This session addressed a profound question about prayer, hierarchy of consciousness, and the nature of spiritual reality, submitted by R..., who expressed confusion about whether anything can truly be changed through prayer if "all is contained within ourselves." Bartholomew used this inquiry to distinguish between different levels of consciousness and teaching, explaining that while early teachings addressed practical concerns and energy work, the current focus has shifted to the "simplest, most direct, most constantly abiding reality" - that each person is already the "dynamic, alive, creative principle itself" rather than a confused, separated being.

The core teaching revolves around the ocean metaphor to explain the hierarchy of consciousness. Just as a swimmer can be at the surface where there's noise and confusion or deep underwater in profound silence - yet still be in the same ocean - Consciousness has different depths of awareness while remaining one unified field. Bartholomew emphasized that there's only one ocean, one Self, with no actual compartmentalization despite apparent levels. As individuals move deeper into their being, they encounter what seem like different stages of prayer and relationship to the divine, but these are simply different depths of the same infinite Awareness.

The progression of prayer evolves from desperate petitioning ("Oh my God, I'm a mess and you've got to help me") to a more mature recognition of divine presence, and finally to the simple prayer of the beloved: "Never leave my sight, never leave my hearing, never leave my heart." Bartholomew explained that while it appears one is praying to something "other" in early stages, the deeper truth is that one is ultimately praying to the deep Self, divine Beingness. Even the sense of hierarchy among spiritual beings reflects the mind's tendency to create separations where none truly exist.

A significant portion of this session addressed the relationship between love and suffering, challenging the notion that spiritual awakening eliminates grief or pain. Using examples like the Dalai Lama weeping upon hearing of torture in Tibet, Bartholomew emphasizes that true love necessarily entails suffering - that grief reveals the depth of one's capacity to love. Rather than avoiding difficult emotions, the teaching encourages complete openness to all experiences, stating that "it is in the grief that the love is revealed" and that pushing away from grief only pushes away one's awakening to their immense capacity for love.

The session culminated in pointing to the ever-present Awareness that is always there regardless of circumstances. Bartholomew challenged the notion that enlightenment is something to be attained by asking fundamental questions: "Where have you ever been that you weren't there?" and "What is aware when you think there's nothing there?" This Awareness that knows all experiences - pleasant and unpleasant - is revealed to be the very enlightenment being sought. The teaching emphasizes that one is not a "thing" to be perfected but rather the Awareness that observes all things.

The final guidance encouraged moving from "efforting" and seeking to simply recognizing what is already present. Bartholomew explained that the thundering silence of being is always available in the midst of all activity, requiring not remembering or striving but simply being willing to let go of identification as a seeker and rest in the natural stillness that underlies all experience. The session ended with the promise that even missing this teaching can become a doorway to awakening by asking "Who is experiencing this missing?"