Recently, I asked a buddy of mine who’s been chugging down plant medicine in ceremonies for the past 17 years, “So, how much longer have you got left on this healing ride?” And let me tell you, he was not pleased with that question. It’s like trying to pry the certificate for saving the world out of Superman’s hands. People just don’t consider the end. We’re supposed to be constantly healing, fixing, ascending, and self-improving.
Maybe then we’ll finally enjoy our lives sometime in the future. Or in our next life—who knows?
Imagine you're watching a movie. The scenes flicker by, each moment meticulously crafted to create a narrative. But what if you stepped behind the screen? You'd see that it's all just light and shadows, an illusion of motion. Similarly, our lives are filled with these stories of past and future, making us believe we are in a continuous chase for something better.
The time-bound self gets the sense that what is is incomplete, with something missing. Time is essentially a story made up of images and not-real voices called thoughts of what we should do in order to achieve something to find that missing piece to the puzzle. We live in a hidden context where we, others, and situations need to be fixed or changed. So we embark on a never-ending journey of improving, manifesting, and setting grand goals that are not connected to anything real.
But consider this: future and past are stories happening now, in thought. They can appear as anything. People often say some version of ‘my reality is bad, it really sucks right now!’ They are describing the story in time. Reality just is. It is never good or bad. Any duality is the domain of a story. An opinion. A clever cover-up of the natural abundance and freedom which is unthinkable to the false identity. It is an expectation of a quasi-expert thought about how it should be compared to something else. A seductive fantasy appears very convincing.
The personal timeline is made up of past, future, expectations, rules, and desires that are based on a fantastic storyline. Time is a story about how to achieve a better not-now experience.
We are conditioned to believe that achieving permanent security, or a perpetual state of bliss in the future, is not only possible but necessary. It’s a trap, a tantalizing illusion that keeps us chasing our tails. We set grandiose goals, envisioning a future where all our problems are solved, and we are perpetually happy. But here's the harsh reality – this future never arrives. It’s a mirage, a trick of the mind that keeps us endlessly striving and never arriving.
Imagine carrying a backpack filled with rocks. Each rock represents a goal, an expectation, or a desire. As you trudge along, the weight becomes unbearable, but you convince yourself that just over the next hill, you'll find a place to rest and unload. But the hills keep coming, and the place to rest never appears. This is the essence of our struggle with time-bound thinking. This is how our minds work, spinning stories about the past and future, trying to make sense of the present through a distorted lens.
But the only way to uncover true freedom where overthinking and time-consuming effort stops is by turning our visions of the future into our true vision of what is actually real now. To turn our stressful fixation from inner knowing to effortlessly recognizing what is.
It’s so simple it’s hard to believe: Nothing is missing in reality. Trying to achieve permanent security or a permanent state of bliss in the future is hopeless. The end of suffering is not a process. It’s a recognition – Now – not this moment in time. But without time. Without the story of the separated individual.
Think about it: every moment you're fully present, without dragging the past or future into it, you're in a state of completeness. There's nothing to fix, nothing to add. It's like those rare moments when you're lost in a beautiful piece of music or absorbed in a stunning sunset. In those moments, there's no story, no lack, just pure being.
Imagine the freedom of not being chained to the relentless pursuit of future happiness. It’s like standing on a mountaintop, breathing in the crisp, clear air, and realizing you’re already at the peak. No more climbing, no more struggling – just being. As we dismantle these stories, something incredible happens.
We start to see life as it truly is – free from the constraints of time and identity. It's like stepping out of a dense forest into a wide-open field. The air is clearer, the sky is brighter, and the possibilities are endless.
Ultimately, the end of suffering isn't a distant goal to be achieved through relentless striving. It’s here, now, in the simple, timeless recognition of reality as it is. It's the shift from doing to being, from striving to accepting, from illusion to truth. And in that recognition, true freedom is found.
This recognition is a profound shift, where the constant noise of 'what should be' fades away, and the simplicity of 'what is' becomes clear. It's like discovering that the key to a door you've been trying to open for years has been in your pocket all along. Suddenly, the pursuit ends, and a deep, unshakeable peace emerges.
The stories lose their power, and what remains is the pure experience of life, unfiltered and real. This is not an attainment but a realization—a return to your true nature, where everything is whole and complete just as it is.
What if the future you’re striving for is just an illusion?
What if the peace and fulfillment you seek have been here all along, hidden behind the stories and expectations?
Are you ready to see what’s truly real?
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