Welcome.
Today the topic is Letting Go of the Illusion of Control.
And in today's meditation we will be seeing why this control is indeed an illusion and all the benefits that will result from letting go of this illusion.
Because so much of our time we spend trying to control first the world,
It's not good enough as it is,
Then other people around us,
They need to change,
They need to see things more clearly,
They need to do something differently.
Then we try and control our emotions,
Our thoughts.
And in fact we will be so much happier,
So much more in peace if we just rest,
If we just be present here.
So do whatever you're ready.
Breathe in.
Breathe in.
And close your eyes.
And simply accept your experience exactly as it is.
Whatever you are feeling right now,
It's perfect.
Whatever sounds are around you.
Whatever thoughts occur in your mind.
Just be with all of it.
Notice that everything comes and goes in you.
Notice that the sounds appear in your awareness and disappear in your awareness.
Notice that the same is true for your emotions,
They come in the body and they fade back,
Back to where they came from.
Notice that there is a space between thoughts and that it is from that space that they come from and in that space that they go back.
And just be with all of it.
Most importantly,
Notice that these sounds,
These emotions,
These thoughts,
They appear without your involvement in them.
They simply come and they go.
You are not doing them.
They appear in you.
And of course to some degree it is possible to influence them.
We can add our own voice to the sounds around us.
We can remember a particular event that triggered an emotion in us and feel that emotion strongly.
We can guide our thoughts to focus in a particular direction.
But when we don't do these things,
Which is most of the time,
Our thoughts,
Emotions and the world around us are moving by their own accord.
And since that is the case the most,
The logical,
If you will,
Thing to do is to accept things exactly as they are.
We can try and stop the flow of a big river by throwing a rock in it.
But the river will keep flowing.
So instead of getting a larger rock,
We should just enjoy the flow of the river.
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Trying to change your thoughts or your feelings implies that you are not happy the way they are.
It implies attention,
It implies resistance to what is.
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And when you realize that thoughts and emotions and the world move without your interference,
No matter what you try to do,
With that realization comes acceptance.
And the paradox of acceptance is that the more you accept things,
The more you allow them to change and the more they change.
When they don't need to change anymore,
That's when they can change.
So change doesn't happen through control,
It happens through acceptance.
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In fact,
Resisting what is is very pointless because it already is.
And when we say,
I will be happy when this changes,
We say I will be happy in a future that might never come.
When we can only be happy in the present.
So what we are saying is,
I will be willing to be present in the future,
Which makes no sense.
So when such thoughts appear,
Just come back to the present,
To this moment,
To accepting what is exactly as it is.
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Accepting what is is simply taking the perspective of the observer.
Simply observing what is happening in the mind,
In the body.
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And by being the observer,
You can sense your very own presence.
The presence,
The beingness within which everything arises and in which it fades.
And that beingness,
It accepts everything exactly as it is.
It does not label things as good or bad,
Wanted and unwanted,
Right or wrong.
It simply is.
Always here now.
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And the mind can come in and want to change things to desire control,
But it is also appearing in your being,
So you can watch it.
There is no need to follow it.
Accept it.
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And this acceptance is pure love.
Instead of going against the current,
You not only go with it,
But you love it,
You embrace everything that appears within.
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Observing what is and accepting it as it is,
Is the most natural state.
It is effortless.
Precisely because you don't need to act on things,
To change them,
To impose your will on them.
It is effortless because you don't do anything,
You just be.
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When you feel ready,
You can begin to take a few deeper breaths.
To move your fingers and your toes.
And remaining aware of your own being,
To come back.
