yes.

I'd love to know rather than to believe.

But how?

How do I do that?

Jesus came across a man and that man had a child.

And the man asked,

Jesus,

Can you heal my child?

And Jesus said,

Can I?

I can.

If you know that I can.

And the man says,

I do know.

But help my unknowing.

The persona can't know.

Yet at the same time,

We are the higher self,

Even as we're separated from ourselves.

We're both our higher self and the persona.

So on some deep intuitive level,

We do know things.

When I read the 23rd Psalm,

Even if the mind doesn't know for sure,

Because it's separated as a persona,

The heart stirs and knows.

Yes,

You feel something.

Yes,

It's true.

I don't know it enough,

But I somehow deep inside I do know.

I want to get there.

I'm not there yet.

I know.

But help my unknowing.

I get touched because I've been there.

Both sides of it.

Okay,

So that's the 23rd Psalm.

Your higher self has got you.

Awakening is lessening the distance between what our persona experiences and what we know until it becomes one.

That's awakening.

So with that as a start,

I would like to address some comments and questions that I've been sent as you think of some of your own.

Therese wrote the other day,

Hi William,

Just listened to podcast 155 again and so thank you again.

I had a recent unexpected energy experience.

I was in a crystal store and there was Indian music playing and I could feel all the energy.

Afterwards,

I even felt lightheaded and a tad nauseous and spacey.

I will have to go back and see if it was a one off or not,

But it was a flavor and a sliver of the power of the energy you describe.

Even though I had those physical responses,

It wasn't unpleasant.

I've gone to different crystal shops and never had that experience before.

But then again,

I could be more open and sensitive to it all now that I've been doing this awakening meditation for over a year.

I also find I need to guard against what I consume on TV,

Etc.

I watched something the other night and had nightmares where I used to be able to watch horror movies.

There's a lot in this comment,

Therese.

Thank you for sending it in the reviews of 155.

And I want to take it because I think it really can show us a lot about the process of awakening.

Before I do though,

I want to say that I will bring this in later,

But 30 minutes before we started talking,

I took two ice cubes out of the freezer and I put them in this glass bowl.

And since then,

I've done nothing to keep them frozen.

And so,

As you can hopefully see,

They're mostly water,

Maybe half water and half ice.

When I quit putting the energy in them to keep them frozen,

They lose their shape and they turn into water.

We'll get to that in awakening.

And I know a lot of you know what I'm going to say,

But it's just nice to see it.

You see the water,

You see the ice floating around in the water.

So back to Therese's experiences.

Therese has been going through these podcasts over and over,

Starting with number one and cycling through.

And within the first 10 podcasts,

I describe a particular meditation that I call the awakening meditation,

Where you simply sit still and you watch and feel things that are coming up within you.

And you don't get involved.

You don't put any energy into them.

Yes,

You experience them because when emotions come up,

They feel like something and you see thoughts when they come up,

But you don't put any energy in them.

You don't get involved with them.

You just watch and feel them.

Now,

When you watch and feel them without putting any energy in them,

They're like these ice cubes.

They exude their pent up energy and they melt.

They melt out of your system.

It's that simple.

What froze that water or that consciousness into the shape of a thought and an emotion?

Well,

Intense willpower,

Focus,

And attitude freezes consciousness into a shape,

Into a thought or an emotion.

Typically,

What we're still holding on to has some sort of pain or suffering involved in it.

Otherwise it would have just passed through and dissipated and be gone and we'd be on to the next thing.

But we repress the things that hurt.

So the troubling thoughts and emotions that are frozen objects that still linger in our system and block us are typically made of pain,

Often some combination of hurt,

Fear,

And anger.

When we sit still,

It's hard to repress things and they start to come up.

And as they come up and they melt like these ice cubes,

These ice cubes release the cold that's holding the water together in the form of ice.

Our thoughts and our emotions release the fear,

The hurt,

The attitude that presses consciousness together into the shape of a thought or an emotion.

And as it releases,

Unlike ice releasing cold,

It instead releases hurt,

Fear,

And anger.

So it hurts to sit there and watch it,

But everything starts to melt away.

If you want to generalize this awakening meditation throughout your life,

Anytime something comes up that has tension,

Hurt,

Fear,

Anxiety,

Something that's unpleasant,

When you feel that releasing,

It's like an ice cube releasing,

It's cold.

And you just simply do the same thing,

Even when you're not technically quote unquote meditating.

If somebody cuts you off in traffic and you feel angry,

You don't get involved in it.

You just feel it coming up and you let it go.

Let it exude its energy and go.

Let it release,

Unwind and flow.

I might give you two words,

Stop and let go.

Stop from jumping into the middle of it.

Oh,

They're driving crazy.

They shouldn't have done it.

That driver is no good.

Or this person did me wrong or in the bank.

They're so slow.

And why don't they give me good service?

And I've had to ask this question three times.

Now I have to come to the bank that's getting involved.

Instead,

Just do your business.

But as you feel those emotions coming up,

You stop,

You don't get involved,

And you let them go.

You let them unwind,

Exude their energy,

Release and go.

They expend their energy and they melt away,

Just like this ice is melting back into water.

What are the basic building blocks of thoughts and emotions?

It's consciousness.

And what is consciousness?

That's love.

When we take a lot of attitude and we focus on love and we freeze it into a shape,

We can freeze it into hurt,

Anger and unhappiness,

Fear.

Just like we can freeze life-giving water into ice cubes.

They could be the shape of a knife.

If we want it to be a nice knife,

It could hurt somebody.

My emotions certainly can hurt me if they're full of fear and anger and hurt.

That hurts inside.

I don't like those feelings.

So as they melt,

They release love and light and well-being.

That's who you are.

Love,

Light and well-being.

That's awakening.

It's just that simple.

So back to Therese's comments.

As she's been doing this awakening meditation,

It likely has generalized out into life and it's more easy to let things go.

And we don't have to be perfect at it.

Just get better at it and let the ice cubes melt.

As her inner ice cubes have melted,

Old obstructions,

Old ways of looking at things,

The old persona,

As it melts away and becomes clearer,

She becomes clearer.

And it's like this.

Here's a pair of glasses.

The persona is like this pair of sunglasses.

I put them on and everything looks yellow.

If they've been on all my life,

I don't know the difference.

Everything's yellow.

That's just the way life is.

That's the way the world is.

You can't convince me otherwise because I know what I see.

It's all yellow.

But this is a filter.

My persona is a filter.

As it melts,

This filter becomes clearer and clearer.

No filter.

I still have a persona,

But it's clear.

It expresses who I am rather than expressing a personality based on fear,

Hurt,

And anger.

Filters,

Perspectives,

Attitudes,

They've melted away because I haven't put any more energy in them.

Just like these ice cubes have melted back into water because we're not putting the energy in them to freeze them.

So,

Therese has been at this for a year or so.

And her persona,

Your persona,

Therese,

Because you are here,

I don't want to talk about you in third person,

But your persona has become thinner and thinner and thinner.

Still there,

Still got attitudes and filters.

It's not completely melted away quite yet,

Likely.

But when you got around some high vibrations,

The crystals,

The Indian music,

It was just enough to melt that last little veneer for a moment.

So,

You could experience who you are rather than the filter of your persona.

You likely would experience both.

I'm still Therese.

I still kind of feel like my old self,

Kind of,

But it's wobbly now because I've got this energy going on.

I feel both.

And that's how ice cubes are.

Back to this bowl,

There's ice cubes in here,

But mostly water now.

You got both.

That's the awakening experience.

You have both for a while,

Then you get more and more water,

Less and less ice,

Less and less filters.

It's not about this particular crystal shop or the Indian music that has been helpful.

On another moment,

Nature might be helpful.

Sometimes people get addicted also to personalities or relationships or gurus.

Oh,

Around this guru,

I feel this.

I feel all this energy flowing.

Yes,

The energy of the guru has melted the veneer and in the presence of the guru,

Just like in the presence of the crystal shop,

You feel this energy that is you.

That's your energy.

Because when your ice melts,

You're just water.

When your obstructions,

Thoughts and emotions melt,

You're just energy,

Your love,

Your peace,

Your well-being,

That's energy.

It's not only that the Lord is your shepherd,

It's you are the shepherd and you are the Lord.

You are everything.

It's your higher self.

You and your higher self are one,

Like the ice cube and the water become one.

So that's what you're experiencing,

Therese.

That's the awakening process.

And you just keep at it,

Daily baby steps,

Just every day,

Consistent,

Melts that ice.

What are we doing when we melt the ice?

We're consistently not getting involved.

We're not applying energy any longer to keeping our misery alive.

We're not applying our old attitudes.

We're not putting energy to maintain our old hurt and fear and anger.

We're letting it melt.

We're letting it go.

You know,

Jesus,

I think was the most awakened,

The most powerful being the world likely has ever seen.

I think Buddha's teachings are clearer.

I think Hindu teachings are extremely deep and deeper,

But Jesus was amazing as were all the other awakened beings,

But he really was very clear.

And his teaching was so simple.

It was to let go,

Just forgive,

Let go.

If somebody takes you to court and they want to take your tunic,

Give them your coat as well.

Let go.

Don't judge,

Let go,

Give,

Let go,

Take care of people,

Let go,

Share,

Let go.

That was it.

Really forgive them for they know not what they do,

Even though they're torturing and killing you.

Let go,

Be who you are.

You're love.

Flow with love.

Let go of what you're not and be who you are.

The Father and I are one.

God is love.

We're love.

Flow with love.

Let go of the rest.

You know,

I don't know.

That's pretty powerful.

So,

Now about your physical experience,

Therese.

When the veneer starts to open up,

You see that it might be feeling like you're drowning still,

But it's a lot better to be one inch under the water than 18 feet under the water.

And so your good work has brought you just to the surface and it just takes a little to pop your nose out of the water.

When you pop your nose out of the water and you start to breathe fresh air,

It's a different experience than drowning.

This energy is who you are.

You're experiencing yourself rather than the filters of your persona like this sunglasses would be.

Yes,

You can feel nauseous because now you've got clean energy running through dirty pipes,

Pipes that have previously been channeling herd fear and anger,

Dismay and loneliness and what all the human experience is when we've been separated from ourselves.

We have separation anxiety,

We have abandonment,

We have discontent.

Anybody when they're separated from their true self is not going to feel good.

So as this is clearing out,

Just like if you've had your eyes closed for a long time and now the sun is shining and you open your eyes,

It hurts.

But light is a good thing.

It just takes a while to adjust to it.

It takes our nervous system a while to adjust to the goodness that we are.

So that's what you're experiencing.

Spacey because when we're separated from ourselves,

We don't live as intuitively as we do when we're awake.

We live through the grip of our mind.

We try to figure things out.

We try to make things happen through the willpower.

We're not trusting the universe to take care of us.

Just like the lamb has to do with the shepherd.

We're not trusting ourselves.

So by willpower,

Because we don't trust,

We work extra hard.

And when those let go,

We feel spacey.

We feel maybe even out of control.

Because it's still a mix.

We're not completely clear yet.

So when I let go a little bit,

I might even feel anxious at some point.

What am I doing?

Is this safe?

I don't know.

So that's what you're experiencing.

And yes,

When you watch bad things,

Difficult things,

You know,

We're in the dark ages.

When I say difficult things,

Other people say they're normal things.

Because we're so separated as a culture from ourselves.

You watch what's on TV.

It's mostly even the best shows are mostly always have a dead body in the beginning of them.

The most well-written shows.

I'm not saying they're good shows.

They're well-written.

They're entertaining.

They're horrifying,

But they're normal.

Because as a culture,

We're so separated.

So as you awaken and the veneer separates and opens up,

You slowly start to feel worse and worse listening and watching the commonly accepted programming of the dark ages,

Which we're in,

The Kali Yuga,

Where we're just emerging from it.

Still very black,

But a little light's coming in.

So thank you,

Therese,

For asking your question.

And I see that there are a couple comments,

And I'm going to go on to something else in just a second.

But Cat Blue,

I am that I am,

Said Jesus's teachings have been way misunderstood.

Yes,

Yes,

Yes,

Yes.

So true.

Thank you.

I mean,

It's ridiculous,

Right?

Oh.

Anyway,

Therese says,

Wow,

Thank you.

Of course,

I tried to,

As Jennifer says,

Logic it away.

I shared it because I thought maybe others could relate.

Thank you,

Therese,

For having the courage to share it.

Because as my guru said,

It's better when you have these openings or even miracles to share them with other people.

Because in our dark culture,

As a group,

We're so unbelieving,

Or we don't allow ourselves goodness as much as we really should.

And when somebody ventures out to say,

Hey,

This is happening,

It can feel unsettling to that person who's saying it like,

Oh,

What will people think?

Or is this true?

Or it could have been this,

It could have been that.

So maybe I better not say anything.

But you know,

It gives hope to others.

Hey,

If she's experiencing this,

I can.

Or Hey,

You know,

I didn't admit it to myself,

But I've experienced things like this.

So thank you,

Therese.

And thank you for taking care of our group.

And staying in touch.

It was because of Therese,

We reactivated our group on Insight Timer,

Because there's so much wisdom and depth among us as a group,

We are awakening together.

So it gives you a place to go if you have a comment,

Or you just want to throw a question out to everybody.

It's a place,

It'll take a while for it to catch on probably.

But so far,

There's about 200 and something people that are on the group.

So we'll see.

But thank you for that Therese.

Now I want to move on to another question that Patricia wrote me a while back and Patricia,

Sorry for taking so long to get to your question.

But we had other things in the last podcast that preempted your question as good as this one is.

She says,

I do have a question for you,

William.

It's about guilt,

Albeit false guilt about being happy.

Instead of looking forward with happy anticipation to a holiday,

I feel I have to keep my head down.

Otherwise,

Something disastrous will happen to spoil our holiday.

It's a kind of self-imposed insurance against disaster striking.

I'd love to find a way of melting this particular iceberg.

Well,

This is such a good question on a number of different levels,

Patricia,

Because it illustrates something very powerful in the process of awakening.

In the field of psychology,

Often they'll label thoughts and emotions and attitudes in two different ways.

There are explicit thoughts and emotions,

And there are implicit thoughts and emotions.

Thoughts,

Emotions,

And attitudes that you know about,

That you're very familiar with,

That you're working with,

You can see them clearly.

We call those explicit thoughts,

Emotions,

Or attitudes.

But those that are embedded very deeply in our persona,

Those we would call implicit thoughts,

Emotions,

Attitudes,

Habits.

They're implicit.

We kind of see them,

But maybe we don't so much.

They're often outside of our awareness.

We just don't notice them.

They come to the surface maybe at times,

Like in a holiday,

Or they're so automatic,

We don't really see them.

They're like wearing these sunglasses.

We don't realize we have them on.

For instance,

You might wake up feeling worried every day,

And you just think that's how it is.

You have good reason to worry.

You should be worried,

Maybe.

Maybe you think that.

Or a person could wake up feeling hurt or feeling pressured.

Oh,

I've got to work really hard today.

I'm behind.

I've got to get to work early.

I've got to rush today.

When these are everyday thoughts and emotions,

When they're habitual,

These are implicit aspects of our personality,

Perhaps.

And maybe we don't see them,

Or maybe we think there's a good reason for them to be there,

But there's not.

They're no different than our explicit thoughts,

Actions,

Or habits.

Yes,

With all of them,

At times,

They do serve a purpose.

Maybe I am behind.

Maybe there are things I have to do.

But when they become automatic,

A way of looking at life,

Pretty much always,

The way that I structure and create my world,

Then they're implicit.

How do you melt them?

Well,

You stop,

Let them exude their energy,

And go.

You don't get involved with them.

I wake up worried.

Okay,

I don't add to it.

I don't stick it back in the freezer.

When I put energy into consciousness,

Even consciousness that's already frozen into the shape of an ice cube.

And here I'm showing the glass bowl and the ice cubes and the water.

And now it's just all water.

I think I'll just drink it.

Life giving water.

Consciousness is love.

It is peace.

It is wellbeing.

It's your being.

Those are the qualities of your being.

So if you're ever feeling anything but that,

If you're ever feeling tension in any way,

If you're ever feeling hurt in any way,

Stress in any way,

That's not who you are.

That's not peace.

That's not wellbeing.

That's not happiness.

And yes,

I know that we're in the dark ages and everybody's doing it.

Everybody's feeling bad.

Okay,

It's natural.

No,

It's not natural.

It's just everybody's feeling bad.

There's no law that you have to feel bad anymore.

So when you wake up in the morning and you feel worried or a party is coming on,

A holiday is coming on and you feel guilty or that something disastrous is going to happen,

That is a feeling.

And that's not a feeling of peace or wellbeing or happiness.

So we know it's not who you are.

It's an old feeling that you froze consciousness into the shape of that disaster and you've embedded it and it's formed your persona.

It's in there.

So when you're lucky enough to have it surface,

Maybe under the pressure of a holiday,

Life brings it forward.

Life is only good.

It's not hurting any of us to bring our frozen ice cubes forward.

It's trying to help us.

Life knows where to poke us.

Okay.

So that we can let these things melt.

We can see them.

We can let them melt.

So when it comes up,

This guilt,

This fear,

This foreboding,

Whatever you want to call it,

When it comes up,

Now it's explicit.

Stop.

Don't get involved and let it go.

Stop and let go.

Stop and let it go.

Those are the only two things for all of our lives we need to do with everything.

If it's not peace,

Love or wellbeing,

Stop,

Relax and let it go.

I'm including relaxing with letting go because it's hard to let go if you don't relax.

Because I'm not saying push it away.

That's putting energy back into it.

I'll just push it down.

I'll just push it.

No,

That is putting energy into it.

That's going to have bad results.

Instead,

I'm saying relax and let it go.

Here's another way of looking at it.

So here's a rubber band and I'm just winding it.

It's consciousness,

But as I put my energy into it,

I turn consciousness into thoughts.

I hallucinate thoughts.

I have to create an object called a thought.

I hallucinate them.

I hallucinate emotions and I put them together into a persona.

It's a collection of thoughts and emotions.

Oh,

If my personality changed,

Would I still be here?

Yes.

That's why we go to therapy.

Oops.

Multiple personalities.

That personality shifted to the other personality.

Oops.

Now another personality.

Are they still there?

Even though the personalities are different?

Yep.

So we're not our personalities.

That's pretty clear.

But sometimes we think we are because we just haven't gotten those sunglasses off yet.

So when we put energy and effort into things,

We keep winding it tighter and tighter and tighter.

Just like this rubber band that I've been winding up.

Well,

Let's just stop it.

We let the rubber band go.

It spins and exudes its energy.

There we go.

The rubber band unwinds,

Unwinds,

Unwinds.

Let's let it just completely unwind until it becomes loose and limp and relaxed.

And that's peaceful now.

I'm peaceful.

Here's what sometimes we do.

And there is a place for this.

We get all wound tight.

Let me wind the rubber band up a little bit.

And instead of just sitting back and watching it and letting the rubber band unwind,

Instead of stopping getting involved,

Stopping putting energy into it,

And letting it go,

Letting it unwind.

Instead of doing that,

I maintain my inner tension.

And then I do something to relax.

Not down deep,

But on the surface.

Maybe I go for a jog or something.

That's all very good.

That's good,

Healthy.

And I would highly recommend that.

Walk in nature,

Do all that.

But if you don't really let this go,

Even though you relax on the surface,

You still got this inside,

This knotted up rubber band.

So you really just want to let it go.

So when life is good enough to poke you,

Maybe a driver will be good enough to cut in front of you and bring up fear.

Or maybe somebody at the bank will be not courteous or at the grocery store,

And that'll bring up anger or hurt.

Then just watch it and let it go.

You don't explode on the person.

You don't do anything.

You just let it pass through your body,

Unwind and go.

Like Jesus said,

Forgive,

Let it go.

It's so simple,

But it's not easy for us.

You know that it's not easy,

But it is simple.

It's not easy,

But it's simple.

Okay.

So on these implicit thoughts,

Emotions,

Attitudes,

Habits,

Patricia,

That's how you melt them when they come up.

Just watch and feel them like you do everything else.

You don't have to be sitting still in meditation just as it comes up.

Don't get involved with them.

They'll rumble through your body.

They'll feel terrible.

You might go a little crazy.

Don't take it out on other people.

Just let it unwind,

Let it unwind,

Let it unwind.

And it will.

Now,

If any of you go too crazy,

Then stop.

Just do this in bite-sized chunks.

I talk about baby steps.

You don't want to overwhelm your nervous system.

And there are many ways to let a knot unwind.

Sometimes exercise is the thing to do.

Sometimes yoga is the thing to do.

Sometimes seeing a psychotherapist is the thing to do.

Sometimes talking to a friend.

Sometimes there are so many different things,

Lying in a float tank,

Doing something.

Sometimes that's what you need now.

You trust your heart.

You trust your heart to tell you what you need.

That's your higher self.

The Lord is my shepherd.

You trust your higher self to do,

Maybe it's journaling,

Maybe it's helping people.

And then you go on to the next thing and the next thing.

One thing that's helped Therese and others is that they've cycled through these podcasts over and over and over,

Starting at number one and working their way forward.

Because as you go around every loop,

You're a little bit different because ice cubes have melted out.

And now you hear things you didn't hear the first time around.

And these podcasts are designed to be step by step.

How to let those ice cubes melt?

How?

Are there other ways that aren't in these podcasts?

Yes.

If you have another way that works better,

Do that.

But this is a start.

This works.

Use whatever else along with it that does work for you.

Jennifer says,

Very relatable feeling.

I totally understand the guilt,

Fear,

Et cetera,

Especially around the holidays.

Thanks for bringing this up.

I'm working on this too.

Yeah,

We're all in this together.

Life brings up what's hidden,

And that's the blessing of it.

In my opinion,

The purpose of life is to slow down so that we can see those things that have been embedded in us that we couldn't get our hands on to let go of so that we can let go of them now and become one with our higher self.

The higher self and I are one,

Like that's what Jesus said.

The father and I are one.

That was his culture.

Those were his words back then.

We can use whatever words we want.

Cat Blue says,

In this existence,

Everything happens for us,

Not to us.

Yes,

So true.

Thank you.

Absolutely true.

Patricia.

Yes,

It's a feeling of foreboding.

Thank you,

William,

For explanation.

I'll work on it.

Thank you,

Jennifer,

For your comments.

Yeah,

It's a sense of foreboding.

That's not your natural self.

That is not a quality of your being.

That is a feeling,

A feeling called foreboding.

It's optional.

It's optional.

Now,

I don't mean we're running around just laughing,

Thinking this is the greatest thing.

No,

It's suffering.

But at some time in our life,

It made sense to do that.

And so we froze consciousness into foreboding.

And now that frozen object that we probably froze decades and decades and decades ago,

Life has pushed it up.

And it's still frozen.

It's still an ice cube.

It's in the shape of foreboding.

But now we can see it and feel it in a practical way.

And the very fact that you're asking about it means that it's melting.

And it's ready to completely melt away.

This one is also from Patricia.

And she addressed it earlier today,

I think it was,

On the Insight Timer group.

And she says,

Hello,

Everyone.

Love to all.

After revisiting Williams podcast number 16,

Where he mentions Yogananda's 39 energization exercises,

I decided to try them out.

They are so simple to do and can be done outside as they are all done standing up.

I decided to try them on my morning walk and have been doing so for the last couple of weeks.

They are perfect for anyone who experiences bodily tension.

I can highly recommend them.

Most effective.

Thank you,

William,

For introducing us to Yogananda.

So this morning,

I set off for my walk,

Which is pleasant and takes me through the sheep fields.

I stop at a shining metal five bar gate.

And here I do some exercises,

Pretty much like a ballet dancer would do at the bar.

The sheep were all gathered round the gate this morning,

Some cropping and munching,

Others sitting down and munching.

One sheep in particular was sitting down and facing me.

I had a little chat with her and told her that I would be waving my arms and legs about,

But not to be afraid.

I wasn't shooing her away.

She gazed at me with a bored expression and carried on munching.

So I started with the first of the 39 exercises.

After five to 10 minutes of this,

Mrs.

Sheep rolled over on her back and started to wave her legs about in the air,

As though she was riding an invisible bicycle.

After a minute or so,

She rolled back and continued munching and gazing.

I'm sure any shepherd would say that sheep do this all the time,

But I prefer to believe that she was trying out a bit of Yogananda.

Thank you.

You know,

Patricia,

Jennifer and I were doing some meditative breathing a couple months ago,

And one of our cats,

Parrish,

We looked down and he was breathing.

He changed his breathing altogether and he was breathing in rhythm with us.

Animals are so intuitive and they can feel what we're feeling and it feels good,

Especially when we're letting go.

This energization exercise that I talk about in podcast number 16 does release so much of our persona that is trapped in our body.

There are 39 easy exercises.

Yogananda likes you to do them in 15 minutes.

I do them in about 25 or 30.

And like you,

Patricia,

I go for a walk every morning.

I take about two hours and at the end of our street,

Turns into a dirt road and I do have sheep that I see every day.

And they watch me a bit with my Yogananda exercises.

I have horses,

Dogs,

Goats,

And they're all my friends.

They can feel what we feel.

They come to me because I feel good,

Not about what I say to them or talk to them about or what I can offer them as far as grass or treats.

They come to me because they like the way I feel.

And I feel good partly because I do these Yogananda exercises.

Do I have to do these re-energization exercises to feel good?

No,

But they sure do help when you have a lifetime of creating tension,

Implicit tension that you don't even see that's in your body.

We're not tension.

We're flowing as we get used to living life and we flow.

If something is tight,

Stop and let it go.

Flow.

That's the whole process of awakening.

That is the deepest spiritual practice you can have.

Stop.

Let go.

Let it flow.

Just relax.

Let it flow.

If all you do is just let everything flow,

Everything inside of you will melt and unwind,

Release,

And all that will be left is who you truly are,

Love,

Peace,

And well-being.

Consciousness,

Not frozen consciousness,

Just free flowing consciousness,

Love.

So your persona will go from these dark sunglasses,

All that filter will be melted out.

And now you'll be looking clearly,

Nothing in front of your eyes.

And then perfectly clearly,

I mean,

Absolutely nothing.

I'm sticking my finger through these.

There are no lenses in here.

It's just clear.

That's who we are.

We'll always have a persona.

Sometimes people ask,

Oh,

What happens if I awaken?

Do I lose my personality?

Do I lose myself?

No,

All you lose is your troubles.

You are your true self that you are right now,

Even with your troubles,

Your true self is there.

That's the part of you that's aspiring to let go of the troubles.

The part of you that peeks through and says,

Hey,

I want to let go of my troubles that remains and the troubles go.

That's awakening.

And as that happens,

Who does it turn out that this self is that remains,

That's your higher self.

That's the self that's got you.

It's orchestrating everything.

It's all powerful.

Cat Palooza says such a fantastic read at 14 years old,

Followed by lessons,

Autobiography of a yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda.

Yes,

That is an incredible book.

I agree.

It's one of my favorites.

Patricia says,

I like that about your cat who was breathing with Jennifer and I.

When my daughter meditates,

She lies on the floor and her cat lies on her chest.

Yes.

Yes.

Our cat does that to both of them.

Animals.

They know what it's like.

They can feel us way better than we can feel them.

Sometimes talk about a shepherd.

Wouldn't you do anything for your animal or for your child?

You are the good shepherd to them.

You can see your higher self through what you do with them.

And that's even somebody that's maybe still got some filters yet.

Even so,

You would do anything.

So of course your higher self will do anything.

It not only doesn't have filters,

But it would do anything for you because it is you.

Jennifer says,

Cat Blue.

So true.

And one of my favorite books.

That's autobiography of a yogi.

I love Yogananda's teaching and wisdom.

Yes,

It's beautiful.

Oh my.

Well,

Thank you.

Thank you for sending in your questions and observations.

Thank you for guiding our discussion.

Awakening is simple.

You just quit applying energy to keep keeping ourselves miserable.

Quit freezing the ice cubes.

Let them melt.

It's that simple.

Now at first,

You don't possibly feel awake because we're under so many layers of icebergs and ice.

We've had decades,

Perhaps lifetimes of freezing ice cubes.

So let's give ourselves a break and let those ice cubes melt,

But give us a little time and then bit by bit cracks form.

And like Therese writes in,

Suddenly I'm feeling energy.

Therese,

You're going to feel more and more of this energy and beyond deep silence,

Two sides of the same coin and more and more different places,

Not just crystal shops.

It turns out that that energy is you.

It's not that you are feeling the energy.

The energy is feeling you.

You're just coming back to yourself.

You are the energy.

After a while,

You are the energy.

And sometimes you feel the discord that comes up.

That's not you.

It reverses.

Your center of gravity shifts to who you are,

Your being,

Rather than your persona.

In this dark Kali Yuga world,

We often get identified with our persona.

We think we're the sunglasses rather than that which is looking through the sunglasses.

What you experienced in the crystal shop was who is looking through the glasses.

That's the energy.

So it's consistent daily baby steps.

Give yourself a break.

Well,

What if I don't know the right thing to do?

Just do the next obvious thing.

The next thing that's obvious to you.

What if I don't know anything?

Then don't do anything.

What if I have to do something?

Well,

Then do something.

It's all going to work out because you're in the hands of your higher self.

The Lord is your shepherd.

You shall not want.

Thank you,

Patricia.

Patricia says,

Thank you for everything,

William.

Blessings.

Thank you all.

Thank you all.

I really enjoyed it.

And I look forward to talking to you all next time.

Take care.

Bye