Below is an edited, improved, and structured transcript of the video for those who prefer reading.
Written Version
Introduction
Today I’m doing something a little different — an outdoor video.
I’m just outside of Camps Bay, South Africa. Behind me you can see Lion’s Head, and on the other side the back end of Table Mountain. I thought I’d mix things up a bit and take the conversation outside.
Our Allergy to Feeling Bad
What I wanted to talk about today is something I see everywhere:
our absolute allergy to feeling bad.
It’s almost as if we live in a society where it’s simply not okay to feel pain. Not okay to feel uncomfortable. Not okay to feel low or unsettled.
We’re expected to control every situation and every interaction — so much so that even the smallest inconvenience can cause us to lose our cool and slip into a very resistant state.
That’s something I want to address through this YouTube channel and through my blog.
Surrender, Acceptance, and Relaxing Into Life
I’ve mentioned before that I want to talk about:
- Surrender
- Acceptance
- Relaxing
- Releasing
- Being okay with things as they are
I’m deeply inspired by the teachings of Eckhart Tolle and Michael Singer, and this reflection comes straight from that line of thinking.
Three Things to Remember When You Feel Pain
If you’re in a situation that causes you pain, I think there are three very simple things to remember.
1. Your mind is judging the situation
That’s what causes the pain in the first place.
As Michael Singer says, whether Saturn has rings really has nothing to do with you — and yet, we constantly make things our business by worrying, judging, and mentally interfering.
Singer even goes so far as to say that the moment right in front of you has nothing to do with you.
It took 13.8 billion years for this moment to arrive.
No situation is personal.
If I look to the left, I see one thing.
If I look straight ahead, I see another.
If I look to the right, I see something else.
When you zoom out far enough, it’s all just reality unfolding.
2. Judgment leads to resistance or attachment
Once we judge with the mind, we usually do one of two things:
- We resist what’s happening
- Or we attach ourselves to a specific outcome
Both of these inevitably create pain and suffering.
3. True joy requires letting go
If your goal is what I’m making my goal — true inner joy — then something has to change.
You have to:
- Stop resisting
- Stop clinging to outcomes
- Stop filtering reality through the mind
And instead allow the moment to unfold as it is.
Unfiltered.
Fully experienced.
By the consciousness that you are — not by the judging mind.
Closing
That’s really all I wanted to share today.
I thought it would be nice to record something outside for a change.
Thanks for watching, and I’ll catch you in the next video.