A principle "relax, enjoy, and do something useful" is a coaching directive and a spiritual affirmation that I talk frequently about and recommend to both my spiritual students and my coaching clients. It is about moving downstream in life rather than fighting upstream with life. It is about letting go and letting the Force do its thing. It is about letting the Universe bring all the good stuff to you, the good stuff you really want. And just like every living being in this world, you want to enjoy your life. Money, power, relationships, enlightenment, and the new sofa in your living room that you so desire are just the tools that help you enjoy your life. But all the happiness tools in the world are useless if you do not relax into the present and actually go through the motions of enjoying your life. Yes, even if you have a ton of cash or whatever other abstract tool, you still have to do that enjoyment thing by focusing on the present moment and savoring it…
Whether in the West or in the East, early on in their lives, people develop a habit of scheming for the future based on their experiences in the past. This habit is a fear-based disaster! We feel bad about the past (guild, shame, regret, why did I do that?) and feel bad about the future (past will repeat, bad people will not disappear, bad things will continue, life will stay awful, where is a skyscraper I can jump off?). If you relax now, however, you might notice the present moment -- and can actually begin to enjoy your life, which is all about the present.
When we are focused on the present, we are focused on living our life instead of thinking about past and the future, which -- surprise, surprise -- we do in the present moment. Because you cannot be anywhere else! Your memories of the past are just thoughts in the present. Your thinking about the future are also just thoughts in the present moment. Yes, the present moment is where enjoyment happens, the enjoyment you so diligently seek, the enjoyment which you are avoiding by thinking about the past and the future. Isn't it strange that we want to have a happier, more enjoyable life but we avoid it by thinking about the past and the future?
Do we have to replace real enjoyment in the present with hopeful thoughts of enjoyment in the future?
Hope is good but it is not about actually enjoying the present moment. Channel your hope habit into doing something useful for the future in the present moment. Create a forward movement in your life by doing something -- anything -- toward manifesting what you desire. Create a forward looking momentum, a forward movement toward more enjoyment.
We stop the hope delusion by facing our desire to enjoy life and be happy. We observe how our mind tricks us into believing that the future will bring us XYZ. All work, all thinking, all business activity are motivated by this hope -- that through a lot of effort we will reach the cherished goal of being happy one day far, far in the future. But we enjoy life by focusing on the present. We do this through relaxing into it and enjoying it.
If you are looking for a guru to teach you how to "relax, enjoy and do something useful" find a young child, a cat or a dog -- and learn from them. They know how to be. They know how to relax into the now and enjoy the present. They are not stuck in thought about the past or the future – they are engaged with something fun and useful in the moment always.
Copyright (c) Dr. Anatole Ruslanov
