[ Music ]
[ Applause ]
>> Isn't this a great day?
So many fascinating speakers here, such great conversations.
But the thing is it's not always easy to stay connected
with everything around us.
Things can break down,
and sometimes they break down really hard.
And I guess if you're lucky,
then maybe once in a lifetime we can experience that.
And I say if you're lucky,
because in every breakdown there is an opportunity,
isn't it.
And something new can emerge.
And some time ago I had a moment like that.
So I left my career at the United Nations,
and I moved my entire family from Austria to Austin,
Texas to join a startup, and it failed.
And suddenly I found myself without any money
to pay my insurance.
I had difficulties to find money for the mortgage.
I had nowhere to go.
I was really stuck.
My family depended on me, and as you can imagine,
this was a terrible feeling.
I stood there completely floored.
I was angry, and I was asking why me.
Why is this happening to me?
Then there came a job opportunity in Arizona,
and I decided I'm just going to drive there.
I just needed to get away.
Everything was closing in on me.
So I got in the car, and I thought, OK,
I'll just drive all the way through.
I'll just drive, no stop.
When I ran out of gas, I couldn't believe it.
And I didn't even bring any water with me.
Now that was the last drop.
So I sit in the car, no water, no gas, and nowhere to go.
I looked around, and it was night.
There was a beautiful full moon up there.
It was like it was daylight out there, and I decided, OK,
I'm just going to walk.
And blue-eyed Austrian that I am, I saw rattlesnakes
and scorpions every step along the way.
So I'm walking on that lonely road,
and over there on the left side I see a small building,
and I thought it's quite a stretch to get there,
and I should check that out.
Maybe I can find something there.
And as I'm walking over there,
my mind is playing tricks with me.
And I'm thinking what
if there is a crazy chainsaw murderer waiting
for me in this shack?
But when I got there, the building was empty,
and there was a well nearby.
The pump was gone, and there was just a hole in the floor.
Looked around, and there was a bucket.
That's great.
I picked it up, but there was no rope.
It was a combination of, you know,
what else can go wrong here?
So I'm standing here, looking down that hole.
Actually, I put my face there.
I put my face down to this hole, and I can smell the water.
I can feel the delicious moisture coming up from that hole,
and I could not reach it.
That's when everything just broke down inside me,
and I started to cry.
It was so still.
It was so still in that desert.
There wasn't a wind.
There wasn't a tree to rustle any leaves,
if there was a wind, and I could,
I swear I could hear my teardrops fall into that well.
And as if by magic responding to every desire and every want
that I had ever expressed in my life,
the water started welling and rising up,
rising up like a geyser gushing
and taking me away in its current.
Washing layers and layers of accumulated junk.
And even though not a single drop of actual water rose
from that well, I felt completely drenched.
Now how do you explain what happened?
I felt something had changed.
I could feel a clarity
of my inner being I never knew existed.
I had no words at that moment.
I walked back to my car, and as soon as I arrived there,
there was a truck coming.
The guy had gas.
He helped me out, and I was on my way.
And, by the way, no.
I did not get that job.
So I went back home.
Something had changed inside me.
Something awakened within me.
I found a deep well of spiritual energy
that restored my life.
I went from misery to cloud nine,
and things started falling in place.
I felt a deep connection with everything around me.
I felt a peaceful harmony in the flow of life.
And soon I found out that I could repeat this experience
with meditation.
It was so easy to do.
It was so simple, and every time I had the same feeling
of transformation.
And the thing is you all can have the same access
to this inner well, and it's right at your fingertips,
and the amazing thing is that we are all tapping
into the same common spiritual well inside of all of us.
And I would like to share this experience with you now.
It takes just a little bit of cooperation on your side
to let go of all the distractions around us and to find
that inner space where we can actually experience
that metaphorical water, that,
in the inner well within us all.
So I'm asking you all now to please close your eyes.
Please close your eyes, and I'm going to take you
on a little journey.
Let us start by putting attention on our breathing.
So breathe in through your nose and hold it a little bit.
And then let it go through your mouth.
Again. And just put attention on your breathing.
There is only this moment.
Let's be aware of it.
And our breathing in and out.
Now let us all put our hands down towards the earth.
Just put your hands down.
And, again, remember there is only this moment.
It doesn't matter what happened before
and what will happen after.
All that matters is this moment and your breathing.
Now please put your hands back on your lap, palm upwards.
I want you to remember how it feels to be in a river,
a gentle river, and feel the water gently washing
over your body, cooling you, soothing,
and washing away any thoughts that may disturb this moment.
Now let us feel this river rising up inside of us
in the center of our body.
This river has water that quenches any desire,
and it is coming up in the center of our body.
Just feel that movement inside of us coming up to the top
of our head, and there it gushes out, washing over our body.
This gentle movement completely relaxing us.
Just put your attention on this movement inside of us,
moving up to the top of our head, completely drenching us
until we cannot feel the difference
between the river and us.
Now please put your right hand above your head,
horizontally above your head.
A few inches, four or five inches above your head.
Put your attention up there.
Put your attention above your head,
and feel this river coming out from your head.
Its gentle coolness across your palm.
[ Pause ]
Can you feel it?
[ Pause ]
Now please put down your hand, palm upwards on your lap,
and let's enjoy a few moments of soothing silence.
[ Pause ]
Now please open your eyes.
Please open your eyes.
Just remember this.
This is our general level of awareness,
and here we are all the individual people here
and everywhere.
If you could just lower, deepen our awareness,
we could see we are all connected.
We are all one.
We are connected.
Like a drop that falls into the ocean and becomes the ocean.
Thank you very much.