My dearest brothers and sisters,

This is Tunia speaking. I love you so very much.

If you have a wolf in front of you, then you will likely have a lightning-fast association that goes: this creature is a wolf. Wolves eat humans. Therefore this creature eats humans.

This is entirely appropriate. Now, technically it might not be true that this particular wolf eats humans, but it's still good to assume that it does. If you open-mindedly try to understand this wolf better, then it may very well kill you, so it's best to just assume that this particular wolf also eats humans and then react accordingly.

However, often these labels and associations get applied to people too. And then it becomes a lot less appropriate.

This person is a Democrat. Democrats are dumb and lazy and want free handouts. Therefore this person is dumb and lazy and wants free handouts.

This person is a Republican. Republicans are dumb and selfish and racist. Therefore this person is dumb and selfish and racist.

This person is a conspiracy theorist. Conspiracy theorists are dumb and insane. There this person is dumb and insane.

Do you see how these labels and associations work well when dealing with wolves but not when dealing with people?

Most people aren't actually reacting to the person in front of them. They're instead sticking a label on the other person and then reacting to that label.

Your society would be much better if people tried to understand the person in front of them, rather than just labeling them and then reacting to that label and their associations to the label.

And I know it sounds silly if I spell it out like this, but this actually happens all of the time.

So, I invite you not to use labels and their associations too much when dealing with humans -- both for your benefit and theirs.

And in fact, as you become more spiritually advanced, you may find yourself looking at actual reality more, and looking at labels less. And that is how you can see the plain reality in front of you, when the rest of the world is still looking at labels, and you might be amazed at how incapable they are of seeing the plain reality in front of them.

Yet, don't get too complacent. Probably you are better at seeing reality than the average person is, because you are on the spiritual path. And probably you knew this information already on a rational level. Yet likely you haven't yet fully integrated this knowledge. Likely you are still at least sometimes labeling people and things and events, and then responding to those labels and their associations.

This channeler is realizing that the vast majority of the time he is labeling things and events, and then reacting to the labels and corresponding associations. And he is realizing that he is observing actual reality only a small minority of the time. This, I think, is appropriate self-reflection and an important step towards further growth.

Remember the classic story:

There once was an old Zen farmer. Every day, the farmer used his horse to help work his fields and keep his farm healthy.

But one day, the horse ran away. All the villagers came by and said, “We're so sorry to hear this. This is such bad luck.”

But the farmer responded, “Bad luck. Good luck. Who knows?”

The villagers were confused, but decided to ignore him. A few weeks went by and then one afternoon, while the farmer was working outside, he looked up and saw his horse running toward him. But the horse was not alone. The horse was returning to him with a whole herd of horses. So now the farmer had 10 horses to help work his fields.

All the villagers came by to congratulate the farmer and said, “Wow! This is such good luck!”

But the farmer responded, “Good luck. Bad luck. Who knows?

A few weeks later, the farmer's son came over to visit and help his father work on the farm. While trying to tame one of the horses, the farmer’s son fell and broke his leg.

The villagers came by to commiserate and said, “How awful. This is such bad luck.”

Just as he did the first time, the farmer responded, “Bad luck. Good luck. Who knows?”

A month later, the farmer’s son was still recovering. He wasn’t able to walk or do any manual labor to help his father around the farm.

A regiment of the army came marching through town conscripting every able-bodied young man to join them. When the regiment came to the farmer’s house and saw the young boy's broken leg, they marched past and left him where he lay.

Of course, all the villagers came by and said, “Amazing! This is such good luck. You're so fortunate.”

And you know the farmer’s response by now…

"Bad luck. Good luck. Who knows?"

And that's the end of the story. This Zen farmer is very good at not labeling things and then responding to those labels and their corresponding associations.

And that was today's message. I hope it was a helpful reminder.

I love you so very much.

Your star sister,

Tunia

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