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<v Speaker 1>At a certain point, many people experience something strange they

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<v Speaker 1>didn't see coming. Things that once delighted them, activities that

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<v Speaker 1>once filled them with enthusiasm and pleasure, suddenly.

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<v Speaker 2>Seem to lose their savor.

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<v Speaker 1>The music doesn't move them any more, the food doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>taste as it used to, the company of friends feels hollow.

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<v Speaker 1>Even the pursuits they once considered their greatest passions, reading,

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<v Speaker 1>walking in nature, creating things, all of it becomes somehow flat, colorless,

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<v Speaker 1>without the spark that once made life feel worth living.

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<v Speaker 1>And naturally, when this happens, people become frightened. They think

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<v Speaker 1>something has gone terribly wrong. They believe they've become depressed,

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<v Speaker 1>that they're ill, that there's some chemical imbalance in their

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<v Speaker 1>brain that needs correcting. Or they think they've simply become cynical, jaded,

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<v Speaker 1>that life has worn them down and they've lost their

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<v Speaker 1>capacity for joy. And they ask themselves, with genuine desperation,

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<v Speaker 1>what's happened to me? Why can't I feel anything any more?

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<v Speaker 1>But what if I told you that this last of joy,

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<v Speaker 1>this apparent flatness of experience, is not necessarily a problem

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<v Speaker 1>at all. What if this state that seems like death

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<v Speaker 1>is actually a kind of birth. What if the disappearance

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<v Speaker 1>of joy as you knew it is simply making room

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<v Speaker 1>for something else, something you haven't yet recognized, because you're

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<v Speaker 1>still looking for the old feelings, the old excitements, the

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<v Speaker 1>old ways of being moved. Let me explain what I mean.

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<v Speaker 1>You see, most of what we call joy or pleasure

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<v Speaker 1>in ordinary life is really a kind of relief. It's

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<v Speaker 1>the satisfaction of a want, the filling of a lack,

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<v Speaker 1>the scratching of an itch. You're hungry and then you eat,

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<v Speaker 1>and there's pleasure in that. But notice the pleasure depends

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<v Speaker 1>on the hunger. Without the hunger, the eating is just mechanical.

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<v Speaker 1>You're lonely and then someone pays attention to you, and

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<v Speaker 1>there's joy in that. But the joy depends on the loneliness.

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<v Speaker 1>Without the sense of lack, the attention doesn't move you.

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<v Speaker 1>This is what the Buddha was pointing out when he

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<v Speaker 1>said that life is suffering, or more accurately, that life

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<v Speaker 1>is unsatisfactoriness. Not that everything is miserable, but that this

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<v Speaker 1>constant cycle of wanting and getting, of lacking and filling,

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<v Speaker 1>of itching and scratching is inherently unstable. It's based on

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<v Speaker 1>a sense of incompleteness, of something missing, of not being

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<v Speaker 1>quite enough as you are.

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<v Speaker 2>And so we spend our lives chasing these.

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<v Speaker 1>Little moments of relief, these brief satisfactions when a want

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<v Speaker 1>is filled.

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<v Speaker 2>We call this happiness, we call this joy.

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<v Speaker 1>But it's really just the temporary cessation of discomfort. It's

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<v Speaker 1>like someone hitting you on the head with a hammer

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<v Speaker 1>and then stopping and you feel relieved, and you call

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<v Speaker 1>that relief pleasure. But the question nobody asks is why

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<v Speaker 1>were you being hit with a hammer in the first place. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>what happens to some people, and this is what's happening

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<v Speaker 1>to you if you're experiencing this loss of joy, is

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<v Speaker 1>that they begin to see through this game. They begin

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<v Speaker 1>to recognize that all these pleasures they've been chasing are

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<v Speaker 1>really just escapes from discomfort. And once you see this,

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<v Speaker 1>once you really understand it, the old joys don't work anymore.

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<v Speaker 1>The scratching doesn't satisfy the itch because you've realized that

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<v Speaker 1>you're creating the itch in order to enjoy the scratching.

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<v Speaker 1>It's like a drug addict who takes a drug to

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<v Speaker 1>feel good, but the drug itself creates.

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<v Speaker 2>The need for more of the drug.

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<v Speaker 1>The relief the addict gets from taking the drug is

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<v Speaker 1>really just the temporary cessation of the withdrawal symptoms caused

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<v Speaker 1>by the drug itself. Once you see this pattern, the

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<v Speaker 1>whole thing collapses. The pleasure loses its appeal because you've

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<v Speaker 1>seen through it. This is what's happened to you. You've

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<v Speaker 1>seen through the game of seeking pleasure and avoiding pain.

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<v Speaker 1>You've recognized, perhaps not intellectually, but in your bones, that

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<v Speaker 1>all these joys you were pursuing were really just elaborate

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<v Speaker 1>ways of running away from yourself, from the present moment,

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<v Speaker 1>from what simply is. And so now you're left in

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<v Speaker 1>this strain state. The old pleasures don't work, the old

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<v Speaker 1>excitements don't excite. You've lost your capacity to be distracted,

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<v Speaker 1>to be taken out of yourself by experiences and sensations.

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<v Speaker 1>And this feels like death. It feels like something essential

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<v Speaker 1>has been taken from you, like you've become a ghost,

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<v Speaker 1>going through the motions of life but not really living it.

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<v Speaker 1>But here's what you must understand. This state is not

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<v Speaker 1>an end. It's a transition. It's the space between the

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<v Speaker 1>old way of experiencing life and a new way that

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<v Speaker 1>you haven't discovered yet. You're in the gap, and the

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<v Speaker 1>gap is terrifying because there's nothing to hold on to.

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<v Speaker 1>The old structures have collapsed, but the new hasn't yet emerged.

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<v Speaker 1>Let me give you an analogy. Imagine you've been living

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<v Speaker 1>your whole life in a room lit by candles. The

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<v Speaker 1>candlelight creates all these interesting shadows on the walls, dancing

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<v Speaker 1>shapes that fascinate you. You spend your time watching the shadows,

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<v Speaker 1>being entertained by them, finding meaning in their patterns. This

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<v Speaker 1>is like the ordinary joys of life. They're real enough

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<v Speaker 1>in their way, but they're really just flickering shadows created

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<v Speaker 1>by the limited light source. Now what happens if someone

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<v Speaker 1>opens the door and bright daylight streams in. At first,

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<v Speaker 1>the light is so bright it's almost painful. You can't

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<v Speaker 1>see anything clearly. Everything is washed out, and all those

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<v Speaker 1>fascinating shadows that kept you entertained they've disappeared, vanished in

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<v Speaker 1>the bright light. And you might think this is terrible.

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<v Speaker 1>I've lost all the interesting patterns. Everything's become bland and featureless.

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<v Speaker 1>But you're not seeing clearly yet. Your eyes haven't adjusted

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<v Speaker 1>to the daylight. Once they do, you'll realize that you

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<v Speaker 1>haven't lost anything, you've gained everything. You're seeing reality directly now,

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<v Speaker 1>not just its shadows. And this direct seeing is so

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<v Speaker 1>much richer, so much more real than the shadow play

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<v Speaker 1>you were watching before.

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<v Speaker 2>But it's a.

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<v Speaker 1>Different of richness. It doesn't have the same quality as

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<v Speaker 1>the shadows. It's not entertainment, it's something else entirely. This

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<v Speaker 1>is what's happening when nothing brings you joy anymore. The

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<v Speaker 1>old shadow play has stopped working, but you haven't yet

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<v Speaker 1>learned to see in the daylight. You're in that transitional

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<v Speaker 1>period where the old is gone, but the new isn't

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<v Speaker 1>yet clear. And this period can last quite a while.

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<v Speaker 1>It's not something you can rush. Your eyes must adjust

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<v Speaker 1>at their own pace.

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<v Speaker 2>Now.

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<v Speaker 1>The usual response to this state is to try desperately

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<v Speaker 1>to get the old joys back. People throw themselves into

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<v Speaker 1>new hobbies, new relationships, new experiences, hoping to rekindle that spark.

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<v Speaker 1>Or they turn to stronger stimulations, louder music, more intense sensations,

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<v Speaker 1>more dramatic experiences. Like someone whose taste buds have become dulled,

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<v Speaker 1>trying hotter and hotter spices to feel something anything. But

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<v Speaker 1>this doesn't work loo In fact, it makes things worse,

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<v Speaker 1>because what's really needed is not more stimulation, but less.

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<v Speaker 1>What's needed is to stop running, stop seeking, stop trying

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<v Speaker 1>to fill the emptiness with experiences and sensations. What's needed

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<v Speaker 1>is to simply be with what is, without trying to

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<v Speaker 1>make it into something else. And here's the extraordinary thing

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<v Speaker 1>that happens when you do this. When you stop trying

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<v Speaker 1>to manufacture joy, you discover that there's something present that

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<v Speaker 1>was always there, but that you never noticed because you

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<v Speaker 1>were too busy chasing after pleasures.

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<v Speaker 2>It's not exactly joy in the old sense. It's more like.

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<v Speaker 1>An okayness, a fundamental sense that everything is all right

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<v Speaker 1>exactly as it is. Not that everything is perfect or pleasurable,

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<v Speaker 1>but that it's complete. It's enough, it doesn't need anything

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<v Speaker 1>added to it. The old joys were based on contrast,

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<v Speaker 1>good times versus bad times, pleasure versus pain, excitement versus boredom.

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<v Speaker 1>But this new state, this okness, doesn't depend on contrast.

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<v Speaker 1>It's there all the time, whether things are going well

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<v Speaker 1>or poorly, whether you're comfortable or uncomfortable, whether you're experiencing

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<v Speaker 1>pleasure or pain, It's like discovering that you've been living

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<v Speaker 1>in a house your whole life, rushing from room to

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<v Speaker 1>room looking for something, and then suddenly realizing that what

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<v Speaker 1>you were looking for was the house itself. It was there,

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<v Speaker 1>all alarm, you were standing in it. You are it,

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<v Speaker 1>but you couldn't see it because you were too busy searching.

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<v Speaker 1>Now I must warn you about something. When I described

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<v Speaker 1>this state as an okness or a fundamental sense that

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<v Speaker 1>everything is all right, you might think this sounds rather dull.

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<v Speaker 1>You might think, is that all there is? Just being

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<v Speaker 1>okay with things? That doesn't sound very exciting.

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<v Speaker 2>And you're right.

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<v Speaker 1>It's not exciting in the way the old pleasures were exciting.

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<v Speaker 1>It doesn't have that quality of peauk experience, of highs

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<v Speaker 1>and lows, of drama and intensity. But here's what you

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<v Speaker 1>must understand. Excitement is exhausting. Drama is exhausting. The constant

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<v Speaker 1>pursuit of pique experiences is exhausting. You can't live at

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<v Speaker 1>that pitch all the time. What happens is that you

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<v Speaker 1>have these brief moments of intensity and then long periods

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<v Speaker 1>of deflation while you wait for the next high. The

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<v Speaker 1>lows get lower and lower, and you need stronger and

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<v Speaker 1>stronger stimuli to achieve the same highs. This is the

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<v Speaker 1>addict's pattern, and most people are addicted to experience, to sensation,

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<v Speaker 1>to the drama of their own lives. They're constantly generating

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<v Speaker 1>problems so they can solve them, creating tensions so they

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<v Speaker 1>can release them, stirring up emotions so they can feel alive, and.

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<v Speaker 2>They call this joy, but it's really just agitation.

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<v Speaker 1>What you've lost when nothing brings you joy any more,

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<v Speaker 1>is your addiction to this pattern. And like any addict

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<v Speaker 1>going through withdraw you feel terrible. You feel empty, flat, dead.

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<v Speaker 1>But what you're really experiencing is the absence of agitation.

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<v Speaker 1>And at first, the absence of agitation feels like death,

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<v Speaker 1>because you've been agitated for so long that you've forgotten

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<v Speaker 1>what it's like to simply be at rest. Let me

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<v Speaker 1>tell you about a man I knew once. He was

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<v Speaker 1>tremendously energetic, always doing something, always pursuing some new project

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<v Speaker 1>or pleasure. He traveled constantly, collected experiences like some people

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<v Speaker 1>collect stamps. Was always reading, always learning, always seeking out

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<v Speaker 1>new sensations, and he.

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<v Speaker 2>Was proud of this. He thought he was really living

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<v Speaker 2>squeezing every drop out of life. Then something happened.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know exactly what, perhaps just the accumulation of years,

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<v Speaker 1>and he lost his enthusiasm. All those activities that had

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<v Speaker 1>seemed so important suddenly seemed pointless. Travel bored him, books

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<v Speaker 1>couldn't hold his attention. Food all tasted the same, and

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<v Speaker 1>he became quite depressed about this. He thought his life

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<v Speaker 1>was over, that he'd become old and worn out. But then,

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<v Speaker 1>after some time in this state, something shifted. He told

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<v Speaker 1>me that one day he was sitting in his garden,

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<v Speaker 1>doing nothing in particular, just sitting there, and he suddenly

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<v Speaker 1>realized that he was completely content, not excited, not entertained,

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<v Speaker 1>just simply content, present here. And he understood that all

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<v Speaker 1>his previous rushing around had been a kind of running away.

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<v Speaker 1>He'd been afraid of this simple being here, so he'd

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<v Speaker 1>filled his life with constant activity and stimulation to avoid it.

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<v Speaker 2>And now that all the.

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<v Speaker 1>Activity had dropped away, he'd discovered what he'd been running from.

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<v Speaker 1>Just this, this moment, this breath, this being alive, and

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<v Speaker 1>it was enough, more than enough, It was everything, But

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<v Speaker 1>it wasn't exciting or dramatic, so his mind had dismissed

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<v Speaker 1>it as nothing, as emptiness as death. Only when he

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<v Speaker 1>stopped demanding that life be exciting did he discover that

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<v Speaker 1>life is extraordinary in its ordinariness. This is what I'm

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<v Speaker 1>trying to point you toward. When nothing brings you joy

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<v Speaker 1>anymore in the old way, you are being invited to

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<v Speaker 1>discover a different quality of experience, not the ups and

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<v Speaker 1>downs of pleasure and pain, but something more subtle, more constant,

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<v Speaker 1>more fundamental. But you can't force this discovery. You can't

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<v Speaker 1>make it happen. In fact, trying to make it happen

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<v Speaker 1>is exactly what prevents it. It's like trying to fall asleep.

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<v Speaker 1>The harder you try, the more wakeful you become. You

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<v Speaker 1>have to give up trying. You have to surrender to

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<v Speaker 1>not knowing, to not feeling, to this apparent emptiness. And

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<v Speaker 1>this is perhaps the most difficult thing anyone can be

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<v Speaker 1>asked to do. Because we're so afraid of emptiness. We

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<v Speaker 1>think emptiness is death, is meaninglessness, is the absence of life.

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<v Speaker 1>But actually emptiness is potential. It's the space in which

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<v Speaker 1>something new can emerge, as long as you are full

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<v Speaker 1>of seeking and striving and trying to recapture old joys.

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<v Speaker 1>There's no room for anything new. You must become empty,

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<v Speaker 1>not empty in a negative sense, but empty, like a

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<v Speaker 1>bowl is empty, empty so it can receive empty, so

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<v Speaker 1>it can be filled, but not filled with the old things,

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<v Speaker 1>filled with something.

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<v Speaker 2>You don't yet have a name for now. I know

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<v Speaker 2>this is not what you wanted to hear. You wanted

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<v Speaker 2>me to tell you how to.

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<v Speaker 1>Get your joy back, how to feel things again the

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<v Speaker 1>way you used to. But I can't tell you that

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<v Speaker 1>because what you're experiencing is not a problem to be solved.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a transition to be gone through, like a caterpillar

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<v Speaker 1>dissolving in the cocoon before it becomes a butterfly. The

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<v Speaker 1>caterpillar is finished, it can't go back to being a

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<v Speaker 1>happy caterpillar. But it's not yet a butterfly. It's just mush.

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<v Speaker 1>And if the mush could think, it would probably be

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<v Speaker 1>quite distressed about its condition. You're the mush right now,

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<v Speaker 1>and I'm telling you this is not a mistake. This

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<v Speaker 1>is the process. Stay with it, don't try to escape

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<v Speaker 1>from it. Don't try to manufacture fake joys to fill

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<v Speaker 1>the emptiness. Just be with what is, Be with the flatness,

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<v Speaker 1>the colorlessness, the apparent meaninglessness. Let it be exactly as

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<v Speaker 1>it is, without trying to fix it or understand it

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<v Speaker 1>or make it into something else. And gradually, not according

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<v Speaker 1>to your timetable, but in its own time, something will shift,

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<v Speaker 1>not back to the old way, but forward into something new,

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<v Speaker 1>A new way of experiencing life that doesn't depend on contrast,

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<v Speaker 1>that doesn't require stimulation, that finds sufficiency in the bare

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<v Speaker 1>fact of existing. This is what the mystics have always

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<v Speaker 1>pointed to. Not some ecstatic state of constant bliss that's

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<v Speaker 1>just another form of the old seeking, but a deep

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<v Speaker 1>okayness that persists through all states, pleasant and unpleasant alike,

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<v Speaker 1>a recognition that you are in the deepest sense or right,

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<v Speaker 1>not because everything in your life is going well, but

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<v Speaker 1>because your life, your existence, is fundamentally complete.

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<v Speaker 2>Exactly as it is.

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<v Speaker 1>The old joys were like trying to improve a sunset

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<v Speaker 1>by throwing more colors at it. The new recognition is

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<v Speaker 1>that the sunset is already perfect, doesn't need improvement, doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>need anything added to it or taken away from it.

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<v Speaker 1>It's complete in itself, and so are you, and so

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<v Speaker 1>is this moment, and so is your life. Even in

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<v Speaker 1>this seemingly joyless state. But I must emphasize again, you

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<v Speaker 1>cannot make this recognition happen. You cannot achieve this state.

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<v Speaker 1>Any effort to get there pushes it away, because effort

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<v Speaker 1>implies that something is lacking, that you're not already complete.

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<v Speaker 1>The recognition can only come when you stop trying, when

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<v Speaker 1>you give up, when you surrender completely to what is.

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<v Speaker 1>And even then it may not come, or it may

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<v Speaker 1>come and go, or it may come in such a

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<v Speaker 1>subtle way that you don't even notice it at first.

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<v Speaker 1>It's not dramatic, it's not exciting. It doesn't feel like

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<v Speaker 1>you thought enlightenment would feel. It's more like coming home,

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<v Speaker 1>like taking off tight shoes, like exhaling after holding your

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<v Speaker 1>breath too long. So what do you do in the

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<v Speaker 1>meantime while you're in this state where nothing brings joy?

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<v Speaker 1>You do what needs to be done. You brush your teeth,

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<v Speaker 1>you eat your meals, you go about your daily business.

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<v Speaker 1>But you do it without the expectation that these activities should.

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<v Speaker 2>Make you happy.

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<v Speaker 1>You do them simply because they're what's here to be done,

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<v Speaker 1>not with resignation or bitterness, but with a kind of

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<v Speaker 1>neutral acceptance. And you watch you observe this state you're

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<v Speaker 1>in without judging it, without trying to change it. You

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<v Speaker 1>become interested in it, curious about it, not in a

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<v Speaker 1>clinical way, but with the kind of interest you might

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<v Speaker 1>have in watching clouds move across the sky, just watching,

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<v Speaker 1>without needing the clouds to be different than they are.

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<v Speaker 1>And most importantly, you stop comparing. Stop comparing your current

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<v Speaker 1>state with how you used to feel. Stop comparing yourself

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<v Speaker 1>with people who seem to be having a good time,

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<v Speaker 1>Stop comparing this moment with some imagined future moment when

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<v Speaker 1>everything will be better. Just be here now with What

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<v Speaker 1>is This is not resignation, it's not giving up.

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<v Speaker 2>It's actually the opposite.

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<v Speaker 1>It's fully showing up for your life as it actually is,

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<v Speaker 1>rather than constantly.

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<v Speaker 2>Wishing it were different.

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<v Speaker 1>And paradoxically, it's only when you stop wishing things were

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<v Speaker 1>different that anything.

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<v Speaker 2>Can truly change.

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<v Speaker 1>Because what's blocking the new experience, the new way of

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<v Speaker 1>being is your insistence that things should be like they

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<v Speaker 1>were before, your nostalgia for the old joys, your memory

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<v Speaker 1>of how things used to feel, your expectation that life

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<v Speaker 1>should return to that familiar pattern. All of this is

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<v Speaker 1>preventing you from seeing what's actually here. Now, let me

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<v Speaker 1>give you one final thought. Perhaps the reason nothing brings

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<v Speaker 1>you joy any more is that you've outgrown joy as

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<v Speaker 1>you knew it. Perhaps you've become too big for those

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<v Speaker 1>small pleasures, too deep for those shallow satisfactions, not because

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<v Speaker 1>you're better than other people, but simply because your consciousness

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<v Speaker 1>has expanded and the old containers can no longer hold

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<v Speaker 1>what you've become. A child is delighted by candy, a

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<v Speaker 1>young person is thrilled by romance and adventure. A mature

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<v Speaker 1>person finds satisfaction in accomplishment and recognition.

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<v Speaker 2>But there comes a point for some people when all.

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<v Speaker 1>Of these things are seen through, when they're recognized as temporary, conditional,

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<v Speaker 1>ultimately unsatisfying. And then what Then You are thrown back

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<v Speaker 1>on existence itself, on the bare fact of being alive,

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<v Speaker 1>or being conscious of being here. And this can seem

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<v Speaker 1>like nothing at all compared to the excitement of candy

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<v Speaker 1>and romance and accomplishment. But actually it's everything. It's the

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<v Speaker 1>ground from which all those other things arose. It's what

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<v Speaker 1>was there before you learned to seek pleasure and avoid pain.

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<v Speaker 1>It's what remains when all the seeking stops, and it's

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<v Speaker 1>not nothing. It's not emptiness in the negative sense. It's fullness,

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<v Speaker 1>its wholeness, it's completion. But it's so simple, so ordinary,

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<v Speaker 1>so undramatic, that the mind overlooks it constantly, always seeking

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<v Speaker 1>something more exciting, more stimulating, more special. What you're being

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<v Speaker 1>asked to discover is that there is nothing more special

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<v Speaker 1>than this, this moment, this breath, this simple fact of

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<v Speaker 1>being alive. Not because it makes you feel good, not

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<v Speaker 1>because it's pleasurable, but because it's real. It's what is,

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<v Speaker 1>and what is is enough. It's always been enough. You

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<v Speaker 1>just forgot for a while. So when nothing brings you

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<v Speaker 1>joy anymore, don't despair. You haven't lost your capacity for feeling.

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<v Speaker 1>You've lost your addiction to a particular kind of feeling.

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<v Speaker 1>And in that loss, there's an opening, a possibility, a

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<v Speaker 1>doorway into a different way of being human. Walk through

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<v Speaker 1>that doorway, not by trying to walk through it, but

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<v Speaker 1>by standing still and discovering that you're already on the

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<v Speaker 1>other side. You've always been on the other side, you

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<v Speaker 1>just didn't notice because you were too busy seeking. Now

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<v Speaker 1>you have nothing to seek, and that's not a loss.

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<v Speaker 1>That's the greatest gift you could receive