Hello Everyone -
How are you doing? So lovely to connect!
So, why IS the Present Moment such a big deal?
Why is it always emphasized and seen as a pathway to peace, well-being and contentment?
Because, otherwise, we are living in our imagination.
We fluctuate between projecting the past onto the brand new present, or onto “the future” - which in fact, we are only able to fantasize.
It’s all just a process of thinking.
It’s like story-telling, or watching a movie - don’t forget your popcorn!
It would all be relatively harmless, except that “past images” and “future images” have the potential to usurp our lives.
We also BELIEVE them! We take them to be the Truth! They keep us trapped, replaying events, continually re-imaging what is over. Or we project them onto a “future”, which we are likewise imagining.
Knowing at some level that we can’t do anything with situations that don’t exist, we can feel dis-empowered, nervous and anxious. Our thinking is actually creating suffering.
We even image each other! We see each other through configurations of memories, beliefs and short-hand conditioned interpretations, rather than witnessing the unique, magnificent and mysterious being each of us actually is!
This is why the Buddhists refer to our journey through life as a “Path to Liberation”.
The Way Out - the exit ramp - is to Stop and Become Aware. To recognize that we have been watching a movie - fully engrossed actually. Watching a movie starring ME in all the scenes!
Simply this “Waking Up”, this realization that we have been caught in our imagination, brings us automatically into the here and now - into Reality, where we can now be effective in some way. It “snaps us out of it” - we are awake and in touch with the moment, the reality of our life & being alive. But how long does it last? How long is it before we are back, drawn into the movie theatre with all its drama, conflicts, judgements, terrors and certainty that we are right? This is why we practice. To strengthen this awareness, our presence and openness in our own lives.
It’s always the present moment - whether we are lost to it, or enjoying it. The present moment is also very manageable! Moment by moment, it is so simple! We live one moment at a time!
We can connect with what is real!
We can also connect with clarity, our own judgement, intelligence and creativity - and we are able to respond in the most effective way for all concerned. A response that speaks to the living moment.
We are letting life unfold and enjoying being part of the experience.
We are engaging with life, with interest and curiosity - rather than working so hard to control it!
It’s an insight and a shift in perception that makes ALL the difference. It brings us out of feeling stuck or overwhelmed into being fully alive.
Actually, it’s interesting to consider, “Who would I be - without my story”?
Wow - really worth considering and reflecting upon how liberating and expansive that could be!
In Buddhist terms, we would be able to access the underlying peace that is always within us.
To live in what they call the “Spaciousness of Being, the State of Grace”. This is in contrast with the nature of the “Conditioned Mind” - the place of beliefs, defenses, fears, fixed positions and who we have “learned” to be. Our default position.
Our little exercise of Stopping, looking around at objects around us - a chair, a cup, some pens, the window, a tree outside the window, a bird as it flies - for a few minutes, then ask,
“At this moment, am I okay?” brings you right in touch with the peace and well-being of the present moment. As Thich Nhat Hanh would say, “invite this moment several times throughout the day, and live out of the peace, joy and inner stillness it brings.”
Even in this time of Covid, with its uncertainties, live moment by moment, awake and aware, in peace and stability, with clarity, confidence and creativity.
I am attaching a post for you, from Brain Pickings, a site I am sure you will enjoy - presenting a new book called “Yes to Life”, a compilation of Viktor Frankel’s writings, not previously published. Also, if you are looking for a book on Mindfulness and its application, I love “Our Pristine Mind - A Practical Guide to Unconditional Happiness” - how’s that for a title!
I enjoyed it so much, all the pages in my copy are underlined, with comments filling every available space. I even took it to a store to have the binding changed for a spiral one!
Wishing you wonderful moments of enjoying this Glorious Summer - of drippy watermelon, sweet berries, sunshine and rain - soft cooling showers and dramatic thunderstorms alike.
We are all at home and in touch with each other in the very same present moment.
We can all meet there!
Much happiness!
Lynda
https://mailchi.mp/brainpickings/viktor-frankl-susan-b-anthony-frederick-douglass-virginia-woolf?e=cfdd374a20
How are you doing? So lovely to connect!
So, why IS the Present Moment such a big deal?
Why is it always emphasized and seen as a pathway to peace, well-being and contentment?
Because, otherwise, we are living in our imagination.
We fluctuate between projecting the past onto the brand new present, or onto “the future” - which in fact, we are only able to fantasize.
It’s all just a process of thinking.
It’s like story-telling, or watching a movie - don’t forget your popcorn!
It would all be relatively harmless, except that “past images” and “future images” have the potential to usurp our lives.
We also BELIEVE them! We take them to be the Truth! They keep us trapped, replaying events, continually re-imaging what is over. Or we project them onto a “future”, which we are likewise imagining.
Knowing at some level that we can’t do anything with situations that don’t exist, we can feel dis-empowered, nervous and anxious. Our thinking is actually creating suffering.
We even image each other! We see each other through configurations of memories, beliefs and short-hand conditioned interpretations, rather than witnessing the unique, magnificent and mysterious being each of us actually is!
This is why the Buddhists refer to our journey through life as a “Path to Liberation”.
The Way Out - the exit ramp - is to Stop and Become Aware. To recognize that we have been watching a movie - fully engrossed actually. Watching a movie starring ME in all the scenes!
Simply this “Waking Up”, this realization that we have been caught in our imagination, brings us automatically into the here and now - into Reality, where we can now be effective in some way. It “snaps us out of it” - we are awake and in touch with the moment, the reality of our life & being alive. But how long does it last? How long is it before we are back, drawn into the movie theatre with all its drama, conflicts, judgements, terrors and certainty that we are right? This is why we practice. To strengthen this awareness, our presence and openness in our own lives.
It’s always the present moment - whether we are lost to it, or enjoying it. The present moment is also very manageable! Moment by moment, it is so simple! We live one moment at a time!
We can connect with what is real!
We can also connect with clarity, our own judgement, intelligence and creativity - and we are able to respond in the most effective way for all concerned. A response that speaks to the living moment.
We are letting life unfold and enjoying being part of the experience.
We are engaging with life, with interest and curiosity - rather than working so hard to control it!
It’s an insight and a shift in perception that makes ALL the difference. It brings us out of feeling stuck or overwhelmed into being fully alive.
Actually, it’s interesting to consider, “Who would I be - without my story”?
Wow - really worth considering and reflecting upon how liberating and expansive that could be!
In Buddhist terms, we would be able to access the underlying peace that is always within us.
To live in what they call the “Spaciousness of Being, the State of Grace”. This is in contrast with the nature of the “Conditioned Mind” - the place of beliefs, defenses, fears, fixed positions and who we have “learned” to be. Our default position.
Our little exercise of Stopping, looking around at objects around us - a chair, a cup, some pens, the window, a tree outside the window, a bird as it flies - for a few minutes, then ask,
“At this moment, am I okay?” brings you right in touch with the peace and well-being of the present moment. As Thich Nhat Hanh would say, “invite this moment several times throughout the day, and live out of the peace, joy and inner stillness it brings.”
Even in this time of Covid, with its uncertainties, live moment by moment, awake and aware, in peace and stability, with clarity, confidence and creativity.
I am attaching a post for you, from Brain Pickings, a site I am sure you will enjoy - presenting a new book called “Yes to Life”, a compilation of Viktor Frankel’s writings, not previously published. Also, if you are looking for a book on Mindfulness and its application, I love “Our Pristine Mind - A Practical Guide to Unconditional Happiness” - how’s that for a title!
I enjoyed it so much, all the pages in my copy are underlined, with comments filling every available space. I even took it to a store to have the binding changed for a spiral one!
Wishing you wonderful moments of enjoying this Glorious Summer - of drippy watermelon, sweet berries, sunshine and rain - soft cooling showers and dramatic thunderstorms alike.
We are all at home and in touch with each other in the very same present moment.
We can all meet there!
Much happiness!
Lynda
https://mailchi.mp/brainpickings/viktor-frankl-susan-b-anthony-frederick-douglass-virginia-woolf?e=cfdd374a20
