Our minds have certain recurring tapes that continue to create pain. By using the power of Now and connected breathing, those tapes can be modified to create the awareness of peace.     

Outline by Peter Murray                www.breath2000.org             Tel.1.772.286.2643

 From “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle                                      

POWER OF NOW=BEING=STOPPING THE MIND=GOD CONSCIOUSNESS=PEACE

A.     YOU ARE NOT YOUR MIND  

1.      The only true wealth is peace, which comes from having the joy of just Being

2.  By observing your thinking and emotions, you can separate your true I AM self from your egoic thinking

B.     The way to Being is beyond mind and obtainable only when the mind is still

1.      Your mind is a tool to create solutions

2.      When the job is finished, put the tool down

3.      Effective thinking needs consciousness, but not vice versa

C. Ego;

1.      is a mental image of who you are, a phantom self made up of stories

2.      can only survive with constant thinking

3.      believes importance is in your past, which defines who you are and your future, which allows it to worry about it’s survival

4.      the present barely exists as seen only through the eyes of past and future

5.      is threatened by your quest for consciousness and your ability to stop the mind

6.      must continually do battle with other egos to survive and to prove it’s value

a.      considers losing an argument the beginning of it’s annihilation

7.      can only enjoy relationships when it’s pleasure needs are being met

D.    Emotions;

1.      are the body’s reaction to the mind

2.      should be watched in the same way as thoughts

3.      are better indicators of your thoughts

4.      True love and joy are only possible in the absence of thought

5.      Love without consciousness is addictive; easily oscillates between love and hate

6.      Mind must constantly work to fight or remove emotional pain

7.      All cravings are the mind seeking fulfillment as a substitute for joy of Being

E.     Pain;

1.      is resistance to what is; non acceptance

2.      is always ready to awaken to merge with past pain

3.      cannot survive when exposed to consciousness

4.      Emotional pain creates physical pain and illness

F.      Surrender;

1.      is yielding to rather than opposing the flow of life

2.      is not resignation

3.      is the only way to reconnect with the source, the energy of Being

4.      is inner acceptance of what is without any reservations

5.      When you surrender to what is and so become fully present, the past ceases to have any power. The Now is the key

G.    Fear;

1.      of fire is simply intelligence and common sense

2.      of something that might happen is psychological fear which includes anxiety, unease, tension, worry, nervousness, dread, phobia, etc.

3.      All fear is the ego’s fear of death, of annihilation

a.      Affects every area of your life  Example; if you are wrong about a mental position in an argument,  your ego is threatened with annihilation                  

b.      Ego cannot afford to be wrong

4.      Fear of incompleteness

Ego needs wealth, power, recognition or a special relationship to feel complete

a.      Temporary peace is achieved when a craving is satisfied

5.      Death is the stripping away of everything that is not you. The secret to life is to die before you die – and find that there is no death  - no fear..

H.    Time;

1.      and mind are inseparable

2.      is a trap if you see yourself as your mind

3.      is an illusion - Now is all there is

a.      Now is the only point that can take you beyond your mind

b.        As the moon has no light of it’s own, the past and future are only  pale reflections of  the light, power and reality of the eternal present

I.       Into the Now

1.      To be free of  time

1. free of guilt , regret, resentment, sadness, bitterness, nonforgiveness of past
2. free of anxiety, unease, tension, stress and worry about the future
3. problems, pain, suffering and anxiety need time to survive

2.      Clock time

1. use for the practical aspects of your life, then return to the Now
2. includes learning from past to prevent same mistakes

3.      Psychological time

1. Identification with the past
2. Continuous compulsive projection into the future
3. Nonforgiveness implies a heavy burden of psychological time
4. Collective manifestation =Communism; 50 million tortured and killed to create a “better future world”
5. Another; one of women’s pain-body’s is victim identity to accumulated pain of females through male subjugation, slavery, exploitation, rape, childbirth and child loss throughout the centuries

4.       Pain-body;

1. is formed over time to represent the accumulated pain of an emotion
2. is an entity unto itself – trapped life energy
3. can lay dormant for years or awaken often
4. needs new pain to satisfy it’s appetite, to keep it alive
5. is awakened at slightest provocation, especially by closest relationships
6. Example; abandonment started the first time you were removed from your mother’s breast, but same pain-body awakens today if you feel rejected
7. can be dissolved over time by watching it and not giving it energy, but conscious connected breathing is an effective way to expedite the dissolution of the pain body by taking you deep into your inner body away from thought

J.      Enlightened Relationships  

1.       Salvation, which is available here and Now;

1. is fulfillment, peace and life in all it’s fullness
2. is only true state of freedom from fear, suffering and a perceived state of lack

No more wanting, needing, grasping and clinging

3. is freedom from compulsive thinking, negativity and from past and future

2.      Love / Hate relationships

1. are eventually likely in any unconscious intimate relationship
2. has polarities that are mutually interdependent
3. can continue as unfulfilling indefinitely because the partners are addicted to the drama and would rather fight than be alone
4. Negativity = accumulation of psychological  time and denial of present
5. Easy to find fault with your partner because we attract perfect mirrors
6. They too are looking for a partner to complete them
7. Ego demands that they meet your needs, which is ultimately impossible
8. Many try different ones believing that they will eventually find the right one
9. More difficult as time goes on as humanity becomes more mind based

3.      Conscious relationships;

1. are based on true love which arises out of being in the moment
2. have immediate open and honest communication to prevent festering anger
3. require that you accept your partner without needing to change or judge them in any way, which requires that you do the same for yourself first

4. The energy form behind hostility and attack finds presence of accepting love intolerable – becomes neutralized

4.      How to survive in a relationship

1. Stay in the moment and learn to love your true self. No need for relationship with yourself. Just be. Leave the past behind and don’t consider the future
2. Agree to make your relationships a spiritual practice
3. Express your love often and creatively
4. Do not react to unconsciousness in your partner – just listen and watch
5. Express your thoughts and feelings to each other as soon as they occur
6. Give expression to what you feel without blaming
7. Listen quietly to your partner in an open, non defensive way
8. Give your partner space for expressing themselves and be present for them
9. Before and during menses, men must be especially present and realize that the pain-body of the woman may attack him. It is not who she really is.
10. Menses is an opportunity for enlightenment; catch the first sign. Ie; anger or irritation, before it takes over your thinking. Feel the emotion. Know it as the pain-body. Be aware of your conscious presence and feel its power. If it is physical, attention will prevent it from turning into an emotion or thought. Attention means full acceptance.
11. Often, the major obstacle for men is the thinking mind and for woman, the pain-body, though the opposite can be true, or both factors can be equal
12. REJOICE when insanity surfaces. Unconsciousness is being brought to the light. Salvation, if you can stay in the moment and resist the old pain-body
13. Conscious relationship becomes a vortex of consciousness that draws others
14. CHOOSE in every moment; acceptance or pain,  enlightenment or insanity  

POWER OF NOW EXERCISES 

EXERCISE  I – Stop the mind stream = being = no past or future, just Now

1.      Breathe deep into your belly without pause between inhale and exhale

2.   Focus all your attention on your breathing ; feel it pass your lips, listen to the sound, feel your abdomen rise and fall, follow it deep inside you , feel it 

3.      Listen to any voices in your head, especially the repetitive ones

4.      Become the observer, listen impartially, do not judge, evaluate or feed it. Picture your observer self sitting comfortably as the parade of thoughts float by like passing clouds 

5.      Realize “There is the voice and here I AM listening and watching” Make this your mantra.     Presence that says “I AM” is not a thought. It is your true self beyond the mind

6.      Another way to stop the mind stream is to fully focus on the moment. Examples;

a.      When you walk, give full attention to every movement, your breathing, etc

b.      When washing your hands, focus your attention to the sound of the water, the movement of your hands, the scent of the soap, etc. Stay fully in the moment

   7.    Continually practice these exercises to create longer gaps of thought

EXERCISE  II – Undo pain = recognize and disempower the pain-body 

1.      Breathe deep into your belly without pause between inhale and exhale

2.      Accept whatever the present moment contains as if you had chosen  it

3.      Focus attention on the feeling inside you as an observer

4.      Accept that it is there as the pain-body; trapped life energy

5.      Don’t judge, analyze or let the feeling turn into thinking

6.      Become aware of the emotional pain and “the one who observes”

EXERCISE III  – Surrender= acceptance of what is = peace = joy

1.      Breathe deep into your belly without pause between inhale and exhale

2.      Acknowledge that there is resistance

3.      Be there when the resistance arises

4.      Watch how your mind creates it, how it labels the situation, yourself or others

5.      Look at the thought process involved that labels something wrong or bad

6.      Feel the energy of the emotion

7.      By witnessing the resistance, you will see that it serves no purpose

8.      Accept that What is continues to be what is, in spite of thoughts about why it shouldn’t be or thoughts about how to change what is..  

9.      Focus all your attention on the Now; the unconscious resistance is made conscious, and it stops!

If thoughts continue, ask "Is there any reason that is not painful to continue resisting what is?"

ACCEPTANCE OR RESISTANCE IS MY CHOICE in every moment.  There is no one else out there to create my painful resistance.                                       

There's that voice and here I AM, just watching. (or not)