(bell dings) - There are some patterns in the mind that everybody inherits, that even for advanced presence practitioners like yourselves can still reassert themselves because they are so normal. By the way, my definition
of normal is insane as you probably know.
(audience laughs) And you may be able to
catch yourself many times during the day when this normal, one
of these normal patterns reasserts itself. And, of course, one of the most prevalent patterns is reducing the present moment to a means to an end. It could be a simple thing like you get up in the morning and you're getting ready to go to work. What is the quality of your doing during that time of getting ready to go out? Or here, you got up this morning, getting ready to go to breakfast and then come here. How do you experience that time? Are you able to be present
in what you're doing or is the doing no more
than a means to an end? Now that's a huge
difference, whether you... When you fold your pajama up and put it on your bed, do you give it attention? Is it a pleasant thing to do? Do you acknowledge the
being of this pajama (audience laughs) and feel the texture and
give it some loving attention and then you put it away, or is it... What's the next thing and
the next and the next? Because I need to get... The next moment never comes, does it? No, I don't think it does because when the next moment comes, it's the present moment. So the next moment doesn't
come, it can never arrive. There's only this moment, but if your habit is to treat this moment, most of the time, as a means of getting to the next moment. So not being fully in it, but mentally being somewhere else and then I just need... So the basic attitude is, I just need to get this
moment out of the way. (audience laughs) Then I will get to a better one. And that is a very deep-seated pattern that prevents you from being present. But it's only when I voice it like this, that it becomes apparent to you because otherwise you won't even see it because it's so normal
to live in such a way. And it's not only... people
also treat entire life periods in that way, it's not only... Of course, most fundamentally
the present moment, but they also treat entire
chunks of their life in that way. For example, you're
waiting for the weekend. So there's only two more days of having to go to work. And then it comes. Or you're waiting for something else. Getting a better job, finding the person who is
going to make me happy. And in the meantime, I'm
just taking (indistinct). I'm just waiting for... Well, what's the expression? I'm waiting for the big break or whatever. I'm waiting for the big thing to happen. And finally, I can start living when that happens in
whatever form that takes, when that happens, then my life will really start. Somehow, I don't know
if anybody remembers, it's probably not popular anymore. There used to be a genre in theater that was called the
"Theatre of the Absurd." Samuel Beckett and other authors. And often they showed, there was a famous play
called "Waiting for Godot," and the two men waiting
for this guy to arrive. Nobody knows who Godot is, but they spent the entire play, it's a theater play. The entire play, they're waiting. Godot, who knows? Some critics say, "Well, Godot, God. Godot, they're waiting for God." But it's not said, but the entire period is spent waiting. And I don't think Godot ever arrives. And they're similar, and this is just to show the absurdity of ultimately everyday life. And, of course, sometimes life does get better. Of course, it doesn't
if you are now living in unpleasant surroundings, perhaps it's noisy or it's cold, too cold or too warm or cramped or whatever it is. You might have a job that's repetitive. You're waiting to get out of that. You feel lonely. One relationship has come to an end. Another one hasn't started yet. I'm just waiting. And so you're hoping that
things will get better and sometimes they do get better, but the habit pattern is deeply ingrained. And even if the situation gets better, then you'll be waiting for something else, because no situation can
ever completely satisfy you. No person, no condition, no situation. Waiting for retirement. I can maybe take early retirement. And then what? Play golf. (audience laughs) Lie on the beach. (audience laughs) And many people are very
disappointed when they retire and don't know what to do with themselves. And they lose their sense of identity. It was always a false sense of identity, because it is derived from their function, but at least they had a
false sense of identity. And now they won't have any. And they can't, they don't know the
possibilities of human life. So be vigilant. If you feel that an
improvement is highly desirable in your life situation, that's okay. But it's much more likely to happen if you give more attention
to the present moment, rather than trying to get
away from the present moment or denying it, always making
it into a means to an end. If you give more, you're fullest attention to this moment, the so-called future is much more likely to improve. The so-called future
because there is no future. When it comes, it's the present moment, a little strange paradox, different... It's when you fully
acknowledge the present moment and when you give it attention, then you see the good, you're aware of the good
in the present moment. (water rushing)
