The next time (and every time) you catch some negative thought or feeling that says, “I am anxious,” “I am scared,” “I am mad,” or “I am in so much pain” — the first thing to do is to come wide awake to yourself. By taking the following inner action, you can deliberately snap yourself out of that dark dream that is trying to weave itself into your identity. Rather than allowing yourself to be drawn into all the rea¬sons that have appeared in your mind to justify why you should cry, reach instead for the shelter of the present moment. Then, while know¬ing that this negative state is present and pressing you to identify with its little life, work as consciously as you can to drop everything in that negative declaration except for the awareness of I am.

In other words, let go of any dark definition of yourself about to be draped over you. Just stand there, in the Now, within the light of your awareness and allow your newly awakened state to give you its identity. Then be still; just watch. Be the new you that sees the moment as it is — instead of being deceived into seeing what that false I wants you to see so that it can go on stealing your life!