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How to Stop Overthinking and Just Live
Srikar Karra
October 19, 2024
Welcome to the Letters of Wonder, where I explore insights on wealth, fulfillment, growth, and mastery—sharing lessons and reflections to help you live a life filled with purpose.
Quote of the Week:
"Happiness is not found in time, it’s found in the timeless presence of this moment."
I recently attended a thought-provoking talk by philosopher and author Rupert Spira.
At the end of the talk, there was a Q&A session. One of the attendees, now a friend, asked Rupert something along the lines of, “How do I be present in my true being?”
Rupert: “Describe to me how you know you are ‘being’.”
My friend: “I’m breathing and…”
Rupert: “No, that’s doing. Describe being.”
My friend (pausing, thinking): “I feel…”
Rupert: “No, that’s feeling.”
There was a brief silence as my friend struggled to find the words. In that silence, Rupert smiled.
Rupert: “Good. Now you’re getting there.”
The room was quiet. In that moment, it became clear that being isn’t about thinking, doing, or even feeling. It’s about simply being present—without the need to label it. When we are fully present, there’s literally no words to describe it. We just are.
If you didn’t understand fully (Rupert said it much better than I paraphrased above), my friend realized his true presence by just being. Although he knew he was “being”, he was unable to describe what that meant. He was just aware that he was being. And it’s this level of awareness of your being that brings the utmost presence and peace in your life. As Rupert says, “I just am”.
I know this may be a bit difficult to understand, especially given that I am no Rupert Spira. But the general idea is that the more aware you can become of the present moment, the more you can live life to the absolute fullest.
If the story above was confusing, read on to understand how you can more practically apply this in your life (maybe actually listening to Rupert Spira may be more helpful).
Story of the Week:
The Tale of the Monk and the Warrior
In a peaceful village, there lived a monk named Haru. He was known for his wisdom and deep sense of presence. Whether he was meditating, sweeping the temple floor, or making tea, Haru gave his full attention to every moment. His calmness and ability to stay present made him highly respected by all.
One day, while walking through the busy market, Haru’s mind was focused on the beauty of the day—the birds singing, the breeze on his face. Without realizing it, he accidentally bumped into a fierce warrior who was passing by.
The warrior, insulted that a simple monk had dared to brush against him without even looking, became furious. “How dare you insult me!” the warrior roared. “I challenge you to a duel at sunrise! Prepare yourself—you will need more than your calm mind to face me!”
Haru, still calm and unfazed, simply bowed and said, “If that is your wish, I will meet you at sunrise.”
That evening, as Haru sat in quiet meditation, he reflected on the upcoming duel. He was not a fighter—he had never held a sword in his life. Yet, he felt no fear. He didn’t need to seek answers from anyone else. In the stillness of the present moment, Haru realized something important: the warrior’s challenge was based on pride and fear, but neither pride nor fear existed in the present moment. Only peace did.
“Why should I fear tomorrow’s duel?” Haru thought to himself. “Fear only exists when I worry about the future. But if I stay in this moment—right now—there is nothing to fear. Tomorrow does not exist, only this moment does.”
And with that, Haru made up his mind. He wouldn’t approach the duel like the warrior expected. He would simply be fully present.
The next morning, as the sun rose, Haru arrived at the duel. The warrior stood tall, gripping his sword, ready to strike. But Haru stood there without a weapon, completely at ease, his hands resting calmly at his sides.
The warrior sneered, “Have you come to die, monk? Where is your weapon?”
Haru smiled softly and said, “I do not need one. I am here, in this moment, with no thoughts of winning or losing. I am simply present.”
The warrior charged forward, but as he drew closer, he felt something strange. Haru wasn’t scared. There was no tension in his body, no fear in his eyes. The warrior stopped in his tracks, confused.
“How can you stand there so calmly, knowing I could kill you?” the warrior asked, lowering his sword slightly.
Haru’s gaze was steady. “You see, while you are thinking of the outcome, I am only here, now. I am not in the past, nor am I worried about the future. The present moment is all there is, and in this moment, I am at peace.”
The warrior, bewildered, dropped his sword. He had never met anyone so calm in the face of danger. “You have already won,” he said quietly. “I came to defeat you with my sword, but you have defeated me with your presence. How can I fight someone who has no fear?”
Haru bowed gently. “When you let go of the future and live fully in the now, you will understand. In the present moment, there is no fear, only peace.”
From that day on, the warrior no longer sought battles. Instead, he spent his time learning the art of presence from Haru, finding more strength in peace than in the blade of a sword.
The lesson: They say that true life is in the present moment. Everything else only exists in our mind. By surrendering fully to the present moment, Haru tapped into the divine state.
If you think about the best times of your life, you may find that it was when you were fully surrendered to the present moment.
When you were a kid running around with your friends. When you went on your first date with the love of your life. When you finally had that breakthrough in your business. Yes, these were all things that made you feel amazing. But the common pattern is that you were fully in the moment.
Just as the warrior surrendered to the monk, you too will find the same happening in your life. When you surrender to this divine moment, the most beautiful things will surrender to you.
Reflection of the Week:
In my own life, I’ve been practicing being more grounded in the present moment. It’s very easy to get caught up in thoughts of the future or memories of the past. But the truth is, life is presence. Imagine how beautiful of a life one may live if each and every moment is as beautiful as the next.
By no means is being fully present easy. I find myself thinking of things from the past or having nervous thoughts of the future. But the more I bring myself to the present moment, the more these thoughts disappear completely.
I’ve also been noticing that surrendering causes thoughts to become more light. It starts to feel like I’m the observer of my life - where there is only presence and awareness and nothing else. Slowly it starts to turn into - “I’ll just let life guide me to wherever”. If I surrender to the present moment and do my dharma, then I know the Universe will cooperate.
No matter the path you take, learning to be more focused on the present moment is the most beautiful thing you can do. I find in my own life that the more present I am, the more harmonious life starts to appear.
In a past newsletter, I mentioned how Siddhartha learned from the river. Another thing the river taught him was being present. This allowed him to experience seeing magic in every moment of his life. Ultimately, it was the presence and stillness he learned from the river that made his entire life a beautiful synchronicity.
It may be a slow process, but you too might start start to find synchronicities happening everywhere in your life as you become more present with everything and everyone around you. So if you want to live an abundant life, try being more present and see how it starts to change things around you.
Idea of the Week:
Recently, I met up with a highly successful entrepreneur. One of the many lessons I took away from his success in life was to just be more present. He said that the less he focuses on the past or future, the more he can be here now. It was a beautiful concept that Ram Dass had extensively written about. I thought about how this idea of be here now can be a guiding principle to keep me from drifting into the past or future.
And that’s where presence anchors come in.
Presence anchors are small reminders you can use to pull yourself back to the present moment. You can employ these to start pulling yourself into the present more and more.
A few examples of presence anchors you can use:
Noticing Your Breath
Bringing your Awareness to Every Part of Your Body
Feeling the Ground Beneath You
Focusing Fully on a Single-Task in Front of You
Listening to Sounds Around You
A practical example: The next time you find yourself having thoughts of how great things were back in the day or how you have no idea what you’ll be doing in the future, gently bring your attention to your breath to anchor yourself into the now.
And here’s a small bonus idea if you really are thinking hard about this:
Take small actions in the present that your future self will thank you for. Whether it’s learning a new skill to make more money, eating healthier to live longer, or working on yourself to attract the right partner—since the kind of people you attract often reflects who you are, remember that being fully present and doing what you can today sets the foundation for the beautiful life you’re looking to get to.
That is why duty is so important. Combining duty + presence will lead to a marvelous life.
Anyways, let’s get back to being present. No pun intended 😆
The idea is that a presence anchor is anything you can use in order to focus your body and mind on the now.
It’s all about being here now. Because here is all we have now.
Question of the Week:
When was the last time you were so fully present that time seemed to disappear? What were you doing, and how can you bring that feeling into more moments of your life?
Hit reply and let me know—I’d love to hear your thoughts and learn from your experiences.
Thanks for reading!
