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Starting from her poem “Ode to the Washbear,” Rohini explains how the shrunken self is nothing more than a narrative, and its efforts to fit experience, and other people, into that narrative are always limiting and destructive. Spiritual practice requires us to identify, disentangle from, and dismantle our narratives.

Rohini continues her discussion of “delegating upward” by explaining how willful this behavior can be, especially when the “delegators” thrive on conflict and seek to feel powerful by frustrating others. When we are truly serving, “we” disappear and the focus is the work itself.

Rohini explains how, in a variety of settings, people can selfishly toggle between “delegating upward”–passing their tasks to their superiors–and going rogue without appropriate checks. By placing their dramas and perceived needs above the work itself and its larger purpose, they undermine what they pretend to support.

Rohini continues her explanation of the nature of real learning. Drawing on readings and her own experiences, she examines the dangers of abstraction and false equivalencies, and clarifies the nature of true mastery on a subtle level.

Drawing on her poem “The Magic Formula” and an episode from Eiji Yoshikawa’s novel “Musashi,” Rohini explains how real mastery is subtle and extends to everything a master does, and real learning involves a willingness to be humble, empty yourself of ideas, and accept what is offered in the instruction.

Rohini discusses the anger and hate that fester beneath “niceness,” and how the seat of the emotions is their battlefield. She conveys through word and experience how the way to overcome hate is to accept it within ourselves so we can arrive at Love, our true nature, which is the only real freedom.

Drawing on Swami Hariharananda’s commentary on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Rohini details what Hariharananda calls the habitual states of the mind. She explains how most seekers have what he calls a distracted mind, which is sometimes calm and sometimes disturbed. They tend to believe that the calm state of their mind is their true self, when in reality the mind, in all its conditions and activities, is just a vehicle for the Self.

Rohini explains how we can first own, then master, and finally transcend the attachments that keep us confined to a limited and separate existence. She clarifies how easy it is to intellectually own an attachment without really experiencing that ownership, and how we cannot transcend any attachment without first having mastered completely how it operates for us.

Rohini discusses how people often run away from true spiritual practice, either because they believe it means putting up with abuse in the name of unconditional love or because they are sure that their humanity lies in their individuality, and cannot accept that Love ultimately dissolves our attachment to individuality.

Rohini revisits how some people believe that following a “recipe” will give them success and happiness. Others fear Love because they see it as messy, or threatening to their sense of self. Both of these beliefs close off the path to Love, because they reject the Guru, the Grace-bestowing power of God. For more videos and lessons, sign up for …