1:05:50

Drama Ends Q&A On The Path

by Yaron Etzion

Rated
4.8
Type
talks
Activity
Meditation
Suitable for
Everyone
Plays
89

The drama ends when I prefer the present moment over my opinion of it Join us to learn how to end drama, and how to create a new vision that will propel you toward self-awareness. How to choose life over my opinions of it? Let's grow together.

DramaPresent MomentSelf AwarenessLifeGrowthBreathingBody ScanThoughtsJudgmentOnenessEmotionsSelf InquiryEgoExperienceSurrenderSpontaneityTantraDeep BreathingPresent Moment AwarenessThought ObservationEmotional AwarenessEgo DissolutionDirect ExperienceTantra PracticeBreathing AwarenessIntentionsPathsQuestioningReleasing JudgmentsUniversal IntentionsVisions

Transcript

So,

Welcome to this special occasion.

We're going to start with a short ceremony,

Just to make sure that we're all aligned.

So,

Let's sit comfortably on our seat.

Make sure that all the distractions are turned off.

I'm going to close mine as well.

Just a minute.

Let's take a deep breath in.

And let go.

I'm gonna.

.

.

Some people give me feedback that they cannot log in for some reason.

But there's nothing I can do about that.

You logged in.

Who is having technical difficulties?

Can you hear me?

Can you see me?

Anyone can hear me or see me?

Yeah?

Good.

So,

Let's start.

Let's take a deep breath in.

And let go.

Another deep breath in.

Let's close our eyes.

And let go.

And the next breath in,

We keep in.

We don't breathe out.

And slowly breathe out.

And let go.

Let go of all your efforts.

Let go of everything that already happened in the past.

Let go of everything that may happen in the future.

And allow your attention to come back to the present moment.

To whatever is happening right now around you.

Voices and sounds.

Become fully aware of your surroundings.

All the information your surroundings suggest.

Become aware of your body in this space.

As it is seated here upon its seat.

Become aware of the weight of your body upon its seat.

Make sure there is no tension hiding anywhere in your body.

Your belly is free of tension.

Your chest.

Your shoulders and neck.

Free of tension.

Your face is calm and relaxed.

Your whole body is comfortable and relaxed.

Another deep breath in.

Hmmmm.

Become aware of your breath in its own natural rhythm.

The breath may be hot or cold.

Shallow or deep.

It doesn't matter.

You just observe.

Every breath in fills your body with oxygen.

With life.

And every breath out cleanses the body and relaxes more and more.

Become aware of your thoughts.

Whatever you may be thinking of right now.

Without getting too entangled with any specific thought.

You just observe as thoughts pass through your mind like clouds in the sky.

Do not resist or become attached to any thought.

You just observe.

Another deep breath in.

And let go.

And let go more and more.

Become aware of any emotion you may be experiencing.

It may be pleasant or unpleasant.

It doesn't matter.

You just observe.

Become aware of any phenomena that may appear around you or within you.

And as this endless stream continues,

Allow your attention to turn back from it and face itself.

The observer is observing the observer.

That space within that exists before and beyond any phenomena.

Where there is no movement.

There is only silence.

You are that silence.

Another big breath in.

Let go.

Gently allow your attention to come back to your body.

As it is seated here upon its seat.

A part of our virtual circle.

Let's unite our individual intentions into one unified intention.

The intention to grow,

To develop,

To evolve.

The smile is taken.

Another deep breath in.

And let go.

And when you feel comfortable,

You may open your eyes.

Hello again everyone.

Welcome to this unique opportunity we give ourselves.

To stop the race for an hour.

Hold virtual hands and walk the path together.

Supporting each other's growth.

And evolving not just as individuals on the path,

But as a united consciousness.

We do that by harnessing that tension that hides between the question and the answer.

So the more sincere questions you bring,

The more potential energy it has in it to help you grow.

So a part of participating in this session is asking your question.

Don't censor yourself.

Don't be afraid of what other people think.

You just be honest and share your question.

That's how you contribute to this event.

So who wants to be the first one to jump into the waters today?

No,

There is no specific topic.

You just bring anything that you feel that will help you grow.

Anything you feel that holds you back.

Anything you feel that resolving it would help you on your path.

And you know it takes some courage,

I know.

And honesty.

So this is the time to tap into your resources and bring courage and honesty.

Julie is asking,

Judgment of myself and others keeps me stuck at times.

Yeah.

It's a beautiful observation.

Judgment.

What is judgment?

Judgment is an idea that you have about something,

About someone.

Any idea that you have keeps you away from directly experiencing it.

This is a very sacred knowledge.

I'm going to say it again.

Every idea that you have about something keeps you away from directly experiencing it.

Because between you and the object of your observation there is an idea.

As long as you have ideas,

You cannot have direct experience.

Do you see that?

You will never be able to experience a tree as long as you have an idea about that tree.

This is a pine tree.

This is a healthy tree.

This is.

.

.

Somebody needs to move this tree.

It blocks the view.

You see?

So the idea that you have about it,

Based on previous experience,

On whatever you've learned so far,

Whatever.

.

.

It's a preconception,

Right?

A preconception that you bring and it stands there between you and that tree.

So you're not free to experience that tree truly.

Innocently.

What is innocence?

Lack of preconceptions.

Right?

An awakened consciousness is free.

Free of what?

Preconceptions.

It is always fresh.

It's always vibrant.

It's never dull.

It's never boring.

It's never repetitive.

You can always feel rejuvenated when in presence of an awakened consciousness because it's fresh.

It's like a blow of fresh air.

If you happen to be in the presence of an awakened consciousness,

You know what I'm talking about.

So,

The invitation here is to make sure that as you progress on the path,

You allow yourself to drop all the things that you believe you already know.

What you know is irrelevant.

What's relevant is how available you are to directly experience it.

How open your heart is to experience it.

Not how much knowledge you've been able to gather.

So,

Judgment is just keeping you away from.

.

.

Directly experiencing it.

Do you think preconception.

.

.

Preferences?

Yeah.

Usually,

Our preconception is also divided into two groups.

Pros and cons.

Right?

Good and bad.

I am in favor or I am objecting.

Good and bad.

That duality is created in the intellect,

Full of ideas and concepts.

An awakened consciousness does not stop in that faculty of the intellect,

Trying to determine a position.

Yes,

Yes,

I agree.

No,

No,

I disagree.

Hmm?

Jesse is saying,

Awareness is the ultimate state of the present.

How do you not lose yourself in the past,

If you want to learn from self and grow from past mistakes?

Wow.

Many.

.

.

Questions in a few sentences.

Awareness is the ultimate state of the present.

Yeah.

Awareness is like the beam of your flashlight.

It's like when you point your flashlight.

This is awareness,

No?

What you are focusing on.

That grows.

So,

Be very careful on what you put your attention on.

Your awareness.

If you focus on the negative,

On the bad,

That will grow.

If you focus on the gaps that you find between what is and what you believe it should have been,

That will grow.

But if you focus on grace,

If you focus on the beautiful mystery of life,

If you focus on love,

If you focus on compassion,

That will grow.

So,

On this path,

We are encouraged to make wise decisions on what we choose to put our awareness on.

And of course,

As we mature,

Our awareness expands more and more and more.

And we become more available to experience reality on its complexity.

Things that usually we are not aware of because it was out of our scope,

Suddenly become available for us to experience.

As we mature.

How do you not lose yourself in the past if you want to learn from self and grow from past mistakes?

First of all,

Let go of the idea that whatever happened was a mistake.

It may be different than what you have expected,

But it was never a mistake.

The consequences of whatever happened may be unpleasant,

Undesired,

Unwanted,

But it was never a mistake.

Let go of the idea that life life made mistakes,

Life was confused.

Life is not confused.

Life is very accurate.

You are confused because you believe something else should have happened.

So,

This is one thing to remember.

And learning from past experiences,

Yes,

Why not?

You learn,

That's how we grow.

No need to fall into the same pit twice.

Next time you see that pit,

You know you can walk around it.

What's important to understand is that we all grow and mature.

Whether we recognize it or not,

Whether we are aware of it or not.

We all are part of that.

Eternal evolution.

The difference is that we can choose to be an active participant in that evolution that is motivated by love,

As opposed to suffering.

Motivated by love as opposed to fear.

And we become more and more available to feel our existence with meaning.

That's unique.

But even if we choose suffering,

Consciously or unconsciously,

We are still evolving,

A part of that evolution.

We just generate more karma,

That's it.

Which is inevitable.

So,

Don't worry about that.

I am grateful for this opportunity.

I am not sure what the question should be.

However,

I am currently working in letting go of feeling left out.

Not choose in a specific group of people.

This goes for me.

This goes back to childhood and being excluded.

How am I excluding myself?

This could be the first question.

I believe I attract situations to help me notice what unconsciousness is bothering my soul.

I welcome these triggers and I need help with them.

Thank you for your honest question.

This is why we are here.

This is what we are here for.

So,

First of all,

Know that you are not alone.

And you are always welcome to feel at home here.

And lean on us to support you on your quest.

This is the first thing.

You are never alone.

And you are included in this group.

Feeling excluded is an imaginary,

Self-portrayed illusion of separateness.

Okay,

There is me and there is life.

And life doesn't accept me as I am.

I am being excluded from life.

There is that me as opposed to life and everything else.

That me is ego.

That separate sensation of me,

Me,

Me,

Me,

Me.

That ego can tell you that you are great,

You are fantastic,

You are a winner.

And that ego can tell you that you are nothing,

You are a loser,

Nobody loves you.

Still,

The ego element is very dominant.

Because there is me,

Me,

Me,

Always the focus is on me,

Me,

My separate self.

So what to do with that?

You grow.

You grow on the path beyond that illusion of separateness.

It's not the reality of things.

You are never separated.

It's like the wave,

You know,

Always concerned about its own existence.

That wavy,

Temporary thing that rises above the ocean.

Only thinking about itself,

That's it.

What about me?

I want to be unique.

I don't want to be blue like every other wave.

I want to be yellow.

You see what I'm saying?

But the reality is that there is no wave.

It's just a way for us to describe that temporary thing that rises above the ocean,

But it's still the ocean.

It was always the ocean.

Right?

It's a temporary oceanic expression.

That's the truth.

That's the reality about the wave.

Isn't it?

And that's the reality about you as well.

You just need to wake up to that reality.

You are always a part of oneness.

Never separated.

Just the ego persuading you to believe that there is something there.

It's not connected.

So you grow beyond that,

On the path,

Gently.

But you just keep reminding yourself.

Oneness,

Oneness,

Is the nature of reality.

One consciousness,

That's it.

And when you forget,

You just remind yourself,

No,

No,

No,

This is just an illusion,

It's not real.

Until one day comes where you just realize the truth of it.

People ask me,

How did you experience it in your life?

And the way I describe it is it's like waking up from a dream.

Like you chase a mirage.

You know,

You see that mirage in the edge of the horizon,

You know,

Of an oasis in the desert.

So you're running toward that oasis,

Believing that there,

Over there,

You will be able to you know,

Be happy.

Drink the sacred waters.

But then you wake up to realize this is just a mirage,

It's not real.

It looks real,

But it's not real.

So the chase ends.

There is no need to keep on running.

If you know that it's just an illusion.

Do you see what I'm saying?

You just wake up one day,

And you're like,

Oh,

I'm a fool.

Not chosen.

So,

Cynthia is saying,

That's perfect.

Let go of the idea that what happened was a mistake.

Ever a mistake.

Thank you for that reminder.

And she also writes,

Is it self-rejection?

Wow.

Awareness is coming to me about my own question.

Good,

Good,

Good.

You know,

Don't blame yourself now.

You know,

You used to blame others,

You used to blame life for not accepting you.

Now you blame yourself.

No,

No,

I'm not accepting me.

Don't worry about that.

You just open your heart.

That's it.

That's the only thing you should be concerned about.

Open your heart to accept and embrace whatever is happening.

If whatever is happening now is a sense of,

You know,

Being left out,

Yeah,

It's okay.

That will pass.

Guaranteed.

You just stay open and relaxed.

Unintimidated.

Welcoming every experience.

Pleasant or unpleasant,

It's okay.

You are wide enough to accept all those types of experiences.

Jess is asking,

So there are no mistakes in life,

Okay?

However,

If my awareness is in the past,

Then I'm not experiencing the present.

Correct.

Life is happening right now.

Life is happening right now.

The question is,

Are you here to experience it,

Or are you busy with other things?

Busy with,

You know,

Your ideas about the past,

About the future,

The movies,

The historical movies that are currently screened in your mind,

Or the futuristic movies.

Are you living the fantasy,

Or are you living reality?

Reality can only be found here and now.

That's it.

Definitely.

So what to do in order to come back to the present moment?

Because,

You know,

It's very easy to be carried away by that movie.

Even now,

When we speak,

Huh?

You listen to my voice,

And two minutes later you find that you've been daydreaming about a different reality.

And you say,

No,

No,

I want to listen,

I want to listen.

And two minutes later,

Whoosh!

Have you noticed that?

So what to do in order to be present?

The best way that I know of is using the breath.

Harness the power of the breath.

Because the breath is only happening now.

It cannot happen any other time.

No,

I cannot ask you,

Please breathe five minutes ago.

You can only breathe now.

So if you want to go back and be in the present moment,

You just need to take a deep breath.

Okay,

I am in the present moment.

What is happening now?

I want to be available to that.

See what I'm saying?

Again and again,

Put your awareness on the breath.

And you are in the present moment.

Someone is asking,

The movie seems more interesting.

This moment is boring.

Yeah,

It's a problem.

We are addicted to the drama.

This is a difficult addiction.

It's a pandemic.

Everything has to be dramatic in order to grab our attention.

Otherwise,

We don't bother.

If it's not dramatic,

It's worthless.

So what to do?

Like the AA says,

The first thing is to admit.

The first thing is to admit.

Yes,

I am addicted.

I am an addict.

And my drug is drama.

I need drama in order to feel alive.

Justify my existence.

And if there is no drama,

I will create drama.

Just so there is drama.

Right?

But you really need to choose to be free of this addiction.

If you don't really want to be free of drama,

I guarantee you will never be.

How do you call it when somebody recovers from addiction?

I forgot the word.

You need to choose that.

You need to recognize that you are addicted.

And then you need to choose to be free of that addiction.

Recovering addict.

Yes.

The moment,

The present moment,

Would be more attractive to you than the drama.

This is when you know you are free.

This is when you are truly engaged.

This is when you are available to experience life.

To feel it with meaning.

To spread your love.

This is when you justify your existence.

Cynthia is asking,

I am powerless over drama.

My life is unmanageable by me.

My life is unmanageable by me.

That's what the 12-step program says.

I am not sure if you are declaring that on your life or that's a general remark.

But that's never the case.

That belief,

My life is unmanageable by me,

Is a disaster waiting to happen.

An awakened consciousness recognizes that everything that happens in life,

Everything that happens in life,

Happens because I am able to fully experience it.

Whatever is happening is like a play in a theater hall.

Sometimes there is a comedy on the stage,

Sometimes there is a tragedy.

Different types of plays are being played.

But my consciousness is like the theater hall.

It allows whatever is being played to be played.

It's not a problem.

Sometimes it's happy or sad.

It's not a problem.

Everything can be included.

All-inclusive consciousness is who I am.

And I am bigger.

I am bigger than anything I can experience.

Always.

And I can manage it.

100%.

Anna is asking,

Can you cut out the drama?

Anna is asking,

Can you cut out the drama at once and change it to Dharma?

Beautiful question.

Can you cut out the drama?

What makes a drama a drama?

The conflict that we have with it.

That's what makes the drama a drama.

Because you know,

Life sometimes is very low and mellow.

Sometimes it's very hectic.

There are ups and downs.

This is what makes life interesting.

It's not a problem.

It's not a drama.

It's just the nature of life.

A never-ending flow of change and passing events.

It's not a problem.

When does it become a problem?

When we have an opinion about it.

We are pro that.

We are against that.

When there is craving and aversions.

Right?

Yes,

Yes,

Yes.

No,

No,

No.

Yes,

No.

I want.

I don't want.

This makes the drama.

So can you stop that at once?

Definitely.

If you prefer the present moment over your opinions about it,

That's it.

You are free of drama.

I am going to say that again.

Write it down.

Drama ends when I prefer the present moment over my opinions about it.

Somebody,

Write it in the chat.

Copy,

Paste it.

Write it on the refrigerator.

Ah,

Cynthia is saying that in the 12-step program they believe that the higher power manages life.

Okay.

That's one way to look at it.

You know what's beautiful about the spiritual path?

It doesn't require you to believe anything.

Don't believe.

Don't believe anything I say.

It's not a religion.

In a religion you need to believe,

No?

It says so in the book or somebody told you.

So now you have to believe that this is the truth.

Because you don't know it.

Then you have to believe it.

Spirituality calls for direct experience.

Direct experience is knowledge,

Is knowing.

In the Bible to know someone is to be one with it.

That's the biblical term of knowing.

When they wanted to say that a man made love to a woman,

He said that he knew her.

They became one.

That's the meaning of knowing.

Me and the experience are one.

There is no experiencer.

There is only an experience.

In context of united consciousness.

And that's the meaning of knowing.

Context of united consciousness.

There is no room for belief.

How can you believe when you have met it directly?

What's the point of trying to believe in it?

You already know it.

See what I'm saying?

So don't bother.

This is not a religion.

Don't believe me.

Try it.

Meet it.

Engage with it.

Melt into it.

Then you will know it.

You don't need to believe it.

Kenny is saying,

Without the distraction of drama,

I'm faced with the pointlessness of being.

How do we find meaning in the now?

Wow,

That's a beautiful question.

Yeah.

Pointlessness.

What if I told you that there is no point to it?

There is no point.

It's completely pointless.

You will gain nothing.

Nothing.

The whole idea that you are here to learn and to develop and to grow and become more mature and whatever.

Your soul is here to learn and become better.

People have all these ideas.

I'm telling you,

Now forget about it.

It's irrelevant.

What would you say?

It's completely pointless.

Anything you thought you're going to gain,

I tell you,

It's futile.

Good.

Now open your heart.

Now open your heart.

Now that you know for a fact that this journey that you are on is going to be a journey that you will never forget.

Provides you with no benefit whatsoever.

Now open your heart.

Free of any agenda,

Any expectation.

Yeah.

This is not an invitation for despair.

This is an invitation for surrender.

Do you see the difference?

Surrender yourself.

Surrender your agenda.

Surrender your ego and your egoistic motivations.

Surrender the comfort zone that you built around you to protect yourself against life.

Surrender all that.

Be available.

Allow life to touch you.

To scratch you.

To caress you.

Develop an attitude that says,

Yes,

I am here.

Your will,

Thy will be done.

Thy will be done.

I am here.

Completely available,

Free of any preconception.

That's a successful life.

Don't you agree?

Drama ends when I prefer the present moment over my opinions of it.

Thank you,

Anna.

And Jess is saying,

So if we are in the present now,

Then our future,

Our architecture will drop off if we are not planning it in the present.

Then our future will be just happenstance.

I am not sure I understand the question.

Random,

Not planned,

Spontaneous.

Yeah,

Good.

Spontaneous.

Rejoice life.

Don't be too busy trying to control it.

Yeah,

If you need to make plans,

You know,

And portray in your mind the journey towards a certain goal,

Yeah,

That's good.

But don't be too busy with the idea that only when you reach that goal you will be happy.

That's not the case.

That's never the case.

Happiness is being here right now.

Not at the end of your journey.

Enlightenment will never happen later.

This is a sentence I said two hours ago in Hebrew to my Hebrew class.

Enlightenment will never happen later,

When something else will happen,

You know.

When I am more ready or mature or whatever.

If you think enlightenment will happen later,

I guarantee it will never happen.

Rejoice life.

Right now,

Right here.

It's a once in a lifetime opportunity.

This present moment,

Right now.

Be here.

Open your heart to it.

Hmm?

Shalom,

Shalom,

Roshel.

What else?

We have time for one more question.

Melissa is saying,

I spent most of my life in a state of anxiety,

Panicking about the worst that could happen.

Last year the worst happened,

And the world didn't end.

It didn't end.

It was then that I realized that all the anxiety was so futile.

It's ironic.

Isn't it ironic?

That in my worst grief I was freed from my chronic anxiety.

It's so beautiful.

I guarantee the worst you believe could happen,

Will happen.

Your own body will be destroyed.

And everyone that you know will die.

So what?

An awakened consciousness is not intimidated by life.

An awakened consciousness is not intimidated by life.

How can the theater hall be intimidated by the show that is currently played on the stage?

That's ridiculous.

Do you see that?

Life happens.

It's okay.

It's okay.

Sometimes it's pleasant,

Sometimes it's unpleasant.

Sometimes it's painful,

Sometimes it's pleasurable.

It's not a problem.

You just make sure that you are available to experience whatever is happening.

Because you know,

You are eternal.

Life cannot destroy you.

Shows start and end.

And the people there on the stage,

They keep changing clothes and roles.

Sometimes I am the good guy,

Sometimes I am the bad guy.

Sometimes I am the good guy,

Sometimes I am the bad guy.

Sometimes I am the man,

Sometimes I am the woman.

Sometimes the show ends,

They go back,

And then another show starts.

With new characters,

It's not a problem.

I am allowing that.

United consciousness is allowing life to happen.

And is not intimidated by it.

Do you see what I am saying?

I am eternal.

Life is temporary.

Everything that is born will also die.

The realm of experience is always changing.

Temporary.

I am eternal.

Yes?

Good,

Good,

Good.

So I want to invite you guys to join us on a beautiful series of talks starting June 28th.

On InsideTimer.

It's going to be a live,

Personal,

In-person meeting which will be also broadcasted on InsideTimer.

So if you haven't registered for that yet,

Please go to my page and register.

It's called Tantra The Supreme Understanding.

And it's the most beautiful journey you can ever take.

So make sure you sign up.

And you invite your friends.

They will thank you.

Guaranteed.

It's going to be throughout July and August.

Every Wednesday.

And there is a minimum donation there of $10 per session.

Which I am sure you can afford.

And I guarantee it will worth your while.

It's a very energetic,

Very charged journey that we are going to embark in 10 days or so.

So do join us.

Wednesday,

I think it is 6,

Mountain Time.

But you check out on InsideTimer.

It's already there.

So just check my page and you'll see.

And I would like to thank you for your presence here today.

This evening.

This morning.

Wherever you are.

And thank you for your beautiful and honest questions.

Thank you for your donations.

They are very helpful.

And I look forward to meeting you again.

Very soon.

Enjoy the rest of your day.

The rest of your weekend.

Keep reminding yourself what is most important to you.

You can keep reminding yourself what is most important to you in life.

Ok.

6.

30 to 9.

00 Mountain Time.

What is most important to you in life.

Don't forget it.

Bye bye.

Love you very much.

Meet your Teacher

Yaron EtzionEdmonton, AB, Canada

More from Yaron Etzion

Loading...

Related Meditations

Loading...

Related Teachers

Loading...
© 2026 Yaron Etzion. All rights reserved. All copyright in this work remains with the original creator. No part of this material may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

How can we help?

Sleep better
Reduce stress or anxiety
Meditation
Spirituality
Something else