Mind Your Elephant

llustrations: PETTERI LAAKKONEN Text:TOMI ASTIKAINEN

Mind your elephant How to get rid of your ego, connect with others and save the world

Mind your elephant

Mind your elephant 

Dysfunctional people 

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Dysfunctional relationships 

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Ego-driven individuals Artificial separateness

Dysfunctional society 

Systemic crisis

“A person with ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good.” Desmond Tutu

You are not your elephant

You are not your elephant 

Elephant is your ego 

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You are not your ego 

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“a mental image of who you are, based on your personal and cultural conditioning.” your name, age, body, title or profession is not you

You are the consciousness behind your elephant

“I am that by which I know I am” Nisargadatta Maharaj

Suffering is elephant food

Suffering is elephant food 

The obsessive compulsives 

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Trying to be happy causes suffering 

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possessiveness, pleasure, fear, keeping busy, thinking

concentrate on peace, love and joy within

Acceptance is the key 

accept that everything is unsatisfactory, impermanent and has no self

“Why are you unhappy? Because 99.9 per cent of everything you think, and of everything you do, is for yourself. And there isn't one.” Wei wu Wei

The elephant has taken over

The elephant has taken over 

Elephant speech  

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Silence the brain chatter 

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“I need, I want, I desire” “I should, I could, I would” elephant is in the past and in the future; be in the now

Replace fear with love  

accept the fact that your elephant is afraid take everything as a gift

“For some our dialogue of brain chatter runs so fast that we can barely keep up with what we are thinking..” Jill Bolte Taylor

The crocodile dentist

The crocodile dentist 

The Golden Rule 2.0   

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The Nokia Generation 

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“I am because you are” mindset affects behavior behavior changes thoughts focus on the whole, parts and interconnections

Give for the sake of giving 

scrap “what’s in it for me”

“We live in a time of chaos, as rich in the potential for disaster as for new possibilities. How will we navigate these times? The answer is, together.” Margaret Wheatley

Elephant in crocodile’s mouth

Elephant in crocodile’s mouth 

Spot the elephant in both 

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Appreciate assertiveness 

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accept instead of judging defend everyone’s rights focus on what works

Law of Garbage Truck 

don’t take things personally

“Only actions that do not cause opposing reactions are those that are aimed at the good of all.” Eckhart Tolle

Relationships without elephant

Relationships without elephant 

Aim for egoless synergy 

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Practice compersion 

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enjoy others’ delight

Be radically honest 

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empathy: “walk a mile in another person’s shoes”

minimize your “assholiness”

Communicate everything 

we cannot read minds... yet

“When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.” Ernest Hemingway

The culture of letting go

The culture of letting go 

Acknowledge the facts 

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Do less, be more 

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free time to do nothing

Get rid of needless stuff 

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let go of safe and familiar

learn to minimize craving, delusion and attachment

It can feel like dying 

when the ego dies, you can be reborn and grow up

“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.” Lao Tzu

Society of ants

Society of ants 

We don’t need control 

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50% of ants do nothing 

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be the change you seek!

Competition is not enough 

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we can be self-organized

co-create for common good

We are already connected 

how do we work as a system?

“As a thinker and planner, the ant is the equal of any savage race of men; as a self-educated specialist in several arts, she is the superior of any savage race of men; and in one or two high mental qualities she is above the reach of any man, savage or civilized!” Mark Twain

Monetary system is unhealthy 

System-created values 

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Who creates money? 

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greed, self-interest, elitism 1-3 % is coins and bills money is debt who pays the interest?

Nature and we suffer  

are you free or in debt? what are the alternatives?

Towards a new society

What kind of world would you like to see?

Towards a new society 

Equal opportunity to abundance is the key 

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I am because you are because we are

New culture is needed   

meaningful co-creation and agile development bestowal and abundance authenticity, awareness and dialogue

“Our customs, behaviors, and values are by-products of our culture. If the environment is unaltered, similar problems and behaviors will reoccur.” Peter Joseph

Be the awakening

Be the awakening 

off-the-creed 

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off-the-greed 

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knowing and doing the right thing from monetarism to free co-creation

off-the-grid 

small self-reliant and interlinked communities

“Everything in your life is there as a vehicle for your transformation. Use it!” Ram Dass

www.mindyourelephant.org