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The most radical thing you can do in this world is to be mindfully present in the moment. There are always two choices to make at any moment - the choice to join with the endlessly complex drama of the apparent world... or the choice to stop and breathe.
Did you just stop and take a deep breath? We always have this choice, and if your mind is half as unruly as mine, you need to make this choice often and repeatedly if you want to create more peace in your life. Most of us are habituated to complicating our lives, acting out of avoidance and fear, or impulsive pleasure seeking (also a way of avoiding pain and fear). The ego - that part of us that is the "I" - the source of all misery, bad habits, searching for happiness in all the wrong places... that ego will do anything it can to stay in control and keep you running from your real Self. Being present in the moment moves you a giant step closer to your real Self, and diminishes the ego. The ego does not like that - as it is a threat to its existence... and of course "it" being you (the false you), it will create new fears, new desires, new distractions and projections onto the world and other people, in order to keep you confused, lost, and outwardly focused. So remember to take a good deep breath. Remember there is no emergency, the house is not on fire and you are actually, at this very instant, completely safe and perfectly okay. In fact at this very instant, you most likely do not really need anything at all that you don't already have. Fear lives in future and past concerns, and we worry to give ourselves a sense of control. In the present moment, there is nothing to do, nothing needed but to BE. Fear begins to evaporate the moment we welcome it, and stop fighting and resisting it. I have often said that if you don't have a spiritual practice - a way of staying centered in your own consciousness, that the world will devour you. Having just returned from a 10-day meditation retreat, I am reminded of how much we have to numb ourselves on a daily basis just to live in the everyday world. In prolonged silence and in nature we begin to vibrate differently, we begin to sense the world around us, and the more subtle world inside and everywhere, the energy of life fills our awareness. In contrast, the noise, the mindless pace, the anger, stress, and materialism of the modern "civilized world" looks more insane then it ever did when returning to it from the top of the mountain.
The only real truth is what lies within, and the only way to get there is through dedication to inner truth. For me, meditation is and has always been the deepest path to the core of my existence. I read a great quote today that was very simple, practical and reassuring. It basically was this: When you receive a technique for meditation, the greatest obstacle to your progress is to get discouraged because you are not getting "results" and then to quit your daily practice. It is a requirement, and a sign of your commitment to your greater self, to have the discipline and perseverance to meditate daily. It is practice, just as with anything we learn to do well. The rewards are infinitely greater than anything we can conjure up with our own minds, so dive deep, be consistent and choose to stay on the path. As we move through the darkest time of the year, let us be guided by our deep faith in the wisdom of our inner heart. Om Mane Padme Hum - May We Know the Self as the Clear Light within the Heart. Coaching or Psychotherapy can be used as a catalyst for creating your intention to seek the truth within. We all need reminders, support, encouragement and inspiration to keep on when life's obstacles make us forget who we are. Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;  The darkest prison known to humankind is the mind in a state of fear. The world out there is not some solid and definite thing with it's own truth. Ask 100 people what they see and feel and you will get 100 different answers. We each live in a bubble of our own reality and while we at times may cluster together with other people's bubbles, we still have our own separate perspectives, beliefs, assumptions and expectations.
Reality as you know it is a world of your own making. The biggest obstacle to true freedom is ignorance of the true self. What most people don't yet understand, is that the mind - your mental image of yourself, your thoughts about yourself, your title, your job, your identity with which you present yourself to the world - is simply an illusion. ' The final frontier is the mind. Within the mind lies our greatest enemy, and also our liberation. The world has so many books, so much philosophy and so many pathways to personal growth, yet in the final hour, all that remains to do is to let go. We are holding on due to fear. We are resisting the truth, avoiding our true essence, hiding our authentic being from others, hiding, hiding always. Wouldn't it be amazing to have a simple tool, an easy technique, that you could use for yourself anytime you decided you wanted to let go of a thought or negative feeling, or dysfunctional old belief or behavior pattern that was causing you unnecessary pain and suffering? Well there is, and it's called EFT (Tapping). |
Author, Ben Schwarcz
Transformational Coach, Psychotherapist, EFT Tapping Practitioner, Teacher and Author. Archives
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© 2024 Benjamin Schwarcz, MA, ACAP-EFT Tapping Coach | 509 7th Street, Santa Rosa, CA 95401 | 707.326.5566 | [email protected]