Welcome.
In this session,
We're going to do something important and subtle.
Honor the era of the mind,
Without continuing to let it rule our lives.
We've been talking about living between eras,
About moving from external authority to inner guidance,
About deep shifts in consciousness.
It might be easy to start thinking of the mind as the bad guy,
As if all the thinking is a problem and a goal is to get rid of it.
That's not the truth.
The truth is more nuanced and more respectful.
The mind era has given us extraordinary gifts.
It has also overstepped its role and tried to run everything.
Our job now is to thank it,
Understand it,
And put it back in its right place.
For a moment,
You might think of your own mind,
How it has helped you survive,
Succeed,
Solve,
Create,
And also where it has kept you up at night,
Judged you,
Or tried to control the uncontrollable.
This talk is an invitation to hold both gratitude and boundary at the same time.
A long story,
Why it's so hard to unhook.
The dynamics of the mind era didn't start last week.
For a very long stretch of human history,
The seven-centered way of being,
Where the mind and strategy are central,
Has been running the show.
Think of it as many,
Many rounds of global cycles,
Where conceptual thinking,
Planning and strategy,
Managing resources and hierarchy have been the main tools for survival and progress.
For tens of thousands of years,
Humans have been practicing separating from nature to study it,
Creating tools,
Systems,
Cities,
Technologies,
Organizing into armies,
Governments,
Corporations,
Religions,
And institutions.
When something's been rehearsed that long,
It gets into everything,
Our language,
Our family expectations,
Our schooling and work,
Our nervous systems and reflexes.
So,
If you feel like it's hard to unhook from the mind running your life,
That's not a personal weakness.
You're feeling the momentum of a very long story coming to its turning point.
And yet,
That turning point is here.
The background is shifting.
We are moving into an era that asks for a different center of gravity,
Where your mind is still valued,
But no longer the unquestionable ruler.
You can imagine it like a huge wave changing direction.
You're not expected to stop the ocean.
You're invited to learn how to surf.
To put the mind in its right place,
We need to acknowledge what it has actually done well.
The mind era has given us science and medicine,
An incredible ability to observe,
Measure,
Test,
And learn.
This has saved lives,
Extended lifespans,
And deepened our knowledge of the physical world.
Art,
Literature,
And symbolic expression.
With conceptual mind,
We didn't just see the world,
We also painted it,
Wrote about it,
Composed music,
Built stories and myths that helped us understand ourselves.
Complex organization.
The ability to coordinate large groups of people toward shared goals.
Building bridges,
Developing technology,
Responding to disasters,
Creating infrastructure.
Problem solving and innovation.
Strategic thinking has allowed us to adapt to harsh environments,
Create tools,
And respond to challenges in powerful ways.
For you personally,
Your mind has likely helped you navigate school and work,
Protected you from repeating certain mistakes,
Given you language to make sense of your experiences,
Supported your ability to learn,
Teach,
Design,
Create,
And serve.
This deserves respect.
The point is not to discard the mind era as wrong.
The point is to see that this era is complete as the center of our identity.
We can be grateful for what it brought,
Even as we feel where its rule has become oppressive.
Perfectionism,
Constant productivity,
Self-worth tied only to performance,
Disconnections from body,
Earth,
Spirit,
And each other.
Honoring the mind era means saying,
Thank you for what you gave us,
And now we need a different leader.
Where our mind still rules you and how to shift the relationship.
Let's bring this into your life.
Where does the mind still try to rule you?
You might notice it in patterns like over-planning and over-controlling.
You can't relax unless everything is mapped out and guaranteed.
When plans change,
You feel an outsized panic or anger.
Harsh self-judgment,
An inner voice that constantly evaluates you.
Not enough,
Too much,
Should be further along,
Should know better.
Analysis instead of feeling.
When emotion arises,
You immediately jump to explaining or fixing it,
Instead of letting yourself feel it and listen.
Ignoring body cues,
Pushing through fatigue,
Hunger,
Pain,
Or a clear physical no because your mind decided something else.
Take a breath and gently scan.
Is there one of these that feels familiar right now?
Shifting the relationship with mind doesn't require a battle.
It's more like renegotiating a role description with a powerful employee.
You might begin to say internally,
Mind,
I value your ability to see patterns and think ahead.
I'm going to stop asking you to override my body and spirit.
When I need analysis,
I'll call on you.
When I'm choosing what is correct for me,
I will listen deeper.
Practically,
That can look like Decision making in two phases.
Phase one,
Ask your body authority.
Does this feel like a yes or no?
Phase two,
Once you sense that,
Invite the mind to help with logistics,
Timing,
Wording,
After the deeper yes or no is clear.
Time boxing thinking.
If you need to solve something,
Give the mind a container.
For the next 20 minutes,
I'm going to ask you to think through this on paper.
After that,
I'm going to put it down and listen to my body.
Thought witnessing.
A few minutes daily where you simply notice thoughts without believing them.
This trains you to see mind as one voice in the room,
Not the owner of the house.
Over time,
Mind learns.
I am trusted and included.
I am not allowed to terrorize the system.
I have a specific honored role.
You are built for this wave,
Integration and encouragement.
As this long mind era winds down and a new form of consciousness emerges,
It's normal to feel pulled in two directions.
Part of you is deeply trained in strategy and control.
Another part is longing for deeper alignment,
Presence and trust.
Remember,
The length of the mind era means this transition is big,
But it also means you are not alone in it.
You were born precisely into this moment because some part of your being is equipped to surf this wave.
Your mind is not your enemy.
It's a powerful ally learning a new job description.
Take a breath and feel into this question.
What is one way I can honor my mind's gifts today without letting it rule my life?
It might be thanking your mind for a genuine insight while still choosing what your body knows is right.
Letting yourself rest even though the mind says you should do more.
Writing down your thoughts so they feel heard,
Then going outside to feel the sky.
You are living at the turning of a very long story.
You do not have to get it perfect.
You were invited to participate by honoring what came before,
By refusing to let it keep you captive,
And by stepping,
One choice at a time,
Into a way of being where mind serves the whole of you instead of pretending to be the whole.
Take one more breath.
Feel your own presence here.
You are not behind.
You are right on time,
Learning how to carry the gifts of the mind era forward without letting them define your future.
