Mind your elephant

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

llustrations: PETTERI LAAKKONEN

Text:TOMI ASTIKAINEN

Mind your elephant

Mind your elephant

Dysfunctional people

Ego-driven individuals

Dysfunctional relationships

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

“a mental image of who you

are, based on your personal

and cultural conditioning.”

You are not your ego

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

possessiveness, pleasure,

fear, keeping busy, thinking

Trying to be happy causes

suffering

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

“I need, I want, I desire”

“I should, I could, I would”

Silence the brain chatter

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

“I am because you are”

mindset affects behavior

behavior changes thoughts

The Nokia Generation

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

accept instead of judging

Appreciate assertiveness

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

empathy: “walk a mile in

another person’s shoes”

Practice compersion

enjoy others’ delight

Be radically honest

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

let go of safe and familiar

Do less, be more

free time to do nothing

Get rid of needless stuff

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

we can be self-organized

50% of ants do nothing

be the change you seek!

Competition is not enough

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

greed, self-interest, elitism

Who creates money?

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

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

knowing and doing the right

thing

off-the-greed

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