Sense of Soul - Universal Consciousness

Episode Date: July 4, 2022

Today on Sense of Soul Podcast we have Author Pathik Strand, who has dedicated his life to exploring the most fundamental questions of existence, particularly the inquiry into the true nature of our essential identity. He enjoys meditation, yoga, art and music, and loves walking and spending time in nature. He join us to talk about his new book, Flowering Into Awareness: A Spiritual Manifesto for the 21st Century, a collection of passionate and inspiring essays on the nature of reality, as seen from the perspective of the unity of all life.  In an urgent and heartfelt manner, this book outlines the root causes of humanity's challenges, and also explains what it will take to evolve from our present state of ignorance and conflict into realizing the full flowering of our highest potential.  Pathik believe that peace on earth will never come about through political manoeuvring, but by the deep and authentic knowing that your true nature is universal consciousness, in which everything arises, exists and disappears. If you are ready and willing to question all answers, this book is for you. You can find more about Pathik and his book here at his website: www.pathikstrand.com Visit Sense of Soul at www.mysenseofsoul.com Join our Sense of Soul Patreon!! Our community of seekers and lightworkers who get exclusive discounts, live events like SOS Sacred Circles, ad free episodes and more. You can also listen to Shanna’s new mini series, about the Goddess Sophia! Sign up today and help support our podcast. As a member of any level you get 50% off Shanna’s Soul Immersion Healing Experience! https://www.patreon.com/senseofsoul  

Welcome to the Sense of Soul podcast. We are your hosts, Shanna and Mandy. Grab your coffee, open your mind, heart and soul. It's time to awaken. Today we have with us author Patrick Strand, who has dedicated his life to exploring the most fundamental questions of existence. He joins us today to talk about his new book, and we are so excited to have him. Oh, well, thank you for inviting me. I'm delighted to be connecting with you. So excited to talk about Flowering into Awareness, a spiritual manifesto for the 21st century. Yes, that's right. How'd you come up with the title for your book?

Well, that was kind of interesting because I didn't know what to call it, actually. And then all of a sudden it just came to me like totally out of the blue and I knew straight away that is the title I've never doubted it and so there it was it was just like that I love it it was almost like it was just channeled and dropped into your brain wow who knows what happened but it was just there well and so much has happened in the 21st century yeah and you know sometimes though i i say to myself especially recently are we going backwards are we taking steps backwards and into what's going on with humanity and we got a lot of challenges on our hands but my feeling is that that more than anything else it's a spiritual challenge

and we are actually have entered into a period of a great spiritual transformation. I'm curious it sounds like there was something that happened in your life or some sort of shift like around 1975 you decided to kind of dive into spirituality unfortunately for shanna and i it was a lot of pain that made us start looking for other healing modalities what was it for you well yes it can be a result of pain and great crisis that's very often the case for me it was i think yeah i think it started in the mid-70s. I was introduced to meditation and yoga and the spiritual teachings in a general way. But it was only in 1978 when this big shift happened for me.

And that happened as a result of reading a book by J. Krishnamurti. That really changed my life. And from that point onwards, I was kind of directly focused on that spiritual path and a spiritual way of life and exploring all that. So that was a huge shift,

set the course for the rest of my life. Wow. What was the book about? The book was called Freedom from the Known. And it was really about discovering who you are on the most fundamental level, and how your understanding of yourself has a direct influence. So on how you relate to other people and how you relate to the world and how you act in the world. So there was that sense of what I am or what I think I am has a huge impact on my day-to-day kind of experience and how I interact with other people.

So it's really a process or a question of moving from a very self-centered or selfish approach to life, which has been the case for many people. And then we start to wake up spiritually in a sense. It can be through all sorts of different ways. But then you start to be able to live from a much more holistic point of view, because you have a much greater understanding of things. And of course, you work on yourself in whatever way is appropriate for you and necessary. Well, isn't it interesting also the duality of being selfish or selfless, because I had found myself very selfless, too selfless.

Yes, well, it's important not to forget about yourself, your own needs, and how you fit into the world as such and the people that you relate to. So you still have a kind of a sense of self but that sense of self doesn't necessarily have to be something very limited it can be something actually also totally all-inclusive what you really are at the most fundamental level is not something that's personal it's universal yeah which is how we came out with our name of our podcast, you know, sense of soul, you know, is really truly when we felt that sense of self for the first time. And but it was something more. It was universal.

Yes. Yes. Very good. That's beautiful. It's so beautiful to me that we all have had a book that we've put in our hands and read that changed our life I mean the power of one book you know that's that is interesting yeah and actually I thought about that just yesterday I talked about that with a friend of mine because I said you think about like back in the day when they were writing scriptures and stuff that's all it was they were like we have to let people know this

they were books yeah you know and and that they shared yeah one day who knows anything we write could be a scripture to somebody in the future well you never know you never know anything anything can happen. Yeah, I was just thinking of that. I was like, wow, just the power of one book shifted your whole entire life. So, you know, we always talk about the word spirituality. What does that word mean to you? Spirituality, well, it means several things, really. It's the recognition of the foundation of all of existence is spiritual in the sense of not something like material.

It's the formless, which includes all aspect of it. But also the spiritual kind of way of life has to do with being able to see who you are. And from that kind of realization to express unconditional love and harmony in your relationships and to share that with the world. Yeah, you know, I find that to be the most interesting thing about awakening to yourself or soul or but you are also then realizing you are one with everything so it doesn't stop with you but that's where it starts so then you realize I'm a part of everyone else my relationships I'm a part of the earth I'm a part of the other cultures and countries it gets so expansive from there yes that's right is that that flowering the blooming that's how i think of it it's called flowering into awareness so awareness the way i see it our most fundamental basic essence of what we are that is awareness of consciousness itself and when you realize that

that is like flowering it opens up everything because then you see that there are no limits and there are no kind of divisions in life really life is a unity it's not like a collection of separate bits scattered around. It's a unity. It's a process of conscious creative intelligence, which is something that's totally beyond what we can actually really grasp with the mind. But we can sense that this is what it is, that there is something that's much bigger than just the kind of human form or the human intellect or mind. It's something that's all inclusive and all of this is actually what we call life. So there's no limit to life and what we are because we are one with that. We are of course individual, unique, beautiful expressions of life itself. It takes all sorts of different forms and these forms are never repeated, they're always new,

always different, so that's creativity on a level that is beyond anything we can do. It's amazing, it's totally amazing. So we are these forms as well but at the same time there isn't there isn't the limit so we are actually one with all of life through what we are at the most basic level which is consciousness the very same consciousness that is aware of all this whatever it is it's not personal it's universal how is it i think people get hung up on words how do i love myself unconditionally and somehow that's universal what is universal is consciousness itself in our culture in our materialistic culture consciousness is seen as a byproduct of the brain something that the brain does so that there would be in that sense individual consciousnesses but it's the word that doesn't

pluralize very easily it's like you talk about consciousness as really all-inclusive because that's what it is and everybody knows that a very deep level so once you see that then love is the most natural spontaneous response to that because then love can flow much more freely wow that is a good point for your own kind of form in this world and love for all of humanity for everybody and for all of life i can't believe that i never thought about that it's such a good thing it'll never leave me you can't say consciousnesses it's just consciousness it is universal the word itself yes and that's what we are all of us so this is like consciousness observing itself from different points of view.

Love that. You said something earlier that really stuck out to me. And that was, you said harmony in relationships. Yes. I found for myself personally, that when I first started kind of awakening, a lot of toxic people in my life kind of fell away. My relationship shifted. I was a little more protective with my energy. And there was kind of a year where my relationships went through some turmoil because people didn't love this shift I was having. I don't know if it was because it scared them or because it didn't align

with their religion. So I found that it was hard to keep that harmony for a while. And I know a lot of our listeners have shared with us through emails and reaching out that they too, when they first are kind of awakening to conditions of the world and going into that self-inquiry and self-love, that they too experience turmoil in their relationships. What would you say about that? Well, I think that's something that is to be expected, to be honest. Because when you go through this kind of shift in consciousness, then things start changing

and you see things in a different way and you start to relate to other people in a different way and this can often be painful it's not like it's just smooth sailing and everything is just wonderful it can be painful and we all know that it's uh it's like when you when you have an awakening like that then you start to see things in a new way and you see that a lot of things are kind of out of sync or out of harmony and that can reflect itself also into your relationships with people that you might have had some kind of issue with, or like you said, toxic people and so on. So it's a natural kind of thing. And we shouldn't think that when that happens, that something is wrong,

that things have gone wrong, because it's not like that. It's really a new situation that we can move consciously into and we can grow through that. We can learn from that. We can take that fully on board and just be with it and live with that. And life itself will present the way forward in that situation. So it is nothing to be worried about and definitely not wrong. It is a very natural kind of order of things.

When you have these kinds of experiences and you start to feel that you're becoming something else, something more, it's bound to create some kind of shift in relationships and in how you live and in everything else that's just a natural way of things so it's all good so as you come out of the box for myself like mandy's said for me for sure i came out of the box of limited beliefs of my religion which must much of what my life was based on prior was what I was told. And faith, I didn't have to question things. I just was to have faith and never question. And, you know, I was everything was my beliefs. But when I started to live by experience, rather than off

of beliefs, and just faith, I did end up returning back to faith but within myself. Yes yes so you needed that kind of experience where you moved away from it in a sense and could then eventually see it from a new perspective and you can see the value of it as well and speak from it which there's a lot of holes in those questions and who doesn't question why am I here what is my purpose you know where do I come from you know those kind of things yes and it is very important to well I would say it's very important to question all answers and any kind of explanation that you're given, especially about so-called spiritual matters and what have you, or religious beliefs or whatever. Because if we just accept something, a face value, because some kind of authority has said so, then we're selling ourselves short because it then just becomes a belief. And there is an element of fear in that as well, because if you go against that belief or that teaching or whatever it is,

then you're afraid of consequences, but you haven't really understood perhaps what that teaching actually means so it's very important to find the answers for yourself and then even if you have been inside of a like a traditional religious belief which is fine then you can return to it with a much deeper understanding and have a real feeling and knowledge about what all this means. And then you can speak from that new place of self-awareness, a much better, bigger overview of everything. I was sitting here thinking about what you said earlier, Shanna, the flowering in the name of your book,

because I was thinking of it that same way. Like, you know, we always say when we're doing self-inquiry that we call it like peeling off the layers of the onion. I've heard it like, I don't like that. I hate onions. Yeah, I don't like onions. You know, it's really only an image

because you have on an onion you have various layers you peel one after the other one after the other and at the end there is nothing left there is only bare existence what you are which is not like a layer of the onion it actually comprises all of this metaphorical onion appears within what you are within consciousness itself every single layer of the onion i mean you can use a different kind of image if you're not keen on onions yeah we want flowers now yeah that should work fine and then if you even think about it in the inside of the petals is like the seeds, like the seed of the soul. Yes, yes, absolutely.

So that's a very potent metaphor, a really good image, because you have the seeds inside there. So tell us a little bit more about your journey, because your dive into spirituality and the journey that led you to writing this book, I mean, you really went down some rabbit holes with investigation. You also traveled. You learned a lot of new practices. Can you just talk a little bit about your journey? Yes. So I mentioned Krishnamurti, which has always been very important to me

because it was such a fundamental change. But I also explored a lot of other things and during the 80s I was very much involved with the Sannyas movement of Osho I went to Pune in India where I lived at the time in 1980 and spent time there and and that was another huge change because I really learned to work directly on myself and my emotional life and my emotional blocks and all that kind of thing so I really felt very different when I came back from there so I was involved in that kind of journey for a good number of years, probably about 10 years. After that, I explored teachings of other spiritual teachers,

and particularly somebody called Jean Klein. He was originally from Czechoslovakia, I think, lived most of his life in France. And he taught a kind of non-duality vision of life. I have actually quoted in my book Flowering into Awareness something that he said to me personally, he gave me advice which was the real key, he said meditate on that which never changes and that was very profound because I did just that. Wow. You know, when you look at life and what's happening, life is always presenting itself in kind of new forms and lots of stuff that's happening.

And everything is new. Nothing is repeated in life. So there is that change, constant change on all possible levels, physically, mentally, emotionally, if you go on the astral plane and all sorts of stuff like that, there's always change, there's always something going on. That which never changes, that is permanent. All the forms of life, they are constantly changing, they're coming and going so they appear seem to exist and then disappear within the wider context of that which never changes which turned out to be consciousness itself or you could find a loop or something that needs to you know that you need to let go to change

for it to transition yeah of course you you you might have to do a lot of different things uh on your journey on your spiritual journey in order to actually uh arrive at this kind of insight or realization of what you are is that which never changes. But yet you still have to relate to life and other people from that sense of also being the kind of person that you are in the world. And there's nothing wrong with that. And there is no contradiction between the two

because you can still have that sense of being that which is universal and without any limits that's that's good that's very good good advice yeah that just blows my mind so you I think my mind is blown in a different way I'm over here like, wait, I have to process that. So what you're saying is that you kind of dove on your journey into finding out who you are and at the core of your soul, that does not change. Like your soul never changes who you are at the core. Yes. You can use the word soul. I have no problem with that. I personally

don't tend to use it because I feel that a lot of people tend to think of the soul as something personal, something that's kind of unique to you. And there's nothing wrong with that. That's fine. But consciousness itself isn't personal. It is universal. And once we arrive at that understanding and can really realize that and embody it, then life takes on a different kind of quality. It doesn't mean that your life is going to be all lovely and wonderful and nothing bad is ever going to happen. No, life is what it is. And sometimes painful things happen.

Sometimes you go through a crisis in whatever way. And you might have some kind of problem with some other people. As long as you know, or you can feel and embody that realization, that you are consciousness, which is indivisible, and really the unity of life, that puts a different kind of shine on everything. And you relate to other people and to the many trials and tribulations of life itself.

You relate to all of that in a new way. It's not so problematic in a sense you learn to let go of a lot of expectations perhaps and let go of wanting everything to be the way you want it and then just let everything be as it is and yet at the same time if there is a problem, an issue, you do something to sort that out. So letting everything be as it is doesn't mean that you never react to anything. That is something that we go against the nature of life itself because you can see that all around you in nature that all forms of life they try to correct imbalances it's just natural we just do that because life wants to survive in whatever form it takes and then also

try to find balance and harmony in whatever we are doing you can let life be as it is and accept it as it is, and yet you take action whenever it's needed. That's natural. And the funny thing about all this is also that what we are, consciousness itself, is actually always totally accepting of everything and always totally non-judgmental. Think how many people, especially spiritual people, who are struggling with accepting of not being judgmental and so on and so forth. But really what we are is already that, it's already non-judgmental, already all accepted. It becomes much easier to just let everything and everybody be as it is or what they are and yet respond in a natural way.

So if something needs correcting or balancing or whatever it is, then you take steps to do that because that's a natural way of life. And that's kind of what your book is about, right? You are getting into action by writing this book because you believe that humanity is shifting and needs to shift even more that we need to yeah what is your hope for the reader my hope for the reader would be that he or she would find some well enjoy reading it most of all but also find maybe some inspiration and maybe some new understanding. But of course everybody will respond to a book like this,

or any book, in different ways. It really depends where we're coming from, what our previous understanding of things might be. I just hope that it will make a positive change to whatever little way it is to anyone that reads it. So that's my hope. I, as an energy worker, have seen the power of the heart chakra and love. Love is like the most powerful energy that we all have. Yeah.

And I do believe that's the essence of, you know, that divinity. I think that one of the reasons why we've gotten to this place is we've become more empathetic. And with more empathy, the more energy you're getting out to others. And I've seen that happen. And even more and more, well, good and bad. When you look at the news, you know, we can look at the news

and see what's happening across the world where a hundred years ago, this wasn't possible. Or we can find it on our phones. My nine-year-old can tell you exactly what's going on in the world in two seconds. And she feels for what, you know, is happening around the world. She feels for what you know is happening around the world she feels for the animals right that are going extinct she feels for the earth that is being destroyed and the air quality and she feels for the injustices and inequality and so these younger generations are able to gain this empathy that say 100 years ago it was almost impossible to even understand or know. So I feel like it's part of a growing consciousness due to empathy, but I do understand that there is a positive and negative when it comes to technology.

Yes, absolutely. I've written in this book, Flowering into Awareness about technology and how it is used and how we have become addicted in so many ways to technology. As if that is like the solution to humanity's problems. And it's not the solution because technology, after all, is only like a tool. It's a tool that might be useful or helpful. Like for instance, we are using this technology now so we can have this conversation. That is great. That's fantastic. But because we have become so addicted to technology, we don't tend to see the dangers of it as well, because the direction we're moving in now is

towards more and more artificial intelligence and everything being run by AI and so on. And the way I see it, that's not a good kind of development. So if we understand, first of all, that technology is really just a tool, because it cannot actually lead to the spiritual awakening that is necessary on a global level, and it cannot create more love in the world, that comes from a much, much deeper place. And you could argue that, well, technology can have a place in that, but yes, but only as a tool. Like for instance, we can talk now through the technology. So you can use it as a tool and that's very good. And it has changed the world and in many ways for the better. But there is, that's like a double-edged sword. It does have also a lot of negative consequences and I'm concerned especially for the younger generation, children and adolescents, the generation that's growing up now because they have become accustomed to and used to being around technology constantly, almost from the day they were born.

Birth. Yes, because I mean, in the good old days, when I was growing up, there was nothing like this. Just related to the world in a completely different way directly to other people whereas now a lot of communication and interaction takes place in the virtual world so we are not face to face at the moment in the same physical location we are communicating through this tool and there is a limitation to that and also acknowledge that so if we only rely on this kind of communication right then we will actually degenerate to some degree because it is not natural it is a It's an artificial way of communicating. So there's a danger there, but it's also a great help.

So we need to find the balance, really. And the balance. But the thing is, is like you said earlier, nature naturally finds harmony and balance. This isn't something that will naturally, it's not natural. So it's not going to find its own balance. So it is up to each one of us individually to create that balance for ourselves so like you said it's a double-edged sword because there's so many benefits to being able to share all of this with with you know listeners from all over the world right now and then also seeing where we all can collectively come together. Well, it's just made it a lot easier to communicate with people who are not with you in person.

It's made that a lot easier. But that communication is more limited than the kind of communication that we could have if we were together in person. That would have been different. It's much richer. And we all know that. So I would say that it's best to have the majority of your communication or my communication

directly with people in person. I prefer that, to be honest. I can do stuff like this and that's wonderful. I have nothing against it. But I couldn't do this all the time. The description of the book, how it says this book was a urgent message. Why did you choose the word urgent? Humanity is moving more and more into an artificial kind of world, a virtual world.

And we have been kind of touching upon that already, and also a world that is more and more controlled by fewer and fewer people. I think it's important that we keep our lives rooted in the natural world, in what is natural, and that we have as much determination around lives and our own existence as possible, that we are moving into a world which is more and more controlled and centralized. There's no question about that. And I think that's a very dangerous path that we're traveling.

But I think that the cause of all this, all these problems that arises from all this, I think they're caused by a huge degree of kind of collective spiritual ignorance. Because our whole culture, our civilization is based on at least two very fundamental assumptions. And these are assumptions that are hardly ever questioned by anyone, including a lot of people who are spiritually kind of active or aware of things. And those assumptions are first of all that we are all separate beings, entities, and secondly that we are living in a kind of world that exists independently of consciousness itself. And in our culture, our materialistic culture, that is seen as a material world, that's something that exists independently of consciousness itself and then we look at ourselves as or see ourselves as separate entities engaged in a struggle for survival and in competition with all these other,

seem to be different from me people, who are also engaged in the same kind of struggle. So that division right there between me as the separate entity on the one hand, and then you as another separate entity, and the world as such out there as something separate from what I truly am, that creates division. There's a division right there, and where there is division, there is some level of conflict. So it starts right at that fundamental misunderstanding, those assumptions that very few people actually question. Is it really true that I am separate, a separate entity, in my most fundamental essence? And is it really true that there is a world out there that exists independently of what I am, which is consciousness itself. Because after all, everybody's most fundamental experience

is that of being. And everything that we are aware of, all our perceptions, our thoughts, feelings, ideas, impressions, whatever it is, all of that arises within consciousness. It exists within that embrace of the totality of all life. And therefore, I see consciousness as the most basic fundamental reality of all existence. And what we think of as the material world, to me, is a great mystery. It's not something that I feel can be separate from consciousness itself, as if there is no consciousness yet there is still this kind of

material universe that doesn't make any sense to me at all because consciousness is all inclusive that is the fundamental reality and that's what we are yeah i i definitely agree with that i i feel like we've had two people on recently both scientists one jj her talk who really explained how like if they actually approved i think someone recently who got the um nobel peace prize had discovered that if everyone focused their energy to collectively together like a global prayer or you know together and it creates that manifest and you know and that we could possibly all get together and all of us you know send loving energy to like Ukraine and maybe truly make a difference together yes absolutely this is very true absolutely but there's there's just a tiny little problem with this.

Okay. If everybody would do that, absolutely, it would make a huge difference. But we know at the moment, a relatively small minority would be happy to do that. And it would make a difference. Absolutely.

The way I tend to kind of try to explain this is that think of the difference it would make if everybody was just kind and compassionate to everybody else all of a sudden like from right now. Imagine what a huge difference that would be. The world would be transformed instantly because if you express and live that kindness, that compassion, that love, that unconditional love in all your relationships, then there can't be any problems or conflicts in the world. You might have problems in terms of sorting out things on the physical level and what have you, that's fine and we don't expect that that will ever go away, that just part of life. But we don't have to be in conflict and disharmony with each other. And it is this transformation that is absolutely

essential for that to happen. And that is that fear must be transformed into love and greed to be transformed into generosity. And of course, competition must be transformed into cooperation, that we genuinely want to help each other, not to compete and grab as much as possible for ourselves. Because that will lead to misery, that will lead to unhappiness and conflict. And that's not the way forward forward because we've tried this for thousands of years it doesn't work i was thinking about covid happening our world is scared and they shifted into a lot of fear and then how appropriate that they come up with this new idea like oh you hate the world that you're in you don't like what you're living in. Well, guess what? We created an alternative world that you can go live in. I mean, it's

terrifying. It is literally terrifying. They're coming up with these alternative worlds that you can literally go live in. It's just so scary. And I think you're right. There's an urgency for us all to do something about it. Yes, because this is what is needed. It is a spiritual transformation that is urgently needed. It is on that level. And spiritual transformation in this context means what I just said, transform fear into love and greed into generosity, first and foremost. That is the spiritual transformation. Whether you communicate with angels and ascended masters, that's a different matter. There's nothing wrong with that. But it is that transformation on a really personal level that will create a new world, new humanity inhabiting a new a new earth i'm i always

felt certain that we would get to a crisis point which is where we are but that we would be able to actually do that to create this new world but it is uncertain at this time what price we will ultimately have to pay for that. It's never pleasant. It's never easy. It's a challenge. But we have the potential to actually go through this transformation and come out with something a lot better. We can create a new world. And we all have the potential to do it that's the big challenge of being born in these times and live now through all this

and it starts by getting to know yourself yes I would say so absolutely that is fundamental self-awareness yes deep and fundamental in knowing Self-awareness. Yes. Yes.

Deep and fundamental in knowing who you are. And balance. Yes, absolutely. You find the balance as well. Because you still need to relate to the world and to other people. But you do that from a new place. Yeah. Yes. do that from a new place. Yes, in a new and transformed world, we will not be living in the metaverse or in virtual reality. We will use technology appropriately and to the extent that it

is needed. But the new world, what I call the sane world, is also a totally decentralized world, where all people live in freedom. Freedom is very very important because if you don't have freedom, if you don't have that experience on a day-to-day level then I think we will feel some kind of dissatisfaction that something is wrong because that is the natural order of things to live in freedom and in harmony with other people okay so what how would you describe the word freedom that's one of shanna's favorite words yeah freedom is very important because

at the most fundamental level it just means among other things it means freedom from the known freedom from what we think of as the past and how that has kind of

forced us into this kind of present that we're living in now. So freedom also means that we can live our lives exactly as we want to. And doing that also means that we have a responsibility of treating other people with kindness and care. So there's what's called the natural law, which means that you are free to live the way that you feel is natural and right for you as long as you don't cause any harm, injury or loss

to anyone else. That is very important. So that needs to be part of it. That is part of the responsibility of freedom. So we want 100% freedom to live the way that we feel is right and natural for us, but we need to be considerate to others and never cause any harm or injury to others. That's very important. Very important. If we all could just live like that, right? So it sounded to me like you were describing the freedom I felt when my integrity was in line. When my mind, my heart, and my consciousness were all aligned. Yes. Absolutely.

That is freedom, isn't it? Yes. Of course, then there is no conflict. There isn't really a division because all this kind of merged into an indivisible whole. It's a unity. Right there is that freedom. Reminds me of the Age of Aquarius about unity, duality,

unifying the feminine and masculine and that collective responsibility. And that is a freedom for all collectively. Yes, yes. Because if we all live in freedom, then there isn't really any need for any conflict. Because with freedom, you also feel a sense of fulfillment because you have the freedom and the possibility of actually just living how you feel is right for you

and what's natural for you. Beautiful. Instead of being forced into some kind of predetermined pattern and living in what seems to be more and more a totally centralized world with the governments deciding everything and with almost 24 hours surveillance and all the rest of it. It's the kind of, well, the opposite of freedom in a sense. Beautiful. I actually get excited inside.

Like I feel like this fire rising because I felt that freedom and I would, I want that for everyone. I want everyone to be able to feel that. Yes, absolutely. And that's really beautiful. That's a wonderful thing. And I think it's useful to bear in mind

what one of the many lovely things that Mahatma Gandhi said, said we have to be the change that we want to see in the world. So you can be that change, and that will have an impact on other people not just the people that you meet directly and communicate with it's like an energy that spreads out into the world an energy that is full of harmony and an energy of love. Because that is really what the world needs. Come back to that, to live in that dimension of love and express that naturally and effortlessly in all our relationships. That's the solution.

I'm trying to think of if there was a time in the world, thinking like timeline-wise, if we had to look at history and think, when were they closest to that? Was there ever that? Yes, I think more than likely humanity has lived like that in the past. One strong intuition I've had sometimes is about the Native American Indians, the Native population, before the Americas were colonized

by people coming from Europe. I've always had a feeling that it was a different kind of world that was much more harmonious and much, much more in tune with nature and what is natural and a natural way of life. But of course, with the influx of people from this part of the world, starting hundreds of years ago. It seems like that has been corrupted and forced kind of underground, but it's possible to get back to that and find that again. I'm going to share with you something that someone sent me

the other day. It's a quote by Crazy Horse. It says, the red nation shall rise again, and it shall be a blessing for a sick world, a world filled with broken promises, selfishness, and separations, a world longing for light again. I see a time of seven generations when all the colors of mankind will gather under the sacred tree of life and the whole earth will become one circle again. Yes, absolutely. That's very beautiful. And that's the kind of intuition or insight that I'm talking about. So that's a beautiful kind of vision.

And I think, I feel that there's a lot of truth in that. It makes me want to cry, you know, reading that. It's moving. Especially after what you said, you know. Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, in the mythology of the old Hindu tradition, they have the concept of the great ages, the yugas. So presently, we're in the last of the four big yugas,

the Kali Yuga, which is the most difficult, where everything goes towards darkness. And yet, at a certain point, where it goes really, really dark, the light comes back in, and you start on a new golden age. And I think we're very close to that. That's my feeling about it. Reminds me of the Pistis Sophia, the Gnostic gospel. Same thing.

The myth story of Sophia being put in the chaos, falling into the chaos, the darkness, trying to find the spark. Yes, and I feel that this kind of insight or vision has been present in many cultures around the world for thousands of years. There is that kind of insight somehow. Are you telling our listeners and us that we don't have to travel the world and sit on like Mount Shasta? We don't have to go to Peru. We don't have to go to church. We don't have to, you know, join every workshop and program.

All we have to do is be kind and generous. Yes, that is true on one level, that is very true. If we could all be just kind and unselfish, kind and generous, that would transform the world. But the reality of it is that for every single one of us, we travel a unique path. And some of us might have to go to Peru or to India, like I did, or somewhere else. Because that's just part of that natural kind of development that we all go through in this world, in this life, journey we call we think of as life but there isn't anything that in and of itself is essential for everybody to do apart from awakening to the truth of who you are to gain true self-knowledge and then open up to a transformation that like like I said, goes from fear into love and from greed to generosity and so on. So that, of course, is essential because that is what is required.

But the path to that is different for each and every one of us. I think you should go get a tattoo of that. Turn fear into love and greed into generosity. Just on your back. Okay, I've never asked a guest this question. I'm curious. How does it make you feel when you read your own reviews on your book? It's always a fascinating experience. I mean, I've had some feedback and reviews that are quite different

from each other and ranging from negative review to something extremely positive, far beyond anything I could ever have even imagined. So it's fascinating, very interesting experience and i'm always grateful for any kind of feedback or any kind of reviews regardless of the nature of them because everybody comes from their own kind of point of view and their own story and their own background their own understanding so everybody will have a different kind of sense of what this is and how it affects them. So, when you have created something like this, because it's like, you know, this is a huge undertaking to write the book and get it published. It's not something you do every day. It's like giving birth to something.

This sounds like this was an experience for you, this shift and everything that you have felt. And then trying to take that and put it into words. Was that hard for you? Yeah, it's difficult when you write about these kind of subjects, because it's like trying to express something that cannot really be properly put into words, so you have to peel your way into it and find the words and the kind of sentences and images and metaphors or whatever that fits and that will actually bring your message across to the potential reader. So that is quite a challenge. But I do feel that I've been quite successful and I'm happy with this book, Flowering into Awareness. I feel it's a worthwhile read.

Well, I can't wait to get your book in my arms that you birthed and rock it and read it. Where can everybody find your book anywhere where they sell books online or if there are any bookshops anymore I don't know there must be some I think hopefully it's that should be quite easy I would like to add also that your cover is beautiful the colors everything it is very beautiful and very appropriate to this book. I'm very, very pleased with it. It's a true representation of the actual content of the book itself. Yes, I agree. Do you have a website as well? Yes, I do have a website. It's my name, pathikstrand.com that's easy and now it's time for break that shit down

i think the most important message is for people to realize that they are personally responsible for creating a new and much better world, and that every single one of us has the potential to do that. We wouldn't have been here otherwise. We can do this. It's very important to realize that, and not to wait for somebody else to fix everything, or wait for a savior or something like that. Because we are the saviors. It's up to us. We have that imminent in us. We have that

potential. And if now it's time to realize that and yeah, make it real in the world. Whoa, I love that. Everyone is a savior. Now go out and make it real in the world. Whoa, I love that. Everyone is a savior. Now go out and make it real. Yes, exactly. I love that. Quit waiting for the savior. Be the savior. Yes, exactly.

Absolutely perfect. Ah, I love it. Well, you have been absolutely wonderful. I truly feel honored to be in your presence and to learn from you. And again, I can't wait to get your book in my hands. Well, thank you to be in your presence and to learn from you. And again, I can't wait to get your book in my hands. Well, thank you very much for your kind words. And I have to say, I truly enjoyed this conversation that we've had together. Really beautiful to

connect with you. And I feel all the better for it. It's just lovely. So thank you very much for inviting me and for spending this time with me. I really appreciate that. Thank you so much for joining us. It's been nice to meet you. Oh, thank you very much for inviting me. It's been a pleasure. Thanks for being with us today. We hope you will come back next week. If you like what you hear, don't forget to rate, like and subscribe. Thank you. We rise to lift you up. Thanks for listening.