Why are you here? On this planet? Taking up space? Is it merely to chip away at your "To Do" list until you die? Or is there a greater meaning to your existence but you are struggling to put your hands on it?
Are you stressed? Most people are. We are going to explore this idea of stress and unravel it so that you can see its source and never be its victim. We can’t CONTROL the variables of life but we can control our reaction and response. We can create calm out of chaos. We can generate mountains of joy and happiness and share it with everyone we see. All you need is an open mind to absorb some new ideas and concepts and you will decide your own truth. So, let’s unravel the HOW.
In this 5-part video series we will walk through some major concepts that will open a greater understanding of why we do what we do. It is a look inside our mind and our heart to better understand how we got to this point in our lives. Once understood we are then prepared to better manage the reality in front of us or more accurately “refine” our reality. I have taken the work of a dozen brilliant men and women and assembled it into this cohesive course. Authors like Matthieu Ricard, Judson Brewer, Eckhart Tolle, Norman Vincent Peale, Dan Sullivan, Lao Tzu, Napoleon Hill, James Ray, Tony Robbins, David Goggins, and many others, contributed to this combined work. The purpose? To introduce ease, joy and happiness into every moment of our lives. To deconstruct “stress” so we can demystify it and release its strangle hold on us. As stress melts away, health is reborn and we thrive.
Part 1 – The Ego
Understand that your Ego is the source of all your pain. The Ego thrives on friction, divisiveness, and right vs wrong. We all have an Ego. But most of us have never explored what it is or how it directs our life. Animals by contrast don't have a sense of self and thus no ego. Your dog will never ask you if you think his butt looks fat or is my hair OK. Animals have a great sense of the now. They are simplistically "present", absorbed in the moment. We, on the other hand have developed a thinking brain and the ability to communicate with language and thus have evolved into beings with Ego. Thinking and communication along with the Ego have led to great discoveries and the progression of civilization but at what price?
We are getting further and further away from recognizing the present moment, of being still, being aware. We are lost in thought, swept into future thinking and "what if" scenarios. Swept away in our Ego that needs conflict to stay alive. The Ego sustains itself on identification and separation. If you are constantly buried in thought and connected with your own image of who you think you are then that is Ego. It’s painful. The Ego is continuously struggling for survival, trying to protect and enlarge itself.
You have a "form" identity. One form identity is your body and the other is your psyche, your mind and beliefs. But these two forms are not who you are. Who you truly are is much deeper than this and exists in your awareness or consciousness. Someone can be fully awake and active yet be completely unconscious of who they are. They play the role of businessman, or wife or friend, father, teacher, student, etc, but they have lost touch with the deeper sense of self.
We are about to embark on a journey to find that deeper self by understanding the common traps of modern living. We have largely lost our ability to be still, to observe the present moment and to connect with something greater than ourselves. Commonly we find ourselves overwhelmed with a To Do list, a racing clock, and competition for every resource on the planet as if there was some scarcity. There isn’t. You already have all that need. You are blessed and have ample, but you don’t see it, don’t feel it and lose connection with it. It’s time we reconnect with our sense of self and cultivate a deeper, richer, more meaningful existence. It will be easier and more fun that you can imagine. So simply open your mind to a few new ideas and be prepared to SLOW DOWN as you begin to plug into actual living.
Part 2 – Now versus Time
What is your relationship with time? Do you feel like time is running or ruining your life? Learn to capture the NOW and feel the relief. In part 1 we learned that our Ego is a powerful element in our lives and adhering to it endlessly alters our perception of reality and drives pain. The Ego is always "chasing", living in fear of lack and so rarely stops to enjoy the present moment. The Ego is always running, hoping to find elusive happiness. But happiness can only exist and will only be found in the NOW. The present moment.
What is your relationship with time? Always feel hurried? Never enough time? Constantly looking to the future for salvation from your current woes? Are you running from past events that haunt you? Let’s explore TIME. Let’s understand it and not allow our Ego to distort what it really is.
3 – Stillness – Being versus Doing
Are you able to simply BE or are you addicted to always DOING, moving, whittling your To Do List? How do you recharge? Binge watching Netflix isn’t going to cut it. Can you understand the “IS-ness” of life?
We are going to explore the concept of our Ego versus our true Essence. It is only when those 2 ideas merge that we can truly find the “flow” in life. Flow is that sense of ease where actions feel effortless. Its wonderful. We will explore the “is-ness” of life. Things simply are what they are. Understanding and acceptance allows for ease. It doesn’t mean you don't try to change the world but the energy and friction behind that change will come in a more relaxed, productive and enjoyable way.
We will do a “Stillness Exercise” that you will find interesting. You may discover a lot about yourself today so remain an open vessel for ideas and allow yourself to relax into the ideas presented. Life is full of joy and happiness as we uncover where it is hidden. There is endless joy and happiness tucked inside you and we will uncover its presence and amplify it in your daily life.
4 – Stress
YOU are the creator of ALL of your own stress. No one else can give you stress. Do you find that sentence hard to accept? Understand that and your life is yours to enjoy.
As we have already discussed in previous sections, our thinking brain coupled with our Ego is the driver of our own self-made prison. Now as we explore our “expectations” and our resistance to what is, we see that it isn’t the events in life that cause stress. It is more accurately the mental narrative we have created around those events.
Do you really have “problems” or are you merely presented with challenges that need some simple attention. As is usually the case in life, things are what they are but our mental manipulation and the story we create around it is the source of the stress. Harnessing this understanding we will explore the simple keys to producing happiness in abundance in our lives.
As Shakespeare said, “There is nothing either GOOD or BAD, but thinking makes it so.
5 - Mission Statement
Who are you? What’s really important to you? What is your life’s purpose? What holds the greatest meaning to you in your life. Simply put, what is your mission? Your daily path.
A Mission Statement is all about you looking inward and making a declarative statement about who you are at your core and choosing to celebrate that. A Mission Statement is not simply a list of goals or aspirations. We don't write a mission statement and then sit back hoping to one day achieve it. A Mission Statement is a touchstone, a reminder to you of who you are, what is important to you, and to live that life NOW. It opens the door to joy and happiness as it grounds us into the present moment.
A good mission statement is never “done”. It is always evolving as you evolve. It is a dynamic, brilliant, emotional, impassioned connection to the true YOU. A mission statement stays in your head and in your heart at all times and is there to bring order and calm in the midst of chaos.
Reading your mission statement every day will ignite the passion and love inside you and allow you to stay the course and not get distracted and manipulated by all of the outside influences that attempt to steal your time, energy and joy. It will change your life because it connects you to your best life.
Enough talking let’s get changing. Members of our Virtuoso Program and all HippEvo Members have endless access to this course and all of its future addendums. Engage your membership today for just $99/year to enjoy all of the benefits. This alone will make your membership worthwhile. I am in love with what is possible when you understand this material and begin to take control of your life and shape a better, happier, freer existence.
