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When was the last time you felt free?

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Really free.

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This idea that our lives' outlines

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are probably wider
than what we can imagine.

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The idea, for example,
that we always have time to do things.

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That is rare.

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Or that our bodies move freely.

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The idea of freedom
where absolutely everything is possible.

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That is a subject
that has always inspired me,

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and that is why I have lived
in a zen monastery for 15 years.

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There, I learned a lot, in particular
thanks to zen master Oliver Wang-Genh.

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It would take an entire TEDx for me
to tell you how I barged in

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everything that happened;

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living in a monastery
is something really peculiar.

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But today, I mostly want
to share with you three key lessons.

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Three significant experiences

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that allowed me to find
some kind of inner peace.

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I called the first lesson,
"The little bird from the Rising Sun."

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That's my poetic side!

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The story takes place in Japan

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where I threw myself, head first,

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in the adventure
of a traditional zen retreat.

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It was in 2008, I landed in Nagoya,

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in a nuns monastery
from which, according to the legend,

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most of Western nuns leave
as soon as they arrive.

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As a matter of fact,
the conditions are very ascetic.

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There is no modern comfort.

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There is no hot water,
you do everything with cold water,

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my hands are going to discover
what crevices and frostbites are.

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It is the middle of winter,
and there is no heating.

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Lots of promiscuity among people,

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we have a 10 square meters room
shared by six or seven people.

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Sustained activity all day long.

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That is not that kind of zen,
but it goes extremely fast!

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All of it happening in Japanese,

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a language I only understand
from Knights of the Zodiac.

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(Laughter)

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I am a bit lost there.

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That is the aim
of this very precious lesson:

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push us to the limits
until we have to let go.

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After three weeks, my letting go

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is that I am fed up, this is too much!

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One morning, in this monastery,

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all on my own,
with no contact with Europe,

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I decide to leave.

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That day, in me, is a huge disappointment.

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I had put so much hope in this journey.

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And here I am, with knots in my stomach.

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I gather my stuff in the room,
I am on my own.

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At some point, I look up, like that.

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Through the window,

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I notice a branch, covered in snow,
and on top of it, a little bird.

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It is so... delicate!

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It is so beautiful!

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It shakes itself to smooth its feathers.

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And for me, at that moment,

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the feeling of resentment
and disappointment gives way to awe

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as I face its magnificence!

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A wave of tenderness comes
rushing from deep within.

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What if that was the teaching

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I had traveled 10,000 kilometers for?

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Feelings and thoughts,
in general, are impermanent.

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They appear, and can also disappear.

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One moment there is anger,

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the next there is awe
as I face the magnificence of the world.

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I think we all have experienced it
during our daily lives.

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For example at work,

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one colleague annoys us,
we are in conflict, we dwell on it,

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then if we get a call from a friend
who tells us a joke,

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all of a sudden, we burst out laughing.

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This ability is the first lesson:
feelings are impermanent,

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a little bird told me.

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The second lesson is a bit different;

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I called it, "What's in my head?"

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I won't tell you everything!

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(Laughter)

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It is this idea that for feelings
to appear, and more importantly disappear,

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we shouldn't dwell on them.

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In general, we tend to get relive it.

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Something happens that we don't like,
and then we brood.

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We all kind of work that way,
that's natural.

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But in order to stop brooding,

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we need to understand,
to realize what we are doing!

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And so, we need to know better
what is inside our heads.

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What's in my head?

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I experienced it once
when I was seated, mediating,

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as Buddha, peacefully
- I could not do it -

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and at that moment, the master said,

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"Let your thoughts and feelings pass by
as clouds in the sky."

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It was beautiful,
and it made me terribly angry!

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Because my feelings were not

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"some small, peaceful misty clouds
in a deep blue sky,"

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but rather some big, black,
dense cumulonimbus

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that tended to stagnate.

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I looked like a peaceful Buddha,
but on the inside, I was seething.

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I was really motivated to achieve it,

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so I studied a lot, and today,

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I want to allow you to save some time.

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(Laughter)

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I would like to propose
a small exercise, right now.

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Are you OK with that?

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Audience: Yes!

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KT: Sit comfortably in your chairs.
That is a short moment of relaxation.

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You will be able to study,
to discover with passion

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what is in your heads and in your bodies.

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Now close your eyes.

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Focus on the contact
between your body and the chair.

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Become aware that you are here,
seated, in this room, at this moment:

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that is the present moment.

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Where are we right now?

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Then, you can explore,

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become Indiana Jones in your mind.

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I will guide so that you know
what forms your thoughts can take.

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You might have thoughts
in the form of pictures,

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as a movie that takes place inside of you,

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or light that flashes,

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or a memory of the place where you are,

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or of the person
who is currently speaking.

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That is called
a visual mental representation.

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For other people, there might be sounds.

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And what we call
"the little voice in your head."

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Sometimes, it is talkative,

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it is a little voice

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that comments, tells, analyzes,
says parts of sentences,

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and sometimes sings on the inside.

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The little voice in the head,
that is the inner dialogue.

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What's in your head?

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Pictures?

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A little voice?

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The last form of thinking
is called kinesthetic,

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this is all the feelings
we have in our bodies.

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For example, hot, cold,
the contact with the chair,

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heavy, light.

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But also the all range of emotions

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that we feel in our bodies.

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Joy, anger, sadness, and the rest.

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Three possible form of thinking.

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In one moment, you will open your eyes,

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and you will know more
about how you function inside.

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Do you mostly see pictures,

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hear a little voice, feel emotions,
or a physical sensation, and so on?

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This is really pleasant, but...

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You can now open your eyes!

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You have new knowledge
about yourself, that's a first step.

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This is interesting to know,

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because you can better observe
your functioning.

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Each one of you can do it
at any moment during the day.

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Then, there was the third lesson.

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I discovered it by chance.

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I called it, "the periscope,"
you will soon find out why.

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I discovered it earlier on, in 2003.

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In 2003, I was performing
in French music concerts

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for American people,

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in front of audiences
of around 150 or 200 people.

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During the first concert, I got on stage,

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like that, exactly like tonight,

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but I didn't have
the same clothes or the same haircut.

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(Laughter)

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Then I start singing in that repertoire,
and then... stage fright!

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My legs are shaking, my heart is pounding,

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all the symptoms of stage fright
appear all of a sudden.

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Fortunately, at that time,
I already meditated a lot.

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As all of this occurred,

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some kind of observing conscience appeared

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spontaneously and automatically.

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What I mean is, I am singing,

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I feel the stage fright inside of my body,

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some symptoms.

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And at the same time,

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there is a conscience that allows me
to keep my head above water.

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My head is free,
I can go on with my concert.

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Imagine, I start singing
and then stage fright.

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(Sings "La vie en rose")

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And at the same time, it is observing.

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That is the witness-conscience,
the observing conscience.

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It observes the feeling
and, as it is observed - it's magical! -

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the feeling eases off!

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You just have to observe it

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for the unpleasant feelings to gradually
appear, and then naturally disappear,

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like what I was telling you
in the beginning.

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I called it "the periscope."

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You all know the Grey rod,
that is on top of submarines,

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that can come out of water,
like a duck, to observe the landscape.

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With that kind of conscience,
we are both in and out of the water,

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we are both connected
and dissociated from the experience,

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both inside and outside.

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This means that we are very alive,
we feel things completely,

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because we do not want to become robots!

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But our heads are free
and we feel relief deep inside of us.

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This was the third significant event
of the past few years.

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The first: feelings appear
and disappear naturally.

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The second: we can know

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what form our thoughts and feelings take:

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visual, auditory
- the little voice in the head -

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or kinesthetic -
the sensations of the body.

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The third: it is possible to discover

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this wonderful observing conscience,
witness-conscience,

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that allows us to be present
and fully free.

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Isn't it neat?

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(Laughter)

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It is not over yet!

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To conclude, I want to propose
a small ritual for the day.

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Or rather a small ritual for the morning,
as morning is a key moment,

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that will allow you to implement,

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or even incarnate
these three things in one exercise.

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Are you up for it?

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Audience: Yes!

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KT: Imagine yourself in the morning.

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The alarm goes off.

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Generally, you snooze it, once, twice...

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And at some point, you have to get up.

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At that point, what I propose is,

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either while lying down,
or you might sit on the side of the bed,

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what I propose that can change lives

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is to become aware
of your first thought in the morning!

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That's it.

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Is it a picture,
a little voice in your head,

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a feeling, or a sensation in your body?

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Then do it with the second
and the third thoughts.

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At that moment, naturally,
you will change your habits;

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you will become aware of this hum,
this windmill in your head.

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What is wonderful is that,
at this point, you get up,

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not as a robot anymore,
going to the coffee machine,

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not fully awake.

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You get up mindful!

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You find this freedom inside of you again.

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Not as a robot anymore,
but as an actor of your daily life.

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This is the source - trust me -
of an immense inner relief.

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And you know that during the day to come,
everything is possible!

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(Applause)