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These ‘guidelines’ are a gentle reminder of the love which we are and how we may express it in coming together.

Straight from the heart of a loving gardener:) I’ve not visited in a while; has the garden changed that much? A few millennia ago you might have gotten by with simply ‘Know Thyself”.

Rattlesnakes mating? Wonderful.

Yes, indeed.

This child is apparently not starving. However, some puzzling things are happening in her life, some very good and some not so good. One good thing is that her extended family is taking good care of her. As for the difficulties, perhaps you can see them in her face if you look closely.

I am thankful for this important question, which arises often concerning nonduality among newcomers. The question is well worded. And Jeff responds very clearly about the need to distinguish between relative, everyday reality and the “higher” (more complete) understanding associated with full consciousness.

In the everyday world, it is important to live with virtue (ethics). It says so right at the beginning of the Eightfold Way in the Yoga Sutras, in the “yama” and “niyama” prescriptions for relative life which are generally accepted both by Buddhism and by the six Vedic philosophies.

We must not apply higher understanding inappropriately to the relative, everyday world. In the everyday world there are starving children, and we should see this as a problem arising from income inequality and social injustice, which are both results of living a selfish, ego-driven life, which in turn is the result of living in ignorance of our true nature as Awareness, which brings peace and happiness. This statement applies to whoever is in power in society, whether it is government, wealthy people, or a voting population.

Jeff writes, “Hunger does not appear here — and there is gratitude for that, of course. At the moment, I cannot experience her hunger.”

This seems to come from his own ego, a selfishness that celebrates my own freedom from hunger instead of compassion for those others who are hungry. It is the only flaw I see in an otherwise good explanation.

Of course, the higher explanation that Jeff states is that everything we observe, including what we judge as good or bad, arises from and in pure Awareness. On the level of that Awareness, there is no want, no judgement, no good or bad, and no person. We can live on that level of life, and come to see that the ever-changing relative, including all of its ethical values, are appearances within never-changing Awareness. This insight, stabilized in the transformation known as self-realization, brings peace and happiness to life without any compromise in relative ethics or morality. But it never means that hunger does not exist or should be allowed to exist. Transformed people can more truthfully view hunger than can those still under the illusion that it is okay to allow others to suffer.

Too long; did not read. The audio seems to be behind a paywall. There appear to be many people with these same names, or just specifically Bhai Sahib. Just saying.

I’ve tried reading it again and still don’t understand it, especially the second paragraph. I understand, I think, the meaning of each word, but I do not find any resonance with any experience that I can remember having that would give these words a meaning. But I’m glad to hear that they represent a breakthrough for you!

Thank-you Jennifer, this article is certainly worth reading. Allow me to “think out loud” not for anyone’s benefit but my own. Typing this helps me to better absorb what Foster is saying.

I avoid the urge to “cherry pick” a line from here, to collect a “gem” that confirms my existing concepts.
What arises instead is to walk out the door and see what life brings. To not only feel compassion but BE compassion in every action and interaction with apparent others.

Each of us, placed in our unique roles, has an opportunity to realize consciousness moves through our body-mind expressions, to allow what the Bhudda called “right action” or a “skillful response” to arise. Of course some will counter this with “there is no doer”. It’s true… however as Foster points out, we have (the gift of) the appearance of free will. Today I walk out the door knowing I am not the doer but employed by consciousness to express the “Ananda” that I am. Who wouldn’t, having this clear understanding, address suffering in others?

Peace 🙏