Spiritual Practise will change your life!

When your stressed-out 63-year-old husband calls you from the ER, it gets your attention. The hospital he's in is about 45 miles away. At first I panicked thinking about not being able to get there, about having no clue what my husband was going through, or if he was even alive by now. I tried 50 lanes, it seemed I kept choosing the wrong lane, so I switched to another one only to find myself losing ground. Satya Robyn. Every time I'm insinuating myself into the next lane, I tried to make an apologetic way to the third person I just made your foot up. I needed my hand for gestures and holds. I was frantic and all my clever maneuvering was only getting me further behind. I turned on the radio for help. The app confirmed all 3 ways RMS. I knew I would eventually get there in 2 or 3 hours. But I want to be there right now. It should only be a 45-minute drive. My husband knows all the ins and outs of the restrooms, of the streets, the canyon roads along this route, but I do not. I determined that I have to stay in the freeway as I was, or I'd surely get lost and make it matters worse. Of course, there was no way to contact my husband to let him know that I was stuck in traffic. And there was no way for me to know who was okay, who was going through. I was wishing I could have a sign on my car announcing that my need is greater than all yours. Let me through, for gosh's sake. Special consideration here. But how would the other drivers know about my situation? I looked like every other crazy person on the road. So I decided I'd call I felt that all these people are separate from me, different, mine. It's me. I was lying to stay on the path. I was certain it would get me there. But since there was nothing I could do about the overwhelming circumstances, I thought I'd have to calm down and stop fighting it so that I myself don't cause more harm. I took a deep breath, and in the release of my struggle, sitting there stopped on the freeway, Embedded amongst thousands of cars, I looked around me and wondered who else was in trouble, who else was feeling lost and desperate. Stuck in traffic, uncertain of my husband's condition, I came to think that this stream of traffic was a lot like the stream of life, sometimes full of uncertainty and misery. I had little control over my own or my husband's. I had little control over my own or my husband's destiny as I did during my drug addiction. I had to surrender myself to the reality and enter the stream. I was no exception to these creatures. I was a part of them. Like it or not, I was even into connected and interlinked. I needed each one of them to do a good job driving so that I could get to— they were depending on me not to go crazy and impede their journey. We often feel separate, but we're actually interwoven. All of our actions and decisions affect you, every one of us. Some people have the power to help open up each other's journey. The next time I'm in rush hour traffic and I see someone driving so radically and seemingly fast, doesn't this make me happy? I feel kindness rather than— and give them a little more space. Now, now I need to pee. So moving into a period of meditation. Namoh Shivaya. Namoh Shivaya. Namoh Shivaya. Namoh Shivaya. Namoh Shivaya. the Buddha. For refuge I go to the Buddha, the one who is awake and full of love. The one who is awake and full of love. For refuge I go to the Dharma. For refuge I go to the Dharma. All that guides us to wisdom and compassion. All that guides us to wisdom and compassion. For refuge I go to Sangha. For refuge I go to Sangha. Those who live in Buddha's law. Those who live in Buddha's law. Namaste, Sangha. For refuge I go to the Earth. For refuge I go to the Earth. The holy ground of refuge. The holy ground of refuge. With faith in Four Refugees— With faith in the Four Refuges— And in light of my human tendencies— I pray that I may become aware— Of when I take life— I pray that I may become aware— I pray this time to become aware— of when I take what is not freely given. I pray that I may become aware— I pray that I may become aware of when I fall into sexual misconduct or when I fall into sexual misconduct. I pray that I may become aware— When I fall into wrongspeak— Of when I fall into wrongspeak. I pray to remove all evil from my life. I praise everything! I love everything! Love everything! All sentient beings— Inexhaustible are the loony passions. We vow to transform them all. Immeasurable are the Dharma teachings. We vow to master them all. Infinite is the Buddha's way. We are the people who have come free. I'm really like enjoying how one of the candles, one of the tall candles, it's like, see a reflection, I can see a little bit of, little bit of flame. And then on the other side, there's like this water. That's not my house, but I'm sure metaphorically it could be wherever you need to go. So a couple of weeks ago, I was introducing Kirsten at the end in announcements, and I said, you know, your talent for singing could change your life. And obviously this was a light-hearted comment, and it's also true with everything. It's also true of real spiritual practice, is that it changes lives. And actually, because I mean, looking around, we've got quite a few like, you know, old-timers here in the room, you know, who've been going for a long time, practicing for a long time. As well as some new faces. And so I mean, I guess that it already has changed. So I was thinking, what does that really mean? Because I was thinking, well, you know, people turn up and it's their first time, they're like, oh, what does it mean? They're coming here for practice or for any change. What does that actually mean? There's lots of different levels to this. And on like a really simple level, when we're practicing, we're not doing other things, less fulfilling things. So we're not like Scrolling on phone, or overeating. I mean, no one in this room probably smokes, but if anyone's gonna watch this recording, we're not— you know, if you're practicing, that's a night when you're not like having loads of drinks, or yeah. Overworking very easily. We're not doing other things which take, take us away from our connection to ourselves, to presence, to awareness. And then there's all the things that actually So when we come here, there is this intention of opening ourselves up on some level to That potential you have within you, the brand new you, which is the potential to, to Amida, to the Divine, to love, to awareness. It's all accessible. And I think sometimes these things can change our lives in fast ways and in slow ways, in big ways and in incremental ways. So sometimes A big experience, an experience of really opening up, have something, or something really coming through, connection, awareness, moment, presence, moment of love. A moment where Satya Robyn reaches into our hearts as we are reaching towards, towards them. So there's these big moments of like inspiration, and then there's the little ways, the incremental ways that simply turning up on a regular basis This kind of very, very slow and sometimes imperceptible reorientation of our being towards this kind of diamond values towards that presence. And there's also community. So when I first was 15, I was looking for to chanting, because I really wanted to integrate chanting into an art project I was doing. And I wasn't aware that there were different— well, not particularly aware that there were different types of Buddhism movements, and that not all of them did chanting. I was just like, oh, Buddhist group, that's fine, I'll turn up, we'll do some chanting, and I'll use it to inform my art project. So I turned up and there was absolutely no chanting. And yet what I did meet is one, like, the spiritual teachings, Buddhist teachings, meditation, ethics, and also a community of people who were committed to living differently, who were not so, um, so ensnared by the illusion of security that a consumerist society says we'll get from money, house, status. That's not to say that people there didn't work and maybe have, you know, were married or maybe had kids or maybe had some level of status, but that wasn't what it was about. That wasn't what life was about for them. It was about something much bigger. And that was really important, that connection with people, because I was never an illusion. I know I was never caught up in that. So to be amongst people who also weren't, this was great, you know. It was really affirming. So I stayed with it even though there was no translation to take into my art group. I say with it because of the community, the spiritual practice, and that, that sense of community with like-minded people that maybe have kind of— there's a kind of general consensus that everyone's attempting to be as open-hearted and kind as possible, even though obviously we're always messing up. And that's something really special, I think, that is also something that happens if you can have people Oh my God, it's almost quarter past 8 already, so I'm going to wrap up. So spiritual practice is life-changing. Namaste to you. People busily engaged in secular matters take no notice of life wearing away day by day, night by night. Like a lamp in the wind, how long can it last? In the six realms of vast samsara, there is no fixed abode. Until we are emancipated from the sea of affliction, how can we rest in peace? Should we not be afraid? While we still have strength, let us each hear the Dharma. Let us strive and diligently seek the path to eternity. Om. We tidy our seats and bow to our seats. 7th of March. And then the work party on the 8th. Work party? Yes, but with lunch. Great.