Be the Michael Jordan of your mind. Be in the present moment. Be the enlightened. Your mind doesn’t have you–You have your mind.
So when you are present. And right now I’m present walking down the street. And there are some beautiful rose bushes around me, and beautiful houses and trees, and there are birds in the background. Can you hear that? There is a squirrel crossing the street. It’s amazing how they walk. It’s almost like a jumping dance or something.
There is a lack of the mind in it. Just a beingness to it. Stillness. Quietness. Content-ness to it. It’s early in the morning sunday, so not many people are stirring yet. It has been light for forty minutes.
And there’s nothing really to do. Just take it in, the beauty of it all. And so, I am just trying to help develop that distinction. Of what being in the present moment feels like.
And, so I will introduce some mind function.
Enlightened–Be the Michael Jordan of Your Mind
I was flying back to Chicago and I fell asleep on the plane, and I awoke. And I felt all the energy around me, the plane vibrating and the people, all the stuff around was so intense inside of a plane. To wake up into that. I became aware of everything and simultaneously that I was in this plane, a mile high, or however high they fly, going five hundred miles an hour, with a seat belt on.
I awoke in a panic. Not enough to be foolish or make a fool of myself but I felt my heart leap in my chest. And I grabbed the the arms of the chair and took whatever, two or three seconds, to remind myself, “Oh yeah I do this all the time.” This is normal.
So the fear crept up because there was a moment where I wasn’t calming myself.
Your Mind is Trying to Protect You
So in the mind state, it seems sometimes that the reason the mind is on edge, is because it is trying to solve problems. It seems that the mind’s function seems to be to protect you in some sense so it’s looking around trying to figure out, where is the nearest blemish to me, at this moment? Because I need to spot that blemish and try to remove it, in order to reduce the risk to my body.
And so it’s trying to solve problems all the time. It’s a mechanism that is looking for problems.
And that is where the concept of “this isn’t it” comes from. It’s this idea that something is wrong in this moment. There is at least one thing at any given moment, something that needs to be fixed. Something needs to be changed. And it’s really about queueing those up and in figuring out which ones you can attack first.
But there’s never a moment in the in a mind’s life, when it really can relax, because there’s always something that it can fix. And it tells us, or we just believe, or we just show up this way as a human, but we think that once we get through enough of these things, that the mind will turn to us and say, “OK Congratulations! You’ve arrived. This is it. We knew you could do it. Congratulations, that’s it, you don’t need to worry anymore. Everything’s got to the point where nothing can ever go wrong again.”
And that’s what we’re waiting for. But there’s not some list somewhere, that has on it, “Check this when everything’s handled.” We don’t have a list that says that at the bottom. All of our lists just have more things, or we add more things as we get near the bottom of the list.
But behind that, is an unspoken idea, that if we get far enough through that list, fast enough, that somehow we’re going to have some satisfaction. Or that life’s going to make sense.
And, you know, that’s a con job. Life can only make sense right now. There only is now. And there will always be an unfinished list.
And so, whether it’s fear you have or, mistrust or panic, or any any sort of upset that you have in your life because of conditions that your mind is as evaluated as dangerous to you. Enlightened–Be the Michael Jordan of Your Mind
All of that. The way you’re made, all of that is used to get you to do something next on the list. Do something next. Do something next, fix this, fix that, make this better, help that person, do this next. All of that is trying to drive you forward.
Your Mind is Lying to You
And yet that ‘drive you forward machine is a fable.’ We have a fable in our mind, that one day that will end, if we get far enough fast enough, or go on the right path, or figure it all out, or find the right hack. Eventually we’ll get smart enough.
We are going to figure it out. There somewhere we can get, that will get us out of this situation. Yes, finally, they are, the world is going to show up. They are going to have a party and say, “Congratulations.”
“You got it done.” And that is the delay you are being sold. That you don’t need to really find joy in the present moment because you are believing your mind. That there’s just a couple more things. Just this. You know, if you get these two or three things done, you’ll deserve happiness.
And that’s the pitch. And no one’s making it but you. You are making the pitch to yourself that delays happiness.
And you’re the audience. You’re both the actor making the pitch and the audience listening. So you’re sitting there and your mind’s up on stage and it’s doing this dance.
Bah, ba, ba, bah, ba, bub ba. Here’s the next three things we’re going to do, and once we are done we’re going to be happy with you. Bah, ba, ba, bah, ba, bub ba.
And then you have this overall unease. Because you know. Hey blackbird. This isn’t it. Those three things got to get done. You know for sure, because the guy on stage said so. Bah, ba, ba, bah, ba, bub ba. Hey, where is my Blackbird?
And so, your mind gets away with it, because it has your full attention. Bah, ba, ba, bah, ba, bub ba. “Here is the next three things you’re going to do, and once you are done, we’ll be happy with you.”
And so you sit there quietly in your chair, thinking, huh? “It’s not that good of a play.” “But at least there are only three more things to do.” “That’s when you get to be happy.” Then you think, “Well, maybe there will be an intermission before act three?” “Maybe the house lights will come on, maybe there will be snacks out in the lobby?”
And and so you sit there quietly listening, it’s always what’s next, you know, those three things and then maybe the intermission, maybe snacks, but … your mind … it’s just it’s … it’s nonstop.
The Mind Always Wants Something More
It doesn’t stop. And it has you. And it’s your choice. All you have to do is. Just let it out. [Exhale Loudly.] Be present to this moment. You don’t have to give up your mind. It’s up there on stage. Let it run its act.
But, take a deep breath. Walk around. Look, see. Look how beautiful the trees are, the flowers. You know. Experience this Amazing Grace. Shrink the side show. Let it run the sideshow. Does it have to be center stage? Does it have to be the only actor. Maybe it does. Maybe it’s going to be the only actor, and maybe you’re going to be the only person in the crowd watching. I am not saying you don’t have friends, but don’t they have their own act up on their stage?
But you know. And even if you wanted to get rid of it, I don’t know how. But do you have to be front row eyes wide open, hanging on every word your mind says?
Kind of like take a deep breath and let it in. What’s behind it is an excruciatingly gorgeous world out here. And your mind has a purpose it has a function. But it’s living you right now. It’s totally absorbing all of your attention.
Your Are The Consciousness
You are what’s behind your mind. You are the consciousness. And what is consciousness but a stage. Where the entire play is happening. You are the stage where life shows up. You’ve provided the building surrounding the stage, you are the building, you are the town, you are the country.
You are the planet. And there’s a little guy on a stage in the middle of a town, that is who you’re focusing on. Step back, let it do its routine, but just breathe it in, take it in and realize.
That you are the consciousness in which it dances. You’re the perception.
Let your shoulders drop. Take a breath. Yeah it’s over there. It is dancing. But feel your breath. Look at that. Look at the trees. Look at the birds, the flowers, it is a beautiful world.
Yeah, the car’s got to be washed. Yeah, you got to do the laundry. You know. But. Why the upset? You know. Why the upset? Be the listening. Be the laughter.
Look at the routine up there on stage. They are telling me everything’s going to be OK once that laundry is done? What? Look at it right now. Just breathe it and perceive it. It’s perfect right now. Being the perception of the mind is a space of happiness.
Being Consciousness is Being Happy
So. Just trying different ways to wake people up. Because it’s a really great place. And I remember, I remember. I don’t even have to remember, I still have a mind. I know what it feels like to get so close to the information. To get so close to the list of things to do, to become so intimate with those problems you are having in life, that you really think that if you concentrate hard enough that you’re going to finally be able to solve those problems. I’ll take a deep breath when they’re all solved. That’s bullshit.
In fact, the opposite is true. The opposite is true. The truth is, if you can relax and enjoy your life, and understand, your mind doesn’t have you, you have your mind. Then you can be the Michael Jordan of your life. You will be Loose. You’re going to be on the basketball court playing loose.
You’re going to be able to make the long shot because you’re going to be relaxed, loose. And that’s what you do, don’t get so close.
It’s not the championship game. And even the championship game is not the championship game. If you’re out there on the court playing loose, and you’re just having fun playing ball with some friends, and you’re in the present moment. You’re loose. You’re easy.
That’s where you can make the play. That’s going to make the play.
The upset, the fear. The agonizing. The emotions that you’re attaching. That isn’t helping your game.
That’s ruining it. And so step back. Take a deep breath, meditate, do some yoga. Find out what and orange tastes like.
And the time you take. To become aware. And to understand the visceral sense of being in the present moment, that will give you your time back, tenfold. The way that you’ll play basketball. If you can get out of your head, is going to make more points. It’s going to feel better and you’re going to live your life instead of having your mind live your life.
Be Michael Jordan of Your Mind: Play in the Present Moment
And it’s going to be joyful. Don’t fall for the con that if you are up close, well organized, intense, tight, all of that, that somehow you’re going to score more. Not true. You’re not going to get the points. Ask Tiger Woods if playing in his head has helped his game?
Enlightened–Be the Michael Jordan of Your Mind
You just need to take it down a notch, relax. Bob and weave a little bit. So anyway. I’m just trying to let you in, in different ways. Thanks for listening. Dan of Vagabond Buddha.