Call and Response Special Edition Conversations With KD June 11 2020

Taking time to look back and move forward. Conversations With KD episodes are derived from the recordings of KD’s online events from his home during the 2020/ 2021 days of social distancing and quarantine from the onset of COVID and beyond.

Call and Response Special Edition Conversations With KD June 11 2020

“All the questions that you asked, they’re all issues that you can become aware of yourself. Don’t give up your practice. Deepen your practice as best you can. Keep it going. Remember, it’s not about what you’re feeling at the time of practice, necessarily. Keep it going whether you’re feeling any devotional feelings, whether you’re angry, whether you’re sad, whether you’re tired, do your practice. Do your practice. It’s the way. If we don’t plant those seeds, those fruits will never grow for us. So, regardless of how difficult it becomes in the world, regardless of what’s going on in your life, try to remember to remember, as often and as deeply as you can. “ – Krishna Das

Namaste. I hope everybody’s okay. Nice to see you again. Of course, I can’t see you, but it’s good to be together again.

As this pandemic continues, as we stay more isolated in our homes, as so many things seem to be blowing up in the world around us, it becomes more and more important to cultivate the ability to take refuge in our own hearts. And these chants that we’re doing lead us into that place within that is shelter from the storm.

Whatever we do in the world, we want to do it well and we want to be able to accomplish our goals, but if our motives are confused and subject to what they call “The Three Poisons,” which I’m not exactly sure what they are, but it’s certainly selfishness and desire-driven motivation and the delusion, and we can’t accomplish what we want.

So, by learning and training ourselves to take this refuge of this time to move inside, we are able to overcome the obstacles within us. And when we can overcome those obstacles, we can be more effective in the outside world. It’s a natural situation. The less fear we have, the better we’ll be able to interact with people, other people and situations as they arise. The rest, the less selfishness we have, self-centered actions, thinking only of ourselves, the more we’ll be able to accomplish in the world, the more people we’ll be able to help and the more we’ll be able to help ourselves.

So, it’s very important to cultivate this practice, any practice. And for those who don’t understand that there is a way to find refuge within, there’s nothing but continued suffering and frustration and trying to squeeze water from a stone. So, the best thing we can do is to learn how to take care of ourselves, and at the same time, that expands to include everyone, because we’re all connected. When we go within, we can feel that connection with everyone and everything. It’s not something you have to think about up here. It’s something you directly experience.

I mentioned the three poisons before that we are subject to in our dealings with our own stuff, and they are officially; ignorance, attachment and aversion. I’m not sure about that, actually, but it’s close. Something like that. Delusion for sure. Not seeing the way things really are. And then second, acting only out of self-referenced behavior, things that benefit ourselves in one way or another, where we are the center of the universe, and then attachment and aversion, which is clinging things and pushing things away.

Q: I’m afraid and sad that I can’t help others as before, because I must self-quarantine to protect the body. How can I still protect others if it’s risky to protect myself and then to be physically present? And if they are too young or intellectually can’t understand?

Well to everything,