kavisolo.

I don’t edit this content. If Sagar can’t speak english, that’s his problem.

What if I were to tell you that there is a voice inside your head that never shuts up and pretends to you be you, but isn’t actually you? You would probably think I’m crazy.

A few months ago I started reading the works of Eckhart Tolle. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Tolle, he is a spiritual teacher who preaches that most human beings spend their entire life imprisoned within the confines of their own thoughts. As such, he argues that the only thing necessary in order for one to achieve spiritual enlightenment is to transcend thought.

I know, easier said than done.

Can you recall a time when you were staring at something beautiful, a sunset on a lake perhaps, and for a brief second, there was a certain unique stillness, an unmistakeable inner peace within you? That was you living in the moment. Of course it didn’t last, and you likely weren’t consciously aware of what happened. In reality, that was actually you escaping your mind.

Life tends to pass us by while we’re busy thinking about how not to allow life to pass us by. So here is a new spiritual practice for you: don’t take your thoughts too seriously. Accept the moment, as it is, right now. When you accept it, no matter how imperfect it may seem, all the inner conflict within you disappears, you will find yourself at peace.

Thoughts are very powerful, they lead to emotions, and emotions lead to reactions. Reactions lead to conflicts. That’s why there is so much conflict amongst human beings.

Everyone is familiar with the Buddhist saying: No self, no problems. Buddhists believe that all pain is creating as result of desire. What they mean when they refer to “self” is your mind made image of you, something that is conditioned by the past, and never satisfied, at least not for long. In actuality, that is not you. “You” are something much deeper. “You” are an energy that is one with this world and the truth of the matter is no thing or person in this world can affect “you.” When you think something has, it has really affected your “self” — your mind made image.

Your life is always right now. When you think of the past, you can only remember it now. What you remember is an event that happened in the now, and you remember it right now. When the future arrives, it will arrive as the now. There never was and never will be a time when your life is not right now. So why not embrace it? Make friends with the moment, and then see what happens.

For the longest time in my life I used to externalize my own happiness. I would depend on other people, objects, or places to make me happy. The problem with that way of living is those things cannot give you true joy. Yes, they can make you “happy”, but there is a fundamental difference between being happy and true joy. Happiness does not last for long. When something makes you happy, it will do so for a brief period of time, and you will then start looking for something or someone else to replicate that effect.

Once you begin to realize that no object or person in this world can provide you with lasting fulfillment, everything changes. You will still meet and interact with people but are able to accept them as the passing and imperfect creatures they are, there is a sense of joy deep down which always remains unaffected by what happens around you.
Do you find yourself worried a lot, or anxious about the future? You’re likely creating situations in your head, which is leading to anxiety. The truth is you cannot deal with those situations, because they do not exist. They are figments of your imagination. You can only deal with the present moment, and that’s all you’ll ever have to deal with.

So what’s left when we’re not wound up in our thoughts, worrying about the past or being anxious about the future? Stillness, inner peace, joy.

Some years ago I was speaking to Matthew Good about young kids trying to “make it” in the music business when he remarked to me: “If it’s not enough for someone to play music in their bedroom by themselves, it will never be enough.” I never quite understood what he meant by that. Looking back on that conversation now, he couldn’t have more correct. Ultimately, everything we do in life should be about the journey, not the destination.

Carpe diem, they say.