A lecture on mindfulness and the present moment, exploring how focusing on now rather than thoughts about situations can dissolve perceived problems. The speaker distinguishes between what we think is happening and what actually is.
So what's the problem now? What happens when you look at that phrase, what's the problem now? Your attention then goes from being absorbed in, okay, oh my God, what's going to happen to now? Okay, is that a problem now? And then you have to wake up into now. To answer the question on this little card, what's the problem now? You have to actually wake up into the now, because you never know, there might be a problem now. You have to focus attention and look. And so suddenly your attention moves into the present moment. And there you stand in front of your bathroom mirror and okay, what's the problem now? I don't know. You look well. Then the mind says, oh, you're looking old. It looks in the mirror. That's. That's the problem. No, of course it's not a problem. It's a thought that arises. And usually the mind has of course, more complicated things to say. But then you realize that at this moment, it's not actually a problem. But the mind says, yes, but it will become a problem in the next moment. But of course, when the next moment comes, it comes again as this moment. And you have to ask a question again, what is the problem now? And the amazing realization will come to you that there never is a problem now, only a situation. You can deal with it or leave it alone for the time being. It's never a problem. Some situations demand immediate action. And then of course, it's not a problem. There's no time for it to become a problem. If it demands immediate action, you look there and you act. Other things you may have to think about, you might occasionally have to think, okay, what are the possible solutions to this situation? And what to do then is to apply focused thinking. But before you do that, you become still present. And then out of that, then comes, okay, what are the possibilities in this situation? I could pick up the phone and make a phone call to that person. I could, I can look, go to that place and ask for help. I can go there too. And I can do that. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Write it down, put it aside. Okay, and then, which one of these can I do now? And then you do it. It's not a problem if I juggle ideas, thoughts in my mind uselessly. That's a problem. What, what if? What if? Attention back to now. What's the problem now? And so it's always amazing to realize that the now is free of problems because you're breathing, you're perceiving your senses, you feel the aliveness in the body more than enough to deal with any situation that may arise. Or maybe there.
Why alcohol feels like relief, and what it is really giving you | Eckhart Tolle
