TALES FROM THE BOBBI LAMA

We know our minds are ever-vigilant… protecting us so we can survive in this physical life. Our egos are all about how we think what our lives should look like…our beliefs leading to our expectations. It’s part of being physical. We spend a lot of time bracing for what or who we should watch out for and what might happen if… (fill in the negative blank.) Unfortunately, that causes us to mentally live in the past and the future. That thinking is often filled with negative emotions associated with memories which we then use to project what might happen next. That means we unconsciously replay our fears in order to predict the future, and we use that cause-and-effect thinking to fortify ourselves for varying scenarios. All through the ages, mankind has protected itself to survive. The fact that our brains are wired to try to be so in control takes up so much head space and energy. And intellectually we do know we actually aren’t in charge of everything. We co-create our journeys with those around us, and we share our experiences learning all our lessons as we go. But that ego mind just keeps trying to hang on to that control.

I know I’ve written before about taking time out to relax into the present moment to appreciate all that’s good around us and reduce the stress and impact on our bodies. Especially now, with all the push-pulls everywhere nowadays (political strife, the economy, extremes in the weather, riots, tension between countries, etc.) it seems more important than ever. I find it’s so healing to just “turn it off” and “go inside” even if only ten minutes here and there. I use meditation with a focus on my breath to find a centering within. It not only lowers my blood pressure and my heart rate, but it also resets my thinking. I’m reminded I am my inner essence from my soul and not my outer appearance as my ego tries to claim. There is so much peace during that mini-break from that ego mind. It’s the simplest way to see ourselves as sharing space as we are all connected in this one, vast and infinite consciousness. And more important than who we are individually, is the way we treat one another while we’re here. Every mini-break from the ego is well worth that reset of the mind.