The majority of people who are "westernized" live completely in the conceptual mind. Every day becomes a race to get some where other than here. It’s as if now is never good enough and the need for "something more" to complete their happiness and fulfillment must be the solution.

The "I need something more" mindset is, of course, located out there in the future; therefore, the primary concern becomes chasing a safe, secure, and comfortable future.

Are you falling into the "future trap?" Well, open up your mind for a minute and answer these questions:

• Do you work for money in hopes of reaching an arriving point to life in which everything is perfect- sunny days at the beach, non-stop margaritas, and the beginning where you can truly start living?
• Did you "buy-in" to the western concept of retirement and its economic promises: work hard, get a good job with benefits, invest in your IRA, pay your taxes, and be normal, then you can live the life you desire- only when you reach 59 years old

No shame no blame if you did. And you’re not alone, either.

When I started in real estate, I tried the westernized method from an entrepreneurial point of view. I believed in working hard as a business owner and investing my earned money in the most secure assets to become debt free and have the luxury to do whatever I want (hopefully around the age of 40).

Everything I did became a means to an end. I formed relationships because it would help grow my business. I treated my customers as dollar signs rather than forming a genuine relationship. And when I wasn’t working in my business, I was trapped in my imagination dreaming about what my business could become.

I was completely unconscious that I was lost in a conceptual reality. However, one thing was for certain, my life was in the inner city gutter.

Every day I felt stressed and anxious, as if I drank a pot of coffee in 20 minutes. I was on the edge and couldn’t get off the ledge. I blamed my chaotic life on not having enough money and told myself that one day I will have enough money and will never have to work again- that’s what kept me going.

What a lie.

I had to hit rock bottom to consider another perspective. Strangely, this new perspective didn’t involve thinking or another conceptual mind-made thought form. It must have been a moment of grace because the intense space of clarity became too fascinating to let go.

I remember sitting in my blue Chevy truck crying about the pathetic and meaningless nature called "my life." I did everything in the name of money because I thought it was the way to freedom and happiness. I was crying because I was tired of being so unhappy, overworked, and stressed.

In the midst of my suffering, I gained clarity that any type of doing wouldn’t make a difference or bring happiness. I became still, alert, and for the first conscious time my thinking mind was not involved. Peace was my natural state for those few short moments. Nothing in the world matter and all of my problems shrunk to the size of an ant. It was a wonderful state of being and for the first time in my life I had a glimpse of true happiness and fulfillment that didn’t involve doing to bring it to me.

The intense, alert space of peace made me realize that my life was reduced to a pathetic imaginary reality. I believed in every thought and took them personal. I believed that the actions of my past made who I am today and the only thing to live for was creating a prosperous future.

However, in my short, but sweet, "no thought" state I realized time – past and future – were an illusion. The only real thing is now. What stood in my way – and what stands in your way now – from understanding true fulfillment and peace is the burden of time. And I’m not talking about minutes and seconds clock time. I’m talking about psychological time, past and future.

From that point forward, being here and now has become my primary concern. Doing, goals, future, etc., are secondary and somewhat meaningless. They are an added bonuses to a full and enjoyable life that I had all along.

Let me attempt to show you that past and future are an illusion and the now moment is the only reality.

First, let’s take a look at the past. The past happened in a past now and is relived right now- if you choose. It’s a memory embedded into your super computer brain.

When you think of the past, where are you thinking about it? You are thinking about the past right now. Your past seems real because you 1) think about it in this now moment and 2) believe it to be true. The past does not have any relevance or importance except for the importance you give it.

Secondly, let’s look at the future. There is never going to be a future in reality. Unfortunately, most human beings do everything in preparation for a future. For example, you may exercise to achieve a future body shape. You work to earn money and retire at the age of 59. You get married to be happy, fulfilled, and complete. You earn money to feel comfortable and secure. And the list goes on and on.

The point is that almost all human beings seek and grasp to create a better life in the future, but right now is not good enough for them. What they don’t realize is that the quality of their future (if there is such a thing) is dependant upon the quality relationship they have with this now moment.

Is the future real? Maybe, but only in conventional terms. You may know that five minutes from now you will get up from your chair, go to the refrigerator, and eat lunch. However, right now in this moment, it’s only an imagined thought. The eating is not happening now, but it may happen in another now moment.

My real estate business days was a time period stuck in the conceptual future mind. I didn’t care too much about my past, but I looked for salvation in my imagined thoughts. I was doing what most personal growth teachings tell you to do: change your thoughts to what you want to experience in life. In other words, visualize the reality you desire and that reality will take shape.

There’s a big price, however, for being completely identified with another illusion created by your mind: you will never find fulfillment and happiness. You will only create more dysfunction for yourself and the world.

Any time you believe in your thoughts and look to them for solutions you reduce this moment to a problem.

If you watch your thoughts long enough, you will see the possible dysfunction they create: "Why doesn’t Paul love me? He should love me. He never listens to me either. That f*$@ing prick cut me off in traffic. We’re in a recession. I’m not good enough" and on and on it goes.

The thinking mind and its concepts create problems, not reality in itself. It is you falling out of alignment with Universal Intelligence and becoming trapped by the merry-go-round structure that are your thoughts.

Your thinking is conditioned patterns of the past. When you imagine what you want in life, such as a big real estate business that earns millions of dollars, those initial thoughts are fragmented concepts that you’ve decided to identify with. Maybe you saw Donald Trump on TV and your thinking mind said, "Oh, Nick, that would be nice to do and have. How can I have a multi-million dollar real estate business?"

Now you are a walking ego dependant on real estate, recognition, status, and money to give you meaning and purpose. The play of externals will only give you a temporary state of happiness at best. Soon you will be off seeking bigger and better things to fill the new gap of unfulfillment.

The continual seeking, grasping, and being stuck in time is a vicious cycle. It’s the main contributor to the on-going dysfunction in this world- war, violence, hunger, greed, and destruction of the earth.

The alternative is to stop believing in the thinking mind and anchor yourself in the present moment. Awareness of now is the true functional state of being. When you are anchored in the present moment, you realize there is nowhere to go and nothing to get. The world is a play meant to be enjoyed and at the same time you are the unborn world. There is not an experience and experiencer, there is only One Life moving through your human form that you call "you."

Do not try to understand and think about what I said. The thinking mind cannot understand. It will arise in this moment as, "ya but…I’m broke. Ya but…hunger does exist in the world. Ya but…I need a job to pay the bills." Seems very true when you think about it

However, when you invite awareness to cut through your thoughts, you are left with a gap. It’s a spacious, still gap where all of your problems subside and what you have are moment to moment situations. And even that’s not true, there’s just now. The spiritual dimension has entered your life and you become a conduit to channel Universal Intelligence.

What used to be a problem is a situation to handle when it arises. You do not add unnecessary suffering and baggage to the situation. For example, maybe you don’t have money right now. But when you go home tonight and check your bank account, there’s one hundred dollars in it. You now have money. It flows in and flows out. Your completion and sense of fulfillment is not based on how much money you have. Alignment with the present moment is an understanding that you are Life and lack nothing. If you are the one and everything, what can possibly be missing?

What the dysfunctional thinking mind wants to say is, "I don’t have money. I’m broke and worthless. I’m so poor, I only have one hundred dollars." If you identify with those thoughts, you tend to create that dysfunction in the world and experience it as "your life."

How do you step out of the repetitive wheel of time and end the dysfunction in your life? You have to drop the thinking mind to experience true reality- the present moment.

Do not turn dropping the thinking mind into a goal of getting rid of your thoughts. It’s counterproductive to get rid of your thoughts because there is nothing to get rid of in the first place- your thoughts are not real. "Getting rid" is not the idea; letting them be and not following your thoughts is the doorway to presence.

Simple exercise that points to presence

Begin by picking an activity that you do frequently, such as brushing your teeth. While you brush your teeth, become curious about the thoughts you have. Do not judge, analyze, or criticize your thoughts. There are no right or wrong ways of thinking. Be aware of your thoughts and leave it at that. There is nothing you have to do about your thoughts. It was a lie told to us that some thoughts are right and others are wrong.

Treat your thoughts as if you are a scientist who found a two million year old fossil of a dinosaur. The scientist would be curious, in a state of wonder, and completely present to what is. Be like the scientist when it comes to watching your thoughts.

Next, anchor your attention from the head and its thoughts by placing your attention into the hands. Put down your tooth brush. Place your hands on your forehead and pretend to channel your thoughts into your hands. Move your hands away from your head and have them cupped in front of you. Now, feel the aliveness of your hands and move all of your energy into the hands. Broaden your attention from the hands into the body. Go to your heart. Become intensely aware of the sensations of your body and feel your heart beat. Follow and see where this takes you- into presence.

You can only experience the aliveness of your body if your thinking mind is at rest. At first, feeling and aligning yourself with presence will be short windows of time- a few seconds at best. However, the more you align yourself with the only moment there ever is, now, the gap of awareness will broaden with each practice.

I completely understand if you are trapped in the conceptual mind. Let it be okay that your whole life has been a means to an end. Maybe you bought into the westernized concept of time and worked to achieve retirement or did everything in the name of money. It’s now okay. You can start right here and now to live life to its fullest.

This doesn’t require you to do anything or learn any skills. It doesn’t require anymore thinking. The more you align with Universal Intelligence (the now moment), you may find that Universal Intelligence inspiring your thoughts to do something. Then, what you create in the world will be functional, rather than dysfunctional.

Always remember, it’s not what you do that determines the quality of your life. It’s how you do what you do. How you do your life is the amount of presence you bring to the now. Are you continually trapped in your imagination reliving the past and hoping for some future circumstances to save you? It’s an illusion to believe that "more time" will bring you freedom. Living in alignment with now is your freedom. You’ll realize there is nowhere to go and nothing to get. Abundance and sufficiency is your natural state when in alignment with now. What’s more freeing than that?

With Love,
Big Heart