Today we ask you to have patience with individuals who are less conscious than you are.

For those of you reading these words, that may mean most of the people you encounter.

When you sleep at night, you experience dreams.  And usually you experience those dreams as very real.  You believe in the dream reality.  You do not question it.  As a result, it may often be very frightening to you.

Waking reality resembles the dream reality in many ways, although it is not identical.  But for those of you reading these words, you are very likely on a path that is causing you to be more conscious within waking reality.  That is, you are aware that you have some measure of control over the way you react to the things that happen to you.  

By engaging in meditative practices and healthy self-inquiry, you discover that you are not a slave to external reality.  Things happen, but you do not have to be like a blind animal, thrashing and screaming.  Through meditative practices, therapy, and many forms of self-inquiry and introspection, you are aware that there is another way of being.  As a result, you may be less inclined toward attacking other people.  And you are probably at a point where you do not take everything that other people or society says at face value.

Most individuals in your reality are not at this point.  They are totally hypnotized — by fear-based voices of authority, by collective societal or tribal values, by mental conditioning and programming that they do not even know to question.  They do not know that they have any control over their reactivity or impulsivity.  Life, to them, is a very terrifying thing: a world in which one is continually attacking or defending, a world of masters and slaves, oppressors and victims.  There is little peace for such beings, and often only the faintest glimmer of love.

Please be patient with these individuals, as difficult and aggressive as they may be.  Attacking them will never do you any good, and will only inflame the situation, not to mention prove their worldview that reality is hostile.  So: tread very carefully and gently around them.  They are like sleepwalkers.  You cannot wake them up with force.  That will damage them, and they will very likely lash out in aggression.  

To the extent that you can surround yourself with fellow travelers on the path toward greater consciousness, it is very good to do so.  Still, there is no getting around the sleeping ones.  The best way to deal with them is with patience, and compassion.  You know what it is to be asleep.  Please do not be condescending with them — that is actually a form of hostility.  Just be patient, do not take things personally, and above all do not get caught up in the drama.  Do not attack, do not defend.  Never attempt to control such people, unless they are truly causing harm to others.  Even then, be careful; almost any attempt at control will usually backfire. 

The more awake you are, the easier it is to deal with unconscious people.  So the best thing is to stay awake — and to keep your mind stable, clear, and calm.  Unconscious people can be great teachers, for they show you where you are still asleep.