Larry gave this talk on December 8, 2020 in Carbondale, Colorado at A Spiritual Center.  

He points out that we live in a world made up of our own interpretations, and that we mistake that set of interpretations for the durable world we assume exists.  He tells the story of his extra-ordinary experience in which the flow of interpretation we call the world was made to stop by a set of circumstances contrary to that flow.  Extra-ordinary experience has the power to redirect the trajectory of one's life, and he talks about how that happened for him.

We ordinarily think of our ego, our egotistical selves, as being some kind of character defect.  So we pretend to apologize for it, and sometimes we try to hide it.  But what if there's a completely different way of looking at ego that helps to explain why people behave the way they do?  What if you could step back and see everything that's happening in this election season as the behavior of some global "Thing" that we're all swimming in?  So you have ego... don't take it so personally!

Do you find yourself trying to understand why people are acting the way they are?  This could be your relatives and friends, and it might extend to politicians and complete strangers.  What if we looked at our collective psychology as a Thing that is used to being in control and wants to stay that way?

How can we find a stable place to stand amid the uncertainty and confusion of the current era?  I have been recommending taking a step back for a broader view.  How can we do that?

When we can't change a situation, we're told to accept it.  Passive acceptance feels like resignation.  But active acceptance feels like a new beginning.  What's the difference?

There’s a lot of fear going around these days about the coronavirus.  In response, there are actions being taken, and some frantic, knee-jerk reactions taking place.  And… there’s a fair bit of acting-out going on as well.  As a society, this thing is making us crazy.

Should we wear masks?  Should we visit family and friends or go to the grocery store?  Are we washing our hands enough?  Will this be the new normal?  Will this permanently devastate our economy?  The quest for the correct answers goes on 24/7.

I’m convinced that it’s worthwhile to seek a broader view when the one you have doesn’t feel very good.  What, then, might present itself as a broader view of the coronavirus and the way the pandemic and social isolation are impacting most of us these days?

"I" may well be the most misunderstood word in the English language.  That’s because when we use that word, we are most commonly using it to point to something that’s not real, that’s not actually who we are!

It is possible (and desirable) to separate the Ego from the one who identifies that Ego as belonging to him/her. And unless we make real for ourselves that the Ego is invented by us, and it is distinct from who we really are, we will commonly refer to that Ego, that aspect of our personality, as “I”.

This misunderstanding leads to the frustration and misery one would expect if we are under the illusion that we are putting in all this effort to make something other than who we are, happy!

The evolution of homo sapiens to a new kind of human being doesn't require a different body or a larger brain.  Nor does it require a catastrophe and millions of years.  Instead, it happens within a living human being when the Ego is seen to be what it is: distinct from who we really are, and not even real!  

A lot of people feel like the world is a mess right now, and that things seem to be getting worse.  Is there a way of thinking about the state of the world that affords us the possibility of recovering some leverage, some power?  This is part one of a two-part approach that may change the way we think about all that.

I have found that the way to ease my mind and my heart is to take a step back and seek a broader perspective.