This session began with Bartholomew noting they had only about 21 meetings remaining and encouraging students to examine the fundamental question: "What is your life for?" He challenged common answers like finding perfect relationships, accumulating possessions, or gaining worldly power, pointing out that even successful achievement of these goals left people with insufficient reasons for enduring life's inevitable difficulties. The teaching emphasized that understanding one's true purpose was essential for cooperating with the natural forces of spiritual evolution rather than unconsciously resisting them.

The session explored how worldly power represent a distorted reflection of true enlightenment, explaining that the ego's desire to control circumstances and other people is actually a misguided attempt to access the genuine empowerment that comes from spiritual awakening. Bartholomew distinguished between "power over" others (which create separation and conflict) and authentic power that arises from recognizing the oneness underlying all experience. This confusion has led to the planetary thought-form of competition and scarcity that has fueled wars and interpersonal struggles, when what people truly seek is the absolute safety and peace that comes from enlightened awareness.

A central theme involved reframing ego responses as valuable indicators rather than obstacles to overcome. Instead of trying to suppress feelings of anger or resentment when mistreated, students were encouraged to recognize these reactions as "fingers pointing toward the moon" - reminders that some part of them knows they deserve complete understanding and compassion. Rather than scolding themselves for having ego responses, they can thank these feelings for pointing back toward their inherent worthiness and the deeper spiritual reality they represented.

The teaching addressed common spiritual goals like sexual fulfillment and romantic love as pale reflections of what is truly being sought. Bartholomew explained that the physical sensations of sexual ecstasy are actually previews of how enlightenment feels moving through the entire body - described as a "cosmic orgasm" that could initially be embarrassing for serious practitioners. Similarly, the expansive feelings of falling in love reflect the heart's capacity for unconditional love, but become problematic when people believe they needed another person to activate these feelings rather than discovering this capacity within themselves.

Practical guidance focused on working with grief and loss as powerful opportunities for spiritual breakthrough. When experiencing the pain of losing a loved one, rather than trying to escape the feeling or fill the void with someone new, students were taught to breathe directly into the physical sensation of grief. This involves locating where the pain manifests in the body (usually the heart/solar plexus area) and breathing into it repeatedly, treating it as a "crucible" that can transform suffering into a deeper connection with divine consciousness.

The session emphasized that enlightenment exists outside the constructs of time and space, making it accessible in the present moment rather than requiring lifetimes of gradual development. Bartholomew explained that the space around people isn't empty but is actually a "vibrantly alive medium" through which divine consciousness can be accessed through conscious breathing. Each breath becomes an opportunity to draw in awareness that transcends ordinary mental and physical limitations, potentially collapsing the time-space framework that seems to separate people from their spiritual goals.

The teaching concluded with the metaphor of choosing between standing on the riverbank thinking and scheming about life versus falling into the thundering river of being that will carry one home to enlightenment. Bartholomew emphasized that the fundamental choice facing each person is whether to continue believing that mental effort alone will improve their lives, or to surrender to the natural current of awareness that is always present through conscious breathing and moment-to-moment presence. The promise is that once someone truly understands what their life is for and aligned with that purpose, "being will take you up, being will pick you up, being will carry you" - but the decision to let go of effortful seeking and trust the natural flow of consciousness remains entirely individual.