Have you ever heard someone say, "You won’t believe what just happened to me”? We hear this and think, "Somebody’s going to tell me something that happened to them, but why are they saying, ‘You won’t believe what just happened to me’?” The keyword is believe because if you had been there, you would know and not have to believe. Now, belief is okay, but you give it much more credence than it deserves. Knowing deserves the credence you give to belief. Knowing is certain. It’s clear. There are no ambiguities, no hypotheses. This is what happened. But when you don’t know, is belief sufficient? I can just imagine a long time ago, a person standing on a ridge, looking at the stars, wondering: "Who am I? Why am I here? What is this all about?” I call these the questions. Even though since then there have been a myriad of religions, textbooks, stories, ideas, philosophies, wars, contemplation, inventions, exploration of outer space, these questions still exist. They are asked in one way or the other by every human being. Maybe they’re asked in times of trouble or in times of plenty but they are asked.

 

Until these have been answered for you personally in a clear, concise way, you will not understand the need you have for peace, the need you have to be happy. And once you understand that the desire for peace is innate—not learned—you will pursue it. Ultimately, you came into this world and you’re going to leave this world. And you have a belief system. You do. And whether you have courage to hear it or not I have the courage to tell you that you are here to experience heaven. You have always believed that heaven is something you’re going to get to after you die, if you are good. You learned this. The desire for peace, to be happy, to be in joy—nobody had to teach you. You have had this since you were a little baby. You have been given this body—the ultimate experiencing machine. That’s all it does all day long: "Wow. Beautiful. Hot, cold, soft.” If you were to make a list of the sounds, the smells, the tastes, the touches that it can appreciate—that list would be huge.You have this most incredible thing called life. All of a sudden, you can move. You can understand. You can dance. You can smile. You can cry. You can think. You can feel. All this has come together, and while you are alive, you can know. And when you know, peace comes, the truest joy comes. Your life has to evolve around knowing—not just believing. Clarity. Your life has to evolve around this desire from your heart, from within you, to want to know.

 

What does your life want? People make all kinds of effort, "I have to do this, and I have to do this.” Then tragedy strikes, and they lose everything. Then they say, "I just want to be happy.” Maybe that’s how it is supposed to be. The building block of your achievements needs to begin with the achievement of peace, of joy. Build on it a tower as high as you want, and it’ll never fall down because it is built on solid ground. It is tied to the most stable thing in your life. You have taken care of the essentials in your existence. And then, having gratitude is natural. It’s not a belief, "I believe I’m happy.” Truth isn’t some mysterious thing sitting on top of the mountain. Truth dances in you. Clarity is not something you digout of a goldmine. Clarity and understanding are not buried somewhere; they are inside of you. They need to be evoked. They need to be invited into your life. They need to be called upon; they need to be nurtured, they need to be truly invited and welcomed. All the answers you want are inside of you. All the wealth you want is inside of you. All the wisdom of the ages is inside of you. Understand, accept—discover those things that are inside of you. When you experience that joy in your life, it is something special. And when you experience peace, it is the triumph of a human being. You have won every war. You have succeeded. The moment you feel peace, you have fulfilled your destiny.