The mind is very powerful. However the mind is a tool, an instrument. It is a tool that should be used when necessary and left when not needed. But the mind is the master of many people. It runs many people’s lives. It has become the master and they are mind-possessed. The mind then uses time to wield its power and dominate them. The mind is so powerful that if you fail to use it creatively, it will creatively sabotage you.
The power of the mind comes from you or rather the loss of you. When you are unconscious, you give attention to your thought which is the product of your mind. A thought that started out as little, used a subtle means to get your attention. It then grew bigger and bigger and has resulted to your pain. You may not be aware of it but you create your own pain.
When you are in pain, when you suffer, you are in resistance; you are resisting what is. You are unconscious, therefore, you are not aware of this. The more identified you are with your mind, the greater the degree of resistance you have for what is, and the greater the intensity of your pain. Understand the egoic mind: it is always seeking to deny the present moment and escape from it. It accomplishes this through the use of time – past and future.
To be free of pain or suffering, you have to be free of the egoic mind. To be free of the mind, you have to be present in the Now. The mind keeps resisting the Now because it perceives the Now as threatening. It uses time – past and future – to remain in control. In fact, time and mind are inseparable. But the Now is timeless. Be still and be in the moment. In the very moment that you are, time does not exist. Your mind does not run your life in the present moment if you are conscious.
The mind is a tool which we need in this world. Time is also necessary for us to function in this world. But the point where the mind and time takes over our lives is where pain and suffering come in.
The mind keeps trying to flee the Now into the past or future. It runs to the past and asks, “What could I have done differently?” It flies to the future and asks, “What can go wrong?” This is how we are dominated by regret, fear, worry, anxiety, and other forms of pain. What the mind is doing then is covering up the present moment with time – past and present. When it succeeds in doing this, your true nature becomes obscured by your mind. You are unconscious, not connected to who you are, not connected to your Being.
How do you stop creating pain for yourself? By making the present moment the primary focus of your life. Use the mind and time when necessary in dealing with the practical aspects of your life situation and when you are done, be present in the moment. In the Now, you neither have past nor future. What you have is the present moment. You experienced the past in the Now and when the future comes, it will come as Now. All you ever have therefore is Now. This is a fact.
You may say that the present moment is unpleasant. But is it? The present moment is what it is. It is as it is. But your mind, conditioned by the past and in judgment of the present moment, has labeled it unacceptable and unpleasant and this is causing you unhappiness. Do not resist the Now. Allow the Now to be. Then watch your mind in action, be the observer of your mind. Bring consciousness to the activity of your mind. Be present. Your consciousness implies acceptance of the Now. And when you are present in the moment, time ceases, your mind therefore loses power and you are free from its mechanics, hence, free from pain.
Do not resist the present moment for if you do your life situation remains the same if not worse. What you resist persists. Accept the present moment and then act. Your action then will have power which goes to change the situation you consider undesirable. Do not fight or work against the present moment. Rather, work with it. When you make the present moment your friend and work with it, you begin the transformation of your life.
