Marcel Legros - Play the Game of Life

The problem with time

The diagram above represents the human mind in time. The large gray area on the left is past. The large gray area on the right is future. The thin sliver of white in between them is the present. For most of us, this diagram also represents how much time our minds spend in each area. The dilemma is that the only place we can truly be, is the present, yet we hardly spend any time there at all. To be an effective, creative, loving, and successful human being, you must be present. It is that simple. Being present and living fully in this moment, is the answer to all our human problems but our thoughts love to dwell in past and in future - rarely in the present. In the past we dwell on regrets, resentments, happy memories we hold onto, and unhappy memories we wish never happened. In the future we worry, have anxiety (fear) about what might happen, plan, dream, and make endless false assumptions. Most of us also look into the future as the place where we will finally be happy and fulfilled. However, we can decide to place our attention on the razor’s edge of the present. We can decide to free ourselves from suffering by learning to live in that extremely thin slice of the present moment. Amazing things happen, here and now.

I feel so alive!

A race car driver is driving 200 mph deep in a corner with other cars only inches away. He knows that anything less than perfect awareness of the present moment can mean the difference between winning a race, and dying. One split-second mistake will send him careening into a wall and he is in for a rotten day, or maybe his last day - yet he loves to race. Every thrill seeker, extreme athlete, or person in a high-risk / high-reward job will tell you that when they are engaged in their activity of choice, they feel more alive. They crave the next thrill, the next level of intensity. That feeling they crave is the presence of life. They are forced into this clear presence or they could die. The mind becomes still. Time slows down. When the activity is over that feeling subsides, and with it, awareness slides away like a distant dream. Imagine experiencing life in that state all of the time. Imagine having equal attention and intensity while sitting on the couch sorting socks as that race car driver. Some of us have experienced this as a brief flash of insight or feeling of joy, but with remarkable results. Pioneers, creative geniuses, and great masters in every walk of life have created awe-inspiring works of art, music and literature in the thin sliver of the present moment. It is the wellspring of all creativity. You don’t have to be Mozart to recall a moment in your life when you had that ‘eureka’ feeling. Sometimes, after a period of great mental effort and struggle, the mind is forced to rest and be quiet. Then, our answer just comes to us - we suddenly just ‘get it’. No one can describe where our creations come from. We create from a place outside thinking. This powerful connection can come when we are surrounded by nature or confronted by something so big it stuns our minds into silence. This is a moment of spiritual awakening. It can be triggered externally by overwhelming beauty or profound suffering but lasting awakening always comes from within. It’s powerful, and it’s our true nature.

You don’t have to suffer

What is it that stops you from being there all the time? If your natural state is peace and creativity then why aren’t you living it? We all have this little voice in our head and it’s constantly chattering. It clings to pleasure and rejects pain. It wildly jumps from one thought to the next, making as much noise as it can. My mind is chattering loudly right now as I write this article. Buddhist meditators call this ‘monkey mind’. I love that term because it’s exactly what our minds are like - a wild untamed animal. We believe we are in control of our mind, but actually, our mind controls us. What’s worse, we believe that we are our minds, that without thinking, we could not survive. This is not true at all. The mind is a powerful tool to be used then put away, but most of us cannot actually master it for even a moment or two. It creates a fictional self with a past and a future. It creates suffering. You may be thinking, “Well I’m not suffering right now. I’m having a good time. I have a great family, job, lots of money, good looks, etc..” Maybe so, but it takes an incredible amount of effort to keep all of those things up. When you experience pleasure, you want to make it last as long as you can. You worry about how you can keep your money, get the promotion, or buy a nicer car. Eventually you will lose something or someone you care about. No matter how powerful, wealthy, or intelligent you are, you will suffer in your life because all things are subject to birth and death. In other words, nothing is forever and everything is always changing. Even if you do hold onto some things that give you pleasure, eventually you will grow old, get sick, and die. That’s reality. The good news is that there is a simple (but not easy) way out of this grim situation. All you have to know is that you are not your thoughts, emotions, body, and life situation. All of these things are just an expression of life living through you. Your greatest purpose in life is to wake up now and learn to live on the razor’s edge of the present. I like to think of it as the ‘extreme sport’ of life.

Three tools to become more present right away.

• Stop multitasking. I hear every day people who proudly proclaim how good they are at multitasking. When I hear this I know that their workplace is a disaster. The assumption is that more work equals better results. The opposite is always the case. Do one thing at a time and do it well. Bring your focus into what you are doing and you will always improve the quality of the results. This can be as simple as turning off the television while you are reading or putting away the newspaper while you’re eating breakfast. The key is to plan and prioritize. Make a simple list and do one thing at a time until the list is done. If something cannot be completed, set a new time for it to be done. Having two or even twenty things on the go will kill you every time.

• Watch your thoughts and emotions like you’re watching a movie. Pretend that your life is a movie and you are the viewer of that movie. This might sound silly, but when you do this you are actually becoming more present. This is a fun game that can be played as often as you wish and you may be startled by what you find. Observe your thought patterns, your body, and the play of life around you. This game will allow you to tackle any difficult or stressful situation because it takes the ‘me’ (the ego) out of the picture. It’s difficult to do for a long time at first, but with practice you will find more awareness entering your life.

• Accept the present moment fully. It’s easy to accept the moment when we feel good but it isn’t easy when life becomes difficult, or if boredom sets in. Living this way, we are only accepting half of our life and we bring suffering to ourselves. The next time pain comes to you, allow it to be. Feel the pain without judging or withdrawing from it. Sink deeply into the pain - make friends with it. It won’t kill you, I promise. Watch what it does when you accept it fully. When you are bored, practice the movie game as described above or do a simple breathing meditation. Even a few of minutes of breathing meditation can bring amazing peace of mind. Simply breathe through your nose naturally and focus all of your attention to the breath coming and going. Close your eyes if you can, but not if you’re driving! Pay close attention to the brief pauses at the beginning or end of a breath. When your mind wanders (and it will) do not mentally comment or judge your thoughts - just gently bring your attention back to the breath. Do this for 5-10 minutes at first, then increase the length of time a little until you can sit for 20 minutes. If you’re used to being busy, you’ll most likely feel like you’re wasting time. Let me just ask you this - is peace of mind a waste of time? You will function much better when you are centred and clear. The quality of your work and life will improve dramatically if you are peaceful and accepting.

(Note to self: After having my wife edit this article, I realize I must bring awareness to my awful typing and spelling errors!)