In this private conversation with a young man, Sat discusses the pressures young people face and the best way to remedy them.
Sat: Is it true that the young kids, say your age and around your age [25 years old], have minds that are very restless? And they have a lot of anxiety about work?
Young Man: Yes.
Sat: What is the main thing that you see that people complain about at your age? Is it fear of the future, or money, or just not being satisfied?
Young Man: The future, definitely. People working at Starbucks all the way up to programming are worried about the competition, the fear that someone is right behind you, and they are going to take over what you are doing, so you better act fast, so just the stress of the competition!
Sat remains quiet for a few moments and continues: Yeah, it’s bizarre because what you are saying is what is happening, I even know a few young people that are very wealthy, and they have a lot of anxiety. It seems that regardless of one’s position, anxiety is an epidemic for different reasons.
A different man says: It’s almost in the air when you go to work, no matter what field you are in, just the whole environment is like that.
Sat: This is the point I want to make, and I hope that you take it to heart and help other people there. The body and mind were not meant to be out of whack. And many, many years ago (I am just saying that intuitively, because I don’t know if I was there or not) people did mostly physical work. The women did all sorts of things, they had to make everything from scratch. The men had to go fetch things and bring the water and this and that. So, they were very, very physical. It would take a toll on their physical so they didn’t live long, but they didn’t have agitation because they didn’t use their minds.
The past 20, 30 years, starting 25 years ago, the world took a different direction and became more mental. Unless you go to the gym and work out, pretty much your physical is dead. So, it’s very mental. Now for the physical tiredness in the past, they took a nap in the afternoon. The whole world did it (until the United States decided not to do it) and that was the remedy for their body, but now we’re very mental which is more damaging.
What is the remedy for the mental? It’s meditation. And I really want the young people to go out and do it themselves and teach other people; it is the biggest service you can do for society. And what is meditation? Meditation means keep quiet in the mind. In other words, when you think too much is too much, move back. No matter how much you lose, or how much you lose your chances, something in you that you are supporting will support your life. This is something that young people do not know; they think that if they don’t work, they will lose everything. But what they don’t understand is that if they feed inside, that Source will keep their work together and bring opportunity for them.
So My suggestion for young people is to take some time off every day. Five minutes, two minutes, five times a day, two times a day and just say, “You know what? I am closing the shop, I am going to be quiet, just quiet.” With the eyes open or closed, it doesn’t matter, you sit down and find a quiet place in your body and stay with it, and stay with it, and stay with it. This will recharge the mind, and the mind that doesn’t know how to recharge goes nuts. It goes out of whack, it gets anxiety, it gets panic attacks and this and that.
So, believe Me when I tell you that I know very successful people who are very, very unhappy because of this mental agitation. So, the body recovers with sleep, particularly deep sleep, and the mind has to recover by not going with the thoughts, because when you don’t go with the thoughts, the mind relaxes. And so if you can do that, not only will your life flourish, but I am hoping that you will be a light to other people around you. It’s not too much to do, if the result is so big and so great. You might say, “But I am young, when I get older, I will do these sorts of things.” When you get older, you have all these years of discomfort piled up, so when you get to a certain age, you have to work much, much harder to empty yourself, than you do now.
Life passes. Monday comes, Tuesday comes, Wednesday comes, Thursday comes and another one, and another one and another and so on. You look back one day and you say to yourself, “What have I done to bring about a more harmonious life?” To Me, success is how much you are in touch with your Self. And the good news is, opposite of what everybody thinks, the more you are in tune with your Self, the more things effortlessly come to you. And you say, “Where did this job come from? How did this man walk into my life? How did that happen?” Life is not by effort anymore, it happens gracefully.
So, I would love to see from this moment on, there is no making promises, or putting discipline for practicing. As long as everybody understands what I am saying, then the practice of it should be a pleasure to do. Because it’s like somebody saying, “This is a key to the treasure house,” and there is nothing demanded. Everything is given, right? So, each one of us has to first “Be” and then become a light to the life of others.
The young man asks: I have a question. What do You mean by it becoming effortless, the job comes to you, this or that person comes to you? What does this mean?
Sat: It doesn’t mean that you don’t put forth effort, but you don’t have any anxiety about it. For example, say that you are looking for a job, and you are centered. You are sitting on the bus, and you start talking to someone beside you, and the exchange of this conversation gives you a job! Or, you are concerned for a certain amount of money to give to somebody that you borrowed from and it becomes provided for you. It is not that you sit idle. You live your life, but things come to you. How many of you guys that have been with Me long enough can testify to this?
Several people agree.
Sat: This is what happens honestly, this is what happens! So, when you are putting in too much effort to accomplish something, you can be sure that you have not relaxed enough.
The young man says: That’s how I feel.
Sat: Yes, if you relax enough you get it! It will be provided for you. When was the meditation at your mother’s house?
Young man: Monday.
Sat: Monday I saw you, I saw you, I really saw you (laughs)! I deeply saw you; so maybe this is why this conversation came about today. I always say, “Try it until it is proven right to you, try it until it is proven right,” because I know that you are not going to fail. Whenever there is anxiety about something, remember what I said, do, but also Be, Just Be, drop the anxiety and then go forward, and then see how the doors will open for you. When you tense up against something, nothing can penetrate, when you relax into something, you become flexible, you move with the rhythm of life. Even scientifically I make sense. Because the more flexible you are, the tension is gone, then the more you are in the rhythm, in the heartbeat.
I am very interested in young people, I really am, because you are having a tougher time than we did. Life used to be much simpler. By all means take some time for yourself: whether it’s walking in nature, taking the dog for a walk, or just sitting at home, lighting a candle and saying, “You know what? First me, then it’s my life, because if I am not happy, I cannot have a happy life. So first I have to invest in me.”
This is what happened to Me at age 18. I just wondered what is the meaning of life if I am not tasting the sweetness of it? And the sweetness of it is just Staying and letting the mind settle!