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There is this beautiful feeling of staying up until six in the morning, talking about enlightenment with your teacher. It is one of the most beautiful experiences. Paramahansa Yogananda writes about that, and I have experienced it personally with my teacher. Coming back consistently, having a conversation about all the myriad topics pertaining to enlightenment, is paramount. There is just so much to discuss. There is so much to become aware of on the path.

I highly recommend burning some incense, or some resin, or a candle. Nagchampa or Satya Saibaba incense is really wonderful to burn. It conditions the mind to recognize, “Oh, this is a spiritual time.” I also like the Indian Temple Incense; that is a really beautiful one. Kopal is good. Myrrh is my favorite. I love myrrh and frankincense. Those are my two favorite resins. A resin is—well, you get a little coconut charcoal, and you put these little blobs of resin on it, and it produces a very pure smoke. It is just lovely. It is so lovely.

Today’s sermon is on selective exposure. Selective exposure is essential because we need to become architects of culture—of our own culture. We can be architects of a greater culture as well, but what you focus on, you become. What you are exposed to informs the structures of your mind. If you watch a lot of violent movies, you are going to be in that wavelength. If you join the fraternity, you are going to be on that wavelength. There is nothing wrong with joining the fraternity, but you are going to be on that wavelength.

One of the strategies and techniques, outside of meditation itself in spiritual practice, is curating what you are exposed to. It is very powerful. You might ask, why can I not meditate? Well, you cannot meditate because you have been sitting around the boardroom with business people who are all totally self-centered, right? That is why you cannot meditate. But when you expose yourself to energies, mentalities, and build a paradigm that is conducive to meditative life, to spiritual life, then it becomes easier to meditate.

So, how can we curate our culture? Think about what culture is. Culture is something we inherit. We step into a world where people see things a certain way, act a certain way, have certain expectations, and certain etiquette. For example, you do not walk around naked in Los Angeles, right? Well, that is a kind of etiquette. Really, in a way, that is… I do not think everyone should walk around naked in Los Angeles, but if you were perhaps in an ancient tribal civilization, that would be normal, right?

So, there are all kinds of things like that. What is normal? When I do Tai Chi at the parks, people always walk right in front of me, and I think, no. You cannot do that, but they do not know, because they cannot see the energy. They do not have that sense of etiquette. Japan has very good etiquette. I love Japan. So, selective exposure is a way of curating our mind.

We choose certain things that we want to expose ourselves to. We also choose things that we avoid exposure to. So you have to do both. Bring exposure to some things, avoid exposure to others. We are going to go over a few ways to do this, and some considerations. I recommend each of you sit down and write about it. Maybe make two columns, and say, “Okay, I am going to expose myself to more of this, and less of this,” and see how it changes you.

If you sit and watch CNN all day, you are just being programmed. You are being programmed by a narrative about the world. That is not just the world; that is what they choose to think about, and how they choose to think about those things. There is a lot of negativity, a lot of stress, but if you go and sit with the squirrels—it is a completely different life, right?

One of the most effective ways to build positive selective exposure is through reading. In the practice hall, I have suggested—well, more than suggested—that the routine element of the month is 15 minutes a day of reading. You simply take a book, like this, and open it for 15 minutes. And what happens? You and Ramana Maharshi, for example, get to share in that energy. You are immersed in the energy of the author.

It is important to understand a little about how this works. There is a term—perhaps you know it—entrain. To entrain yourself to something is to attune to its frequency. You entrain your mind to the minds of those who are powerfully established in a particular paradigm and energy. Ramana Maharshi is a perfect example. You open the book, read two sentences, and you begin to entrain yourself to that frequency, to that energy.

But here is the key: reading should be from the original sage, saint, prophet, or author. You need to read the original words. Do not read what others have said about Einstein; read what Einstein himself said. Do not read what people have written about Ramana Maharshi; read his words. And if you can read them in the original language in which he spoke, that is even better, because you are seeking to connect with the subtle authenticity of those verbal structures. There are subtle, paradigmatic transmissions that occur when you read the way someone expresses something.

In my words right now, there is a great deal of that. You are receiving a little dose of mathematics, because I have so much mathematics within me. It is in the structure of my language and in the way I relate to ideas.

We are trying to form ourselves—like a tabula rasa, which means a blank slate. We are like a computer without any software, and we have the ability to run software. The question is: what software do you want to run? That is your choice. We use selective exposure to curate the software environment of our computer selves.

There is a book list in the practice hall with eight books on it, and then there is the book of the month, which is Autobiography of a Yogi. When you read these, it does not necessarily require a lot of reading—it is the consistency that matters. You open the book. Perhaps you have just interacted with someone who sees the world in a way that does not resonate with you. Open the book, read a few sentences from Ramana Maharshi, and you will receive a non-dualistic perspective on existence. You will begin to feel the detachment, the love, the gratitude, the absorption.

Another point—this is a significant issue, I think, with Jesus. With Jesus, you want to read his original words. You do not want to read what others have said about him, because then you are filtering too much through Christianity and the various interpretations around it. The same applies to any religion, but this is something religions often do. They tend to move away from the pristine transmission of the state of mind that gave rise to them.

If you read Jesus' original words, they are truly remarkable and very pure. The same is true with Osho. Now, Osho often receives criticism, but if you listen to his words, he is constantly speaking beauty. So, set aside everything else and ask: what did he actually say? Osho expresses absolutely incredible things.

For those of you who may not know, Osho was a spiritual leader in the 1970s and 80s, based in Oregon.

Another person I highly recommend reading is Krishnamurti. You need to read a significant amount of Krishnamurti to really understand what he means. So, just stay with it. With Krishnamurti, you might need to read perhaps three books before you start to grasp what he is actually conveying, because he approaches it from many different angles. Do not just take my word for it; you will likely gain a lot from the beginning, but the more you read, the deeper your understanding becomes.

When you read anything—this is the benefit of reading—you could, in principle, read anything and use it to entrain your mind. When it comes to spirituality, it is beneficial to focus on those who were experiencing samadhi, who had access to Nirvana in some aspect. Paramahansa Yogananda did. Bruce Lee did.

I have assembled a collage of enlightened beings in the practice hall; you can look at those. I have not included all their names yet, but there are all kinds of individuals from different walks of life—musicians, artists, engineers, rocket scientists, sages, prophets. There are so many writers who entered samadhi, and from that state, truth emerged.

Because in samadhi, we clear away the film of selfhood and become a torrent—a river—of truth. When you read these individuals, you entrain yourself to that, and you are engaging in selective exposure.

Another point: what does Sat Sangha mean? It means association with truth. It is very much about exactly that.

We need to associate with others who understand what we aspire to, inwardly. Even the word samadhi is quite unusual; most people do not know what it is. It is valuable to spend time with people who know what samadhi is and who want to experience it.

Satsanga means connecting with people who are living this life or have some interest in it. Most people have not even encountered the possibility. Very few people have an interest in enlightenment, although I believe there are millions. It is a small percentage, but I think many people would love it if they truly encountered it, not just superficially.

Tony Robbins is running a special right now. I am not saying anything negative about Tony Robbins, but he is more oriented toward self-help, and this is a little more advanced. Although, it is the greatest self-help.

Yes, selective exposure. Be friends with each other, talk about enlightenment, get together, and do things in enlightened ways. I wish Ali were here today. Ali and I used to go out for dinner, and we would not speak a word. We would simply be so mindful, and then we would enter into light, and then meditate. It was lovely. About ten years ago, he and I did that.

So, relationships—this is another important area. Another aspect is being part of a community that centers on enlightenment, which is very much what we are doing here. However, there may be other communities you can find and join as well. You can be involved in multiple communities.

For example, if there is another community near you that is focused on this—like Kira, who is part of the Rama community—which used to be a bit more of a physical gathering place, but you still have that community, right? So, there are different communities centered on enlightenment or meditation, or something similar.

The next point is what to avoid. You can avoid consuming content that is harmful to the spiritual paradigm. Movies, Instagram, and scrolling are particularly detrimental. It is very easy to fall into, because you cannot check your messages without seeing at least something, right? It is designed that way on purpose, which is not the wisest decision by certain people in leadership.

Scrolling is not helpful. With films, you can choose ones that truly support you, but there are also films that can be harmful. That is why I have the Mythic Study Room on the practice hall—those are a few films that will help you attune to an enlightened perspective.

Next, be selective about who you spend time with. Sometimes you cannot avoid spending time with certain people, but sometimes you can, and sometimes you can be careful around them. Some people will entrain you to a certain mind state that is not very helpful for your progress.

So, take a look at your relationships and ask yourself: How do I feel when I interact with these people? Do I start to feel selfish and ambitious? Or do I feel generous, benevolent, loving, and humble? These are all different qualities you may notice in different relationships.

Selective exposure is important. We could go on much longer, but I wanted to stop in one minute. I would love to see if anybody has a comment or question related to what I have shared.

I would not underestimate what you can do for your children. Osho is actually a great example—he was exposed to enlightenment from a very young age, apparently, and I think many teachers came to his house all the time. He became enlightened, or liberated, when he was 23 years old.

When I was a teenager, I longed for this. I was searching for real teachers and contemplating philosophy by myself late into the night. That was my experience. I would not rule out the possibility that a child could have that inclination.

You can also inspire that inclination by, for example, having them watch Contact. Sometimes it is a little difficult to penetrate the words of certain authors—it can be too dense for a teenager—but there are other things that are much more accessible. I think you can gauge their receptivity and cater to that.

Curate something that will be suitable for their disposition. I highly recommend that. If they are open to reading, that is wonderful.

You can also let them try different things. For example, introduce them to Taoism—maybe they are not interested in Taoism. Then try shamanism, and perhaps they will be drawn to that. Just find out what draws them into deeper contemplation of life.

Get them started. It is a good age—an important age to do this. I would definitely do that if I had children that age.

Even something simple, like incense—give them some incense. They might say, "What is this? That smells good." It is kind of interesting, right? It helps them tap into the yoga paradigm without you having to say anything. So, things like that.

Dissolution meditation is what we practiced prior to the meeting today. Dissolution is to be absorbed—it is to go beyond technique, beyond energy work. You are simply allowing yourself to become absorbed in the unknown, to go beyond selfhood, beyond becoming, beyond identity and technique, and become absorbed in the unknown.

So, the word is absorption. My Param guru, my teacher's teacher, would use this word. I found it very powerful, the way he said it. As I speak about it, do you see what is happening to me? In absorption, the mind sees—and then it does not see. It goes from seeing to no world.

Some of the techniques involve allowing yourself to be washed away by the power. There is a power inside of us—the light is a power, the Kundalini is a power. Let it carry you, let it wash you away. There is no meditator—you are being meditated.

Be aware—the universe will meditate you if you do not resist it. So we are allowing ourselves to become meditated by the universe. There is no meditator, because who should meditate? There is no doer anymore when you become absorbed.

Be absorbed. Think of yourself as dust in the wind. For some people, this can be a little bit unsettling, because what you are doing is becoming nothing. But when you become nothing, you actually become what you unassailably, immutably are—always and eternally.

You understand? You cannot become nothing. You can only become what you are. The surface of the ocean can become flat, but it is still water. The waves of the ocean are still in absorption. You become what you are—the substance of consciousness itself.

And—Zoom—you have to figure this out. It is a math equation, a cosmic equation inside of you. You have to figure out how to do it. Selective exposure helps, light helps.

Eventually, you do this, and you will go and sit down to meditate, and two hours will pass, and you did not do anything. Yet you feel so profoundly renewed. When you come out of it, you are like, "Oh my gosh, I am going to become me again." It is really amazing. You think, "Wow, I am about to become illusion again, and everybody else is illusion. I cannot believe this. There are billions of people in illusion, and they think they know what they are talking about."

That is what—you know, you have leaders of countries, and they truly believe they know what they are talking about. And you come to see from a vantage point of no self. There is this kind of transition mode when you come out of it, and you can see that.

So, let us see how deep we can go. Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole. Shall we tumble down the rabbit hole together? You know, Alice in Wonderland.

You can always start by feeling your heart chakra. We are going to go from there to absorption. Let us start with our usual song, actually. It opens the heart. The heart really has to open to do this. Regenerate the heart. And love helps us submerge into absorption. Allow yourself to become absorbed—spiritual absorption. Feel the ambient power within you. Let it carry you to the unknown.

You are letting go. Allowing. A moment to just be. And you can use the light to become absorbed. Allow selfhood, that sense of identity, to dissolve. So all that is left is what you unassailably are.

This is the humility of dissolution. Be what you are. Nothing to do. There is no one to be. Finally returned. Thus, self merges into eternity. Changeless essence of all things, at all moments.

Try to invite absorption. Give yourself—a heads up, please. Make sure to keep your posture straight with all this dissolution, into a deep centering in the heart. Make sure that…

Absorption and expansion—there is a relationship where you expand, and then you become everything, and then you become nothing, right? Expansion is related, because there is no separateness. But then expansion can also dissolve into nothing. So, it is good to be everything or nothing, and those are both better than being something.

Someone—it could be everyone, it could be no one—but being someone is not as deep as being everyone and no one.

All right, namaste, everybody. Thank you. Good job today. Make sure to use the practice hall, do your meditations this week, read the book, and practice the routine element and the mindfulness principle.

Namaste, everybody, thank you. Good job!

Theme of the Lesson

Selective exposure: curating what you take in so your mind entrains to truth, supports meditation, and makes absorption (dissolution) more accessible.

Key Quotes

Key Points

• Selective exposure is about becoming an architect of your own culture: bringing exposure to some things and avoiding exposure to others.
• What you are exposed to informs the structures of your mind; different environments and content entrain you to different wavelengths.
• If meditation feels difficult, look at what you have been steeped in; a paradigm conducive to spiritual life makes meditation easier.
• Culture is inherited—expectations, etiquette, and “what is normal”—and selective exposure is a way of curating the mind within that.
• Reading is a primary tool: consistency matters more than volume (opening a book for a short time each day).
• Read original sources when possible—original words of sages, saints, prophets, and authors—because of the subtle authenticity of their expression.
• Entrainment: reading even a few sentences can attune you to the frequency of an author established in a paradigm of truth.
• Satsanga is “association with truth”: spend time with people who understand what you aspire to inwardly and who care about samadhi.
• Be selective about media and scrolling; some content is detrimental and designed to pull attention.
• Be selective about relationships: notice how you feel after interacting—selfish/ambitious vs. generous/benevolent/loving/humble.
• Dissolution meditation: absorption beyond technique—allowing selfhood and identity to dissolve so “you are being meditated.”
• In absorption there is a movement from seeing to “no world,” and a sense of returning—nothing to do, no one to be.

Assignment

Hold the question of what you are being entrained by this week—what you are letting shape your mind—and gently re-orient toward exposures that carry the feeling of truth, meditation, and absorption, while letting unhelpful exposures fall away.

Actionable Focus for the Week

• Notice what content you are consuming and how it leaves your mind and body afterward.
• Bring in reading as a steady exposure—opening a book and letting a few sentences shift your state.
• Choose original words when you read (the direct voice of the teacher/author).
• Pay attention to scrolling and film choices as part of your spiritual environment.
• Sense your relationships as “entrainment”: who leaves you more humble, loving, and generous?
• Stay connected to satsanga—talk about enlightenment, spend time with people who care about samadhi.
• In meditation, emphasize absorption: letting the universe meditate you, relaxing resistance, returning to the heart.

Optional Reflection Prompts

• What exposures this week feel like they carry me toward stillness, detachment, gratitude, and love?
• After I spend time with someone (or with media), what qualities are stronger in me?
• In meditation, what happens when I stop trying to do it and simply allow absorption?

"Selective exposure is essential because we need to become architects of culture—of our own culture."

"What you focus on, you become. What you are exposed to informs the structures of your mind."

"One of the strategies and techniques, outside of meditation itself in spiritual practice, is curating what you are exposed to. It is very powerful."

"When you expose yourself to energies, mentalities, and build a paradigm that is conducive to meditative life, to spiritual life, then it becomes easier to meditate."

"Culture is something we inherit. We step into a world where people see things a certain way, act a certain way, have certain expectations, and certain etiquette."

"If you sit and watch CNN all day, you are just being programmed. You are being programmed by a narrative about the world."

"One of the most effective ways to build positive selective exposure is through reading."

"To entrain yourself to something is to attune to its frequency. You entrain your mind to the minds of those who are powerfully established in a particular paradigm and energy."

"You open the book, read two sentences, and you begin to entrain yourself to that frequency, to that energy."

"Reading should be from the original sage, saint, prophet, or author. You need to read the original words."

"If you can read them in the original language in which he spoke, that is even better, because you are seeking to connect with the subtle authenticity of those verbal structures."

"We are like a computer without any software, and we have the ability to run software. The question is: what software do you want to run? That is your choice."

"If you read Jesus' original words, they are truly remarkable and very pure."

"Religions often do. They tend to move away from the pristine transmission of the state of mind that gave rise to them."

"In samadhi, we clear away the film of selfhood and become a torrent—a river—of truth."

"Sat Sangha means association with truth."

"Be selective about who you spend time with. Some people will entrain you to a certain mind state that is not very helpful for your progress."

"Dissolution is to be absorbed—it is to go beyond technique, beyond energy work. You are simply allowing yourself to become absorbed in the unknown, to go beyond selfhood, beyond becoming, beyond identity and technique, and become absorbed in the unknown."

"Be aware—the universe will meditate you if you do not resist it."

"When you become nothing, you actually become what you unassailably, immutably are—always and eternally."

Namaste Community,

This week in the LoveLight Sangha, we gathered to explore the theme of selective exposure—how the environments, relationships, and teachings we immerse ourselves in shape our inner and outer lives. Our time together was grounded in sincere inquiry, gentle presence, and a shared aspiration to support one another on the path of awakening.

Highlights from the Teaching

“Selective exposure is essential because we need to become architects of culture. Of our own culture. What you focus on, you become. What you are exposed to informs the structures of your mind.”

“One of the most effective ways to build positive selective exposure is through reading. You entrain your mind to the minds of those who are powerfully established in a particular paradigm and energy. Ramana Maharshi is a perfect example. You open the book, read two sentences, and you begin to entrain yourself to that frequency, to that energy.”

“Dissolution is to be absorbed—it is to go beyond technique, beyond energy work. You are simply allowing yourself to become absorbed in the unknown, to go beyond selfhood, beyond becoming, beyond identity and technique, and become absorbed in the unknown.”

Reflections from the Gathering

The evening unfolded with a spirit of warmth and attentive listening. Participants shared openly about their experiences with meditation and the subtle shifts that come from curating what we take in—whether through books, community, or the simple act of burning incense. There was a sense of gentle encouragement, with each person meeting themselves where they are on the journey. The quality of presence felt sincere and unhurried, allowing space for both silence and honest reflection.

Ways to Engage

If you would like to revisit the teaching or were unable to attend, a full transcript of the session is available in the practice hall. You are warmly invited to join us for future LoveLight Sangha gatherings—whether you are returning or considering stepping in for the first time.

If you wish, you might reflect on:

• What am I consistently exposing myself to, and how does it shape my mind and heart?
• Are there sources of inspiration or truth I feel drawn to spend more time with?

With gratitude for your presence on this path, and in the spirit of community,
LoveLight Sangha