Cultivating an Enlightened Mind

Robert Maldonado  01:06

Yeah, absolutely. Do you want me to talk about where it comes from and kind of the background of it? 

Debra Maldonado  01:12

I do. But I want to start off by just reminding everyone that we have a our new spiritual course that if you haven’t signed up for it yet, it’s absolutely free, it starts on Monday. And we’re not going to be here in the group for it. But we will have the if you sign up, you get an account with our Thinkific, service our courses, and then you’ll get the visualizations that come with it, you’ll have the replays of the videos and the audio that you can download. So be sure to register so you can get the reminders, and we’ll be on zoom. It’ll be on video, and then you’ll actually be able to call in you can we can unmute you we can talk to you. It’s a little more interactive than here. So yeah. 

Robert Maldonado  01:51

And be ready to go deep. Yeah. Nobody has accused us of not going deep. 

Debra Maldonado  01:57

Yes. So let’s start with what does it mean to cultivate an enlightened mind, Rob, in your opinion, in two minutes or less?

Robert Maldonado  02:08

Yeah, a little context. Because context is everything to understand, let’s say a deeper spiritual psychology. So the content that we talk about the ideas that we talk about, in our spiritual psychology, which is kind of the the deeper foundation of our work, you really have to understand them, that they’re they’re coming from a very different paradigm than the the material universe paradigm, which we all operate on. In this transactional reality, meaning the everyday reality, we just assume that the universe is made out of material and science and physics kind of confirm that for us. And we operate under those principles. 

Debra Maldonado  03:00

And we’re in this like world that all this stuff is happening. And we’re basically powerless to Yeah, to like, kind of bobbing around. And I always reacting reacting like someone said, in one of the Vivekananda books, he said, it’s like a cork bobbing on the top of the ocean being pushed around by the waves. And that’s kind of how a lot of people feel right now. So how do we become the ocean?

Robert Maldonado  03:24

Yeah, and so the ideas spoken of in the Gita and the Upanishads, which we’re going to be talking about, they assume a very different universe. And if you want to understand them properly, you have to make that adjustment. So a lot of people try to understand them from the materialistic perspective, it doesn’t make sense, or it gives you kind of a weird, warped understanding of what they’re talking about. But if you adjust your mind to understand that it’s a conscious universe, it’s a conscious universe. Now, it doesn’t mean all the laws of nature don’t apply. Obviously, they apply because they keep the patterns going, the pattern we see in nature and, and the cycles of the seasons and the planets. Of course, they’re still operating under those laws. But its nature, meaning our perception of that universe is really what’s creating it for us. The interaction between our our consciousness, and what’s called the material universe, is really what we’re experiencing. 

Debra Maldonado  04:33

And the material universe is an extension of us versus versus separate from us. 

Robert Maldonado  04:39

That’s it. Yes. 

Debra Maldonado  04:40

And so a lot of people like when I first started doing hypnotherapy, and I was learning the law of attraction, what they teach in that they assume that there’s a material, like our thoughts, our material, and then those thoughts go out and magnetize and bring material things back to you. And that’s actually the wrong understanding of how the universe works, it’s that we’re not the separate bubbles, and that we’re pulling in magnetizing. Of course, there’s a concept of that, in, in the the universe of the material world, but it, it’s not separate from us, we are connected to everything. So everything that we create in our life, every experience we have, is basically connected to us in some way. So there’s not like, Oh, those bad things I’m going to stay away from, or those are good things I want to stay, I want to grasp toward, they’re all a part of our mind. And that’s cultivating that mind is very important. 

Robert Maldonado  05:35

Yeah. And we’ll, we’ll be kind of talking more about that concept of what is the conscious universe versus the material universe. But we wanted to give you something that you can work with right now today. And this comes from that philosophy. And in order to understand it, try to make that shift, or at least open up the possibility that you are the creator of your world. You know, and we know this not only from these ancient teachings in the Upanishads, in the Gita, but also from current neuroscience, that it teaches us that our perception is really what makes sense of the universe to us, and it creates it and constructs this reality for us in a very direct way. 

Debra Maldonado  06:24

Before you go on, I’d like to just add, I love, one of the things that you have said before, which really helped me understand is the idea that everything is consciousness, everything is consciousness, that what appears to be matter is not as solid as we think. And that we are that consciousness. So everything is consciousness, everything that you experience, and things that you are unconscious that your experience is part of consciousness. And you are that consciousness. So I love that idea. So let’s talk about where the gunas come from, or what we’re going to talk about today. 

Robert Maldonado  07:03

Yeah, so the gunas. Well, the enlightened mind, yeah, the enlightened mind. It’s part of, let’s say, the gunas play into the enlightened mind, because we’re going to talk about a state of mind called sattva. Hmm. And we’ll get to that. But they come from this philosophy called samkhya. And, you know, don’t worry about the Sanskrit terms, I just want to give you background for those of you that want to research or want to look it up or whatever you want to do. The sanchia essentially says, There are two main forces in the universe, the spirit and matter, hmm. Now, the purusha and prakriti meaning purusha is like the universal soul. So if you think about Jung’s idea of the collective unconscious, it’s that moving on the scene, forced that

Debra Maldonado  07:58

we’re like a soup that we’re all in a

Robert Maldonado  08:00

Yeah, creates everything and moves everything. The Unseen, right? The scene meaning the manifest universe, the way we experience it is proximity, meaning nature translates as nature, or matter, right, the the material manifest universe. So between these two forces, then you have, you know, if you ask, how does the spirit actually interplay with matter? Mm hmm. Matter and spirit interact. And the Gita explains that it’s through the gunas. Now, gunas is another Sanskrit term, it translates as qualities, meaning the qualities of nature, the qualities of the material world, are really what what shape our life in a very direct way. And if you

Debra Maldonado  08:55

think about the world, it’s always moving. There’s always it’s like, everything’s temporary. There, even things that you think are solid, say, even the rocks, if you go to Utah, and you see all those beautiful rocks, the wind over billions of years, shaped those rocks and change them over time, it may take longer, and then other things you buy, you know, cereal, Monday and it’s gone on Friday, you know, that’s gone, or, like furniture may take a little longer, but each each material item takes longer to kind of move through it’s change. And you might not notice the change, a new plant arising, you may notice it, you know, the changes than a full grown plant. So but everything is in constant movement, and our life too. We’re aging. We’re getting older, every moment. We’re constantly having to eat and replenish the body. So there’s always movement and change. The good news is that if you’re in a place where you don’t, aren’t happy where you are, the movement is is certain there’s changes certain that’s something that you cannot You can’t move against if there’s always change. And so in a way, we always have the ability to create the change we want in our life. We’re never stuck anywhere. Truly.

Robert Maldonado  10:11

Yeah. So. So the Gita is a conversation between our Juna us kind of asking, What do I do with my life? And you know, how do I manage this suffering that I’m experiencing? And the battle, he’s in a battle? So it feels that way to a lot of people that

Debra Maldonado  10:29

life is a battle of external forces. And how do I, I don’t want to fight the he think drops his bow, and he says, I refuse to fight. And Krishna says you have to this is your duty, you have to. So we all have that duty. We can’t just like, relax and give up. We have to do something, there has to be movement.

Robert Maldonado  10:48

Yeah, absolutely. And Krishna, of course, represents the divine element in us. So they’re not separate. But back to then, how is this practical for us? Right, all these cosmological forces operating spirit and matter, but what do we do with it in our own mind? And if we are indeed operating in a conscious universe? How do we work with ease, and so the the samkhya, the philosophy of spirit, and matter says, there are three, three levels of matter, that, that interact with spirit, on an individual level, hmm. Meaning, we’re a combination of both spirit and matter, right, we have a mind and we have this the spirit within us, but we also have a body that interacts with what we perceive as the material world.

Debra Maldonado  11:46

And then we have this unseen spirit that is that we can’t see. But that is giving us movement in life.

Robert Maldonado  11:53

That’s right. And so it says there’s three levels to this interaction. The first one is Thomas. Now Thomas translates as inertia. So if you think about it, water, and it’s solid form as eyes, it doesn’t move that much. It’s it’s kind of slowed down to a very slow, inert form,

Debra Maldonado  12:19

or a lake that has no movement to it, that puddle of water. It just sits there. And it starts to gain moss and the lack of life.

Robert Maldonado  12:28

Rocks, also, they seem to be static, but we know they’re like you were saying they’re always low,

Debra Maldonado  12:34

they’re moving also, but the very slow, very inert, then the second level and the earth to I mean, if the earth and the great thing about Thomas is that if the Earth moves so fast, like we know what happens in California with earthquakes, we don’t want to have the earth shaking all the time. So that kind of that steadiness is also a great quality in in experience in matter that there’s this gentle kind of strength, you know, like holding us in matter.

Robert Maldonado  13:04

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. It says that the all three forces are needed for nature to operate with the laws of nature to operate. So you have this inertia. Now psychologically, what that means for us is, when we’re in a state of Thomas, our mind is very sluggish. We’re kind of just going by the basic survival elements of, you know, what do I need to do to just maintain?

Debra Maldonado  13:31

It’s like a lack of motivation. It feels like what’s the use? You feel like no matter what you do, nothing changes. So what why why bother, you know, that kind of depressed state, almost sometimes the mythology. You’re kind of on the couch watching Netflix, trying to pass the time, but you just, you’re not even happy. You’re just kind of a little down a little slow and down. Yeah, when you’re sick, you’re going to Thomas, your body is kind of just kind of recovering. So you’re not really an inactive state.

Robert Maldonado  14:06

Yeah, I think the couch potato analogy fits well. But it also says that Tom has his state of ignorance. So what that means is the mind is not perceiving the world in its right perspective.

Debra Maldonado  14:19

It feels like it’s powerless to the world. That’s right.

Robert Maldonado  14:22

And so it feels in nert It feels like there’s not much movement, there’s nothing I can really, my my sense of agency is dampened. Like I don’t feel like I can make changes in my in my life. So and then he says the second level, which is Rogers, and Rogers simply translates as passion and activity. So this passion activity, it says that’s what builds the world. If you look at cities and the highways and the freeways, all you know, bustling and going back and forth at super speeds.

Debra Maldonado  15:00

vs righteous, it’s that activity of doing doing doing going to work, you know, waiting for the weekend looking for the paycheck feeling like kind of rushed. And it’s almost a little, it’s like an anxious state of there’s you’re not there yet. So you’re just kind of on a treadmill. And you’re you’re in movement, but you’re not really going anywhere you’re kind of feels like it’s just you’re not really creating anything new, you’re just kind of almost like treading water, if you’re done with those you in the water, and you’re just like, you’re not floating on the treadmill, the treadmill, and that kind of treading water, and you’re just kind of just trying to catch your breath. And it’s interesting, because that’s kind of where the world has been, has been, it’s been in this kind of righteous state. And then now we’re all forced to shut everything down. And it’s this Thomas state where everything sort of stopped and slowed down, nothing stopped completely. It just slowed down a lot. And so I really do think that most people go from that rajas, rajas, rajas, rajas, they get exhausted, and then they give up, and then they kind of, you know, either recharge, or they’re just give up. And so the I think both both states benefit, because one is at least has a little hope. And the other one is like not as hopeful. But if you’re chasing, chasing, chasing getting exhausted, we need that Thomas to kind of slow your mind down a little bit to kind of slow down and say, what, what the heck is going on here. And so sometimes when we’re in that state, it really is a chance to look within and say, you know, what is what is going on?

Robert Maldonado  16:37

Yeah, on the spiritual path, it is essentially where the person now starts to believe and understand that the things that I do, the actions that I take, give me results, either negative or positive, but they give me results. And therefore, I should act, and I should do things. And there you see most of most of us kind of fall into that level of activity where we’re always wanting to do things in order to get things. Yeah, we understand the principle that if I do things, I’m going to get things like if I

Debra Maldonado  17:14

do things the right way, I’ll get the right thing. Or if I do if I don’t do any, and then that’s where you get to Thomas, because you try different things. And then if things aren’t working, you end up going well, it’s almost like you lose that motivation, lack of motivation, or drive, and you fall back again.

Robert Maldonado  17:34

Yeah, it’s very seductive, because it’d be Think about it. Our senses essentially, tell us that if you want something, if you want food, if you want comfort, show love, your love, whatever you’re looking for that you have to act to get it. And therefore we’re conditioned by our own actions. Now, this is important to understand that it’s our own actions and the way we take those actions that condition us, because we’re expecting our own reward. And whatever is rewarding to us, conditions us to act more, and whatever it is not rewarding us conditions us not to act, right to pull back, like you say to fall back into Thomas. So you have these two states that most of the universe most of the world lives in.

Debra Maldonado  18:26

If you look at most human awaken people are kind of

Robert Maldonado  18:30

Yeah, in Thomas definitely. It’s it’s that people don’t understand spiritual principles at all, they’re the reality is covered, the true absolute reality is covered over by ignorance. And in Rogers, you you start to get a glimpse, but you’re still operating in a very kind of attached in a very attached way there. Yeah, that’s a good way to put it, that you’re attached to the results of your action. And that those things are motivating you to act, you’re

Debra Maldonado  19:00

not acting from a higher level of mind. And then I want to talk about action for a minute because a lot of people think, Well, I’m not doing anything, I’m at the couch, I’m going on Facebook and reading a lot. So I’m not really taking a lot of action. I must be in Thomas, I want you to think of these as states of mind as well. Is your mind in a sluggish depressed state? Or is it in a worried anxious state? And so that’s the the righteous is that anxious, I got to do something, that feeling of Oh, I got to do something and the Thomas is more like, you know, everything’s gonna end and I there’s nothing I can do and, you know, maybe kind of like powerlessness and defeated pneus. But the anxiousness is really more. I got to do something, you know, that kind of feeling of if I can’t sit still, and I can’t stop my mind from it. So sad, obsessive thinking, not only just obsessive acting but obsessive thinking. And so those two like you Said are the predominant, but we want to how do we get to a place where we’re actually creating from a divine place and from a place of truth versus chasing the these carrots that are so in front of us that we never capture and and a lot of us this is a perfect time for us to look within and say, I’ve been chasing money my whole life or I’ve been chasing this idea of love my whole life and been miserable. What it What can I do now to cultivate a mind a different mindset? So I can be happy in life, like happiness probably is now probably at a higher priority lists. For a lot of people right now. So how do I cultivate joy, bliss states of mind. And then through that, that’s where you get all the other things, the things that you really want outcome from having a state of mind that has that matches that. If you’re in anxiousness, you’re thinking, well, this other person or this money or something is going to calm that anxiousness, you’re giving your power externally to something else, and then you’re chasing the carrot. So the so the key is to be the carrot, chase it. So to see that you’re what you’re seeing is your own mind, that you are that consciousness you can create. And the higher knowledge breaks you out of the what you say is the covering of what you’re really looking at what you’re really seeing and sensing of the world and what’s possible for you.

Robert Maldonado  21:25

Yeah, yeah, so that takes us to the third state, which is sad. So sattva translates as clarity, goodness, light, happiness, joy. It’s that state of mind where we’re at peace, but we’re still alert. And we’re, we’re optimistic, meaning we’re seeing possibilities in our, in our environment in the universe.

Debra Maldonado  21:53

And there’s still a little attachment to wanting, the desires are there, they’re human, it’s a human state. It’s not that oh, I don’t care, the world is gonna just figure it all out, like you do have intentions and create from that place. So it’s not that you give up and you’re just like, abandon the world like renunciate. But what you want to do is you want to create a mind of a bliss, so you can create something in the right way or the right understanding. Right?

Robert Maldonado  22:20

Yeah, you know, it’s interesting, if you want to look this up, it’s in the Gita in the 14th chapter. So Krishna says this, he says, in, in, in sattva, you’re still attached, but you’re attached to knowledge and to happiness. In other words, you’re going for the, for the good stuff in life. And you’re you’re, you’re using your mind, and let’s say, at least based on the understanding that if I, if my mind is the one that’s telling me whether I’m suffering, or in, in depression, or inertia, it’s also the one that is able to tell me when I am happy and joy for and to create those states of mind,

Debra Maldonado  23:09

and then you can choose those states of mind, regardless of the external, that in this moment, you could choose to happiness. And that is actually the most powerful thing is imagine that you weren’t dependent on the external being a certain way for you to be happy. How much power would that be in your life because most of our lives, we’ve been conditioned that happiness is out there. Now I know we have real issues and we have real you know, human problems and people we love and we care for and our, our businesses and our you know, jobs and all those things that we’re concerned about. So it’s not about like putting, like a, like a pink little paint over everything and just saying, I’m just going to be at bliss, and everything’s gonna work out, you want to, you know, have that right understanding that they have, you can still desire to have you know, income to have health and and your family be well, and to see, you know, the world heal, and all those things, you could still have those things, but, but it doesn’t have to take away from your happiness. And one of the things I remember, I teach a lot to my clients is that instead of making the goal, finding love or making the goal, you know, making money, make the goal, your self awareness. And if you can, because through self awareness, you’ll get all those other things, but you put the, you put the self awareness on top, and then those other things will fall into place. But if you don’t put self awareness on top, you’re stuck in those lower states. You’re stuck in the Thomas where you’re rushing, rushing, rushing, nothing works. So I’m just going to be depressed for a while and pull back and I’m going to try again. I’m going to pull back. If you put self awareness first self knowledge, and joy and happiness like I’m committing to be just be happy. I’m tired of being unhappy. I’m tired to make this situation in my life making me unhappy. You can start to really share If all those other things in your life it has to start from that place. So a lot of people in different spiritual traditions will dedicate their actions toward Jesus or toward Krishna or toward Allah, you know, they dedicate, it’s a practice of dedicating everything they do for the higher form of themselves. If it’s not a formal religion, maybe it’s your higher self, I dedicate this, to know who I am to know myself in its truest sense. I’m dedicating this to my soul, souls growth, whatever works for you, that would be a way to get out. So, so one of the things I think I want to talk about about these three levels, is that a lot of people when you’re in Thomas, they think they can just turn it off and go to Sipho right away. So let’s talk about how we move through the levels that you can’t skip, you have to start where you are. So if you’re in Thomas, what would be something that someone could do? What would be their their act, their their call to action? Or what how would they shift out of Thomas to go up to Raja she can’t go from, you have to go through Rogers to get to Thomas. So one of the things that we suggest is that you start doing something, even if you’re attached, get into Russia get into action, because that’s you find a way to be motivated. And if it’s not for a higher purpose, at least for a little purpose, you start kind of moving through, and because someone in Thomas isn’t motivated at all, and then nothing’s happening, it’s very stagnant. So you want to get in movement, you want to kind of move through things, it’s almost like when you get up in the morning, you don’t go from like a stiff state of sleep to like, well, I’m gonna do like a, you know, marathon, you get up, you move around, you got to kind of warm up your body. And so that’s kind of the the state you want to get into, you want to start getting into movement again, even if you’re still attached to the result, at least you’re moving, at least you’re going. And then if you’re conscious, you don’t have to stay in rajas. Either, you can move up to the next level. So then when you do that, when you’re in rajas, what happens if you go if you’re going through this consciously?

Robert Maldonado  27:10

Yeah, I think the key is the knowledge. And so this is not any ordinary knowledge. What the Gita means by knowledge is higher knowledge. and higher knowledge is very simple to define. higher knowledge simply means knowledge that teaches you about the true nature of your mind, and the true nature of reality. Meaning it’s moving you towards your true self. That’s higher knowledge. So it’s not just talking about information about the brain or about physics or you know, or

Debra Maldonado  27:51

economic neuroscience. Yeah,

Robert Maldonado  27:53

yeah, it’s talking about a particular kind of knowledge, which it defines as your own inner wisdom and innocence. So you’re going to find that knowledge through your own inner wisdom. And the way you do that is in in the sattvic. Mind, it’s a mind of contentment, you already understand that I’m complete within myself, I don’t need to wait till I get that house or get the relationship or get the position to be happy. I can generate that state of mind in myself, because that is my true nature.

Debra Maldonado  28:34

And I want to warn people, this doesn’t mean you don’t take action toward those things. Because in life, we do need to pay our bills, we need to have love and we don’t want It’s not that I don’t care about those things. It’s that I release my attachment to letting me not having it in this moment, make me miserable, or make me anxious, or make me worried. And if we have that right, understanding that if our mind creates and cultivates our experience, wouldn’t it be easier to cultivate happy money and success and love with a happy mind? Or do you think what kind of love or money or job or you’re going to create with a disturbed mind, when we have a disturbed mind and an anxious mind, we settle for less, we, if you’re in your own business, you charge less for your services, or you take a job that’s lower than what you think because you’re so desperate to get you settle for relationships that aren’t good enough that don’t treat you well, or you tolerate or you’re chasing, and you’re not really enjoying dating at all, you’re just kind of like, next, next next, and that’s not the right person and you’re getting annoyed. So the process of acquiring what you want and creating what you want becomes very stressful and anxious. So when you have that saatvik state of mind, it doesn’t mean you’re saying I everything in my life is perfect and I don’t need anything. You can still create but there’s a difference. Between a need and a want a desire to want something, to have an experience of something from that sofic mine is much different than that rushing need from Tom from the Raja state. And so it’s so again, this is not about you stop and give up and sit under a tree and just bend detailed on angels and rainbows and say, The Lord will take care of me, the angels will clear the earth and everything’s going to be fine. It’s that you do care, you want to make phone calls, if you need to talk to people, someone just mentioned earlier, what do I do if there’s, you know, not enough ventilators? And I suggested, here’s what you do, you take action, you you call the people that you need, if you feel called to take action towards something, but the worry and anxiety is extra, you can do those things in a sattvic state of mind, you don’t have to do them in an anxious state of mind. And I think what happens though, is that we’re conditioned, that the only way we’re motivated is when we’re in fear. We’re conditioned to be motivated by fear. And when we’re motivated by fear, we’re getting we’re in that Russia state. So how can we cultivate and be motivated by love, by happiness by joy, I could, if we all practice this, all of us, and have that ripple effect, we could change the way the world operates in the world. Imagine that everyone starts creating their businesses and their their relationships from that other place versus that fear. I mean, this is why relationships don’t work out. This is not just because of this time that it’s difficult. It’s, it’s this, it’s the human condition that we’re really working against. And, and so cultivating from that love is really, really important. And the love of self. For me, you know, you always say to me, Rob, don’t worry, never feared the self is here, or the goddess here. That’s really that kind of ideas that no, I’m loved. I’m coming from that divine place. And I’m going to take action. But I it’s like, I trust in my deeper self, that there’s this, this power within me, connected to me, that’s a part of me, that can never be broken, that can ever be harmed. And that’s what we’re acting from.

Robert Maldonado  32:15

Yeah. So when, when the, let’s say the wheel of Raj has that, that spinning, of always chasing of always grasping for things to make us happy. When it slows down, it’s an opportunity to, to either fall down into Tamas, or to rise up right into into sattva. So it’s right now is the time to focus on this higher knowledge, and whatever, in whatever way you see it.

Debra Maldonado  32:48

Which is why we’re doing the work because I think it’s really going to help people. So if this resonates with you, make sure you sign up, it’s absolutely free. We’re going to talk about all the higher knowledge and it’s going to shift your perception of the world and your power.

Robert Maldonado  33:02

Yes, it’s time to make a commitment to go to the next step,

33:07

mm. upward, right

Robert Maldonado  33:09

to to step up into a more meditation, more joyfulness, like you say acting without attachment, so that you can, you’re not creating your own suffering, because in life, we know, that state of rajahs is what creates our suffering. Because we’re always giving away our power by saying, When I get the material, reality, I will be happy. So we’re giving them material reality, all our power. We’re saying, You You have the power to make me happy and make me unhappy. Instead of understanding that,

Debra Maldonado  33:50

oh, it’s my own mind, I can choose Yes. And I think that we have, we know that it’s not out there is neutral. It doesn’t feel like it right now. But what we’re seeing is neutral. It’s what our mind makes up about it, that creates the reality. And Carl Jung talks about this idea of a psychic epidemic. And it’s really our duty to create and cultivate that enlightened scientific mind. Because the more we can do that, the more will ripple effect to everyone else, of getting out of fear. The world needs love right now. All you need is love the world needs love. And, and you can do your part, not only just you want to change the world, they say you start with yourself, you start with that mind, and the less people that are feeding fearful thoughts into Maya, this experience that we’re having here as human beings, the more the more the world can change. And so you getting into fear just contributes more to more fear. And so, and again, don’t beat yourself. If you’re scared, you know, let yourself be scared if you need to be. But why do it from the higher place like allow your your emotions to run, don’t suppress any emotions. But we want to watch ourselves from that higher place of witnessing. And saying, Wow, I’m noticing that I’m a little fearful right now I notice I’m a little anxious right now, where are my mind is anxious. I’m not my mind and practice, you know, just allowing yourself to be let your mind be there. But gently redirect it like a, like a feather hitting a balloon, like gently, just refocusing it, you’re not shoving it, and don’t be anxious, you’re gonna create terrible things in the world. Be gentle with yourself, that’s the soft mind. It’s not that righteous, I gotta think positive, and I can’t think negative and I got to shut everything out. And I can’t be fearful. We want to do it in a very gentle way.

Robert Maldonado  35:50

Yeah, the Gita says there’s three levels to it. First, you hear it? In other words, you hear this information, you understand, okay, there’s three levels to the nature of the phenomenal universe, then you identify it within yourself, meaning you contemplate it, you ask yourself, what state of mind? Am I in? You know, am I being driven by this rogic mind of trying to control things and trying to have things so that I can be happy? Or can I cultivate this sattvic mind? Can I sit down and meditate? Can I read higher knowledge? You know, can I associate and listen to people that put me in that state of mind.

Debra Maldonado  36:33

And I think that we’re really forced to do this. You know, it’s really hard when our lives are busy. But this is an optimal time, when, imagine that you’re watching the plates spinning, you know, keeping those plates spinning, they don’t break. And imagine you sit back and you watch them all crash, and you stay at peace, whether they’re spinning or not. That’s mastery. That’s mastery. Now, not all of us can get there tomorrow. But we want to work toward that we want to take what are the things that I can do today? How do I stay in the moment? How do I cultivate that mind? And when you get into Raja she just remember like, Why just do the witness? idea, the I’m watching my mind, get anxious right now getting attached? I’m not my mind, what do I want to focus on. And a great tip for you. And what I use is you come up with a symbol, I think I talked about this in an earlier video this week is think of a symbol and anchor in something that you can grasp onto because externally, everything is changing so fast and so crazy right now that you’re trying to grasp on a good news or something that’s positive. And you’re it’s still that righteous. So if you have this within your mind, some kind of groundedness, that you can just hold that vision, hold that happy feeling. It’ll really give you something to hold on to. That’s, that’s more something you can control than out there. And I think that would be a great practice and even do that, you’re going to find that you’re going to be less stressed. When things show up that you’re worried about you go back to that symbol. It’s not about suppressing the feeling, but about redirecting the mind and holding it seeing the truth. And remember, you’re doing this with the right understanding that who you are is powerful, that you’re connected to everything that you have your consciousness itself, your pure awareness, know that you are powerful, know who you are. And let’s cultivate that soft mind together and create a ripple effect to everyone around you. And you could just start with your small circle, and let’s create some shifts are in the world. Yep, see you next time. Okay, take care.