Today we ask that you look at your attraction to drama.

Humans love drama.  It is, of course, one of your greatest art forms and modes of expression.  Stories, mythology, fiction, drama played out on the stage and screen, “reality TV,” tabloid drama, video game drama — humans never tire of drama.

Mainly when people speak to one another, they speak in terms of their dramas.  Their problems, their conflicts.  They gossip about other people, speculating on dramas in the lives of others, which may or may not be true at all.  

Every situation in the stuff of drama.  Every decision is a potential drama.  Even the simplest choices can create dramatic conflict: “Which phone should I buy?”  “Which airline ticket should I purchase?”  People agonize over such decisions.

With drama arises tension, and stress.  All dramas involve stakes.  The stakes may be high, or low — but the physical body has difficulty differentiating between high stakes and low stakes dramas.

And herein lies a great problem.  The physical body cannot easily differentiate between a “high stakes” and “low stakes” drama.  While the characters in movies may be facing life or death scenarios with flying bullets, you may experience a pulse-pounding internal drama sitting in a traffic jam, or talking to a customer service representative on the phone.

This is not good for you.  Ultimately, too much pulse-pounding drama has a way of wearing down your nervous system, your endocrine system, your cardiovascular system, your digestive system, your immune system — basically, every bodily system is compromised by excessive drama.

Point being, drama is something that humans need to experience in limited doses.  Too much is not good for you.

Many of you have visited amusement parks with roller coasters.  When you go on a roller coaster, you choose to experience a pulse-pounding, physically stressful situation.  You do it because it’s fun, and mildly addictive.  And there is nothing wrong with enjoying a roller coaster ride.

But imagine what would happen to you if you went on roller coasters every single day.

Just imagine what would happen to your body if you went on roller coasters all day long, for weeks on end.

You would experience nervous exhaustion, adrenal collapse, and all manner of unpleasant physical symptoms.  You might have chronic anxiety, insomnia, and even PTSD.  Your immune system could break down.  You might experience heart problems.  Moreover, you would no longer find the experience of riding a roller coaster pleasurable.  It would start to feel like torture.

This is a fairly good analogy for what many humans do to themselves.  Only instead of going to the roller coaster park every day, they commute to work.  They experience pulse-pounding dramas over responding to emails and talking to the boss and picking the kids up from school.  Then they cap off a dramatic day by watching the news and fictional dramas before going to sleep.   Naturally, they do not sleep well.

At least roller coasters can be fun.  But most people are not having much fun in their drama-addicted lives.

Please start to observe your own addiction to drama.

Notice when you find yourself in a “pulse-pounding” situation.

Notice how often this happens, in a day.

Make it your intention to decrease the amount of drama you experience in daily life.

This does not mean your life has to be “boring.”

What does an undramatic life feel like?

It is a life in which you make a real effort not to get unnecessarily worked up over little things.  When you notice yourself getting very dramatic about something, you make a real effort to step away from the situation, so that your body and emotions can calm down.  You make a real effort to lower your pulse, instead of raise it.

Also, if you are experiencing a heavy dose of general life drama, work to eliminate additional sources of drama.  When you are stressed out, that means it is time to unplug from the internet, step away from the news, and forego watching those pulse-pounding TV shows.  The world will not end if you do this.  

Instead, choose to do things like meditation, restorative yoga, going for a walk, listening to music, taking a bath, or cuddling with an animal.  This will give your body some drama-free time to unwind.  

Drama is like chocolate, or wine.  A little bit can be most enjoyable, and add spice to the life experience.  But too much will make you very sick.

Most humans are consuming amounts of drama that are far beyond tolerance level.

So just notice all the ways in which you amp up the drama in your life, including watching the news, or a tension-inducing drama on TV after a stressful day.

Imagine that constantly living in drama is like going to the roller coaster park every single day, in terms of wear and tear on the body.

Choose to decrease the drama in your life.  This will not make your life boring.  It will actually make the drama you do experience more enjoyable.

Going to the roller coaster park once in a while can be fun.  Going every day is torture.

Drama is like chocolate.  A little bit is pleasant.  Too much will make you sick.

Today we ask that you don’t create big dramas out of little things.

People are always creating big dramas out of little things.

Your boss said something.  Your client said something.  Your spouse said something.  Your child said something.  Your parent said something.  It may have really been an innocuous thing.  But in your mind, it gets blown up into a big drama.  Suddenly, you are at war.  You seethe with resentment.

In reality, nothing really happened.  You may even have completely misunderstood whatever was said.

And yet sometimes people get so out of hand with their drama that before you know it, they’ve quit their job or lost their job or separated from their spouse or started a big family feud.  

Sometimes the drama is triggered by a traffic jam, or a car repair, or backed-up plumbing, or a bill.   Sometimes it’s because the neighbor is making noise, or the child misbehaved, or the cat threw up.  

People create huge dramas out of such little nothing things.

It’s because your emotional temperature is set so high.  People are so stressed and unhappy that even the slightest additional pressure causes them to boil over, and explode.

Stop taking it all so seriously.

It’s not easy to do this.  Many people were trained as children to take everything very seriously and blow little things out of proportion.  As children, many of you went to schools where you received grades on tests.  You were taught that receiving a bad grade on a test was a very big problem.  You may have been taught to experience a lot of shame and drama over grades.

This is a very counterproductive method of teaching.  The best learning occurs through playful exploration.  As soon as learning becomes a high stakes drama where one’s whole future hangs on the line, true learning and growth is actually strongly deterred.  It’s amazing anyone learns anything within that system.  That system also helps to build a world full of high-strung people who blow up at the drop of a hat.

Please teach yourself how to relax, and put things into proper perspective.

Engage in meditative practices that relax the anxious mind.

When you notice yourself experiencing a big drama over something, ask yourself: is this really as bad as I think it is?

Is it worth ruining my whole day over this?

Is it worth ruining someone else’s whole day over this?

Is there a less dramatic way to approach this issue?

Never react impulsively to a problem, if you can help it.

Don’t write that email or make that call when you are in a state of emotional agitation.

Step away.  Calm down.  Go for a walk.  Talk to a friend who may be calmer and have a more objective perspective than you.

Turn down your emotional temperature, before taking any action.

The drama in your head may insist that terrible things are happening and you must do something to protect yourself!  You must rectify the situation!  Right this minute!

But is that really true?  Are you sure?  Can you be certain?

Sometimes there are genuine life crises, it is true.

But a bill or a car repair or a misbehaving child or an obnoxious comment from someone at work does not constitute a life crisis.

Learn not to make big dramas out of nothing.

When the emotional fire starts, pour water on it.  Not lighter fluid, as most people do.

It is fun to watch dramas in movies.  But humans have a habit of creating big dramas in their lives.  If you enjoy those dramas, you may indulge in them (though unfortunately you will most likely inflict your drama on other people).  Probably you don’t enjoy drama in real life, however.  Probably you find real life drama stressful.

So just ask, when a drama is triggered:

Is it worth ruining my whole day over this?

Is it worth ruining someone else’s whole day over this?

Be honest.

Today we ask that you examine your beliefs about money.

For almost all humans, beliefs about money are a source of terrible misery.

Not money itself, mind you.

Beliefs about money.

What do you believe about money?

What were you taught as a child?

What did your parents believe about money?

Do you believe that money is hard to come by?

Do you believe that you must struggle and work very hard in order to earn money?

Do you believe that money is a source of terrible injustice and inequality in the world?

Do you believe that your existence depends on money?

Do you believe that without money, you would die?

Do you believe that money makes you worth something?

Do you believe that money makes you a slave?

Do you believe that you must constantly guard your money from those who would steal it?

Do you believe you must hoard your money?

Do you get a rush when you spend money on a “guilty pleasure”?  Do you feel guilty, afterward?

Do you believe that debt is shameful?

Do you believe that being dependent on others is shameful, or makes you a slave?

Do you believe that wealth makes people successful?

Do you believe that wealthy people are morally corrupt?

Do you believe that poor people are lazy, and should be ashamed of their poverty?

Do you believe that people with money have more value than people without money?

Write down a list of all your beliefs about money.  It might be very illuminating for you to do this.

Know this:

Every single one of your beliefs about money is false.  Every single one of these beliefs is a lie.  They are all lies.

False beliefs about money are perhaps the greatest lie ever perpetuated upon mankind.

Of course, it is humans themselves who created this lie.  It is not some great evil inhuman conspiracy — that is yet another false belief.

Individual humans perpetuate and maintain all the lies about money, and pass these lies down to their children.  

The truth about money is, money does not exist.

It is a made-up thing.  It is a magic trick.

What is money?

Print on paper?  Numbers on screens, or flying around in space?  What is this thing?

It is imaginary.  It only exists in its present form because people believe that it does. 

As an imaginary thing, it is neither good, nor bad.

Money is, in fact, whatever you choose to believe it is.  Herein lies your potential liberation.

We know that this is perhaps the hardest of all earthly illusions to break.

It is much easier for people to stop believing in God, than it is for people to stop believing in money.

That is because money appears to be “real.”

But is it?

Do animals believe in money?  Do animals use money?  

Animals interact with what is real, on this plane.  They interact with the dirt, the plants, the trees, the sky.  They eat and drink and defecate and sleep.  

Babies do not believe in money, either.  It is a concept that must be taught.  

If a baby is raised in an environment in which money is not something people believe in, that baby will grow into an adult who has no idea what money is.

But such an adult could understand mathematics, or the laws of physics, or the beauty of a painting.  Such a person would understand love.

That is because mathematics and physics and beauty and love are universal constants.

If you an encountered an alien species with a civilization roughly at your level of development, you could easily communicate with them about physics, mathematics, art, and love.  

However, those same aliens might give you a blank look if you attempted to talk about money.  

Do not believe that it is unjust that you happen to live in a time and space where money is a dominant illusion.

But know now that your existence in no way, shape, or form depends on money — no matter what you think.  

If all money ceased to exist right now in this moment, isn’t it true that you would continue to exist?

Therefore, you exist independently of money.

Since you live in a world in which almost everyone believes in money, it is useful to cultivate a healthy relationship with this imaginary thing.

Do not give it all your power, as so many people do.  That is insanity.

The best thing to do is to change your beliefs about money.  It is very hard in this world to stop believing in money altogether, although some people have done this.  But if you are going to believe in this imaginary thing, you may as well choose to have good and empowering beliefs.

Really, it is no different from believing in God.  If you choose to believe in a personified God, why not create a loving image for this deity?  Instead of an angry, judging, shaming God, you can choose to believe in a loving, beneficent God — and you will be much happier for it.  

If you are going to believe in money, instead of believing that money is the root of all evil and the source of all your problems in life — why not choose to believe that money is a wonderful form of energy through which you can express beauty, creativity, and love?  

You are not a slave to money.

Money, as a form of energy, serves you.

Money is like the genie from mythology.  The genie can be an unruly demon that wreaks terrible havoc in the world.   That is what happens if you live in fear of the genie, and believe it to be an evil demon.  But if you lose this fear, you can master the wild genie, and utilize its energy to grant your wishes.  

You must master your fears around money.  Most humans live in terrible fear of money.  Even rich people have terrible fears around money.

What are you afraid of?

Do you fear that if you lost all your money, you’d be homeless?  You’d starve and die?  Is this fear truly justified, for you?

Of course, historically, young Buddhist monks live as homeless people, by choice.  They spend time as itinerant beggars, begging for food.  They generally do not die in the process.  Instead, they attain a deep freedom.

Culturally, there is no shame around begging Buddhist monks.  Their cultures support them.  But in many places, there is terrible shame around poverty.  It is considered a mark of failure.  Many people commit suicide over this.  

It is the shame that makes beliefs around money so toxic for people.   Just as the belief in a judging, shaming God makes belief in that kind of God very toxic for people.  

It is not the money itself.   It is the shaming beliefs around the concept of money.  

More than anything, it is useful to examine your shame-based judgments about money.  Examine your judgments around rich people, poor people, middle class people, and corporations.  Look at the ways you feel shame around money, or believe that other people should feel ashamed around money.  

As attached as you may be to all your stories about money, they are not good for you.  And if you really sit honestly with these beliefs, you will see that they are simply not true.

If you can do this, you will break the death grip money is holding on your consciousness.

If you can do this, you will be free in a way that very few living humans are.

And it doesn’t mean you need to be a penniless monk.

Once you recognize that money is an illusion, you can choose to play with the genie, or not.

But never again will you give the illusion of money all your power.

Today we ask that you understand that you choose to do the things you do.

Most of the people reading these words are adults.  You are adults, and probably you are not in a prison.

If you are a child, or in a prison, it is difficult to create from a place of choice.  Although it is very possible to create from a place of choice during childhood or even in a prison, it is difficult.

But most of you are not children, and do not live in prison.

Nonetheless, many adults live their lives as though they are in a prison, or still children.

People do things because they “have to.”  Not because they want to, or choose to.  Because they “have to.”

You have to go to work.  You have to commute.  You have to perform tasks you do not like.  You have to take your child to piano practice.  You have to pay the rent.  You have to make dinner.

But is it true, that you really “have to” do all these things?

Are you in prison?  Are you a child?  Do you “have to” eat your vegetables?

In truth, you choose to do all these things.  No one is holding a gun to your head, and forcing you to.

So it would be good for you to know why you choose to do all the things you do.

Why do you choose to go to this job?  Why do you choose to pay these bills?  Why do you choose to make the commute?  Why do you choose to take the child to piano practice?  Why do you choose to make this dinner?

Do you do it “for the money”?  Do you do it out of guilt and obligation?  It is okay, if those are your reasons.  There is no judgment about this.

You may even have some really wonderful reasons for doing what you do.  You take your child to piano practice because you love your child, and your child loves learning the piano; so it makes you feel good to do this.  You are eating your vegetables because you know that vegetables are wonderful for your body, and you genuinely enjoy eating them; so it makes you feel good to do this.  

Do you follow this?

It is very possible to do things from a place of joy.   It is very possible to do things because it makes you feel good.

That includes paying bills and washing dishes.  

What are these bills you are choosing to pay?  Are they for things that genuinely improve your quality of life?  If so, then connect with a sense of appreciation for those things.  Appreciate the people you are paying to deliver you your gas and electricity and internet service.  You really like those things, don’t you?  If you’ve been without gas and electricity, you can truly appreciate how useful these things are.

If you cannot appreciate what you are paying for, then perhaps you need to stop paying these particular bills.  Why choose to pay for something you don’t enjoy or appreciate?  

Why do you choose to wash dishes?  Because you have to?  Or because it is nice to live in a clean home?  Isn’t it possible to enjoy the process of creating order in one’s living space?  

If you have a hard time enjoying such tasks, it is most likely because you were trained not to do things out of joy.  Most children are trained to do things because they “have to.”

The child asks: “Why must I do this?”  And the parent says: “Because I will punish you if you do not.”

The child asks: “Why must I do my math homework?”  And the parent says: “If you don’t, you will fail the class.  If you fail the class, you can’t go to a good college.  If you don’t go to a good college, then you will be a failure in society.  And I will disapprove of you and withhold my love if that happens.”  

Of course, if the parent has a love for the beauty and elegance of mathematics, he might choose to share that love with the child, and thus inspire the child to study math from a place of joy and wonder.

But most parents hated math when they had to study math in school.  They did it because they “had to.”  And now their children “have to.”  And the cycle just goes on and on.  

So people remain like children their whole lives, doing things because authority figures say they have to, or they will be punished.

That is exactly what it is like to live in a prison.  Where you must adhere to rules, or face punishment.

Countless humans live in a prison without walls.

They sit in their offices, watching the clock.  Waiting for their daily confinement to be over.  But the prison sentence doesn’t end.  They must make their commute and run their errands and do their chores.  Only then can they reward themselves with a piece of cake and a TV show.  

Isn’t that how we reward children for doing what they “have to” do?  With a piece of cake and a TV show?

That is why most people really aren’t adults.  They are still children.  They are not really living.  What they call life, is imprisonment.  People are spending their entire lives in prison, when they have committed no crime.

Get out of jail right now.  Ask yourself, why do you choose to do the things you do every day?

Make a list of all the things you “have to do.”

Ask why you choose to do these things.  Answer honestly.  “For the money.”  “Because my spouse will be angry at me if I don’t.”

See if you can shift your motivations away from obligation, duty, fear, and approval-seeking to joy, excitement and appreciation.

In other words, can you find healthy, self-loving reasons for choosing to do the things you do?  

Next time you do that thing, remind yourself that you are doing it for a healthy, self-loving reason.  Not because you “have to,” will feel guilty if you do not, or fear punishment.

If it is totally impossible for you to connect with a healthy, self-loving reason for doing something; if it’s impossible for you even imagine doing something with joy and a sense of meaning and purpose — then perhaps you should not do it at all.

Be very honest with yourselves.

This practice will liberate you from prison.

Today we ask that you look at your “needs.”

People walk around with all kinds of “needs.”

You need this, you need that.

You need this person to love you more.  You need that person to apologize.  You need your boss to give you a raise.  You need your child to respect you more.  You need your partner to give you more space.

You need that car.  You need that house.  You need those shoes.  You need that phone.  You need more money.  

All these needs!  

And you get so angry when these needs are not met.  You are frustrated, you are miserable.  Life is so unfair.  You are caught in a big drama.

But do you truly need these things?

You may desire these things.  But do you need them?

Do you need them so much that you’re willing to experience a lot of suffering if you don’t get them?

Because this is what people do to themselves, with all their needs.  They create a lot of unnecessary misery and suffering.

In truth, you don’t need all that much in order to live and feel good in your bodies.

At minimum, humans need food and shelter.

In order to thrive, humans need healthy food and regular exercise.  They also need a sense of meaning, and purpose.

Is this clear?  In order for any human to thrive, he must consume healthy food, exercise regularly, and connect each day to a sense of meaning and purpose.

This is what you actually need.  Not just to survive, but to thrive.  

All those other needs you have?  Those are desires.  And it is fine to have dreams and desires.

The problem arises when your desires become demands.

You demand more money!  You demand more respect!  You demand an apology!  You demand that this person gives you what you want!  And if you don’t get your demands, you will throw a big tantrum!

Really, this is what a little child does.  He demands the candy, then screams when he doesn’t get it.

Such behavior is not a problem in a toddler.

But no one really wants to be around an adult who behaves this way.  You probably don’t like being around people like that, do you?

In fact, what’s your response when someone comes at you, making demands?  Trying to shove something down your throat?

It is your natural instinct to recoil.  Not only that: you will want to deny this person his demands.  This is human nature.

Of course, if he asked nicely, you might feel differently.

If said: “Listen, I don’t really need this thing I’m asking for.  It’s okay if I don’t get it.  But it would bring me joy.”  

You might be more inclined to be generous with that person, yes?  Especially if he expressed sincere appreciation, not only for what he is asking, but for all the good things he already has.

Life is like this.  The more you come at reality waving your angry list of demands, the less likely it is that those demands will be met.  

If you approach life gently, from a place of “Well, I would really love it if this happens, but I’m fine if it doesn’t, and I’m so grateful for all the good things I already have” — you might experience things quite differently.

You certainly would experience much less suffering and drama.

Focus on your true needs: cultivating a healthy mind and body, and connecting with a sense of meaning and purpose.  That is all any human needs to thrive.  By definition, a healthy mind and body means a self-loving mind and body, free of of toxic shame, guilt, and self-hatred.

So, what you really need more than anything is to work on yourself, to create love in your life as it is right now in this moment.  When you love yourself and love life, it naturally follows that you will cultivate health and purpose.

Once you do this, you will discover that all those things you believed you so desperately needed, you do not really need.

It is the great paradox: only when you stop needing your dreams to come true, do they finally come true.

There is no easy way around this paradox.  Self-love and transformation must be genuine.  It cannot be faked.   

Today we ask that you understand that you give your power to anyone and anything you fear.

If you are someone who feels very powerless in life, it is because your fears dominate you.

This is the case for most humans.

That is why it is good for you to look at the things you fear.

Look at what you fear.

Expose the monsters in your closet to the light.

Make a list of the things you fear.

Assign a number, from 1 to 10, to express the intensity of the fear feeling.

Once the list is complete, begin to examine these fears.

Everything on your list is draining your power.

It is like you are a battery, and all these fears you are holding on to are plugged into you, draining your power.

It is like you are a computer, and all those fears are running programs, slowing your speed, draining your power.

The more fears you have, the less power and speed is available to you.

You’d like to reclaim all that power, wouldn’t you?

You could put all that power to a better purpose than running those fear programs.

One by one, sit with your fears.

The intensity of the fear feeling indicates how much power you are giving to it right now.  A “10” level fear is a big power drain.

Ask: “Is this fear really warranted, right now in this moment?”

“Right now in this moment, is this thing or person truly a threat to my well-being?”

Your thoughts may arise to protest: “Yes, it is a threat!”

Try to observe these thoughts, without allowing them to take over.  Breathe.  Calm yourself down.

Really be honest with yourself.  “Is this fear really justified, in this moment in time?”

See if you can bring the intensity of the fear down to a lower level.  

The more you shrink down your fears, the more power you reclaim.

Think of it like a game you are playing.  The more you shrink down your fears, the bigger your battery gets, and the faster your “computer” runs.  

People can be very addicted to fear.  That is why they like to watch the news so much.  “Look at all these things to be terrified of!”

And if you don’t mind feeling powerless in your life, it is okay to be dominated by fear.  You can play that.

But if you’re interested in feeling more power and strength in your existence, then the first thing to do is examine your fears, as well as the addiction to fear itself.

Every single thing you fear, you give power to.

Reclaim that power.  You can put it to a far better use.

Today we ask that you pay attention to the connection between your thoughts, and your well-being.

How you feel in any given moment is very connected to the quality of the thoughts you are thinking.

Attack thoughts, whether directed toward the self or others, will always degrade your well-being.

Attack thoughts are thoughts that involve judgment, shame, and blame, either directed toward the self or others.  

Attack thoughts are thoughts like: “I’m so stupid!”  “That guy’s a jerk.”  “That woman’s dressed like a tramp.”  “I’m too fat.”  “Whoever made this movie should be ashamed of himself.”  

Attack thoughts are also defensive.  This can include: “I really have to be on my guard around that guy.”  “You just can’t trust those people.”

For many people, thinking attack thoughts is synonymous with thinking itself.  

Of course, it is entirely possible to think without judgment and attack.  This is called “observational thinking.”  One merely observes what happens, without judgment.  It is a very calm, scientific way of thinking.  Out of observational thinking arises feelings of neutrality and equanimity.

Observational thoughts are thoughts like: “The sky is blue.”  “The woman across the room has curly hair.”  “This wall has peeling paint; I’d like to have it repainted.”  “In order to do this yoga pose, I need to balance on one leg.”  

There are no judgments with observational thoughts.  You are not shaming or blaming yourself or anyone else with these thoughts.

If the majority of your thinking is observational, you will think far more clearly and lucidly and feel better than most humans.

The thinking most conducive to well-being is compassionate, appreciative and loving thinking.  This is when the thoughts directed toward the self and others are loving and appreciative.  You think loving and appreciative thoughts about the self, others, and reality.  You love and appreciate life.

Loving thoughts are thoughts like: “I look beautiful today.”  “I love this dog so much.”  “What an amazing world we live in.”  “Isn’t it wonderful, how all those talented people came together to make this TV show?”  

Anyone whose thoughts are primarily loving lives in a state of joy, and profound well-being.

The way you think is learned, and habitual.

Thinking attack thoughts all the time is just a habit.  It’s no wonder you learned this habit, since most people do it.  But then most people have a lot of unhealthy habits.  Just because a lot of people do something doesn’t mean it’s good for you.

It is very possible to train yourself to become more observational and loving in your thinking.

Meditation is a classic technique for cultivating an observational mind.  As you sit in meditation, you learn to observe your thoughts as they arise, without judging them.

It is also good to learn to pay attention to the quality of your thoughts.  Label any judging, shaming thought that arises as an “attack thought.”  “Oh, there it goes again — I’m thinking an attack thought.”  Don’t attack yourself for thinking attack thoughts!  That’s just another attack thought.   Observe that it happens, and be loving and compassionate with yourself when it happens.  

You will begin to notice a direct correlation between frequent “attack thoughts” and feelings of unease and disease.

You cannot control external reality.  However, you can master your thought patterns.  It is possible to shift your thinking out of attack/defense mode, into observational and loving modes, at will.  It is not easy, but practice makes it easier.

Just believing that there is a correlation between attacking, shaming thoughts directed at the self or others, and anxiety, depression, and illness, is a major step on the path toward healing.

Today we ask that you not make assumptions.

Humans are intelligent, but you are at a phase of evolution where you really aren’t as smart as you think you are.  You are like precocious children who think you know more than you do.  In truth, you know very little about the nature of reality.

So you go around making all kinds of assumptions.  You don’t really know.  You assume.  But the problem is, you believe your assumptions are true.  

Humans have assumed a great many things that are totally untrue.

Humans assumed the world was flat.

Humans assumed that certain races were superior to other races.

Humans assumed that women could not do the things that men did.

Hitler assumed that he was 100% right about everything he believed, and a lot of people agreed with him.  They all assumed Hitler was right, and didn’t question for a moment that the Nazis would win.

All of these assumptions were incorrect.

Most of the assumptions people make are incorrect.

If you are around young children, you will observe that they make assumptions based on their limited understanding.  The stories they come up to explain things may seem cute, from an adult perspective, because they are so preposterous.

The assumptions almost all adults make are no less preposterous.  They would be cute, if they weren’t so damaging.

Most of your assumptions are wrong.

Most of your assumptions about other people are wrong.

Most of your assumptions about reality are wrong.

To accept this is the height of wisdom.

Notice how often you make assumptions.  It may be quite shocking to observe how often you draw conclusive judgments based on very limited information.  

Become more scientific with yourselves.  Don’t just take someone’s word for something.  More importantly, don’t believe your own thoughts.  Don’t take your mind’s word for things; your mind can be easily fooled.  

Investigate.  Inquire.  Ask: “Is this really true?  Can I be certain of this?”

Almost all human conflict arises out of false assumptions.

Instead of assuming that you know what someone else is thinking, just ask.  Most of the time you have no idea what is going on in someone else’s head.  You are making a projection based on what is going on in your head.  

Observe the human tendency to gossip.  All gossip is based on assumptions, and almost all of those assumptions are false.

One of the healthiest things you can do in life is to stop making assumptions.  It will transform your life experience, and relieve you from a lot of unnecessary drama and conflict.

Today we ask that you understand that you are not responsible for the well-being of others.

You are not responsible for the well-being of others.

Parents, of course, feel responsible for the well-being of their children.  And naturally children require a great deal of care and nurturing.  

At the same time, parents cannot assure the well-being of any child, no matter how hard they may try.  Children are subject to illnesses and accidents.  No parent can prevent these events, if they are fated.

That is why believing you are personally responsible for anyone else’s well-being puts you in a kind of hell.

For how can anyone guarantee that someone else always be safe and happy?  How can anyone guarantee protection from fires and floods, earthquakes and tornadoes?  How can any parent protect their child from unexpected and difficult events?

It is not possible, in this world.

But people suffer terribly, believing they are responsible for the well-being of others.  Believing that they should have been more perfect, that they should now be more perfect, and thus protect their loved ones from harm.  

Release yourself from this heavy burden.  It is not true.

You are not responsible for the well-being of your children, your spouse, your parents, your siblings, your pets, your boss, your coworkers, or anyone else.

The universe is responsible for the well-being of all life forms.

And despite appearances, the universe is completely loving at all times.

That is because there is no death.  Nothing dies, in this universe.  All the children whose physical bodies died from disease or accidents or “Acts of God” — they are not dead.  Not a single one.

It is okay if you do not believe this.

But if you did, it would relieve you from the terrible burden of believing that you alone are responsible for the well-being of anyone, including a child.

You are all part of something so much bigger than yourselves.  And what you are a part of is purely good.

You are not responsible for anyone else’s well-being.  You cannot spare others from discomfort, pain, or even tragedy.

You are, however, responsible for your own well-being.

By taking good care of yourself, by learning to love yourself unconditionally, by learning healthy habits, it is very possible to change your perception and experience of reality.  This will automatically increase your well-being.

When you do that, something magical will happen:

The people around you will become happier.

Not by you trying to make them happy or safe.  

If you take responsibility for your own well-being, you will become a more peaceful person.

And everyone feels better around a peaceful person.  

It is a paradox: people believe that they’d be happier if someone else “saved them,” and took responsibility for their well-being.

But the truth is: people are happiest around the one who takes no personal responsibility for the well-being of others, knowing that this is impossible.  People are happiest around the one who takes full responsibility for his own well-being, and thus loves himself completely.

Today we ask that you reclaim your power from Mother and Father Figures.

One of the most primal forms of conditioning all humans experience is around “Mother” and “Father.”  It is only natural, since these figures are dominant in the consciousness of very young children.  Humans imprint on Mother and Father Figures when their consciousness is first forming and very impressionable.

To very young children, Mother and Father Figures are like gods.  Indeed, that is why early humans developed “Mother Gods” and “Father Gods” as part of their mythologies.

To this day, the deity that countless people worship as “God” is essentially a personification of “Father.”  Not a Divine Father, but an all-too-human father, capable of rage and violence, and fickle and capricious behavior.  Like human fathers who discipline and condition their children, this “Father” dominates his earthly children through a system of reward and punishment.

Even those who do not believe in this Father God are usually locked into their own individual Mother and Father mythology.  Freud perceived this, and created a whole system predicated on common human behavioral patterns around “Mother” and “Father.”

Many people live out their whole lives in relation to Father and Mother Figures.  They desperately crave the approval of such figures, and at the same time hate and despise them.  Some may strive to be “Good Little Boys” and “Good Little Girls,” obedient to the demands and desires of Mother and Father.  Others rebel.  But even those who rebel are still living their lives in relation to their parents.  Commonly, those who rebel against their parents in young adulthood wind up becoming the very thing they hate as they get older.  

So long as you live out your life in relation to Mother and Father Figures, you will never truly be free.  You will remain a child.

What does it mean to stop living your life in relation to Mother and Father?

It means freedom from living your life in fear of Mother and Father, of what they will say or do.  Mother and Father do not have to be biological mother and father.  Many people marry versions of Mother or Father.  Many people work for bosses who are like Mother or Father.  Others marry or work in direct rebellion against Mother and Father — but this, too, is still in relation to Mother and Father.  

You cannot be free so long as you fear Mother and Father.

At the same time, living your life in rebellion against Mother and Father will not work, either.  While most adolescents go through this phase, if you get stuck in it, you will never really be your own person.

Going through life hating your parents and doing the opposite of what they want is no less limiting than being a slave to your parents’ desires and trying to be a good boy or good girl.  

Both ways are a trap.   Both the path of the Obedient Child and the Angry Rebel are a trap.  

In “The Wizard of Oz,” Dorothy relates to the Wizard the way many people — especially young girls — relate to their Father.  He is larger than life, someone who can solve all your problems, someone you worship, someone you’re in awe of, someone whose approval you crave, someone you want to please, someone you fear.  

Dorothy discovers that this is all just a projection.  The Wizard is a fraud — just a human, nothing special.  He deserves neither worship, nor fear.  

All people must learn this about their own parents — including the Biblical concept of a wrathful Father God.  

What most people think of Mother and Father, and even God, is nothing more than a projection, like the Wizard of Oz.  There is nothing there but smoke and mirrors.  Behind the projection is a flawed and fallible human being.

Behind the projection of the angry Biblical Father “God” are the flawed and fallible human beings who created that myth, and who perpetuate it to this day.

Behind every Mother and Father Figure you hand over your power to, whose approval you crave and whose disapproval you fear, who you rebel against but whose blessing you secretly desire more than anything…

… behind all that is a flawed and fallible human being.  Just like you.

And if you stopped projecting so much mythology on that person, if you stopped living in fear of them, you might just be able to see them as they really are.

Your compassion would awaken.  

You might even be able to relate to them as people, not projections.

Examine your relationships with Mother and Father Figures.  Notice the ways in which you give away your power, either through slavish obedience or hostile rebellion.  

Reclaim that power.