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It is easier to see problems in someone other than yourself. We all know people who knock on your door with their beliefs. They are very certain. They are living in their certainties, but when we look outside our own belief systems and worldviews and look at some that differ, it starts opening our minds. The wise person starts asking, "How does this apply to me". Where do I have something similar that I am stuck in and not aware of? I had a wise teacher who pointed out that "not knowing" is one of the highest states of consciousness. What we need is to free ourselves from the limitations of knowledge. This does not mean getting rid of knowledge—knowledge is extremely necessary of course, but we should not be stuck in the known. We need to be open to the unknown. The unknown can be terrifying, but if we do not stay open to the unknown, our terror is still there—it is just hidden. We could say that the demons of fear and certainty stand guard at the door of self-knowledge. 

We are told, and conditioned to believe, that we can get to a place of all-knowingness. By acknowledging that there is no such thing as all-knowingness, that knowledge always has limits, we gain freedom. Then we are living with perception and insight in the moment.

                                                                            --From Ganga's forthcoming book. Psychedelic Yogi--a MultiDimensional Odyssey

Clearly, we've asked for your attention.  It takes your time and focus to read this article.  It takes your interest in order to open this newsletter, study a topic, or have a real communication.  So, what are you giving your attention to these days, and how completely?  Have you actually, consciously, followed the multitude of places your mind travels to when you open your iphone and tablet?  Or do you unconsciously let your fingers do the walking falling down the rabbit hole of infinite minutiae?

If your interest runs towards consciousness, check out the book, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, by historian, Yuval Harari. In his book, Yuval, who also invests his time in meditation, explores some of the big concepts of our current moment in history. You might also appreciate listening to the talk Yuval gave at Google earlier this year on his book and the areas of tech and ethics, or listen to any of his many YouTube talks.

In a time of general overwhelm when every millisecond something is vying for your attention--and everything about you is becoming commoditized--your time and attention are valuable. But hopefully, they are most valuable to you. If you feel your head is barely staying above the virtual clutter, and you find yourself on auto-pilot, lost in a continual loop, or you are not self aware, it's time to reevaluate where you are spending your time, and what your consciousness is invested in.

Science, history, and technology are sorely lacking without the investigation into knowing ourselves--who we are as humans and as individuals. As habitual creatures it is easy to get lost in unexamined repetitive behavior and in the plethora of shiny objects set to attract us. It is commonplace to become anxiety ridden by the to-do list that never ends. Where does making space in the brain begin? Where does your compassion for yourself and others evolve from?

Harari comments that our brains are being hacked constantly, and with the development of technology, companies know us better than we know ourselves. These entities are tapped into our internal dialogue more, and maybe even better than we are. We are apparently quite easy to hack. And in that hack, we are being directed towards consumerism, not compassion. Some hacks are intentionally tapping into our emotional centers and the mechanisms in the brain that trigger us towards fear and separation.

Self-knowledge and self-awareness are critical for compassion, and without consciously unhooking from those things set to keep us perpetually in a loop, we cannot experience and integrate moving from a deeply connected interior space. Meditation is paying attention, or even better expressed by J Krishnamurti, meditation is choiceless awareness.

In listening to Harari, it seems that one of the ironies we face as a human species is, that as AI becomes more prevalent and its bond with biotech becomes more relevant, things like greater longevity become more attainable, but we become more irrelevant.

So then, the great koan of how to be, and who we be, remains most relevant. Therefore, we invite you to pay attention--to everything.

Time, everything, is relative. As Albert Einstein showed us, "Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour and it seems like a minute."

Our 50 years at White Lotus is both a flash and an eternity at the same time. And I've certainly been sitting with a pretty girl for what now seems like a minute. Tracey and I have been blessed to live by the sea and in a sea of Yoga. It has been an honor and inspiration filled with a fair measure of perspiration. Creating the Santa Barbara Ashram--a place where yogis live, work and teach, fulfilled a long vision and goal filled with spirit. Taklushmon, which means the gathering place, is what the Chumash called this land. We live and teach in this gathering place of spirit and flowing water, flowing yoga, and the guests and teachers gracefully flowing in through from every walk of life. This is also the meaning of Satsang, one of the tenets of Yoga, gathering with good, true people.  

As Professor Needleman and J. Krishnamurti said a few decades ago: 

Needleman: [...] I was reading a book the other day which spoke of something called "Satsang".

Krishnamurti: Do you know what it means?

Needleman: Association with the wise.
Krishnamurti: No, with good people.
Needleman: With good people, Ah!
Krishnamurti: Being good you are wise. Not, being wise you are good.
Needleman: I understand that.
Krishnamurti: Because you are good, you are wise.[2]

Spirituality is not simply a mechanical process and not something finally obtained or acquired. Important elements contribute to spirituality, such as ethical behavior, right living, right livelihood, caring, and compassion, but the deepest essence lives beyond practices, beliefs, descriptions, and words.  It is not advisable to explain or define spirituality with too much detail, and it cannot be captured, owned, or stored up.  Ironically, the Sanskrit word for illusion, maya, also means to measure and to define.  When we measure and overly structure spirit, we may lose it.