Forrest, Dory, and Anna

Want to see what living in the Moment with acceptance and surrender looks like?

Open the box of chocolates with Forrest Gump.

Find Nemo by just letting go with Dory.

And don’t be Frozen, do the next right thing with Anna.

Each of these characters exemplifies living in the Moment. Living in the moment comes naturally in some cases through birth or early exposure, while in other cases adversity brings it on, or a combination of predisposition and outside forces culminates in a mindful approach to life. But that approach faces ridicule, scorn, and judgement in the doing so. Because from the outside looking in, living in the Moment appears abnormal. Idiotic at times. Vulnerable and stupid.

Yet it works. Not because of smarts or knowledge or strength. But because of faith and trust in the balance of the universe. Because Synergy keeps us safe if we let her. Yet to trust someone we can’t see, to believe in something without proof, to walk blindly through the lion’s den is so incredibly risky, so amazingly courageous, that the majority of people can’t fathom it.

So they see delusion where there is faith. Mania where there is joy. Stupidity where there is serenity. And naivety where there is openness.

Until they hit a boundary with their judgement and find tempered glass where they expected plastic film. Or they witness miracles through their jaded lenses when they expected ignominious defeat. Or feel the power of a Moment of resonance and connection when they expected vapid insouciance.

Once you have met a person with Presence, you never forget how it felt to share a Moment with them. You might shake your head and convince yourself no one could possibly be that sincere and authentic and the longer you are out of touch the more you attribute what you felt to fantasy. Until the next time you’re in their Presence and it all comes rushing back to you like you’d never even left.

Yes, there are mental illnesses which share traits with enlightenment and mindfulness. And those who change from living a life immersed in material pursuits to pursuing meaningful Moments are most likely to encounter disbelief and resistance from their acquaintances. Commiseration is validation and if you choose to no longer engage in misery and resistance your decision incidentally feels like judgement to those left behind.

When you embrace surrender and see things like possessions and money as mere tools for exploring your curiosity and understanding, it creates tension in those who seek comfort and stability in material possessions. There is nothing wrong with finding comfort and joy in worldly things. Beautiful objects and places are treasures to be cherished and enjoyed. Fast, powerful cars are sensual feasts to be experienced and fabulous food is meant to be played with. Money is meant to be used to acquire what you need to find your purpose. You can be wealthy and enlightened, in fact enlightenment tends to accumulate valuables because you are attuned to the gifts Synergy scatters around you so immediately recognize the value in things before others do.

Like Forrest Gump, you develop an accidental, incidental wealth as you simply keep running on your path with intention, delight, and faith. Like Dory, you find your way home by looking for the patterns you trust in. And like Anna, you do what feels right, then the next thing that feels right, until all is right.

Children start in this world filled with trust, joy, hope, and curiosity. By age 17 they wear the lenses of the sensory and judgemental minds and no longer use the wise brain they were born with.

Only by regression can we find ascension.

Pain and Suffering

Pain is part of the price of admission for living, for growing character and resilience. Suffering is voluntary and arises from resistance to the reality that people will disappoint your expectations, goals will fail to fulfill you, and you will let yourself down when you turn out not to be who you believed you were.

No expectations, only boundaries. Even for your own mind and body. Surrender your self-expectations, too, allowing instead discovery of your purpose. That is how to avoid suffering.

Physical and emotional pain only interfere with life if we allow them to. We hear stories about mind over matter and admire feats of courage where someone overcomes great discomfort in moments of crisis. Are those people different? Do they have a gift?

No, they were present in the Moment and received strength and tools to escape the situation using their own existing core emotional and physical structure. They were not distracted by doubts or fears of not being good enough or making mistakes.

Pain arises from imbalance. Physical imbalance comes from structural or chemical deviations from optimum. One person’s source of pain is not the same as another’s, a debilitating deficit for me is not a source of dysfunction for you. Addressing them requires the use of all the escape room tools and resources available in your situation. The process of healing the imbalance must start from inside yourself, from identifying what it feels like. Physical suffering sometimes comes from the uncertainty and fear of not being able to articulate the nature, quality and parameters of the pain, not necessarily the dysfunction itself.

Emotional imbalance comes from social and relationship deviations from optimum. One person’s source of emotional pain is not the same as another’s, a debilitating toxicity for me may not be a source of dysfunction for you. The process of healing the imbalance must start from inside yourself, from identifying what it feels like. Emotional suffering sometimes comes from the uncertainty and fear of not being able to articulate the nature, quality and parameters of the pain, not necessarily the dysfunction itself.

Each of us is individual and unique. Sometimes we suffer because we are told we should, because another person experienced pain in a similar situation. Pain is subjective, it is in the mind, and can be used for growth.

All pain has purpose. No suffering does. Giving meaning and reason to pain alleviates suffering. Spending a Moment to investigate the pain with curiosity and acceptance will reveal to you the purpose. Embrace the pain, because at the moment it is your reality and all that is, is as it must be.

And, if you have been suffering…forgive yourself. That moment is over and a new one just beginning.

Hopium

The quest for satisfaction is addictive because it is fuelled by hope. Don’t mistake this as searching for better although at times the two can be synonymous. Satisfaction can be found in familiarity whereas there may always be a perception that the unfamiliar is better.

Satisfaction is derived in limitless ways, as varied as the individuals experiencing the sensation. Some find deep satisfaction working with nature and exploring with hopeful curiosity the properties and principles of animals, plants, and the living world. Others take profound pleasure in the skillful operation of their body and perform feats of endurance, prowess, or strength. Yet another group delights in adventures of the mind, delving into the nature of the universe.

Satisfaction does not require external success, recognition or rewards and indeed those things are sometimes anathema to true contentment. A humble subsistence farmer may find everything needed for sincere joy without ever stepping foot off the property.

Hope is the driving force behind questing for satisfaction and is a symptom of discontent with the situation at a personal, local, or global level. Hope is a beautiful encouragement from Synergy that greater fulfillment is available and that she’s setting the table for you. The act of seeking is exciting and gratifying when on the right trail, and actually comes easily if attentive to the synchronicities and gifts left waiting to be discovered.

Satisfaction is an internal state of mind. Hope also. They are not mutually exclusive because you can be – in fact, you MUST be – satisfied with where you are before you will truly be able to see where you are next meant to be, if anywhere! Hoping for satisfaction without specifying what form it takes is a delightful exercise in curiosity and playfulness because you can be surprised each and every day by the gifts you receive exactly where you are.

Acceptance opens the door to satisfaction, as these two things are also not the same. Acceptance is a type of resignation, of recognition and ownership, while satisfaction is a sense of pleasurable well being.

Learn to be addicted to Hopium and you will find great things waiting for your open curious mind every single day.