MOGA: Presence Practice

Learning the characteristics of your mind/ego will help you avoid being pulled into deep unconsciousness and suffering by the mind. Simplicity exists in consciousness and is boring to the problem that creates an egoic mind.

Transcript

Today,

I wanted to talk about simplicity and the simplicity of life that many of us crave,

But are really unable to obtain because of unconsciousness.

You might wonder what unconsciousness has to do with not being able to have a simple life.

I wanted to share about how the mind creates complications,

Creates problems,

Creates rules to the game that make it near impossible to experience simplicity.

You can find this a lot in relationships.

We have any.

.

.

Let me just start with anything with the mind.

When the mind is involved,

There are identities.

Every identity that we are trying to have for ourselves or trying to hold onto comes from the mind or the ego.

You can use those two words interchangeably.

The mind,

Ego,

Same thing.

The mind or ego wants to have an identity.

It craves an identity.

It needs an identity to be alive,

To be in the real world because it's not a real thing.

It's mind-made.

The mind is mind-made and the mind is making up a lot of mind-made things.

It doesn't actually have a place in the now.

We were given the mind for true problem solving,

Not mind-made problem solving,

But it is a problem solver.

If you're conscious and you're operating in the now and you're just going about life,

There's not going to be a whole lot of problem problems.

You might come upon a flat tire or something real.

You get out,

You have a mind,

You have a brain,

You have an intellect to be able to say,

Okay,

Well,

I need to loosen all of these,

Whatever.

I don't know.

I'm not a tire changing expert,

But you loosen all these things and then you take the old tire off and then you see if you have a spare.

That is what your mind is there for,

Is to do those type of simple,

Everyday problem solving.

Because it is such a big problem solver,

It gets bored.

The mind,

The ego is the enemy to simplicity.

It does not want simplicity.

Scarcity is boring to this ego that we're all attached to.

The ego needs bigger problems than that.

I had a flat tire once last month or maybe once in a year and maybe the sink stopped up or maybe I couldn't get my lawnmower to create.

I don't know.

That's boring.

I didn't get to use all of this energy,

This mental energy.

There's all this,

The mind wants something more.

What it does,

Because it is such an amazing problem solver,

It says,

Well,

I will create more problems than I actually have,

But I will convince the person that these are real problems,

And this is the black hole,

People.

This is the thing that we all get sucked into because it says,

Okay,

I'm going to make everything a problem.

Everything in their life is going to be a problem.

Then they will get pulled so,

And these problems are not solvable,

So they will get so pulled down into deep unconsciousness that they can stay in there forever.

I can keep their attention and I can keep their focus in there forever because these problems are not problems that are solvable and they will spin in this and spin in this and try and struggle and suffer and all these emotions will be stirred up in them and all this drama and it will be amazing,

Says your mind or ego,

But you,

Your consciousness,

The one that is practicing presence this year,

That you says,

Where's the simplicity?

Simplicity is outside of unconsciousness.

Simplicity exists in what would be so boring and so mundane to your ego or to your mind.

It would also not be satisfying identity-wise because it needs an identity.

The mind needs an identity of,

I'm the manager of this or I'm the nurse,

I'm the doctor,

I'm the teacher,

I'm the head over this or that,

I'm the CEO of this,

I own all these businesses,

I am,

You know,

Whatever your identity is and it will attach to that.

That is me.

That is who I am for real.

And then something has,

Like all of that is impermanent.

You either age and you get older or that job goes away or that position or that husband or that wife.

It's like,

It's all unstable and it goes away.

Where are you?

Where's your identity?

The mind struggles to find something else to attach to,

To cling to because it needs to be somebody.

Anyway,

We're talking about problems and we're talking about not being able to exist in simplicity with the mind or ego.

So okay,

Here you have this big black hole of problem making.

I'm going to make everything into a problem and if I can make it into a problem,

I can convince this person who's trying to be present.

If I can convince them that and that's a problem,

Then they will go into or that's bad,

That's not good,

That shouldn't happen.

If I can convince them of that,

They will go into this long,

Long,

Deep,

Unconscious sleep and they will stay in this dream world of mind made problems with the mind and can chew on it forever.

So say you're in,

Maybe you have what your mind would call a challenging relationship with say your mother.

I mean I know there's nobody out there that can say that,

Right?

Just about everybody who comes to me has some type of challenge with their mother.

So your mind says she does this,

This,

This,

This and this and that's a problem.

And as soon as you say,

Yeah,

That is,

That's not okay,

You open the door and you go into deep unconsciousness and then you try to change that.

You want that to be different.

You can't accept that.

You can't understand that.

You can't allow that.

You have rules.

That's another thing that the mind does.

The mind has rules.

With every identity,

There comes a set of rules.

So for your mother,

You have a set of rules for her that says,

Okay,

Here's your identity,

Here's your mom label and here's your rule book that goes with it.

If you break those rules,

Now all this is your mind.

Your mind made this whole world up for you,

Okay?

And you just have bought into it and this is what takes you into unconsciousness and out of the present moment and into stress.

So here's your rule book,

Mom,

And,

Ah,

Well,

Back in November,

I see that you didn't really follow this rule right here where it says that you're supposed to be like this,

This and this.

You're supposed to be loving and you're supposed to be supportive and you're supposed to be caring and you weren't.

So you broke that rule and that's a problem.

Now you suffer.

Your mom doesn't suffer.

You suffer.

So here you go into deep unconsciousness with your mind because you agreed,

They broke the rule.

All of this is the mind.

The rule book,

The label of mom,

The,

Um,

The suffering that comes after that,

Everything that your mind says about that's a problem because all that is made up,

It's all made up in your head where you are living and suffering and stressing your physical body out and getting unhealthy and,

And,

And,

And,

And.

So it's not a nice place to be.

Don't be there.

Don't be there.

Now that's easier said than done,

Right?

Look,

I know that for sure.

It's very difficult to be able to stay out of that and not get sucked into that because it's a habit.

It has been with us forever and it is very strong and it has a very strong pull to it.

Now simplicity.

Now let's talk about other relationships.

Let's talk about maybe,

Um,

Marital relationships or intimate relationships.

And some of you may not agree with this and,

And this is not,

I'm not voicing my stance on marriage or,

Or it being good or bad.

I'm just saying that every single label that we have comes from the mind.

The mind,

The mind made this game up.

The mind made up the game that your mom must play because she wears the mom label.

The mind made up how your kids should be because,

Um,

That's the kid book that your mind created.

Your mind created all the labels,

All the games,

All the rules,

All the little rule books.

Your mind created that,

All of it.

So with,

With marriage,

There's a big,

Big rule book,

You know,

Like lots of rules there that have to be abided by.

And well,

I'm okay.

My label is the husband.

I'm the husband.

So here's my rule book.

So the mind said,

Here's your label of husband.

Here's your rule book.

You must,

Oh my God,

So many rules,

So many check,

So many boxes to check.

So,

So much,

Um,

Responsibility so much.

It's a hard rule book.

It's a hard rule book to follow.

And you must provide,

You must do the,

There's no simplicity in that rule book.

There's none.

There's not a whole lot of present moment in that rule book either.

It's it's trying to check every box and make sure every box is ticked before you go to bed every night.

And it's an impossible game.

It's a game that your mind has created that you cannot win.

And for most men,

That's unacceptable.

I have to be winning the game and women too.

Like I need to be winning this thing.

I need to be a success.

I need to be a successful dad.

I need to be a successful husband.

But the rule book that you got is made up by your mind.

The label that you have is made up by your mind and it is not doable.

It is,

It is an unreasonable expectation set up for you by your mind that you will fail.

And then when you fail,

What happens?

Well,

You're already in deep unconsciousness because you're in here with a mind in its rule book and you're trying to do all the things it says to do and trying to do it perfectly and stressing yourself out.

And then what happens when you fail?

Well,

I'll tell you what happens when you fail.

The mind attacks you and says you failed and you're not again.

Now it's saying this.

Now it uses this identity against you.

You're not a good dad.

You're not a good husband.

You're not a this.

You're not a that.

You,

You,

You know,

Your own needs got in the way.

You're selfish or you're,

It's insane.

It's insane what we do.

Moms,

We do this too.

Like,

Oh my God,

We have so,

So much pressure that we put on ourselves and we have so many rules that go with this mom label.

And you know,

I think it's really sad what the mind has done to this very natural thing that happens as moms and dads.

Like we've created a life here and we should be able to just put that rule book down and flow naturally with what our spirit and our heart is wanting to give this being in front of us.

But we can't do that because we're so unconscious.

We're so lost in our mind that we can't actually enjoy this play,

Enjoy being with this beautiful little creation that is just looking to us to show them the way to simplicity,

To show them the way to conscious living.

But all we do,

This is so sad,

But we just show them the way to unconsciousness.

They watch us be so unconsciousness.

And where does that come from?

Like,

Why are we,

Why are we prisoned in unconsciousness?

It's fear.

It's all fear.

Fear of doing it wrong,

Fear of getting it wrong,

Fear of being wrong,

Fear of not playing the role,

This label not doing it right.

Like we naturally want to do a good job.

We naturally want to be good people.

We naturally,

We naturally want to be pleasing,

You know,

And you cannot please your mind.

You can't go into that mind made world and please a mind that is unpleasable with unreasonable expectations that will always change the rules on you.

Even when you think,

Oh,

I had a good day,

I actually did this right.

It will change the rules on you and you,

I'm sure you can think of instances that,

I can't think of any right now,

Sorry.

But yeah,

So,

Unconsciousness,

Hanging out with the mind,

Believing things when the mind,

That's the door that opens and that's a problem.

This is the phrase that your mind will say and that's a problem.

Then you're like,

Oh,

Okay,

Well,

It felt natural to me,

It felt good to me,

What I just did.

It felt loving,

It felt amazing,

It felt really in alignment,

It felt so good and your mind will say,

No,

That's a problem because it breaks one of the rules in my rule book that you agreed to and now that threatens the label that you are wearing.

Now you can't wear that label anymore because you are not playing the rules that go with that label and then there's guilt,

Then there's shame,

Then there's fear.

Guilt,

Shame and fear all exist in that long dark tunnel with unconsciousness.

It does.

If you're in that right now,

Know you're in the tunnel,

Know you're pulled down deep,

You are suffering,

You are down in this space with the mind.

You're not living in simplicity,

You're not living by your natural flow,

You're not living from your heart,

You're not able to experience the joys and the richness of life and spirit engaging with you through loving moments because of your labels that your mind gave you,

Your rule book that your mind gave you and it's all creating a very complicated life and it just gets more and more complicated.

Break one of those rules in your rule book that your mind gave you and see how complicated your life gets.

Or you could say,

And you cannot do this all at once because a lot of us,

You know,

With marriage especially,

You've got two people playing a game.

Yep,

It's a mind-made game.

Every game that you could possibly play with another person is a mind-made game.

If you have rules,

You are playing a mind-made game.

The mind made it up.

The mind made it up.

Period.

But you're in this with the other person.

So what do you do about that?

And you're trying to come away,

You're trying to come into consciousness.

You would have to have some really deep conversations.

You would have to really open up and say,

This is where I'm wanting to go,

This is what I'm wanting to experience,

This is what I'm.

.

.

The life I want to live in love,

I want to live in simplicity,

I want to get away from this drama-making,

Problem-making mind that I have.

And I want you to come with me.

I want you to come out of this place of fear too.

You know,

Especially when you're in a relationship,

Sometimes one person is more ready for consciousness than the other,

Or is being more pulled in that direction to come away from that type of existence.

And that's a personal thing,

And we should never rush another person,

But we should also honor what's going on in ourselves.

And that road,

If you can stay out of the rulebook,

If you can stay out of your label,

It would be very challenging for your mind,

Who is just fresh into trying to come out of consciousness.

You know,

It's like learning to walk,

So it would be like trying to run a marathon when you just finally learned how to stand up.

So it's hard not to get sucked back into that unconsciousness when you're trying to do something like that.

But my point of today,

If there is a point,

Is that there can be a life of simplicity.

There can be a life of just being in the moment,

Being present,

Allowing love to come through you to what is in front of you,

Being able to follow the natural impulses of your physical body without shame,

Without guilt.

But it exists in consciousness.

It exists outside of the mind.

It exists outside of the labels,

The rulebooks.

It exists outside everything that we're used to,

Like everything that we've lived in most of our lives,

It exists outside of that.

So I encourage you all to just,

I don't want you to think about what I just said,

I'd like you to just allow it to sit in your consciousness today and just notice what thoughts of resistance come up to that.

And you know what?

I'd like to hear what your mind has to say.

If you want to post some comments,

I'd like to hear the opinions and the judgments and what your mind says about what I just said.

And if you are in consciousness,

There probably will be nothing to say.

Because in consciousness there are no,

We don't judge,

We don't label,

We don't criticize,

We don't have opinions even,

We're just observing.

And so I encourage us all to just observe today and to be in that space of freedom,

Of simplicity,

Of just being natural.

One more point,

Talking about that,

Being natural is,

You know,

Animals,

They don't have the labels and the rulebooks that we do.

And they just live in the present and if you've ever watched them,

They don't,

A puppy is not like,

Oh,

Well,

You're my mom and you're supposed to do this,

This and this.

And the mom's not like,

Oh,

I'm your mom and I'm supposed to make sure I read you a story every night and I've done all the things that all the good moms say that you're supposed to do.

They're just being natural.

Yeah,

That mother,

That mother dog,

She will lay down to nurse her babies.

She does that naturally.

That's not out of obligation or there is no resentment building in her because she has to lay there and let all nine puppies eat off of her.

It's just natural that she's in the now,

She's in the present moment,

She lays down,

Lets them eat.

And then a lot of times she'll stand up and they're still holding on and those poor puppies are just dropping off of her and she doesn't,

There is no guilt,

There is no shame about that.

She doesn't beat herself up years and years later and sit in the therapist's office and talk about how,

Oh my God,

I can't believe I did that and they were all still,

They were all still eating and I just left.

Like no,

That doesn't happen.

They just do their thing.

They're just,

Their natural instincts are there,

They're following their natural instincts.

They're loving these puppies,

They're sharing love.

They even play with them,

You know,

But then when it's time for those puppies,

There is no suffering.

There is no suffering.

Now I know we have seen dogs that look sad and that kind of thing.

I'm not saying that they don't have emotions or not sad.

I'm just saying they're not attached to the same,

The mind that we are that makes up the labels and hands out the rule books.

I'm sorry,

That's funny.

And it has all the expectations that we have.

I don't know why that's so funny.

Anyway,

That's that.

Yeah.

I hope you all have a great day.