We can be awake and intimately in touch with the mystery of the present moment. This is a lifestyle choice, not a goal. When something appears to take us out of present-moment experience, we can question it rather than follow it with credulity. We don’t have to let it hoodwink us with the promise that we will be in touch with the mystery of present

Everything we do is for the purpose of altering consciousness. We form friendships so that we can feel love and avoid loneliness. We eat specific foods to enjoy their fleeting presence on our tongues. We read for the pleasure of thinking another person’s thoughts. Every waking moment—and even in our dreams—we struggle to direct the flow of sensatio

But the true discipline is to remain committed, throughout the whole of one’s life, to waking up from the dream of the self. We need not take anything on faith to do this. In fact, the only alternative is to remain confused about the nature of our minds.