99% of the problem is how you think about the problem, “when you wear masks fearmongering"...part 226

In order to “maximize protection” against COVID-19, researchers recommended layering two types of masks or using a three-layer mask to keep particles out

There’s just one pesky problem to covering your mouth and nose with multiple layers of material: “At some point, ‘we run the risk of making it too hard to breathe’”

The first randomized controlled trial of the effectiveness of surgical face masks against SARS-CoV-2 infection found masks did not statistically significantly reduce the incidence of infection

The harsh truth, however, is that virtually none of it was necessary. The real damage occurred as a result of the decisions made by global, national and local health and government officials, acting in concert according to some predetermined plan.

Cloth masks have “poor filtering efficiency” due to large, open pores present in the masks; this got even worse after washing, with filtering efficiency dropping by 20% after the mask was washed and dried four times

Should I never be thinking about the past or the future? Is it sin?

That’s not the case; that’s a very one-sided and unbalanced approach. Plants and rocks are always in the present moment. A lizard is always in the present moment. If we make our brain as primitive as that of a lizard or a snake, we’re always going to be in the present moment, effortlessly. There would be no anxiety, no regret, no shame, nothing.

But is this the next step in human evolution what we’re working toward?

No. I need the ability to look at the past, to learn from it, otherwise we’ll keep repeating it. We need the ability to look to the future and see what the likely outcome is if I continue doing the things that I’m doing.

Ask yourself what you are walking toward. Have a goal, have a vision for yourself. Simply having a meaningful vision for our lives and for ourselves already helps us to live more purposefully, more meaningfully, to have less suffering.

So the ability to think about the past and to think about the future help us to learn from the past and to plan for the future.

These are essential abilities that we need to have, cultivate, and become better at. They are part of our mind. They are part of the abilities of our mind. The problem is not that we sometimes think of the past and the future. The problem is that we can’t stop thinking about the past and the future even if it’s not useful, even if it’s causing pain for no good reason, even if we want to—that’s the problem.

The teaching of living in the present moment is so valuable—but it’s only half the story.

Disclaimer: The information on this POST is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional advice. The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this article is for general information purposes / educational purposes only, and to ensure discussion or debate. 

Thank you …Now, how do I stay in present?

The body is always present; it’s the mind that can be in the past or in the future. So one way to be in the present is to make the body and the mind unite. If body and mind are one, then the mind is in the present because the body is in the present.

What does it mean to unite body and mind? It means that if you’re walking, you are walking; your body is walking, your mind is walking. It’s not that your body’s walking and your mind is thinking something else. If you’re eating, your body is eating and your mind is eating—it is engaged in the process so body and mind are one.

This is one of the ways to become present: focus on your body.

Another way is focusing on your breath. The breath is always here; it’s not the past breath or the future breath. It is this breath right now, that you have the chance to pay attention to and to use as a door to the present moment.

THIS moment is the moment where 99% of human suffering does not exist. As for the 1% that does exist in the present moment… if there’s an action you need to take to fix something in your life, to set boundaries in a relationship, to stop going to certain places, to change your habits—then you can do that.

If that is the case you should do that in the present moment, not thinking about the times you failed in the past, not worrying about the failures in the future and the things that the future holds because it’s uncertain.

Want to add word or two? 

Choice 2

There is no solution to the uncertainty of the future.

The only solution to the uncertainty of the future is to live in the present and to accept in your heart that the future is uncertain. To have that confidence in yourself that no matter what, you’ll be able to accept it and make something good out of it. That even if the most horrible things happen in your life, you will be able to make something good out of it.

If you have that confidence, or if you have the faith that “whatever happens in my life happens for my greater good”, then there is no place for anxiety for you anymore. You know that whatever comes, even if it’s painful for a while, even if it’s uncomfortable, even if it’s not what you expected, whatever comes is for your greater good.

No one can prove that to you. It cannot be scientifically proved and it cannot be disproved. It’s something that you can choose to adopt as a way of living, or not, and both of these choices have consequences.

Your comment ….?

If you adopt this as a way of living, as a way of seeing things, then there is no anxiety. There’s no fear; there is gratitude, there is meaning, there is a sense of connecting the dots and moving forward. Also, if you believe that whatever happens is going to be for the greater good, then suddenly all the future kind of disappears. It loses significance because it’s uncertain but you’re not afraid of it, so you can remain present.

You can believe the same thing about your past—that whatever happened in your past must have been for a greater good that it was a needed lesson in your life, and a needed phase in your life. Now you have the opportunity to rebuild yourself, to decide who you want to be. If you have that attitude toward the past, then you can forget about the past and be in the present.

As you can see, one way to live in the present moment is mindfulness; to pay attention to your body, to the activities that you’re doing, and the sensory input. The other way is changing your mindset.

Changing your mindset as I just described will allow you to not worry about the past or the future, and all of that energy will be freed up for you to live life here and now.

Of these two ways—mind and body being one (a), and changing your mindset (b)—which one do you feel is more useful?.