Morning,
So when we were children and we went to these theme parks,
These amusement parks,
We would go on these rides,
The little merry-go-round and the little swing and we'd find our favourites,
Our favourite rides.
And then as we,
Favourite rides changed,
It might be the roller coaster,
Might be the ghost train,
And work out our favourite rides.
And whenever we go to a theme park or an amusement park,
We get on those rides and they give us a thrill.
And in one sense,
Life is like a theme park,
An amusement park.
As we grow,
We start to develop a certain favourite mental rides.
And the mental rides are things like the anxious ride.
So if we've been going suffering from anxiety a lot over the years,
That will be our favourite ride.
So what mine does,
It sends you an invitation to go on the anxious ride.
And because we've always taken it,
There you go.
Because that amusement arcade,
It needs you to buy those tickets to keep it going.
If we didn't buy the tickets,
It would close down.
It's the same with egoic mind,
It's because we keep accepting the tickets.
Let's say the anxious ride or the fearful ride,
Or I'm a victim ride.
They become our mental rides.
And at least the ones in the theme park are real.
The ghost train is real.
At least we get in something and actually do something.
With these mental rides,
They're just imagined.
And you have to start seeing this,
And it's not difficult.
And you're doing it every day,
We do it every day.
We go on these mental rides,
Mental and emotional rides.
And they're just imagined.
Might be I'm no good ride,
That might be one of our favourite rides.
At least when we're on that ride,
At least all the thinking is about me.
And that's our primary addiction.
We have those addictions to those rides.
It's our identity.
We create an identity out of these rides.
So I'm suggesting what we need to start doing is to start to decline these rides.
I'm getting old and blah,
Blah,
Blah.
Don't go on the ride.
Just let life take its course.
Underneath all these belief thoughts,
All these invitations is what you are looking for.
So when these invitations come in,
Blah,
Blah,
Blah.
What if?
Notice.
Don't pick it up.
Don't pick it up.
And if you pick it up,
You find you're on a ride,
Just drop it.
Take the steam out of this.
Only you can do it.
We can only do it ourself.
And then we come back to,
We could say,
The platform rather than the ride.
I could try and see if that works.
But the platform,
Here,
Presence,
Right here.
And just feel what's here,
Just be with what's here,
Which is what's happening here is real.
What's happening up here is not real.
I see up here,
It's not quite like that.
What you're looking for is hidden right behind the trying.
That trying,
Always,
It must always be somewhere else.
What you're looking for is right behind that.
That's why give up trying.
This is not about trying.
It's about relaxing back.
Don't be here looking to attain something.
Relax back.
And relax in a relaxed way.
Right now I'm going to relax.
Don't try to relax.
Because that's what we can get into.
Yeah,
We can try to relax.
I'm not relaxed.
Just come back.
Just take a breath.
And then settle into the body.
I want you to notice the invitations to go on a ride.
So relax back and down.
Relax into the body.
Feel the breath.
The mind is very busy.
Focus on the end of the outbreath.
And just help to settle things a little.
Just hop off those rides.
It's no big deal.
Just checking that you're not gone tense.
If you have,
It's okay.
Just relax into the body.
Just take a deep breath and relax.
Just feel what you find.
Feel what presents itself.
Nothing needs to be different right now.
Nothing needs to change.
Just rest.
Just watch for the thinking about thinking.
Just drop it.
Return back to the body.
Back to presence.
Back to the breath.
You on a ride?
Or are you here?
It's either one or the other.
But it's okay to be on a ride.
And just step off.
Come back.
Relax back here.
Notice the invitations.
Just let them wander by.
If you don't pick them up,
They just disappear.
It's our attention,
Our interest which keeps them going.
Okay.
Begin to bring this session to a close.
Eyes are closed.
Just open them.
Have a stretch.
And don't leave the practice behind,
Guys.
Look for the invitations during the day.
And don't get on a ride about a ride.
So if you're feeling lots of thinking,
Don't then pick up lots of thinking,
Criticizing yourself for thinking.
It's just another,
It's just all the same game.
Just drop it all.
Just drop it.
And practical thinking,
Functional thinking will continue.
Okay.
I'm going for coffee.
Bye.
Bye.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Bye.
Bye.
