|
EXCERPTS FROM CHAPTER
5:
PRESENT MOMENT AWARENESS
Excerpt 1: "The
present is real simply because it is the only time that your
total being (i.e., mind and body) actually experiences.
Ponder on this for a moment: "Is your body ever physically
in the past or the future when you're thinking about either
of them?" The answer is of course a resounding NO,
which makes it very obvious, that any time other than the
present exists solely within your mind."
|
Excerpt 2: "The
truth is that the past is merely an illusion, as it is only
what your mind is able to selectively remember. Moreover,
the longer something remains in the mind, the more it changes
and the less it reflects what may have actually occurred.
The bottom line is that all you really have is your perception
of what happened, and it is not necessarily clear, since
the lens you are looking through may actually be clouded
by the emotions associated with that memory."
|
Excerpt 3: "The
past only has an impact on the present when you continue
to waste your powerful thought and feeling energies on something
that no longer exists at all, other than in your own mind.
Whatever it was that happened is finished now, and no matter
how uncomfortable it was for you, you need to come to the
understanding that at some level you chose it, and that it
helped to build your character and make you a stronger individual."
|
| Excerpt 4: "To
varying degrees, every single one of us is apprehensive about
the future (i.e., the unknown), and so we burn amazing amounts
of energy trying to get a hold on something that quite simply
is impossible to grasp. According to Fr. Anthony DeMello: |
| |
So why are you anxious?
Can you, for all your anxieties, add a single moment to your
life? Why bother about tomorrow? Is there a life after death?
Why bother about tomorrow? Get into today. Someone once said, "Life
is what happens to us while we're busy making other plans." That's
pathetic.59 |
|
These certainly are powerful
words, and yet it is really tough to challenge DeMello's
observations. Think about it carefully for a moment or two.
What possible benefit can be derived from feeling anxious
about the future? The answer is none, unless of course you
happen to enjoy experiencing the feeling of anxiety."
[59 Anthony DeMello, Awareness,
(New York, NY: Image Books/Doubleday, 1992) p. 114]
|
| Excerpt 5: "Learning
to be fully in the present is a skill that requires constant
practice, because as you well know, your mind has strong
tendencies to migrate both forward and backward. The key
to mastering this skill is to regularly remind yourself of
the importance of truly focusing on what you are doing or
experiencing 'right now'. As Dan Millman so eloquently says
in his book The Laws of Spirit: |
| |
Embrace this moment, put
one foot in front of the other, and handle what's in front
of you. Because no matter where your mind may roam, you body
always remains here and now. When in haste, rest in the present.
Take a deep breath, and come back to here and now.63 |
|
| [63 Dan
Millman, The Laws of Spirit, (Tiburon, CA: H.J. Kramer,
Inc., 1995) p. 40] |
|
