Emotional Healing Begins in the Present Moment in 2025

Why do states of depression and anxiety come up again and again, despite our best efforts? At their root, these obstacles arise primarily from how we relate to our minds, not from external causes. When we relate to our minds and emotions skillfully, it changes the whole dynamic and gives us back our personal power.

But until we gain those skills, we’re kind of stuck. 

We could characterize this problem as “cluelessness” – not a lack of intelligence, but a lack of emotional awareness, and I’m speaking from  personal experience! I suffered from bouts of depression starting in my teen years and I had no idea why. I was clueless. 

These bouts of depression continued as I grew into a young adult, even though, by that time, I was meditating a lot. Eventually  I was a family man with four kids, and that’s when things finally changed. I discovered and resolved my cluelessness!

Here’s what happened. I was living in Boulder, Colorado with my wife at the time and my four children, and I was working as a realtor. Having a large family and working on a sales commission, I experienced a normal amount of financial anxiety. I didn’t think I was clueless about what was going on there. 

One evening, at a realtors’ party, I had a brief conversation at the door as I was leaving. I got in my car, drove out onto the street, pulled over into a left turn lane, and sat waiting for the traffic light to change. 

A light rain started to sprinkle my windshield. The pink light at dusk shines through the raindrops – a beautiful display. As I was enjoying this small moment of natural wonder, I felt a familiar spiral of energy on one side of my head, pulling me in a downward direction. Typically, this sensation would have pulled  me into a dark, hopeless state. 

But this time was different.  Because this time, I was unselfconsciously rooted in “present time” – just watching rain fall gently on the windshield in this ordinary moment, sitting at an intersection, waiting for the light to change. In this lovely moment, why was  depression  showing up? It didn’t make sense. I straightened up a bit in my seat and asked, “What’s going on?” 

Immediately, my mind popped up a little video of me standing at the door, speaking with my colleague just before leaving the party. I saw him saying something that had hurt my feelings, and – this was the really amazing part – I saw myself repressing the hurt feeling with lightning speed! And next, I saw that I had given myself amnesia about stuffing down that hurt feeling, again with lightning speed! 

I had gotten into my car and was driving, clueless.  I had sat waiting at the intersection, clueless. And up until my mind showed me that little movie, I had also been clueless about the cause of my years of depression. The key lay in my ability to repress hurt feelings and create amnesia at lighting speed. The result had been to make myself clueless by cutting myself off from deeply important aspects of my inner life. 

Suddenly, I wasn’t clueless anymore. The habitual pull of depression didn’t go away then and there. It persisted for some time. But now, instead of feeling it as a sign that my life was hopeless and meaningless, it became a big help to me: it  alerted me that, at some point within the last 5-10 minutes, I had stuffed a feeling and given myself amnesia about the “stuffing.”.

I now knew to stop, breathe, and retrace my steps – back to the moment where I had planted the seeds of depression. I learned to retrieve and feel those repressed feelings without guilt or shame. And with that came a new sense of ease and personal strength.

Join our Webinar and learn these skills for yourself! 

Schedule: January 15 – February 5 – Wednesdays at 12 noon PST

Recordings of each live webinar will be available to view for 1 week.

Register here!

In this 4-part webinar beginning Wednesday, January 15, 2025, we will explore how to skillfully connect with the present moment to end cluelessness and promote emotional and mental healing. As you learn to do this regularly, you stop unconsciously creating states of anxiety, depression, fear, and shame. 

Once you connect with your true feelings, beneficial states naturally arise, and fresh qualities of aliveness unfold from within. You recover your natural capacity to relate to the world with joy, courage and integrity, regardless of the challenges you face. 

Most participants in our webinars report feeling ease, lightness, and inner peace growing within just a few minutes of practicing the methods they’ve learned.. And to help you clearly understand any aspect of those methods, in each session there will be plenty of time for discussion and Q&A.

Schedule

WEEK 1
How to Connect with the Present Moment 
Wednesday January 15
12pm PST  |  8pm BST

WEEK 2
How to Ask a Question that Sparks Healing Insight
Wednesday January 22
12pm PST  |  8pm BST

WEEK 3
How to Recognize What’s Really Going On
Wednesday January 29
12pm PST  |  8pm BST

WEEK 4
How to Connect with True Thoughts and Feelings
Wednesday February 5
12pm PST  |  8pm BST


Registration and Recordings

Register Now! We are offering 3 payment options. We trust you to choose the one that is appropriate to your situation. We look forward to seeing you soon.

Zoom links will be sent to registered participants. Recordings of each live session will be available to view for 1 week. 

Register  here!

Many international students are unable to participate live at this time of day, but they join to take advantage of unlimited viewing of the recorded sessions. Each session is available to view for 1 week after each class

Find your time zone at WorldTimeBuddy.com to decide if you prefer to attend the webinar live or choose to watch the videos. Participants who attend live will also have access to the videos.

 

“Jack shared an immense amount of practical knowledge in an interactive and experiential way that allowed us to participate and ask questions. Jack helped us all to release limiting beliefs and habits. I completed the webinar with the clarity and courage to live authentically.”

– Andreas A., Cyprus

“I am deeply moved by your webinar and by the generosity of all who shared their experiences. Your insights knocked my socks off. And I wasn’t wearing any socks! Drama, joy, humor, and the human condition. I want to continue this journey. Next webinar, please!”

– Mark H., Florida

 

Jack Elias has studied and practiced Buddhism since 1967, first with Zen teacher Suzuki Roshi, then with Buddhist teachers Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. A hypnotherapist and NLP trainer since 1988, Jack is known for his smart, boisterous humor and for distilling profound insights into simple techniques anyone can practice with lasting positive results.