[128] Meditation and the Path to Spiritual Transformation: Two Types of Samadhi with Jeffrey Stevens – with Jeffrey Stevens

12:06AM Sep 19, 2023

Speakers:

Joe Parent

Jeffrey Stevens

Audience Member

Keywords:

samadhi

mind

meditation

called

awareness

practice

retreat

relaxation

teachings

meditative

stabilize

thought

teachers

meditator

traditions

tibetan

placement

breath

rest

people

Hello, everybody hear me? Oh, good. Yes, familiar faces. Nice to see you all. Rhys, nice to see you.

I just got an email from Mr. Hall a cheque asking me if I would teach tonight. And my wife said no. And I said yes. And then we I didn't realize that I had said yes. When she said no. So here I am. And I'm happy to be here. I was wondering when I was going to come back to the truth because nothing was on the schedule. Some of you asked me, and I thought, I don't know. It's not really up to me. So it was refreshing to see that I'm still on Andrews mind, the busiest dental surgeon retired in the Buddhist world. So it's nice to see all of you again. If I look like I'm looking down at your feet, it's because that's where you are in my room. You're down by your feet. Don't take it personally. I could look at you down here and then it would be down at my feet. But I want to honor your feet, your lotus feet. So tonight I'm just going to I'm just going to do the easiest thing in the world for a teacher to do. I'm going to take an element of what I'm preparing to teach this coming weekend and I'm going to teach it to you. So it's useful and it's important. And if you aren't familiar with the topic of Samadhi this might be a very intriguing teaching, if you are familiar with the topic of Samadhi I think that this will have some fresh insights for you. Now, April, my wife and I have spent the entire summer driving up and down the west coast and we spent four weeks with our teachers chokyi Nyima and Sony Rinpoche and I just feel incredibly steeped in practice. And I have to say that I was enthusiastic about meditation going into those retreats. But voice something shifted. I seeing these people in the prime of their lives and around hundreds of other meditators just ah, I really feel like I think that even if the world seems like it's in a dark time, and it may be in a dark time, as far as the world of meditation, it is not in a dark time. Meditation is really flourishing and it's just seems odd, doesn't it? That something like that would be flourishing, or maybe it doesn't seem odd, but it really is flourishing. And there are very sincere practitioners who are gathering at these places all over the place. And what's really refreshing is these aren't people who are hiding out in retreats. These are people who they are aware of what's going on. They're aware that this is what they're doing with the time they have left. So it was really joyful to see all these people and to make new friends and and just see these magnificent communities that have been built, man. So let's start out with a little bit of meditation. And I thought that you know, I would bring in an element of ritual so let's know I'm not going to light anything up I'm going to offer incense you people

there we go.

If you're allergic to incense, I'm sorry, this is this shouldn't be too much. There we go. So let's just compose ourselves in meditation just any way that you want. Let's take a couple of minutes and just be quiet and then I will guide some things a few minutes. In

Meditation usually begins by just settling and after we've taken our posture and begin to feel our tensions release we settle upon some element of our physical experience. This is the way most traditions guide us. And usually that would be the breath we settle on to the breath

sometimes we hear the term follow the breath but that might not suggest to us the importance of touching the breath. We want to feel feel the breath. We want to feel the body. The body is not a thought and settling with the body will help us identify a part of our experience which won't be carried away by thoughts. We may be carried away from the feeling of the body and the breath but that won't be because of the body and breath. So let's find some element of our physical body, our breath, our posture, I like to use my thumbs and hands but it could be any of these. They're just methods to find and settle

on. The body.

We use this term settle, settle on the breath. settle on the body but sometimes settling isn't quite enough. We'd like to settle but there are other forces working against us. So to counter the power of our thinking mind we assert our intention to direct our mind to the body to the breath and with an intention, we place our attention the Tibetan term here Jacque Bas, it means to place not just to want to place or want to settle but to do it. Just like replacing a cup on a table. So when you have your object of meditation, your breath, your body, clearly in your view. Direct your attention and subtle and place put your attention firmly there not too forceful but not too meek.

Establish even placement evenly placed on our object the breath or the touch of the body

placement has a different feel than just settling or relaxation. All of these are good to do. Placement is a path to placement builds by gaining skill in placement qualities of the mind healthy qualities begin to emerge that would not otherwise emerge. Settling can have a sense of just dropping and being with what's there. And sometimes that's just what we need. The placement is a little different. It has a sense of collecting in pulling those things that have wandered away intensifying the brightness of our mind. Gathering our scattered resources collecting them together and placing on our object there's more of us in that

by gathering ourselves like this. Gently but with intention. We're moving in the direction of the state called one pointedness. And one pointedness sounds like it would be a small focal point like a laser beam but it isn't that one pointedness means that all the rivers of our attention are flowing into paying attention to just this just this experience now, all of it as one expression rather than as countless details. Making one pointed means relaxing. So that thought can't pull us away. Just like you can't pull water by reaching into it. Thinking I can't pull in the relaxed mind.

Once you've identified this basic ground of nowness your body your body breathing and you have something to land in. If thought succeeds in pulling you into thinking it's important to understand the collateral damage. That fighting with our thoughts during meditation we can produce we probably want to stay evenly placed. But if that means that with one hand we're sword fighting thoughts off to the side. That's going to be counterproductive to the general state of relaxation and being that so good for us. So what do we do? How can we manage our thinking when we're trying to maintain this even placement and this relaxed state of being?

The answer is that when we recognize that we've been lured into the activity of thinking we relax when we relax. Thinking can no longer hold on to us. And we fall away and we land simply in what is there beyond thinking which is the body feeling and now notice the

thoughts will come and go and we don't have to thank them

okay

I want to be mindful of our time tonight

so the meditation practice that we just did, might be similar to what you've learned. It might be similar to what you learned early in your meditation training, or it might be similar to what you do right now. It has similarities among the meditation traditions. So this very basic practice wouldn't be out of place in a Tara Vodun or the persona environment might not be exactly the same, but it's not that different. And if we go all the way to the other end, the other spectrum of practice. It's not unlike the practices of Maha Mudra. And, in fact, that's where these instructions come from. Maha Mudra shamatha. The purpose of shamatha whether it's in a Tera Vaada context, or a Mahayana context, or a Badri on the context is to position us so that we can experience the most sublime aspect of our being something that can be experienced but cannot be experienced. If we're not positioned to see

it, or positioning ourselves

to see this aspect of our being, which we could call our Buddha nature, or emptiness, or luminosity. positioning ourselves is a combination of gathering our mind into one point and then sustaining that but rather than sustaining it as a grip, we sustain it as a flow. And that flow is called Samadhi. Samadhi is a continual state of meditation that can't easily

be broken.

Samadhi is essential for insight. An insight is essential for transformation. Before insight we can experience change, positive changes, benefits of meditation, but not transformations. Those require an upgrade of insight. Those require a sense of seeing what hadn't been seen before. Samadhi is what makes that possible. Samadhi is sort of like if you're putting a tea kettle on a hot burner, and you want it to boil. You want it to boil and you'll know when it's boiling. Steam will come out and maybe it will whistle. You can't put it on the burner and then take it off the burner and then put it on the burner and take it off the burner. It will get warm, but it won't boil.

Samadhi

means that we're able to stay in the uninterrupted nonconceptual flow of nowness not so that the mind can boil that so that we can encourage the arising of a particular faculty within us and that particular that particular faculty is called prajna.

prajna

is what I translate as meditative intelligence. It functions in other things too. It isn't unique to meditation but its true character comes out in meditation, and in particular, it comes out in Samadhi Pragnya is like a blade that cuts just by being present. It doesn't even have to slash it just has to be unsheathed and we bring it forward gently

through Samadhi

you may have seen the iconography of Manjushri the bodhisattva of wisdom. He's holding his his hand in his right hand he has a sword that flaming the flaming tip of his sword is prajna and him holding that is Samadhi. And what is that sword cut? Confusion, ignorance, clinging how just by holding it it's a non aggressive weapon against unnecessary

suffering.

So Samadhi is kind of what the meditator is developing. And it does require some commitment. It isn't just going to happen on its own. But it is going to happen if we put the conditions in and if we're meditating to wake up which I'm sure that's what we're doing. Waking up is that flaming sort of prajna it's going to happen when our meditation reaches the tipping point of one pointedness of even placement, meditative equipoise Samadhi.

Won't happen otherwise,

I think that's important for us to understand. Meditation is still good, even if we don't achieve Samadhi what's the point? What's the point in not achieving Samadhi if we're meditators? So, we have two types of Samadhi. We have the Samadhi of the mind, which involves mindfulness placing itself on a chosen object, such as the breath, or the body, or a visualization, or a mantra, or even a contemplative theme like impermanence, or loving kindness, these faster a stability of the mind. And the mind is something that's always moving. So this is a way for one part of the mind to stabilize itself either by looking at another part of the mind, which would be a visualization or a theme or even better. One part of the mind which is mindfulness. Looking outside of the mind at something that's stable, or at least non moving, such as the body. When we develop Samadhi in that way. We are temporarily stabilizing something which normally moves and that can position us to invite prajna to come forward and see. So that's one type of Samadhi there's another type of Samadhi. The other type of Samadhi is the Samadhi of awareness, which is not the mind. We have the mind. And then we have awareness which is the space the Cognizant or knowing space in which the mind appears. Just like space doesn't move, but things move in space. Awareness doesn't move, but things move in awareness. The Samadhi of awareness is the most important Samadhi it's what truly leads to transformation and it's the basis of Mahayana and Vajrayana meditation. It's also the basis of non dual Advaita teachings Advaita Vedanta teachings or Shava tantric teachings it's a different type of Samadhi because it doesn't involve effort. In the first type of Samadhi, we're trying to stabilize something which is normally in motion. So it takes some effort and intention and knowing what we're doing. And when we're able to bring the mind to rest, which is exciting, completely worth doing. Very inspiring for a meditator to be able to do that. For a meditator to be able to enter meditation, and after five or 10 minutes in a session, lock in and meditate uninterruptedly for an hour. All of us can do that. And all of us really should experience that if we never have before, because it'll show you what you're made of your made of strong stuff. The mind can do amazing things. And Samadhi is probably the most amazing thing that we've ever experienced, and it's really not that difficult. But that type of Samadhi comes to an end when the conditions are no longer there. So as long as our meditation practice is set, and our life doesn't get in the way, and our discipline doesn't flag we can develop and sustain that Samadhi. Ever every time we sit down to practice for weeks or months, theoretically for years or forever even. We're always stable, deeper and deeper, and we can measure our stability to the nine stages of shamatha which is a teaching that is really like just sort of the milestones that we're achieving. It can be very inspiring. It is hard work to go through them all. But it's possible at the same time, life does get in the way. And then our Samadhi falters and we're pretty soon, right back to where we were. We've definitely benefited from our time in Samadhi and we know what we're capable of. But the Samadhi hasn't lasted because we got a new job, or we went skiing or there was a family emergency. Maybe we got sick. You can't miss very many sessions and still keep your Samadhi at least that's been my experience. Some Samadhi of the mind is temporary Samadhi within awareness is different because Samadhi within awareness isn't trying to stabilize something that's not moving. It's trying to identify and locate something which doesn't move, which is beyond change. And the amazing thing is that we can do that we can locate that part within us that doesn't move and we can stay there. That part of us that doesn't move is easy to find and difficult to find. It's easy to find because it's fundamental to what we are. It's our awareness. But it's difficult to find because it's so close that it's the first thing we miss when we look any effort at all, to find that awareness. Any effort at all takes us one step away. We have to leave awareness to look for it. So how do we find awareness and how do we stabilize within it? We relax. We learn the art of meditative relaxation, which is different than ordinary relaxation, meditative relaxation. Lets go of everything that we aren't until we've let go. of everything that we aren't. And all that's left is that knowingness, which doesn't move. Then we learn to stabilize within that which is sometimes called resting or just being that's the real Samadhi that produces noble beings. Arias, what they're called and it's totally possible for us to do this. In fact, it's easy. It's easy, it's easier than doing a lot of things. It's easier than trying to find permanent happiness in samsara. All of these things require a little bit of work. We expect that but it's important to know what we're working toward. If we're just meditating to settle, we just want to feel better. And that's okay meditation may be able to help us with that. But that's not going to lead to transformation. And when we start to understand what transformation means in the context of meditation sounds like a pretty good deal. Something worth working for. So those are the two Samadhi is the Samadhi of the mind stilling that which is always in motion, and the Samadhi of awareness, identifying and staying with that which is beyond

motion. It's

much easier to do the second if you've had some experience with the first but it isn't strictly necessary. One of my favorite teachers in the world, Sony Rinpoche, he discourages people from the Samadhi of the mind to snare. Why do that? That virtually every other teacher including his brothers think it's indispensable. So who's right I don't know. It clearly has worked for him. But I benefit from doing them both. I haven't been able to just do Samadhi of awareness without prepping with Samadhi of the mind. So it's in my mission to get everyone to the dinner table and time. I'd love to have some discussion. If you would like to

how did I know that you'd be here?

Yes, sir. Well, it almost didn't make it because it's this is the same time as my favorite game shows on the Spanish channel. But I thought well, if it's Jeffrey Stevens talking I don't want to miss that.

I hope you don't regret it. Well, I

will see but anyhow, my question sir is about a terminology. The meditative relaxation versus conventional relaxation.

Is there a

particular term in Sanskrit or Tibetan, which refers to meditate or relaxation?

That's a good question from you know, this is kind of interesting. The the terms that are used are what are called experiential words. It's what we would call help me with the word onomatopoeia. The word that sounds like the thing that it is. So I don't speak Tibetan. But one of the words for this is loop or head over. And these are just supposed to encourage someone to let go of the mind and just be now I don't know of an actual term, but I know what terms would be in play. So conventional relaxation is relaxing either into the body away from the thinking mind and we do that. That's how well that's kind of how we initiate sleep. We also can just turn within, we're all the sense consciousness is turned within, and then we go to sleep, but it's a relaxation that happens between the body and the mind. We can also relax away from the body into the mind. And that's what daydreaming is. That's what you're not supposed to do when you drive or when you're at school, or when you're talking to your friends. That's conventional relaxation, and it's the only option we have meditative relaxation is relaxing directly toward awareness. And it is not something that 99.99999% of people even they ever thought of, or whatever just do on their own. It can be done is to human capacity. But the traditions will say it has to be transmitted. It's a very secret capacity that we have. We don't need someone else to be able to do it. But we do need somebody else to show us how meditative relaxation is learning to drop body and mind and rest with what is more fundamental, which is awareness. I don't have the Sanskrit of the Tibetan, but there probably are those things. I mean, they're very articulate about this stuff, as you know.

Right, right. And then is there terminology between the resting in in the stability of mind versus stability awareness?

Well, they're both called Samadhi. But so if you were studying a system that is helping you to relax away from the entanglements with the mind and the sensory realm, which that's not really what it is. entanglement with the mind both the way it's entangled with thoughts and the way that the mind entangled itself with its stories about the sensory world that's more complete. Those traditions will call Samadhi. The resting in awareness, other traditions, those that stabilize the mind will call it we'll call Samadhi. Or sometimes you will hear the term Jana, Jana states, they would call Samadhi. The stability of the mind. So it's not so much that there are different words as there are different contexts. But they're actually maybe I'll think about it. I'll have that in my mind. Now.

I think in the yoga system, in the Hindu tradition, that would be called a needle because what does it need to be called? Samadhi?

Yeah. Samadhi Yeah, yeah. So that's Samadhi with no seed, or no,

that would be needed. Beija Nirvikalpa you know, V culpa would be the mind waves the chip. Yeah, the chip. Right. So it's the cessation of those would be nice to be culpa.

That's perfect. What you just said the cessation of those cessation is a characteristic of trying to steal or stabilize the waves of the mind. And that that is a very important distinction between Samadhi within the mind and Samadhi beyond the mind Samadhi beyond the mind. It absorbs the motion. It's called wrong role or self liberation, it liberates the motion and awareness becomes brighter. The mind is thought to sort of, it's almost like a I don't want to give hummingbirds a bad rap but you know, hummingbirds will go in and they'll sort of go into a flower and they'll suck out its its essence. Well, that's what the mind is doing to awareness. It's reducing it into a dualistic framework. We're getting pretty philosophical, but I knew that would happen. When I saw you or Thank you. Sure. Yeah. Hello. And

hello, thank you for this amazing talk. Welcome, learned a lot, a lot to think about. And I have a question for you and how you balance in your practice Samadhi of the mind and Samadhi of awareness because you say that you do both. I'm wondering if you practice both in one sitting or every other day or more.

Sure, scheduling and the approach so Samadhi of the mind, also just called shamatha shamatha is the practice that leads to that Samadhi of the mind was kind of my specialty early on, like around 1999 I really started to focus in on that. And that was what I taught a lot. And I avoided Samadhi of awareness even though I had those teachings. I just didn't I just did not understand them. There just just seemed impossible, and it wasn't tangible. And I was young and ambitious, and I wanted to feel that you know, so I learned the hard way that you can go into retreat and you can really go up the stages of shamatha and have this blazing stability. practice for hours without interruption and feel like I'm going to be the world renowned one when I leave retreat. But then you leave retreat and two weeks later, you're back to where you were before. I mean it just is real. And I've also had lots of students who wanted to do that. A lot of like young men, men in their 30s who really want to do that stuff. So I've led them in that and they've done it but it never lasts. So it's for it's important to know that unless someone is unusually gifted all of their efforts to stabilize their mind, or to temporarily visit a platform of clarity where you can look around and learn things. Now outside of that context, because you asked about my daily practice. I will once or twice a year do a retreat, where I stabilize my mind in the conventional approach. I usually try there are nine stages of Samadhi of the mind. The ninth is almost perfect stillness. But the fifth is the sweet spot, the fifth stage. So you have the first, second third. And then the fourth is where things begin to get stable. And the fifth stage is where things are stable. And then they become luminous, very vivid. And it's a very powerful place to be in your practice. And that takes, I don't know, seven or eight days in retreat, and once you get the hang of it, you can do that maybe two weeks. So I'll go under retreat at least once a year. Sometimes twice. I used to do it more than that. And I'll try to get to either the fourth or the fifth stage. And I do that. I don't know I do that partially because it really benefits me. I think it still benefits me. One of my teachers would say why are you doing that? Come on, just do the other thing but I think it's good because I'm a very ADHD kind of guy. But I also do it just because I'm a teacher and I don't want to lose my connection to that.

Then

I will go directly into the rest of the time. I practice Maha Mudra and zoek Jen and Zug, Chen and Maha Mudra are systems of awareness, where you're learning how to stabilize or rest beyond the mind. But I don't find that I personally can sit down to a session of meditation very often. And just top into awareness. I can sometimes and that's exciting, but I'll usually spend on the first 30 minutes of the session of meditation grounding myself in basic stability. Now, I wouldn't say that I actually maintain Samadhi I'm not at that stage of stability in my daily practice. I can easily do it if I have several days to to practice. That's okay because I don't need to the most important thing for someone who's doing awareness based practice is that you're able to stabilize your mind so that you can find awareness and then you springboard into it, and then you work on the practices of resting there. So that's what I would say. I really think that combining the two practices is the is optimal. And for those who have never done awareness practice, that's definitely the next step. A lot of people have only done practice within the mind. And these are not the same thing. This is like watching. This is like watching animation and being in a real situation. At least that's my opinion. Where'd you go? Oh, there you are.

Is that helpful? And

yes, yes, it's very helpful. Yes. Thank you. So much for

Yeah, you're welcome. You're welcome. Hey, Jerry.

Oh hello,

can you hear me?

Yes, yes.

I'm having problems with my Zoom program. I don't know what it is.

Yeah, but what uh, how's your meditation? Well,

I had some very serious family and health issues ever since I took your course. You know, finding girl.

Yeah, I'm sorry.

They're quite serious. I'm just in the family. And more, but I don't want to go into that.

Okay. Yeah,

I remember when I was taking your program there. And you know, you were talking about for example, when you start meditation, you have to have intention. You have to have prajna. You have to have mindfulness. And then you mentioned the fourth one. What was heedfulness

heedfulness? That's right. And I never

that was the only time I've ever heard that term or you know how it differs from mindfulness.

So yeah, there are four there, what I call the sort of four real players that we have to be. This is how I condense things. In finding ground. Just you know, I'm taking lots and lots of traditional teachings and I'm sort of choosing the most important the most essential points. And so we have to have intention. Have to have that. We have to have mindfulness. Then we have to have heedfulness and we have to have Pragnya. So you know what, all of those are a bit heedfulness. So heedfulness heedfulness is usually the fourth one not the third one. heedfulness is our ability to detect whether or not a state of mind that is presenting itself to us is something that will help us or something that will hurt us. Same thing about actions using our body and mind in the world. There are some things that if we engage in those, we may get a temporary gain, but we also may damage our life or someone else's life. Whereas there's another option where we could do something and it just benefits everyone heedfulness makes that distinction. So Pragnya is the faculty of mind it's the intelligence that sees and distinguishes. And then heedfulness makes a judgment call of whether it's a good thing or a thing to avoid. So one of the ways of summarizing the Dharma is that the Dharma teaches you what to accept and what to reject. You accept things that are beneficial for yourself and others and you reject things that are harmful for yourself and others. It seems very simple, every child is supposed to learn that stuff. But when you really get down to the fine points of life well they're fine points. So you need find faculties. So heedfulness is is like that.

Okay, all right. Well, thank you very much. Right now I'm having problems with my Zoom program and I can't see myself on the screen.

You look, you look very good. So I wouldn't worry about it. Take it from me.

When I'm on my hands, which I'm going to do right now. Can you actually see a picture of me out of the screen up there on top? Oh, I

see you I see you in living color. In your striped shirt.

Yeah, but usually I see myself too and it isn't showing up but doesn't show up anymore.

You may have to restart your system or something. I've done

lots of stuff and I'm going to try lots of stuff more. But anyways, you know, to end the session. I thank you very, very much for all your teachings. I think what you're doing is wonderful. And it's very encouraging to hear what you said earlier that you're going to these meditation sessions and you're seeing more and more people.

Yeah, that's right. Yeah, anybody wants to know about these? Happy to talk about them. You know, these are just things that are available on the scene. I'm just a participant, but a very enthusiastic one. It's a great time. To be a meditator, everybody. I mean, really is I think that you know, there are, first of all, fantastic teachers available that have really made some decisions about what to teach because all teachers even teachers, like me, have way too much material. I have way too much material to teach anyone. You go to graduate school and then you study with these Tibetan teachers and after a while, it's just overwhelming. I heard a podcast with Andrew just the other day, and he said that in his three year retreat, he had something like 50 practices, deep practices that he was trained to do, and there's no way anyone and none of us, none of us can master that many practices. So you have to kind of make decisions. What's the most important thing to do? And what I'm seeing the really great teachers do is they're making decisions. What is the essential stuff to get through? What is going to make the biggest impact on people right now? And they're sometimes departing from the traditional curriculum, and they're taking a risk and I really appreciate it. I think that they're doing an excellent thing. Reese longtime no see my friend. Hi, definitely. Yes, a long time. Yeah. wanted to say hi. What's your hair go? Where do you probably same place yours did

I like this hair do you actually it's easy to manage and

easy to keep it clean? Anyway, it's good to see you. Good to see you. Keep up the good work. Thank you so much. You too.

Jeffrey, there was a question that came in through the chat also. Okay.

Oh, yes, I should go down there and.

Okay, Tim hawk.

Do you think it is possible to maintain a state of Samadhi while active during our daily life? No.

I do not.

There are some people who will say otherwise, but they're not referring to what's called Nam shock or meditative echo. poise, the person who could do that would be an enlightened person.

So, you

may not know but it is possible to have a very changed.

Experience

your perceptions change. And most importantly, this isn't Samadhi but this would be the afterglow. You are closer to seeing things as they are than you were before you are able to enter Samadhi and you can all depending on how you approach your path. You can pop in and out

throughout the day.

Now there's also a type of Samadhi that I didn't talk about because it's not really a traditional form, but it's more associated with what are called the nature of mind teachings and I'm, you know, it's not my place to teach that stuff, but I can teach about it and those would be the states where you recognize that you've been distracted into confusion and just the movement of becoming confused, reminds you of reality, and you pop back into it and you rest there that is a state of Samadhi but it's a special use because it's Samadhi that remains for however long. It remains which usually means less than a minute, but that's the most important minute you could have. So that's very much associated with the zoek Gen and Mahamudra traditions. But anyway, you certainly can have powerful um

you can have powerful Thank you Alejandro. Post meditation experience that is the result of coming out of Samadhi. So if there are no more questions, just would like to thank everyone. Anyone who is looking to do a meditation retreat, there's one happening this weekend. You can go to my website and sign up if that's something that's interesting to you. If anyone is interested in studying the system finding ground, you can go to my website and just sign up on what do you do you go and you sign up to be alerted when he just made me come back next time I'm on nightclub and I'll tell you when we're going to be teaching this every month. And every month. At least this is our plan. Every month. We're going to have a meditation retreat, a weekend meditation retreat, to do what to generate Samadhi that's what we'll be doing both Somalis. So if this is something that's interesting to you. It's good to you know, to know what you need to do. And there are lots of available resources but probably most of them involve traveling to a meditation center or whatever. And that's why we're offering these online retreats. It's everything you need, and nothing that you don't. So ladies and gentlemen, it's been one oh there's one more. One. Hello, Anita.

Hello, but I thought you retreat is a 23rd and 24.

Yes, this month.

I don't know this is not this weekend. Is it

Yeah, well, it's,

yeah, it's next weekend.

And then next weekend. Okay. Well, today's Monday.

Huh?

Goodness. Okay. I'm sorry. It was like two weeks. From now.

No, it's Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday for six days from now at 9am Mountain Time it begins. There'll be another one in a month. And all of these have video modules that can prepare you for them if you want preparation. So if you register, you'll get you'll receive some training classes that you can watch for the two days before the retreat. to sort of get yourself in gear. But anyway, I'd love to see you at one of those retreats. Maybe now. Maybe it's too soon this time. Yeah.

I didn't know we were dating. I'm sorry. Oh, that's okay.

I like your set there. I like your plant right there.

I live within our country

I think you broke up there. I didn't hear you

is a picture of my avocado tree that I have. Oh, New York in this beautiful

Did you grow up from an avocado pit?

Yes.

Well, I admire you for that.

I'm a person from South America

Thanks. See I see without planting it

Oh, I'm sorry. I thought it was next weekend. Okay. You say you make it every month.

Yes. Well, that's our plan. Right now we have we just opened up registration this morning and we we have more people than we thought we'd have after a week. So it seems like people want it. So if that's the case, we will do it every month. If it ends up just being me and April. We'll probably we probably will have to rethink things but so far it looks pretty good. Looks like people are going to be there. A good time we'll be had by all everybody. It's wonderful to be here on my club and certainly wish you the very best in your practice. And I imagine that I'll be back in October. I don't know what my standing day will be. I can't even remember what it used to be elicited. Do you remember was it the first

around the first of the month?

All right, well, maybe that's when I'll be be here again. And I look forward to it. So everybody, rest tight. Stabilize your mind or go beyond the minor rest in awareness and enjoy we'll see the

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