57 – The Power of Calm in a World on Fire

0:02Lea WernliSo it's me, probably. Hi, Shelia Stevens, my friend and co-host, just made like a sign with her hand. So I welcome you. Um, as I already said, Shelia Stevens and myself, Lea Wendtli, we are the hosts of Time for You. And actually, as you already know, it's time for us too, because, um, we always learn, we always see new, we always see deeper in every conversation, and it's crazy. That's the thing I really love about this path, that it's, um, always unfolding. So welcome, and we are so, so grateful that you're here with us.

0:52Shailia StephensYeah, that was a nice introduction, Leah. Oh, that was so good.

0:57Lea WernliThank you.

0:58Shailia StephensIt's so good. So, Leah, I brought a story along today. It's called The Hare and the Lion, and I wanted to give you some context about it. It's actually kind of a natural flow from our last podcast episode to this one. I mean, they're very much related.

1:14Lea WernliMm-hmm.

1:16Shailia StephensAnd it's really very much about a quiet mind, wisdom, and taking action from a quiet mind and wisdom versus from a A busy mind and your thought storm. So, and the reason that I have the story printed out in front of me is because this afternoon I'm teaching a class in Tanzania. We have a brand new group. It's called Her Circle Tanzania. It's a group of widows and also single ladies who, you know, are just facing some adversity in their lives. And we've been sharing every week, and it's been such a beautiful experience, but they're kind of new to the understanding of the 3 principles.

2:00And, um, we've been talking a lot about happiness is free on the last calls, which has been really nice, just like pointing people to their innate well-being and, you know, that you don't need money for it. It's already free with inside of you. And so this week we're taking— we're shifting gears and we're going to start talking about wisdom. And I remembered this story, um, that is written by Harry Drabitzky, who's the founder of 3PN Africa. And actually it's written for like children under the ages of between 5 and 11, let's say.

2:35And we're all grown women, you know. So it— but I just, when I heard this story for the first time, and it comes originally from India, but a lot of African children know it. When I heard it the first time, it really struck a chord with me. So I thought I'd read it and that we could talk about the spiritual wisdom and the guidance that's in it. So here we go. So this is from Zahara Asks. And so Zahara is a fictional African young girl who was in the Nakivale refugee camp, and she's teaching the class.

3:13And so this is her reading the story. So Miss Zahara began. Once upon a time, there was a huge jungle. The ruler of this jungle was a fierce lion. Every animal was afraid of his strength and cruelty. The animals had to obey all his orders, even if they were harmed doing so. In a way, he was like a bully in school or in life who bosses other kids around. He used fear and brute force to scare those who were less strong. One day, the lion gathered all the animals and said, To maintain the safety of our communities, every day one animal will visit my den and be my prey.

4:08Eating this one animal will satisfy my hunger. The animals were astonished by the order made by the lion, but they had no choice. They had to listen to what he said or he would kill all the animals at once. Hence, they were forced to send a family, a family member every day to let others survive. Animals started to visit his den one by one every day. The lion was enjoying it as he did not have to hunt anymore or work to find prey. The animals were not happy with the decision.

4:48The lion was using his power and strength to intimidate the animals, but they all felt that they had no choice. One day, it was the turn of a hare. So that's a rabbit, Leah, in case you don't know. And one day, there was the turn of the hare that lived in the same jungle. The hare was sad and did not want to go. All the animals insisted that it would make the lion furious if he did not. But the hare was not ready to give his life that easily, and at first he got very worried.

5:24But then he remembered his wise grandfather hare, who had told him to calm down inside himself when he was overworried. I'm going to repeat that. His grandfather told him to Calm down inside himself when he was overworried. So the hare let all his negative thoughts drift away and found a hopeful feeling inside of himself. Finally, after his mind quieted down, he made a clever plan, and it included not appearing in the lion's den that day. Of course, the lion was furious and roared with anger, just as bullies do when others do not follow their threats or loud commands.

6:13The hare bravely arrived the next day with his story, hoping to fool the lion. Seeing him near the den's entry, the lion roared in anger and asked why he did not come yesterday. The hare explained as sweetly as he could. I was on my way, my lord. I was happy to be your meal, but I was chased down by another lion near the well in the jungle. I saved my life yesterday. The lion exclaimed, What! Is there another lion in my territory? How dare he! Show me where he lives and I will kill him today!

7:00The hare pretended to be frightened and said, Yes, my lord, I will take you there. So the hare took the lion near to the well in the jungle, and he told the lion, The other lion hides in this well, my lord. The lion peeked in the well. The well was not dry, and the water in it was still. He saw his own reflection and thought it was the other lion. The lion roared instantly, and the reflection roared back, but in a deeper voice due to the well. He roared again and again and warned the lion inside the well.

7:46The lion inside the well just roared back. The king became impatient and jumped into the well to kill the other lion. He did not know how to swim, and he drowned. The hare, with his clever plan, saved all the animals and himself because he had outsmarted the mean but stupid lion. Sahara explained this to the class. The lion was proud of his strength. The hare was a small animal but smarter than the lion. He could outthink the lion. This is a story of hope.

8:31Even when it seems there is no answer, if you go into your quiet mind or your calm mind— it's the same thing— and be patient, a good idea will pop up. By not giving up, the hare or rabbit was confident in his own ability to find a solution to what appeared to be an unsolvable problem. You see, life works out when we calm our mind down. Life doesn't work so well when we let our hopelessness, sadness, and despair control our life. The end.

9:14Lea WernliAww, so good. I love it. Actually, this story is just like, reminds me of my deep, deep trust and hope in humanity. I'm an activist, actually. I'm probably more of an activist than a spiritual teacher. So I come I can't be a spiritual teacher. I know that we are all the same and neutral and, and having the same essence, but I also want to have an active human experience of, hey, you can't kill like animals just because you want to. King, hello. So It is for me a story of hope that that's why we survived, probably, because we are able to have new ideas and being creative and changing the way it looks. Or changing the way someone wants it to be somehow.

10:42Shailia StephensYeah.

10:43Lea WernliAnd it's a story of hope, like, for all of the animals, almost all of the animals in this case. But like, the weaker ones are not always there to lose or There is a possibility and hope to find a way.

11:05Shailia StephensHmm.

11:06Lea WernliAnd I think it's— there is a side that didn't come into the story, but for me, it's the other one. It's love as well and connection. And it's like this having new ideas in really hopeless situations and every day. And like, we are connected. We are human beings connected to each other. And if we love a little more than we hate, there is also, there are more possibilities. Yeah, yeah.

11:53Shailia StephensYeah, I loved— I love what you just said, Leah. It seems like a very timely story for the world in which we live in right now. Like, I never, I never really thought of it that way until you said it today.

12:05Lea WernliMm-hmm.

12:05Shailia StephensBecause for me, what I, what I took away from the story the first time I read it was, you know, how many times in my life have I been in a situation where I thought there was no way out? And usually it wasn't a real life situation where life was presenting me with some super difficult circumstance that I couldn't get out of. In most cases, it was a creation of my mind. Just one thing that comes to me is, you know, back in the year 2007, you know, after—

12:45Lea WernliMm-hmm.

12:46Shailia Stephensthinking 6 years about quitting my job and wanting to do a new career. But in my mind, I had created the idea that this one career was the only thing I could do, the only thing I would ever be able to do. No side jumps, no moving to a new field, like, which is ridiculous, but it's—

13:08Lea WernliTotally.

13:08Shailia StephensYou know, but it seemed, it seemed like the same situation to me that the hare had with the lion. It didn't seem changeable. I didn't want it to be that way, but it didn't look like I could do anything about it. And I think so many people in life have situations again and again where they think there's no way out.

13:31Lea WernliMm-hmm.

13:32Shailia StephensThis is unchangeable, unsolvable, un-go-aroundable, you know? And to know the power of the quiet mind, to know literally the only thing that I need to do, whether the circumstances on the outside or on the inside of me, is to come back to that quiet space within myself.

13:56Lea WernliYeah.

13:57Shailia StephensInstead of swimming around in the worrisome thinking. And that possibility, and that's what I heard you say as well, that hope of possibility for a new and a fresh idea, something. something that is going to catapult me out of that aussichtslose Situation, that, um, uh, that way with no— You heard it. I'm trying to translate it. That, uh, that what looks like inevitably no way out, you know? And that is so hopeful for me to know that It's there.

14:39Lea WernliTotally. It's there. It's always there. Always. Yeah. And, and to believe in that changes everything. Yeah. To really, to believe that we will see, we will see something even when we can't see it right now.

15:01Shailia StephensYeah. Yeah. Yeah.

15:04Lea WernliAnd I'm really, I'm totally sure that that's what saved humanity at the end. Like really new ideas, something different, a loophole. Do you say that?

15:22Shailia StephensYes.

15:26Lea WernliSomething that changed the consciousness of someone. in a moment that changed the direction for a group, for people. I'm really, I'm pretty sure that that's one big part of that we're still here.

15:46Shailia StephensYeah.

15:48Lea WernliAnd to know that no matter how small it seems or how eben aussichtslos, how like no, no point of no return, or how did— I don't know what you said before.

16:05Shailia StephensYeah, if I knew the word.

16:06Lea WernliI know. And that's also why I, um, I let myself be touched by what's, what's happening, and I let myself, um, be a, a human being who is able to watch and to hold space and to feel the fear and be ashamed and angry and sad with what's going on in the world, and always knowing I'm the most helpful the calmest I am.

16:43Shailia StephensYeah.

16:44Lea WernliAnd I'm somehow devoted To have a, to live a life somehow almost in a meditative state because I really love humanity. I really love human beings. I really love us. And that's a way I'm able to contribute.

17:15Shailia StephensYeah.

17:15Lea WernliAnd to be not at my best, my best, I don't know, I don't care, but to be and to be as helpful as possible. Yeah.

17:34Shailia StephensYeah, for sure. For sure. And that hope in knowing that there's in each— so in 8 billion of us, there is an inner wisdom to be found in a quiet mind. That's hopeful.

17:51Lea WernliIt is.

17:52Shailia StephensThat's hopeful. That's a lot. That's a lot of powerful, fresh ideas. And, you know, I don't know if you saw this, Leah, but Jane Goodall passed away, I think, in the last week. And did you see that she had recorded a special documentary for after she had passed to be shown.

18:14Lea WernliYes, yes, I've seen the speech.

18:17Shailia StephensYeah, it was so beautiful. And, you know, what I heard her say was, you know, also the spark of hope is so important. Otherwise, we fall into lethargy and sadness and overwhelm, you know. So looking for the spark of hope in any situation, whether it's your own life or the world at large, is so vital. To being an activist person in the world, to being part of the change, which she also led us to look for, you know, what our role to play is in all of this, which I love so much.

19:01Lea WernliTotally. Me too. Me too. And it is all the conversation I have at the moment. It's, again, often with young people. And it's so interesting. I had one— a young person was really angry and like with the whole conflict and really like, I really don't want to give them like just a little piece of understanding. I'm really— it's not OK. And all this like anger and sadness.

19:40Shailia StephensAnd—

19:43Lea WernliAnd me too, me too. Sometimes I don't want to. As you said once, like, do you remember in a peace conversation that a woman from Palestine said, I can't be in peace at the moment.

20:01Shailia StephensYeah.

20:01Lea WernliI have to, I have to hold on to the anger. And me too, sometimes.

20:09Shailia StephensYeah.

20:09Lea WernliAnd still just always to make enough room in myself to, to, to be able to see the human part and the more than human part in every human, but never ever being okay with inhumanly behavior. So that's never The part. And that was, that was really interesting in this conversation as well, to really point out that, that we don't have to be okay with the behavior. We really, we can judge it. We can want it to be punished as well, or whatever we agree somehow. And not to lose the possibility to forgive or to see the human in it, in the other.

21:11Shailia StephensYeah.

21:12Lea WernliBecause also there, if we close that up in ourselves, we will stay angry or we will get depressed or clouded. And that clouds our ability to see new and fresh. And something helpful for humanity, for the situation or humanity. And it's a paradox. It's a both and somehow. And that's also really interesting that we are able to hold the paradox. We are able to feel the love and not being okay with what's happening.

21:54Shailia StephensThat's true.

21:55Lea WernliBut people who are feeding like the pain or suffering or angst, angst, they think that people are not able to hold paradoxical thinking. And when we are afraid, we are not able to. When we are afraid, we just want to have black or white or right or wrong or only. And that's at the end, this young person said, it's— no, that was another discussion and another young person, but it was really interesting that he's— that this young person said, I only ever say stupid or racist or harmful things when I'm insecure. And when I believe my insecure thinking. So that was the opposite. I often work with like, um, Täter and Opfer. Like, how do you say that?

22:59Shailia StephensUm, victims and perpetrators.

23:01Lea WernliYeah, both. So yeah, that was one and the other, and I mixed it up right now, but it was like still at the end of every conversation to come to the same point somehow. And to maybe to always point back to being human in ourself and the other and feeling the creativity and the love and the being more than human in ourself and the other.

23:30Shailia StephensYeah.

23:31Lea WernliAnd being able to hold the space for not being okay with behavior or genocide or fascism or whatever is going on. Yeah.

23:46Shailia StephensYeah.

23:47Lea WernliAnd we are clever enough, all of us.

23:51Shailia StephensYep.

23:52Lea WernliWhen we are in a quiet mind.

23:54Shailia StephensYep.

23:55Lea WernliWe have enough love, all of us. We have it. It's there.

24:00Shailia StephensYeah.

24:00Lea WernliIt's clouded from fucked up thinking we believe.

24:05Shailia StephensYeah, that's right. That's right. Yeah.

24:08Lea WernliThat was a bit meandering, but did you hear what I wanted to say?

24:15Shailia StephensNo, that was perfect. I heard everything. And I'm interested to hear what other people heard in it, you know, and write us, guys. We love to hear from you, hear your thoughts. hear what's resonating with you, what insights you're gaining from these conversations. They're so precious to me, Leah, that we get to, to have them. And, um, I hope they're precious to our listeners.

24:42Lea WernliYes.

24:43Shailia StephensYeah. So let's wrap this one up. Thanks for listening. Thanks for taking your time to nurture, um, love, presence, and well-being for everyone in the world today. And, um, we hope to see you again or to hear you again soon, or you hear us again soon, or however you say it on a podcast. Um, share the love with friends, family, colleagues, whoever you think would benefit from it. And we'll, we'll be back on the next episode. Until then, bye-bye.

25:11Lea WernliBye.