This is the class I gave at the Sunday Feast this week. It’s part of a three part series based on a one sentence definition of Krishna Consciousness that I’ve been working on.
Krishna Consciousness is:
making your unique significant contribution with a deep understanding of who you are, including your spiritual nature and your relationship with Krishna.
The series is divided into three parts:
- Your Spiritual Nature
- Krishna, and Your Relationship with Krishna
- Your Unique Significant Contribution
Next week’s presentation is a talk show that I am hosting, with Abhilasa das ACBSP as the guest. We should have our digital projector online by then, so we’ll have the opening and closing credits on there. For the future we’ll have ads as well, short 20 - 30 second dramas that we’ll record during the week. Those of you who were at the “Hare Krishna Network” programs in Miraflores already know the style.
Hare Krishna Network in da house! 
About this week’s presentation
I used a style I got from John Maxwell, with the “fill in the blanks” class notes handout. It’s a good way to outline the class as part of your preparation, engage people during the presentation, and give them something to take away. That went across well.
Here are my own feedback items on the presentation:
- “Spiritual Malnutrition” was the hook to hang this off. Application first, then text. I did it backwards, which is the classical style of preaching. It’s fine for those who are already convinced, but others coming for the first time need to experience the benefits first. Give them the free sample.
This failure is due to lack of preparation. I should have given this class at the ashram and discussed it with advisors (especially Vrajadhama and Tri Yuga) first.
- Shorter, Shorter, Shorter!
- To be honest with you, I was planning on doing the Prabhupada videos this week, so I spent all of about two hours preparing for this. Of course, this is on top of the ongoing thinking and teaching that I am doing. Still, I want to dedicate more time to preparing. More preparation. More preparation. More preparation!
- More preparation will allow me to be more relaxed, and to take more risks. I can potentially engage the audience a lot more passionately than I have been doing so far.
Here’s a note I wrote to myself the other day: “If you are tense and nervous, the audience will be tense and nervous. If you are relaxed and confident, the audience will be relaxed and confident. If you are overconfident you will alienate the audience. The secret to confidence is preparation.”
- My vocal dynamics were suppressed because of the new WCE6T mic. It works great, but without a sound man I had to be really carefully to keep my voice at the same volume. “Nothing ruins a holy moment like a blast of feedback”. This makes the whole thing really mellow - read: boring.
I experimented with standing up, but only briefly. When you hear me say: “If I take my clothes off…. I’m not going to do it….” I stood up and pretended I was about to unbutton my shirt. People appreciated the humour. I sat right back down again. Playing it safe - read: boring.
Fear of failure is what kills you.
- I mentioned this last week - and again: I have to get rid of that nervous, short laugh.
A lot of people really liked it and came up afterwards and thanked me for it. Little do they know….
I feel so guilty these days about the lack of time and energy that I have been putting into these presentations. It is simply not fair to the public.
Anyway, here’s the schwag:
Intro (3 MB, 64kbps .mp3) - Discussion of Prabhupada’s appearance and Parampara
Your Spiritual Nature (21MB, 64kbps .mp3) - The Class
Questions (9MB, 64kbps .mp3) - And the outro to the kirtan
Handout (180K, .doc) - Presenter’s and Audience’s versions
