Prem Rawat:
Hello, everyone. I hope this video finds you all well. And again, just continuing with the questions today.
Another question is, “I’m confined with my wife, my mother-in-law and my daughter, eight-year-old Laura. Laura and me try to get the best of this time and I share with her your thoughts and guidance and she likes it. But my wife and my mother-in-law are quite afraid with anxiety. I would like to help them but I do not know how. Can you help me? Thanks.” And this is a question from Pedro.
Good question, Pedro—because I think a lot of people are very afraid of this thing, of what’s going to happen. And it’s not a big deal. When it really comes down to it, you have to take a few precautions.
Now, this virus is a common-cold virus, from what I have understood. And it really has very mild symptoms, unless you have problems, underlying problems; then it can get quite complicated. This is my understanding of what I have heard from various different doctors.
But basically, if you keep your hands clean and don’t touch your face, stay away from the person who possibly is a carrier for this disease, not be in an environment where their sneeze or something like that could be hanging around for a long time, then you really don’t have much to worry about.
So it’s, if you’re in isolation and you’re not going out there and you’re maintaining your distance, keeping your hands clean and not touching your nose and mouth and eyes, you have very little to be afraid of.
That may be a fact that goes in and makes a difference for a person or doesn’t. But really, what they need to understand is “There is still life. And the appreciation that they can have for this life is still important.” They’ll be okay. If they take precautions, they’ll be okay.
But, you know, and maybe in this particular set of circumstances, people get very confused—but hey, you’ve got to take those precautions when you cross the street!
You know, and a lot of times, when Americans go to England—and they drive on the other side of the road—and, you know, it’s quite easy to look the wrong way to see if the traffic is coming. And that’s, you know, they see, “Oh, yeah, it’s clear,” and they step out and they could be stepping out right in front of an oncoming car.
So, precautions, we have to always take. If we don’t take those precautions, we don’t manage to do or get our job done that we have to do.
So, it really is a question of setting the priorities straight. The priority cannot be to get scared. Because what that does is it’ll drag your body down. It wears on you.
And when that happens—I mean, anxiety, people are anxious about something—and they don’t sleep well. And that’s the worst thing you can do for your immune system. You need to get good sleep for your immune system to be at its peak, so you don’t have to.
See, the good news is, you can take precautions—and these precautions will assure you that you won’t get it. It’s as simple as that. And so there’s no reason to be afraid.
“Dear Prem, I have a question. Please, what can we offer, especially our children and grandchildren in times like these, apart from each other, kindness, love and empathy?” This is from Barbara, from Vienna.
Hello, Barbara. Good question. “What can we offer them?” The first thing—our family that we are maybe in lockdown with, one thing I wanted to tell you is, “Give everybody elbow room. Give everybody some space.” This is one of those things that, if we don’t do that, (especially if we are locked up in a house or a relatively small space), it can truly, truly drive everybody crazy.
So, please, take that kindness and make it mean something. And not just, “Oh, yeah, I’m going to be kind to you.” But make it mean something. And the way you can make it mean something is to give each other empathy, give each other that space that is very, very, very, very important.
So, I just, you know—and truly enjoy each other’s company, instead of sitting there and trying to find faults with each other. Because families have a way of doing that spectacularly. They just sit there and, “No, now that’s not how you do it. That’s wrong; this is that,” dah-dat-dat-dat, dah…. And this just drives everybody crazy.
Instead of doing that, give everybody space; give everybody respect. You know, we’re so eager to respect everybody outside of our family circle—but this is really a good time to give each other some respect, give each other some space, give each other some empathy, give each other some sympathy when it’s necessary.
Give each other an understanding. And appreciate each other’s company. When you appreciate something, something beautiful actually takes place.
And you need to appreciate each other’s company because, in fact, you do like each other. You don’t express it, but you do like each other. So, it’s a wonderful time to really do that, when you are in that situation, when it’s a lockdown situation.
“My question is, I am on some chat groups and people are having a difficult time and coming from a place of ‘doom and gloom.’ I want to share my thoughts with them about the beauty that we have—but I am a bit concerned that, because they have a very different perspective than me, they will not appreciate it. I don’t want to offend anybody by seemingly making light of the current situation.
“Do I share my thoughts and feelings only with those who I know share my perspective—or do I try to share with those who don’t?” And this is from David. I don’t know where you are from, David, but, great question.
And the reason why it’s a good question is because, you know, “Do you let people know the good news?” You don’t have to make light of it; it’s a serious situation for a lot of people.
And it is a serious situation. Because this is one of those viruses that, even though it’s in the family of viruses we get as a common cold—but this is one that we had never experienced before. This one hadn’t made that jump—and this one has made that jump.
And this is not the time for blaming each other or, you know, getting into that kind of stuff. But this is the time to really take everything one step at a time!
And the “doom and gloom” situation, people always want to paint that. You know, my suggestion to you would be, “Try; see how it goes.” Maybe you don’t get one hundred percent; maybe you get ten percent; maybe you get five percent, people who appreciate the message which is positive.
That would be wonderful. Because this is not the time of doom and gloom. I mean, there is no point in sitting there and lamenting, “My boat is sinking; my boat is sinking; my boat is sinking; my boat is sinking.” That’s not going to stop the boat from sinking! Do something; for God’s sake, do something.
And one of the most important things is to have a realistic perspective on this situation; weigh out all the bits and pieces, not just one thing.
Because, look, I say this many times. It’s like, you’re driving a car—and you see a sign and it says, “Speed limit,” you know, “fifty miles an hour” or whatever. What do you do?
Do you take your head and stick it on top of the speedometer and say, “Well, that’s the limit—and it didn’t talk about limit of ‘left’ and ‘right’ and this and that or, you know, hitting another car. No, I’m just going to make sure that I’m driving exactly fifty miles an hour—and hone in on that.”
Well, that’s going to definitely get you into an accident. And that’s what happens sometimes; people just zoom in on one thing.
And, you know, it’s like, I always question this one thing, “Why is it that people love to watch horror movies?” I mean, some of them are really grotesque. But some people enjoy that—they enjoy getting scared. And it’s like a “safe scary” thing, but they love being scared.
And so, maybe it’s another thing that’s just playing out for people, “Oh, it’s like, yeah, the doom and the gloom of it all. And it’s like, terrible and this is horrible and—we’re all going to die and, you know, I….”
But the thing is, human beings have gone through a lot. There have been plagues; there have been things that the medical science wasn’t there to even help out with. We are in a much, much better situation. At least, we can understand this. And we have a way to be able to understand this.
Now, are all the governments doing what they’re supposed to be doing? I don’t think so. And that—I’m not here to criticize them. We need to just get through this period. And that’s what’s important.
And so, yeah, “doom and gloom” is not what it’s about. I know there are people; I come across them all the time—you pull over to a stoplight and there’s, music is playing. And it’s not coming from my car; it’s coming from another car.
They certainly are upbeat about their music and they want the whole world to hear it! I mean, they’ve got their windows rolled down; they’re just going at it. And it’s like, “Look what I’ve got. And I’m playing this song….”
You enjoy. You enjoy yourself, first of all. You enjoy this message; great, enjoy it. You don’t want to be part of the “doom and gloom,” then don’t be.
And, you know, if you want to help people, sure, help them out. Maybe they will appreciate it; maybe they won’t. If they don’t, shut up. And if they do, keep going. It’s as simple as that. (Maybe I made it sound too simple.) So, I hope that helps.
Another one is, “My question is, ‘how to recognize that you are slipping back into unconsciousness before it takes hold—and you’re swept away into the drama and emotions?’ Thank you.” From Karen.
Hello, Karen. A great question. It’s a great question; this—and I’m telling you, this is relative to the situation that we are facing today. And this is very relevant in terms of every day that we live.
So, question is, “How do we recognize—you are slipping back into unconsciousness?” Because you’re going too fast. Things are happening too fast; slow down. Slow down. Take it one step at a time. That’s how life is meant to be lived.
Just because the world has gone on this tweak of, “Let’s see how much you can do, how advanced you can be, how much you can accomplish….” You know, look, I used to be one of those people who used to advocate 150 percent, 200 percent. The reality is, there is no such thing as 200 percent.
My understanding since then is, “Take it easy, one step at a time. What are you doing? What are you about to do?” Give it some thought. That’s what consciousness is about. “What am I experiencing? What am I feeling? Where am I headed? What are the consequences of what I am about to do?”
If people could do that, my God, all of a sudden, you wouldn’t have a need for prisons. You wouldn’t have a need for all these, you know, guns coming out and all these things that keep on happening.
If people could just have that in their life, very simple: “Slow down. Take it easy. Do things eyes wide open, not eyes closed. Understand what you are about to do.” And these are the ways. Because when that speed comes, that’s what speed does; it makes you blind to the obviousness of what you are about to do.
What a great way to practice this—what a great way to practice this every day that you are in the lockdown, because you can afford to slow down. You don’t have to—well, what are you going to speed up for? You know, there’s no reason to.
So, great question; “Slow down.” And look at it and assess what you’re doing, assess what’s going on. Be cognizant of things that you are about to do—instead of just doing them and then looking at the consequences later. So, I hope that helps.
Okay, here is another one that has to do with “the consequences of unconsciousness is doom.” “Is it possible the extent of the doom can make it impossible to experience the joy in the now? Needless to say, I found myself in a deep hole. Michelle.”
Look, I’m sorry you found yourself in a deep hole. You shouldn’t be. Because had you been conscious, you could have avoided it.
You know, the whole issue isn’t—in life, the whole issue isn’t about making things disappear, making your problems disappear. It’s really about going around them, learning the art of going around your problem, around….
You know, you don’t have to look at the mountain and say, “Well, I’ve got to go over that mountain.” No, find a way around that problem. So much easier, so much nicer, so much more doable. And that’s how it should be.
So, don’t be unconscious—because that’s not what life wants you to be! Life wants you to be very conscious—and appreciating, every day, everything that is happening around you.
I don’t know if I’ve ever really said that “the consequences of unconsciousness is doom”—but I do agree that it’s pretty darn close to it.
And always understand one thing. There is nothing that you cannot change. You have a choice. At any given moment, you can always come down from the mountain and say, “Okay, I’ll find a way around this mountain; I’ll find a way around my problems; I’ll find a way around these issues.”
This is a choice you can always make—always make. And would it be a waste of time? No, it actually may save you a lot more time than you realize.
So, I hope that helps. And please, don’t be in a deep hole; don’t be in a pickle. You can come out of it. And you figured out how to get into it; you can figure out how to get out of it. And then, once you do? Most important thing is, “avoid, avoid, avoid.”
So, that’s all the time we have for today. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Thank you.