the chessboard of time
Written by Desmond Olubunmi · Founder of Sunya
Gaining profound wisdom and mental maturity by observing the network of your past actions, radically accepting your present position, and strategically directing your future. It is also the deep work of recognising that the “person” you take yourself to be is not a fixed entity — it is a constantly changing phenomenon, held entirely within the eternal Now.
The unconscious mind uses the past to generate guilt and the future to generate anxiety — draining the energy system and keeping you contracted. Mindful reflection is the antidote.
It allows you to step back and view your life as a grand chessboard: your past moves (cause) have perfectly determined where you are now (effect), and how you move from here determines what becomes available to you in the future. This is the ultimate network of action and consequence — Karma. Through this self-understanding, the nature of time becomes clear.
The “person” you think you are is not a fixed, solid entity; it is a constantly evolving, changing phenomenon. And the “past” is just a memory, the “future” just an imagination — both are simply thoughts arising in the absolute container of the present moment.
When you see this, you stop resisting your current position, extract the wisdom from your history, and use your present choices to architect the future with intelligence and clarity.
The objective review — mapping the past: Sit quietly and look back at your history without a shred of judgment, guilt, or regret.
Ask yourself: why am I the way I am? Trace the network of your past actions, environments, and decisions to see how they logically led to your current traits and circumstances. Extract the hard-learned wisdom from your previous moves on the board.
Radical acceptance — the present coordinates: Look honestly at exactly where you are positioned right now. Drop all resistance and complaint. You cannot make an intelligent move while arguing with where your pieces currently stand. Accept your present reality completely — recognising it as the perfect, cumulative result of everything that came before.
Observing the phenomenon — detaching from identity: As you reflect on who you were five years ago versus who you are today, notice that the “person” is a constantly changing phenomenon. You are not a fixed object; you are a moving process. Seeing this deepens mental maturity — it detaches your sense of self from past mistakes and frees you to evolve without the weight of a rigid self-image.
Strategic positioning — architecting the future: Now turn your gaze forward. Having accepted your current position on the board, envision the exact reality you want to create.
Ask yourself: what is the most intelligent, strategic choice I can make right now to move toward that future?
Collapsing time into the Now: Finally, pull the attention back from past and future entirely. The entire network of your life — every past lesson, every future vision — is being held right here, in the eternal Now. Ground your strategic clarity into immediate, present-moment action.
Mindful reflection transforms you from an unconscious reactor into a master strategist of your own existence. By studying the past, you gain unparalleled wisdom. By accepting the present, you dissolve the friction of resistance, freeing enormous vital energy. By strategically positioning the future, you become the conscious creator of your destiny.
You navigate the complex network of time and action with grace, anchored in the only place where true power exists: the present moment.
Occasional writing on the levers, the practices, and how to actually work with them.
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