I’ve been talking with a lot of people from a host of backgrounds lately.
It’s a fascinating and lovely thing – as much as lockdown has shrunk some parts of my life, it’s certainly opened up a ton of connections all around the globe, and I rejoice in that.
The internet can be such a force for good. Now, that’s not something you hear every day is it?
I think people are looking for more - and I heard a brutally frank line that summed this up perfectly, I think, for a lot of us:
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“COVID didn’t screw us, it exposed us.”
– Paul Mort
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We’ve been shown how we could have a better, more resilient inner game.
Our relationship with our minds, emotions, reactions and triggers isn’t as strong as it could be to come through challenge and uncertainty in better shape than we went in.
When it all hits the fan, that’s when you get to see your inner game report card in 4D crystal clarity, isn’t it?
The great news is, as I tell my daughter May (as a means to remind myself), the way you get better is to practice.
Not good at something? Do the work.
The key with all and any uncertainty and change and challenge?
Don’t let an uncertain future take what is certain now.
We can spend soooo much time in a future that steals our life here and now.
Learn from the past and prepare for the future, yes, but don’t spend your life there.
Your life shines when you’re here for it. Anxiety and stress and frustration all melt away when you fully show up to the moment you find yourself in.
You become fully alive, and the regrets and triggering and negative thinking and behaviour that come when you slip out of presence and fall asleep all fade away.
When you fully take that onboard, a question arises that I’ve been asked a whole heap lately:
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How do I become more present?
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Here’s what I say:
We all write to-do lists. (I love a good list. Ticking it off is one of the greatest feelings.)
Now – first thing in the morning, why don’t you write a To-Be list?
A To-Be list is a reminder of how you want to show up today:
HOW you want to be, not WHAT you want to do.
Any monkey can do stuff. We want to do it with style and Quality, filled with soul and presence!
So therefore …
Make your priority then your To-Be list, and then your To-Do list second.
Life is never so much what you do, but how you do it.
That’s what truly makes a difference.
So write your To Be list to remind you each and every day … and then prioritise it.
Make Being the foundation to everything you Do throughout the day.
Prioritise too your eyes closed practice, such as the Bright Path Ishayas’ Ascension. That is one huge reminder and alignment in itself.
Go from there.
You will remember to be present more, you won’t forget and get lost in the activity, in the drama, in the “what if’s” so much.
You won’t get wrapped up in recriminations and self-abuse about why you forgot, why you slipped up either.
And the more you remember, the more you’ll remember and the quicker you’ll realise when you’re out.
It gathers momentum, so prioritise it. Don’t let it be a “When you get around to it”.
More presence with less uncertainty and worry takes work – not effort, but certainly dedication, and persistence, and patience … all of those things that takes to learn anything.
Get to work. Go within, or go without.
Go well!
Arjuna