the power of the moment

Chapter Summary:

🔷CH 1. You are not equal to your mind

1. Beyond the mind:

If you want to regain your freedom, you must understand that you are not something attached to you - you are not the "thinker". This allows you to observe the entity of yourself. The moment you observe the "thinker," a higher level of consciousness is activated. You understand that there is an "Intelligent" that transcends thinking.

2. Get self-liberation from mental bondage:

Criticisms and complaints are constantly popping up in people's minds. This is the murmur of the mind.

Freedom from mental bondage. First, spend as much time as possible listening to the voices in your head and noticing repetitive thought patterns. "Observe the thinker": listen to the voice in your head and be a present witness. Remain neutral and do not praise or criticize any voice. You understand:

聲音在那裡，而我本是(I am)在此傾聽觀察它。感知到自我的臨在的領悟是從比思維更高的層次產生的。

When you listen to a thought, you become not only aware of the thought, but also aware that you are the observer of the thought. At this time, a new dimension of consciousness arises. When you listen to your thoughts, you feel that there is the deepest self behind you. At the same time, your thoughts lose their controlling power, your identity, and no longer receive energy infusion. Thoughts dissipate and you experience discrete "no-mind" gaps in the mental stream. At first, these gaps will be fleeting, but gradually they will become longer and you will feel peaceful inside. This is the beginning of your becoming one with your true body. This state is often disturbed by thoughts. As long as you persist, the feeling of silence will become deeper and deeper. The joy of Being arises from deep within.

🔷CH 3. Go deep into the present moment

12. Ontological joy:

If you don't feel joyful and comfortable doing something, it doesn't mean you should switch to something else. What needs to change is how you do it:

"How you do things" is more important than "what you do".

Try to see if you can focus more on doing this, not rushing to get the results, and focusing entirely on what you are doing at this moment. It is impossible to be absorbed in something and yet resist it, fully accepting it for what it is. Once you are able to focus on the present moment, all unpleasant feelings dissipate and joy begins to flow into the flow of life.

Don't focus on the results, just concentrate on doing the task at hand, and the results will appear perfectly. This is a powerful spiritual practice.

The spiritual guide "Bhagavad Gita" calls this spiritual practice of non-attachment to results "Karma Yoga" - a "path to the divine".

If you are at the level of your life situation, you will still want to achieve or gain something. It is a world of form, gain and loss. However, on a deeper level, you are complete because whatever you do with the power of the present moment will be filled with joy and energy. Just like playing a game, you get rid of the shackles of psychological time. When pursuing your goals, you no longer worry about gains and losses, dissatisfaction, or who you want to be.

Your self-awareness comes from "noumenon". When you no longer have the psychological need of "who you want to be," your happiness or sense of self will no longer need to rely on external results. You no longer need to pursue eternity in the impermanent world (the world of form, gain and loss, life and death). You no longer need to rely on certain situations or people to bring you happiness, and you no longer need to be sad and painful because they disappoint you.

Cherish everything but not be tied down by things. Forms come and go, and you see eternity beyond forms. You will know that “nothing that is true is in danger.”

When this is your "body" state, how could you fail? You have succeeded.

🔷CH4. The mind’s strategy of escaping from the present moment

2. General unconsciousness and deep unconsciousness:

If you are not able to be present in ordinary times (such as sitting alone in a room, listening to others, taking a walk), you will never be able to be present in the face of adversity or sadness. Pull the conditioned response patterns into unconsciousness. These adversities are designed to test how you react when faced with them. When days are smooth, it is important to bring more awareness into your daily life and allow your ability to be present to grow stronger. It generates a high-frequency vibrating energy field within and around you. No unconscious, negative emotion, or violence can penetrate this energy field without being destroyed.

An indicator of clarity of meaning: It depends on how you face adversity in life. If in an unconscious state, people will be accustomed to entering a deeper unconscious state when encountering adversity; conversely, people with clear consciousness will be more clear-minded.

Adversity can wake people up, and it can also pull people into a deeper nightmare, taking people from a light dream in a general unconscious state into a deep unconscious state nightmare.

If you are not present in ordinary times (such as sitting alone in a room, walking in the woods, or listening to others), you will never be able to be present in the face of adversity, trouble, or sadness. You will be conditioned into a pattern of reactions (usually some form of fear) that will pull you into a deep unconscious state. These adversities are designed to test you, and the results will depend on how you react to them. These adversities can tell you and others who live with them how clear your consciousness is, not how long you can close your eyes and meditate, or what you see.

So, when days are going smoothly, it’s important to bring more awareness into your daily life. As you do this, your presence will become stronger and stronger. It creates a high-frequency vibrating energy field within and around you. No unconscious, negative emotions or violent mentality can penetrate this energy field without being destroyed, just as darkness cannot continue to be maintained under the illumination of light.

As you learn to observe your thoughts and emotions (an important part of being present), you will become aware of the looming uneasiness that comes with ordinary unconscious states, and be surprised at how few times you are truly at ease. At the thinking level, you find that you use a lot of value judgments, dissatisfaction, and mental projections to resist; and at the emotional level, you notice restlessness and tension flowing through your heart like an undercurrent, both of which Demonstration of habitual resistance patterns of the mind.

3. What are they looking for?

The Buddha taught the world that the root of suffering lies in endless craving.

4. Disintegration of ordinary unconsciousness

Bring it to the level of consciousness and observe the restlessness, dissatisfaction, and tension rising in your heart, and observe how you resist what is and deny the present moment. Any unconsciousness will disintegrate in the light of consciousness.

Once you understand how to dispel ordinary unconsciousness, the light of your presence will shine brighter and you will face deep unconsciousness more easily.

At first the general state of unconsciousness is not so easily detectable; we become so accustomed to it.

Therefore, we should develop the habit of self-observation and measure our mental and emotional state at any time.

Always ask yourself: "Am I comfortable and at ease right now?" Or ask: "What's going on inside me right now?"

Let yourself be as concerned about the inside as you are about the outside.

As long as there is no problem inside, the outside will naturally be in order. The inner part is the first layer, and the outer part is just the appearance wrapped around it.

After understanding these questions about yourself, don’t rush to answer them right away.

(1). First pay attention to your inner self and carefully observe your inner self. What are you thinking in your heart? How do you feel?

Next (2). Turn your attention to your body. Where do you feel tight in your body? Once you notice a little uneasiness, try to observe what methods you are using to escape and resist life.

As you continue to practice this way, your ability to self-observe and monitor your inner state will become increasingly enhanced.

6. Wherever and whenever, abide completely:

If you find the here and now unbearable, you have three choices: leave it, change it, or accept it. If there is really no way to change the situation, let go of your inner resistance and fully accept the here and now. In this way, the painful self ceases to exist - this is surrender.

Surrender does not mean cowardice, but actually requires greater courage. Only warriors who are willing to bow their heads truly possess spiritual power. After surrendering, your heart will no longer be affected by this situation. Then, you may find that it doesn't take much effort to change your situation. No matter what situation you face, you are free.

7. The inner purpose of life’s journey

It is possible for a person to achieve inner goals but fail to achieve outer goals, but it is also possible for him to become rich on the outside but poor on the inside. As Jesus said: “If a man gains the whole world and loses his soul, What’s the benefit?”

Strictly speaking, all external goals are destined to "fail" because they are all subject to the law of "impermanence." The sooner you realize that external goals cannot bring you lasting fulfillment, the more important it will be for you. When you see the limitations of external goals, you will give up false expectations and no longer think that they can bring you happiness; instead, you will allow them to become a driving force in achieving inner goals.

🔷CH5. Presence

4. The manifestation of pure consciousness

Whenever you observe the mind, you detach your consciousness from these mental forms and it becomes the observer or witness. Slowly the observer becomes stronger and stronger, and the formal elaboration of the mind becomes weaker and weaker.

Listening to silence creates stillness within you, which is presence. Listening to silence is the simplest and most direct way to enter presence.

🔷CH6. Inner body

7. Take root deep in the body

The more you focus on your inner body, the higher its vibration frequency will be.

As you listen or read, your mind may be judging what you are hearing or reading, but don't let it absorb all of your attention. Try to see if you can connect with your inner body at the same time. Turn some of your attention inward and don't let it all flow outward. Feel your whole body from the inside, think of it as a single energy field, almost as if you are listening or reading with your whole body, and practice this method over the next few days and weeks.

Instead of focusing all your attention on your mind and the outer world, do your best to focus on the task at hand while feeling as much as possible about your inner body. Take root deep in your body and observe how this changes your state of mind and the quality of your work.

Visualizing your body will eventually bring you a new way of life, enter a state of constant connection with your true self, and add a depth to your life that you never knew before.

When you can be deeply rooted within yourself, it is easier for you to stay present and be a good observer of your mind. No matter what happens outside, it cannot shake you in the slightest.

Unless you remain present, you will continue to be at the mercy of the mind. The script you drafted in your head long ago dictates how you think and act. You may be able to get away from it for a while occasionally, but it won't last long. When people encounter adversity or major setbacks, your standard reaction will be unconscious, fixed and predictable. What initiates these reactions is the fear underlying the conscious state of the identified mind.

Whenever you encounter difficulty or adversity, develop the habit of immediately focusing your attention as much as possible on the body's inner energy field. It doesn't take long, just a few seconds. It is important to act immediately when difficulty or adversity arises. Any delay will allow habitual emotional patterns to arise and take over. When you focus on your inner body, when your awareness withdraws from your mind, you will immediately feel the silence and presence within you. If you encounter difficulties and need to deal with them immediately: follow the above method and you will come up with a more effective solution later. Because such a solution comes from a level deeper than the mind . Just like the sun is infinitely brighter than a wax flame, the intelligence of the body is also infinitely times higher than the mind.

8. Forgive before entering the body:

Unforgiveness is the nature of the mind, and the ego cannot survive without conflict. But the mind does not have the capacity to forgive. Once you forgive, you can enter into your presence and feel the peaceful silence that radiates from your being.

11. The art of listening:

When listening to others, don't listen with your mind. Listen with your whole body and feel the energy field of your inner body. This draws attention away from your mind and creates a silent space where you can truly listen without distractions from your mind. Also give the other person space and let them present themselves. That is the most precious gift you can give others.

Most people don't know how to listen, because most of the time they just think about themselves and focus on this, rather than the content of what others say, the "body" of others in these words and the other person's mind.

🔷CH8. Enlightenment of Emotional Relationships

3. Addiction:

Every addiction starts here: an unconscious resistance to facing pain and getting over it. Every addiction begins with pain, but ends with pain. No matter what you're addicted to, whether it's alcohol, food, illegal substances, or love, you're using someone or something to mask your pain. That's why, in romance, when it's initially Once the happy feeling passes, a lot of unhappiness and pain will occur. In fact, love is not the cause of your pain or unhappiness, it just brings out the already hidden pain and unhappiness. Each drug has its side effects, and the analgesic effect of each drug will disappear at some point. When it is no longer effective, the pain you feel will be far greater than before.

4. From addiction to enlightened emotional relationships

As soon as you stop imbuing your mind with selfness, you lose the quality of compulsion. You no longer force yourself to judge and therefore no longer reject what is. There is no more conflict, drama and pain. appeared. In fact, the moment you accept everything as it is and stop judging everything, you free yourself from the control of your mind and make room for love, joy, and inner peace. (1). First, you stop judging yourself, (2). Then you stop judging your partner. The biggest catalyst for an emotional relationship is to fully accept everything about your partner without judging or trying to change the other person. This will allow you to get out of your "false self" immediately and put an end to all mind games and addictions. There will be no more victims and harm. The accuser, the accused. Instead of dancing to each other's fixed reaction patterns, you will love each other as independent personalities and move deeply into the present moment together.

🔷CH9. Beyond happiness and unhappiness

3. Life is a cycle of rise and fall and impermanence of all things

You no longer see them as disasters, you accept the true nature of everything, and a deeper dimension unfolds. You feel the eternal presence, the joy that transcends blessings and misfortunes.

The Buddha said: Happiness is also dukkha (meaning pain). The two are inseparable and can only be thought of as separate if they fall into the illusion of time. Nothing can give joy, joy can only arise naturally from the essence.

6. Towards a new world:

You begin to make a real contribution to improving the world and restoring order to all things. True compassion arises in your heart,

Help others from the "cause" level. Only those who are free from the domination of the world can bring about a better world.

Compassion has its dual nature, being aware of both the mortality and the immortality of all things. Seen from this deeper level, it has healing power in the broadest sense. Your impact is not what you do, but the light you naturally radiate. Everyone who comes into contact with you is affected by your presence and the inner peace you radiate. Your inner peace is so vast and deep that anything that disturbs you is dissolved. By teaching all things through your being, you resolve suffering at the level of cause.

Compassion does not mean one-sided empathy for the suffering and lack of others. Without human consciousness undergoing profound transformation, there will be no end to the suffering in the world. Let your inner peace flow into what you do, and at the same time play its due role at both the "cause" and "result" levels.

If you pay too much attention to the "fruit" aspect, you can easily get lost in it. Maintain a strong presence at the "cause" level, with the main goal of teaching others enlightenment, and inner peace as the most precious gift to the world.

🔷CH10. The meaning of surrender

Follow the flow of life. The only moment to experience the flow of life is the present moment. Unconditionally accept this moment and stop resisting and evaluating what is.

1. Interpersonal relationships

When you have an argument with someone close to you, first observe how you defend yourself when you are attacked and how you react when you attack others. Observe how you cling to positions and opinions, and feel the energy behind your competitiveness, which is the energy emanating from the ego mind. Be aware of it, admit it, feel it, and given time, you will realize in the middle of the argument that you have a choice. Maybe you will stop arguing. If you feel relaxed and clear, you will surrender at this time. When the mental stance is no longer shared and the energy between each other is strengthened, true communication begins.

Thoughts:

Feel the breathing and behavior of the moment, even if it is difficult learning, know how to take it step by step, get rid of psychological time, and become more patient unexpectedly. The peace of life, interpersonal relationships, and solitude are all released in the moment.

Note: Image source: Bloglai, Hikarinoshita Hikari Unsplash