David as "Basil" in The Rita Lila

David shows up as "Basil" in The Rita Lila by Rita Ann Shankara

From The Rita Lila: A Western Yogini’s Journey to Bliss, the spiritual memoir by Rita Ann Shankara:

From Chapter 29, Samadhi, Surprises, and Gold:

After the tea break that evening, Basil talked about courage, discernment, and guidance. He advised: “Whatever is arising, don’t cling to its phenomenon and don’t hide in your strategies (‘being sick all the time’ is one strategy), but rather, stand firmly in your being, in the unraveling. Have the courage to BE with what is emerging, and the discernment to know what you are experiencing.

“In this time of dissolving form, in this declining empire, ask yourself, ‘What am I called to do?’ and listen to your inner guidance. There is a lot of anxiety out there in the Collective, but if you take in nourishment (friends, food, practices, prayers), and listen for guidance, then you will be able to navigate through – no matter what happens. All of the information in this age produces anxiety that is both contagious and crippling… As yogis and yoginis, it is our responsibility to continually calm ourselves so that we not only lessen our personal anxieties, but we also lessen the amount of anxiety that we contribute to the Collective Anxiety.”

As the evening ended, Basil told a short story for me:

Once there was a firefly of Consciousness buzzing around inside a cupboard. She couldn’t figure out how to get out – she was buzzing around lighting up motherhood, career, parents visiting… but she couldn’t see the instructions. Then she closed her eyes and thought of God, and when she opened her eyes she saw the instructions: “Open Here.”

In the following days, I still felt sick to my stomach and my head also hurt, but as I contemplated the teachings from that night, I began to take courage. I started focusing my attention on surrendering to each and every experience.

From Chapter 43, Hawaii Retreat:

“Rita, for your enlightenment program, all you need are these two things: 1. The mind becomes that which it dwells upon, and 2. By placing the mind on the highest state, you become the highest state.

“Putting your mind on energetic structures helps you to open. You have to gain strength in keeping your gaze on the highest state. Remember that we reinforce conditions by dwelling on them – we are all doing this. We are all there, oscillating and learning to put our concentration on things that expand us.

“We each come in with veils of doubt that we can only each burn through on our own, through meditation. After you burn through them, you understand why they were there. However, you have to get out of your own misery to be sensitive enough to feel those higher dimensions.”