 A large portion of this podcast is me doing my best to reveal something about yourself. And this is by asking you certain questions and explaining certain things in psychology, neuroscience, spirituality, religion, Christianity, etc. So let's try that today. What do you actually like? What do you enjoy doing? Write a list, just think of a few things right now. As a human being, what do you like doing and what makes you feel good? Is it playing sports? Is it scrolling through Instagram? Is it watching reruns of friends or Seinfeld? Is it being on the toilet for a long time because you're chilling because you're hiding from your friends or family or kids so you can just lock yourself in the bathroom where no one can notice and you have a really good excuse to stay in there because you can just be like, I'm having a hard time and you just need to break from your life. Is it that? Is it a long shower? Is it vacuuming? Is it chores? Is it cleaning? Is it all games? Is it reading? Is it going for a jog? Going to the weight room? Is it going to church? Praying? Doing the rosary? Anything you list here, they all have one thing in common and I experienced that this afternoon at church and I thought I'd just explain a few things here. All of these things involve a high sense of presence, everything. That's why they feel good and that's why you like it. Whether you like it or not and whether you believe it or not, although your mind likes to go into the future and worry and your mind likes to go back to the past and overthink and worry about that stuff if it's going to happen again, if that person is still talking about you, if there's even a solution to the problem that you have, your brain likes that but you don't like that. You really don't. Of course you don't because worrying feels like shit. You don't like worrying. You don't like ruminating about the past. You don't like overthinking but we still do it. It's a habit. It's an addiction. It's something that's so routine and it's hard to break that pattern. I'd like to say it's nearly impossible to break that pattern in the world we live in because, come on, we're human beings and you have a job. I have a job. We've got a bunch of responsibilities. We have to plan for the future. We have to think about things. It's tough stuff. When you do what you enjoy, it automatically brings presence. When you're playing video games, let's say, and you're really in a level, I'm still playing Skyrim. It's like 12 years old this game, right? Still playing it. When I'm in there, I'm in there. I'm so in there. I'm in the woods. I'm upgrading my character, doing all this stuff. Remember Sims. Remember we had Sims 2 on my computer in high school and elementary school and we had to take turns. My three brothers and sister, we had to take turns on one computer and, man, I'd build a house in Sims and it would be the worst house and my sister and brother would make fun of me so much to this day because I didn't know how to or maybe I didn't want to build two floors on a house because it was complicated. You need stairs and everything and do two levels and there's other settings. So I would just make like a warehouse of that house. I get the biggest property, I put in all the cheat codes and I'd make this huge house. That's just one floor, like a warehouse and then I would just put everything against the walls. Like if it's a couch, I put it against the wall. If it was a treadmill, put it against the wall. There's no islands in the kitchen. I just put everything against the wall so you have a house with everything along the perimeter and just empty space in the middle. It looked hilarious and I wish I could have some safe files to show you all and if I were to start Sims again, I'd probably do it the same way. So that brought me presence, creating, being in the moment when you have to be. I've talked to you all about, you know, this thing about being human is the chase for that presence. Drugs are the chase for that presence. Cannabis is the chase for the presence because, man, are you thinking maybe creatively where you can finally get into your body? It stops your overthinking or certain pain that takes you away and makes you worry. You know, basketball, I'm playing defense, I'm in it, I got to worry about the teammates here so I'm going to be in position and then I'm going to think about where the blocks coming from. Where's the pick and roll? Who do I pass to? All of these things bring us to a sense of presence. So what you really like and what you put on your list and what you thought about is your daily bread. That is what you're thinking about. And check this out. This is frankincense and it smells so good. I'm just going to burn it here. Oh, man, it's going to smell so good. Aromatherapy, if you like that, makes you more present, brings you into your body. Right? These sensations, massage, it's not about getting rid of mental stress or, sorry, body stress sometimes. It's that it calms the mind so much. So when you're stressed out, you go go to massage. That really affects my mind too because I was so present getting my body nice and soft and relaxed and worked out. So as I was at church this morning, the pastor does a great job of getting people super present and he does this through his words, through tone of voice, through interacting with people and sharing some real insight about his personal life and what's going on in the community. And when people are singing, when people are praying, look around next time you go into a concert. It doesn't have to be church. You know I'm just using this as an example because that's part of my belief as a human on this plane. But we touch on all things. We're going to touch on Buddhism in a second. So next time you're even at a rock concert or a symphony or your techno club thing, whatever the kids are doing these days, look around. Look around. Look at the DJ. Look at the people dancing. Look at the bartenders. Everyone just locked in. They're all locked in. And this is at church I'm seeing people sing and they're swang a little bit doing a thing. Other people are sitting praying, you know, to each their own and they're just ultimately in the state of presence. And that's where God is. Everywhere omnipotent. But you think about it. In all these verses in scripture, it's always here I am. It's like an Elijah called out to God, here I am. And Abraham called out to God, here I am. It's not like come over here, Abraham. I'm over there. Walk 30 feet and then I'll be there. You know what I mean? It's always I am the big I am the burning bush. I am always. I'm present. I'm presence. And when we sit and when we be present, that's the promise that will be in the presence of the spirit. And maybe when you're going about your day and in the worry and in the frustration and in the stress, it's the most difficult thing for me too to take a step back and be like, tomorrow's not even guaranteed what I'm worrying about. What's actually guaranteed in this life? We worry about certain things. What is actually guaranteed? Now those things that are probable, things that are possible for sure. But is it a guarantee that you'll be, you know, you're worrying about your retirement fund and how much you're saving and you're not even going to reach 75? It's not guaranteed I'll reach 75. It's not guaranteed that I'll retire. It's not guaranteed that, you know, the government systems that are in play will be there for me at a certain time. It doesn't mean to not take responsibility and plan your future accordingly, but it's enough to say that's done. I've done what I can. I'm doing what I can. Now let me come back and eat my daily bread and what's promised to me. Everything is about presence here. The eightfold path in Buddhism, right? It's like, how do we end the suffering and come back to the moment? How do we not attach to things? Because attachment is making us worry because once we attach, then there's fear of the loss and we're going to lose it, right? There's fear of even what we were before this thing. If I'm this now, who was I before? And if I don't have this thing or this person, who the heck am I going to be? Am I going to be able to survive presence? And we come to the Lord's prayer and I'm sure most of you know it. Give us this day our daily bread and it hit me so hard. My mom gave me a rosary for my late grandfather and my grandpa Omer and he passed away in 2002 when I was pretty young and I have his rosary by my bed and I'm like, I don't usually say a rosary. Let me give it a shot. That's the greatest invention ever. It's great. It's pure presence. My grandma, literally when we were visiting her in the nursing home, sometimes there'd be like a delay or I think my mom said this where she wouldn't want to visit yet because she's finishing her rosary because like, I got to do this. This is what I have to do. This is my presence. This is my meditation over and over. Hail Mary, our father, hail Mary, our father, our father, hail Mary, hail Mary. Over and over and over again and you know in meditation, what are you doing still? What are we doing on this channel? The video I uploaded last week, it was when you come back from work, how can we detach a little bit from the day and come back into our bodies and chill? How do we become present? How do we let go of what just was and come back to the present in the presence of God? Jesus said this funky prayer and he's like, give us this day our daily bread. This day. Not give us until 2050, please. Not give us tomorrow even. Give us the next 48 hours, please. Give us this day, this day, the one I'm in right now. Give us this day and our daily bread, daily bread, not weekly bread, not bi-weekly, not monthly bread, not annual bread. It's enough. Can you provide for yourself for the day that's right here? The moment that's guaranteed right here, right now as you listen to this wherever you are, this is the moment that's been guaranteed for you is right here. This day. Give us this day. And if you say that in the morning, great. Say that at night, great. Give us this day. Give us the day until midnight. What else can be honestly guaranteed? And sometimes when we worry, you know, it's a big thing. It's a big thing for me. You know how I deal with anxiety and how I get low beyond low. And even in the lowness, I'm not saying spirituality fixes everything. You know me. There's no way I'm ever going down that road. We know the efficacy of medication. We know the efficacy of friendship, community, health, supplements, all these different things, right? But the one thing that helps me in the darkest times and sometimes the only thing I am able to do is pray and to be present. And in that, seek the all compassionate, all loving presence that's hopefully in me and around me. So I wonder for you this week, my friends, I wonder for you, if you can focus on your daily bread, focus on what's guaranteed and what's right here right now. And as you sit for breakfast today or lunch or dinner, say like, this is the this is the meal. This is the meal. This is it. I'm not guaranteed salmon tomorrow. I'm not guaranteeing a P and J tomorrow. P and J. Yeah, PB and J. P and J. I've never even said that in years. I'm not even guaranteed a sandwich tomorrow. I'm not guaranteed the Klondike bar. It's time to finish this episode. I'm not guaranteed the Klondike bar. I'm not guaranteed the Mentos, the fresh maker. I'm guaranteed this meal right here that's right in front of me and I'll give thanks for what's right here. And when people, you know, have the terms, oh, I've, I've come back to God. I've come back. You ever hear this? People say this. I've come back. You know, I've come back to God. I've come back to the church. I've come back to religion. I've come back and believe me, whether you believe it or not, or whether your experience says this, what I've noticed is there's way more people in the churches that I go to now versus last year, obviously during COVID, even before. It's like there's so many more people because I think people are figuring this out and I am too, that beyond your basic needs, I'm sorry, man, a car, I just know this from the bottom of my heart. I know a specific car brand won't make me happy. I just know that I know a bigger place, although it's functional and it's needed when expanding a family. It won't be the ultimate happiness. It's ridiculous. And I get so angry sometimes that this is the reality I live in because I wish things made me happy because it's easy to get things and to work towards things. I'll just work more and I'll get more money. I just won't sleep as much and I'll work three jobs, four jobs, but music makes me happy because I'm present and all I need is a guitar and a friend and playing music on the record player and guitar and piano and bass and drums. That makes me happy. Helping people makes me happy. Being in nature makes me happy. Public speaking makes me happy. And you know why? Just as we said in the beginning, all these things bring me presence. All these things bring me presence. And if your side of materialism is Scott, but the new car and the things that I'm working towards, like the job I want and the new clothing I want and the new set of golf clubs and the new, you know, the new shoes, these will make me present because I'll be more comfortable in my own body and I'll be really, I'll feel great driving the car. That's fine then. That's awesome. Realize that's what it is though. It's not just the car. It's not just the car. That's the mechanism to bring you into the present. So that's essential. It's got you there, but there are other things that can do that too. I hope this helped this week and, you know, if you find yourself again this week in worry and ruminating about the past, some words I just say to myself is or are, give us this day for words. Even give me this day. Give us this day for words. When you find yourself worrying our daily bread, give us this day our daily bread. Give us this day our daily bread. And I'm just going to go off for a few more minutes. The forgiveness piece as well. The forgiveness has been talked about for so long. It's like the biggest thing in Christianity too, and it's so rebellious to love your enemies. What the heck is that all about? And love those who persecute you. What is that all about? You know what I think? I'm so happy to be able to finally talk about this on the podcast. I've been wanting to talk about Christianity since 2013 when I uploaded my first video. Oh my gosh. So thank you for those leaving. I'm so sorry. Those coming. Welcome. But, you know, we touch on all things. And forgiveness. What is forgiveness? Or what is holding a grudge? Holding a grudge is I'm stuck in the past at that moment in time when I was hurt. When that person hurt me. Maybe you did absolutely nothing wrong. It wasn't about you at all. They got you at your most vulnerable and they hurt you for no reason. You were a target. You were living a beautiful life and some thing, some one hurt you emotionally. Physically. And we hold on to that. How could you not? How could you not hold on to that? To my gosh, wish badly for that person. Want them to want revenge on that person. Imagining all these scenarios that would happen where I'm the good guy or I escaped the thing or I tell them off or I say this back and then I win. It's like George Costanza with, with going back and he's got the shrimp joke, right? Like he's fine. He's thinking about how am I going to get back at this guy? He said the ocean called the running out of shrimp and George is like, oh my gosh, the jerk store called the running out of you. Why didn't I say that? Oh my God. It's on George's mind for probably days and days and days and he flies out and of course he screws up throughout the days and days and days. Now imagine for a second that he said, I forgive this guy. He's a loser anyways. You know what? Let's forgive him. Let's do our best to move on. Let's cover it with a few nice blankets and keep the memory warm, but not from biting me any longer. In forgiveness, what does it do? That's right. Brings you back. It brings you back. The grudge holds you back. It brings you back into the past. You ruminate about the thing. You keep coming up with new scenarios and you're held in the past. The past forgiveness is presence. Forgiveness is the ultimate healer of your soul because I guess you to come back to the middle of the middle of the mill, not into the future, not in the past, but you're back here. The forgiveness is for you. It's for you. So this week, your daily bread and your daily bread and your, you know, give us this day and your daily bread and think about, is there someone, isn't there something that I'm holding the grudge about and am I able to forgive myself, forgive yourself for maybe holding onto it for so long too because we beat ourselves up for that. And can I forgive this person for myself? Can I let that one rest a little bit and see how it feels? God bless you, my friends. Thank you so much for joining this Being Human podcast. Take care of yourselves. I'll see you in a week. Every single Monday is an episode and all the links, all the links, my website. If you'd like to book me to speak, if you'd like to book a coaching call one-on-one, please don't hesitate to click anything in the bio and I'm wishing you all the best, all the best this week. Stay present as much as you can and see how that feels. Enjoy the bread. Mwah! Bye-bye.