- When the ego weep for what it has lost, the spirit rejoices for what it has found. (bell chiming) So there's no need to demand that external conditions should be perfect so that you can become still. In fact, it's sometimes the case that it's precisely when external conditions are seemingly unhelpful that can sometimes be
a greater opportunity to find that true stillness. And especially that is the case when external circumstances
have the appearance of actually being a hindrance, something disturbing, something happening that upsets the status quo in your life. And those are great opportunities because then your motivation
for going deeper as you suffer when things happen in your external life, that quote unquote
"should not be happening," then you begin to suffer. And as you suffer, the
motivation eventually arises of going deeper, of finding the place where there is no suffering. And you could still suffer a little bit on the external level of your life. So sooner or later, we find in our life that life does things to us, seemingly putting obstacles in our path, seemingly having bad
intentions towards us. We experience diminishment in some form. Of course the ego says, or the egoic self says, that's terrible. I don't want any diminishment. Diminishment, meaning loss of something that had become part
of your sense of self. It could be loss of possessions, could be loss of a relationship, loss of a loved one, loss of a healthy body,
diminishment of physical health, loss of your persona, of what other people think of you. One day, they tell you
that you're the greatest. And the next day they
tell you you're awful. Diminishment of whatever kind is abhorrent to the egoic self. (audience laughing) There's a beautiful saying. I believe it comes
originally, I'm not sure, but it doesn't matter where it comes. It comes out of consciousness,
so it doesn't really matter. (audience laughing) but I believe it comes
originally out of sophism. And that is, when the ego weeps for what it has lost, the spirit rejoices for what it has found And those people who, and
there's no human, by the way who does not experience
this in life several times, sooner or later, the next one comes. Some people experience it
even very early in life. Some children have
experienced loss of a parent of both parents. So diminishment comes sooner or later. How do you meet it? Recognize it when it
comes not as a monster or the work of some
malevolent deity or demon that wants to sabotage your life, but as an opportunity also. Now you may not be able
to be grateful for it in the moment of it happening. That would be perhaps too much to ask but you will find that at later, a year may pass, two years
depending on what it is, suddenly realize that
it has taken you deeper into the essence of who you are because something was removed from you that you thought you were, but
it was a fiction ultimately. You had identified with
something that ultimately is not who you are, it's temporary thing. Possessions, not status,
great physically strong body, good looks. A relationship. And then retrospectively, very often you are able to
be grateful for the loss, for the diminishment,
because it drove you deeper. It brought out the essence of
who you are beyond any form. Now it does not do that to all humans. It's for everybody, diminishment is only a potential deepening,
the possibility is there. Many, many humans are not able to use it because nobody has told them. The knowledge, this kind
of spiritual knowledge is still very limited. It is not part of mainstream culture. People are dying every day without having any true assistance. People who are approaching
death, who are getting old, our mainstream culture
still knows nothing. It's just "Let's prolong life
as far as long as possible, even if it's totally pointless and it creates a lot of
suffering, let's just, because we don't know
what to do with death." That's one of the reasons
why the Foundation will hopefully be able to reach people, to use the opportunity of
this greatest diminishment, which is death, the greatest
when as you approach death, an enormous opportunity for spiritual awakening, realization. But many humans, of course,
miss the opportunity of that diminishment and with a result that the ego becomes even more hardened through it, or in the
words of Brother David, shriveled up to an even
harder lifeless thing. (pained groaning) Then either you carry continuous anger or resentment or despondency for years, which becomes part of your egoic identity. And the ego loves any kind of identity. If it's a miserable one,
doesn't matter, I'll have it. (audience laughing) Just give me a strong identity. I take miserable time over being nobody. (audience laughs) So the opportunity of
diminishment is missed. Often you see when people,
they're wealthy people, and suddenly something
happens, they lose their money. And then they jump out of the window, because their entire sense of self was associated with their possessions There are people who lose their reputation or you remember of course, the case of Mr. despondency
a few years ago, who had this scheme, fraudulent schemes and people lost millions or billions, people who were investing
with him on Wall Street. They lost, it was a pyramid, it was a Ponzi scheme,
I think is the word. So he just deceiving all these people and they lost all their money and he had accumulated billions. And then finally it all collapsed. Now he's in prison and
his sons couldn't take it. One of his sons, apparently the sons didn't
know what was going on. I don't know if that's true but they were also working
in his firm, in his company. I believe one died of cancer soon after and the other committed suicide. Would've been a great opportunity, If only somebody had told them, "You've lost your money,
you've lost your reputation. This is a great opportunity."
(audience laughing) Find yourself here. The opening is there, but
it's just lack of information. Nobody told them. I hadn't actually thought
of this until this moment, because we want to bring the teaching to places where it otherwise
would not go, would not reach. And I just thought of Wall Street. (audience cheering) We will donate books and CDs to folks. (audience laughing) So we'll have to call
Goldman Sachs tomorrow. (audience laughing)
See if they agree. Now, they won't be very
interested perhaps at the moment but they may become
interested in the future. (audience laughing)
Just wait. So you have already, I believe, everybody here has already
experienced some forms of diminishment, to use that word, through the physical form,
the psychological me entity. And for many, the reason why you're here is because you've gone through that. And it has deepened you. Even the collapse of a relationship. You don't even have to be married, but you have a relationship,
it doesn't go well, it ends. It's a little death, can be painful. It leaves a little hole in you. It takes, seemingly rips
something out of you. And for quite a while you
feel it. It's not pleasant. But there too is an opportunity. So when the ego weeps
for what it has lost. "Oh dear.
(audience laughs) "It's terrible, so terrible.
I'll tell you what happened." (audience laughs) And I'll tell myself what happened, even if nobody's listening,
it'll go from my mouth. (audience applauding) "I can't take any more of
this, I just can't take it. It's just too much. What's the point of it all,
just completely pointless." It's good to act out the ego sometimes, because then you can actually see. It is like a reflection in the mirror, because it's funny because you remember everybody knows familiar
with that in some way. And that's why it becomes funny. I'm learning from
Maryanne yesterday because she has other ways of acting out the ego. It's a little bit more feminine,
but I can try that too. (audience cheering) It may look a little
weird when do it though. But there's a lot in it that doesn't really need to be explained in words just this simple gesture
implies a self image, to look at yourself through a self image. "Look at me."
(audience laughing) (water rushing)
