“Life always gives us exactly the teacher we need at every moment. This includes every mosquito, every misfortune, every red light, every traffic jam, every obnoxious supervisor (or employee), every illness, every loss, every moment of joy or depression, every addiction, every piece of garbage, every breath. Every moment is the guru.”
—Charlotte Joko Beck
 

was in a conversation with a client and we were talking about the voices in our heads. I told him the good news and the bad news about the voices. I started with the bad news. I told him that the voices never go away. On the other end of the phone, I could hear him gasp. Then, I told him the good news: The voices are our greatest allies. They motivate us to stay present, awake, and alert. Because if we don’t stay centered, we get swept under their control and lost in their dramas.

Therefore the object of the game is to learn everything we can about the voices. How they work. What they say. When they arise. How they create resistance. How we get fooled by them. Everything.

Now, this approach is counter to the advice we are given about how to deal with our thoughts. We are told we need to control them. We are told we need to focus on the positive. We are told to quiet our minds. Or we are told that thoughts are just thoughts. We sweep them under the rug, never examine them, and avoid them at all costs.

I don’t encourage any of that. Why have that kind of relationship with an illusion? If you know that you’re dealing with an unhelpful thought, why give it that kind of power over you? Instead, acknowledge it, understand it, and learn about it. This so you can never be fooled by it again. When you’re clear about the multifarious ways it causes you to suffer, you can simply stop believing it. That’s when you begin using the enemy as your spiritual opportunity for awakening.

In consciousness, the voices are our tools. In unconsciousness, we are tools for the voices.

Every moment is our opportunity to see what we are choosing: Suffering or freedom.