Someone asked if constantly striving to focus on the present, as a way of controlling the wandering mind, is unnatural, and I’d say, oh, it definitely is!

When we force our minds to stick to the present, we’re actually fighting a never-ending battle—a battle fueled by the ego’s desire to control. Trying to anchor the mind in the now is not about forcing attention but rather about recognizing and observing everything without bias.

True attention to the present moment is effortless—it’s about witnessing events as they are, without our prejudices clouding our vision. It’s this clear, undistorted perception that allows us to see the ties in our thoughts and emotions and “decode” them naturally by simply observing.

When you understand that everything just naturally arises and passes away in the landscape of consciousness, you genuinely begin to feel free from the self-imposed pressure to confine yourself to any state or reaction.

The effort of trying to control reality, born from a misunderstanding that the mind must be silent to be aware, only creates resistance. But awareness, or waking up, is about observing the flow of the mind—its chatter about the past or future—without getting swept away.

It’s like walking down the street, noticing a fight here, a sales pitch there, a beautiful house over there, a stylish outfit in the distance, yet not getting drawn into any of it. You don’t need to actively clear the path or focus to avoid seeing these; you just keep walking your path.

You might notice the mind planning tomorrow’s lunch or excitedly anticipating a day out, but what it says isn’t as important as noticing that it’s functioning. If those thoughts sweep you along, then, well, you’re swept along—it’s all part of observing how you get carried away.

It’s not about focusing hard on something to escape thoughts; that’s just a temporary fix—a remedy for the moment when you’re not yet able to remain stable and undisturbed. Like if you were being insulted and couldn’t yet remain calm, maybe you’d focus on your breathing or count your money just to not hear them.

That kind of peace, though, is the ego holding tight to avoid disturbance, not the natural peace that comes from deep understanding.

Trying to force attention away from thoughts is merely a diversion, like distracting a child who wants candy with a toy instead—it’s not about seeing more clearly.

Seeing clearly is recognizing the reactions of the mind and the root of illusions, seeing that the mind often gets stuck in misconceptions, believing them to be real. When these illusions are seen through the practice of pure awareness, they begin to dissolve, showing that they aren’t the ultimate nature of phenomena.

This insight comes not from effort but from a natural, effortless state of pure awareness. When the mind isn’t restricted or pressured into a particular shape, it relaxes and responds naturally to everything, right here, now.

And if you feel tired, strained, or stressed in the process of “observing,” then you’re probably slipping into old habits of trying to create the observer rather than letting the observation happen naturally. This misunderstanding about the nature of pure awareness—it’s natural, it requires no effort—is common, but in time, as you tire of forcing, you’ll just let go.

So, all these efforts to quiet the mind or to accept the present moment reluctantly don’t really lead to freedom; they just add to the burden. Witnessing and accepting everything naturally as it is, that’s the true approach to reality. And start with the least expected “guy”: your own mind.