For years, I carried my work, visions, and ideas everywhere—even into my sleep. I was always on.

This became most painful at night. Lying in bed, my mind would refuse to shut down. I'd mentally rehearse meetings, strategize future plans, or relive conversations from the day. My body was trying to rest, but my mind was still running a marathon. Sleep became a battle, a desperate race I almost always lost.

I had no idea it was all connected to one simple, profound truth.

I was living in a constant state of misalignment.

The masters and spiritual teachers I've read all talk about this. They say that problems aren't created by external events, but by our mental resistance to the present moment. I just never understood what that really meant until my own experience.

My mind's habit of thinking about the past and future—my constant obsession with "what if" and "what's next"—was a form of deep misalignment. My body was in bed, but my mind was at the office. My physical reality was in the bedroom, but my mental reality was a million miles away, lost in the noise of my own thoughts.

This misalignment created countless issues I didn't even realize had the same root cause: stress, anxiety, emotional burnout, and, most painfully, the inability to find rest.

Then, I stumbled upon a practice so radical in its simplicity, it changed everything. I started applying a single rule to my life:

When I eat, just eat.

When I sleep, just sleep.

And for the first time in years, I slept deeply. Effortlessly. Like a child who knows nothing of deadlines or future worries.

It struck me: the root of many of my struggles wasn’t lack of effort, discipline, or strategy.
It was misalignment with Presence.

*The Night I Finally Slept Like a Child Again*

Problems are not solved by effort but by realignment with Presence, where they dissolve.

Many Masters across traditions have said essentially that:

Eckhart Tolle: He teaches that Presence (pure awareness without resistance) dissolves problems because most “problems” are mental constructs created by identification with past and future. In alignment with Presence, you act with clarity rather than with fear or compulsion. Misalignment — being lost in mind or ego — is what perpetuates suffering.
Jiddu Krishnamurti: He pointed out that conflict arises only in division — when the observer is separate from the observed. In Presence (no division, pure seeing), there’s no conflict. Misalignment is fragmentation, which is the root of psychological problems.
Ramana Maharshi: He emphasized Self-inquiry, which leads to abidance in the Self (Presence). He said that problems dissolve when the “I” that suffers them dissolves into awareness. Misalignment is simply forgetting the Self.
David R. Hawkins: He explained it in terms of levels of consciousness. Alignment with higher consciousness (love, acceptance, peace, enlightenment) resolves issues because you perceive reality differently. Misalignment (pride, fear, anger, guilt) generates problems and perpetuates them. In his view, problems are a manifestation of a lower consciousness, and by raising your level of alignment, the problems simply cease to exist.
Yogananda: He often taught that when you align with the divine Presence (God within), harmony flows naturally. Misalignment (ego-driven will, restlessness) disrupts harmony, creating struggles in health, relationships, and purpose.
Zen Masters: In Zen, “When the mind is clear, the right action appears by itself.” Presence is clarity. Misalignment (mind entangled in past/future, self/other, like/dislike) creates samsara — endless cycles of problems.
Thich Nhat Hanh: The Zen Master taught that mindfulness is the key to this alignment. By focusing on simple, daily tasks—like drinking tea or washing dishes—you bring your full attention to the present moment, which liberates you from the tyranny of your mental stories.
So, across wisdom traditions, the teaching is consistent:
Presence-alignment = flow, harmony, clarity, natural resolution.
Misalignment with Presence = resistance, division, confusion, suffering.

The Night I Finally Slept Like a Child Again