Most of us are focused almost obsessively on what is going on around us now, as well as what happened in the past and might happen in the future. Whether it concerns ourselves, our family, work. friends, or the world around us, we are fixated on the here and now. And this causes us much frustration, anxiety, and suffering, because this fixation breeds cravings. And as the Buddha taught, cravings are the source of our suffering.
Well, how do you function in the here and now, which we all must do, and avoid this trap? The trick is to be able to think about the here and now, but not fixate on it, not obsess about it.
And how does one do that? As I always say, if you get rid of a negative, you must replace it with a positive. One must purposefully put one's mind elsewhere—on a higher plain than the here and now. Whether it's in the Buddha dharma, or faith in the divinity inside you, or, as Sister Sharon Johnson puts it, in eternity—one has to focus on what's really important, and that is not the here and now. It is in your relationship with the higher power within you.
There is nothing more important than that because it is your true source, your only source, of peace and happiness regardless what happens in your life. Not only that, but it is this relationship, your handing your life over to the divinity within you, that enables you to have the relaxed mind of equanimity that allows you to make good decisions about your actions in the here and now. And so it actually makes it more likely that your life moves in the direction you want it to.
Another benefit of focusing on what spiritually is most important to you is that it provides a test to apply to any guidance you receive as to whether it is good for you or not. For example, let's say that you realize that to focus on eternity or the Buddha dharma is to focus on peace; that is the essence.
So when you receive guidance to do whatever, you—meaning your heart—will ask yourself, does this guidance cause you suffering or does it bring you peace? If it causes you suffering, as the Buddha said, "it is not you, it is not your's, it is not your self for your self would not cause you to suffer." In that case, either the guidance itself is bad—is from your ego-mind not your heart—and you must not engage it, or the action itself is ok but you have to approach it in another way so it does not cause you to suffer, e.g. turn a craving into a desire by approaching it with equanimity.
So, train yourself to focus on the divinity with you, on eternity, not the here and now.
Well, how do you function in the here and now, which we all must do, and avoid this trap? The trick is to be able to think about the here and now, but not fixate on it, not obsess about it.
And how does one do that? As I always say, if you get rid of a negative, you must replace it with a positive. One must purposefully put one's mind elsewhere—on a higher plain than the here and now. Whether it's in the Buddha dharma, or faith in the divinity inside you, or, as Sister Sharon Johnson puts it, in eternity—one has to focus on what's really important, and that is not the here and now. It is in your relationship with the higher power within you.
There is nothing more important than that because it is your true source, your only source, of peace and happiness regardless what happens in your life. Not only that, but it is this relationship, your handing your life over to the divinity within you, that enables you to have the relaxed mind of equanimity that allows you to make good decisions about your actions in the here and now. And so it actually makes it more likely that your life moves in the direction you want it to.
Another benefit of focusing on what spiritually is most important to you is that it provides a test to apply to any guidance you receive as to whether it is good for you or not. For example, let's say that you realize that to focus on eternity or the Buddha dharma is to focus on peace; that is the essence.
So when you receive guidance to do whatever, you—meaning your heart—will ask yourself, does this guidance cause you suffering or does it bring you peace? If it causes you suffering, as the Buddha said, "it is not you, it is not your's, it is not your self for your self would not cause you to suffer." In that case, either the guidance itself is bad—is from your ego-mind not your heart—and you must not engage it, or the action itself is ok but you have to approach it in another way so it does not cause you to suffer, e.g. turn a craving into a desire by approaching it with equanimity.
So, train yourself to focus on the divinity with you, on eternity, not the here and now.
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