In a way, it is really the fear of death. Yes, our survival is often tied into jobs, relationships, money, virtually anything that is form. And survival is the survival of the “me.” So in a deeper sense it is all about identity, and “who I am.” Until there is a recognition of awareness as our real identity, we tend to look to thought for a sense of self. Jobs, relationships, money are experienced as thoughts. “I feel secure because I’m bringing home a paycheck.” “I’m scared because I just lost my job.” “What will I do if the economy crashes?” “I will be lost if my wife leaves me.” It is normal to believe that these thoughts are pointing to an objective reality. But these are first and foremost thoughts. Nothing more than images coming and going in awareness. They are not pointing to a reality beyond themselves. It is only by thinking the thought, “The future will be bleak” that creates the sense that the future will be bleak. Outside of that thought, there is no future and no “bleak.” This doesn’t mean that we don’t take practical steps like saving money, showing up for work and looking for a job when we lose a job. But when these steps are divorced from the psychological fear of future, they happen very easily, without worry or fear. Life lives itself.

Start noticing the script as it runs in your head. Notice the ways in which thought projects outward into future, creating scenarios of fear, threat, loss, suffering, sickness, and even death. This is the movement of the separate self, projecting outward into a dream of time. It’s thought. As long as you have a future, you have a separate self sense. And future is always thought. And thought is always an appearance occurring in present awareness, never outside of it. In that sense, there is no future. No one has ever touched anything called future except as a thought happening now.

What would it be like to have no future in a psychological sense? I mean to have no expectations. To know nothing about what is going to happen. That is freedom—freedom to live fully now. It’s quite natural actually because in fact we don’t know what is going to happen. All we have are thoughts that play various scenarios basically alternating between scripts involving hope (“The future will be better”) and fear (“The future will be worse”). In this invitation to start noticing the script, notice that whatever sees these thoughts as they appear IS already awareness. Awareness is already whole and complete. Awareness is outside stories of time, past, future, threat, survival, etc. That awareness is what you are. It is the only “thing” that does not come and go. It is untouched by these stories. It is like the opening through which the stories come and go.

By just making it a priority to notice that you are this awareness in all situations, regardless of whether you find the mind telling a good or bad story, this awareness is seen to have all the stability you are seeking. Do you see that the mind is seeking stability when these future stories are appearing? The self wants to know it will be ok. But there really is no stability in this future story. It is very shaky and always under threat. The mere thought of losing a job tends to shake one’s entire identity. This is because this thought-based self is not our real identity. Nothing real can be threatened. This is why it is important to recognize that your identity is awareness. This provides the stability you are seeking and provides a great capacity to handle anything from job loss, to sickness, suffering and even death of the physical body. This takes time out of the picture as this menacing force that always feels like it is haunting you.

Scott