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Living in the moment

Geoff-Allen

Resident megalomaniac
Wasn't sure just where to post this ...

Hope you're all feeling well! And if not I hope things improve ...

Was just surfing around rather aimlessly when I came upon this article -

Life unfolds in the present. But so often, we let the present slip away, allowing time to rush past unobserved and unseized, and squandering the precious seconds of our lives as we worry about the future and ruminate about what's past. "We're living in a world that contributes in a major way to mental fragmentation, disintegration, distraction, decoherence," says Buddhist scholar B. Alan Wallace. We're always doing something, and we allow little time to practice stillness and calm.

For the full-piece - try this link -

The Art of Now: Six Steps to Living in the Moment

How often do you get that feeling of being effortlessly present?

All the best!
 

sun rise

The world is on fire
Premium Member
How often do you get that feeling of being effortlessly present?

My answer is rarely. Living in the moment for me does not mean that there is not effort. But rather that lower mind "chattering" is silenced or at least quieted down.
 

whirlingmerc

Well-Known Member
Wasn't sure just where to post this ...

Hope you're all feeling well! And if not I hope things improve ...

Was just surfing around rather aimlessly when I came upon this article -

Life unfolds in the present. But so often, we let the present slip away, allowing time to rush past unobserved and unseized, and squandering the precious seconds of our lives as we worry about the future and ruminate about what's past. "We're living in a world that contributes in a major way to mental fragmentation, disintegration, distraction, decoherence," says Buddhist scholar B. Alan Wallace. We're always doing something, and we allow little time to practice stillness and calm.

For the full-piece - try this link -

The Art of Now: Six Steps to Living in the Moment

How often do you get that feeling of being effortlessly present?

All the best!


Even Jesus said each day has enough troubles of its own. Taking one day at a time makes sense.
 

BSM1

What? Me worry?
Wasn't sure just where to post this ...

Hope you're all feeling well! And if not I hope things improve ...

Was just surfing around rather aimlessly when I came upon this article -

Life unfolds in the present. But so often, we let the present slip away, allowing time to rush past unobserved and unseized, and squandering the precious seconds of our lives as we worry about the future and ruminate about what's past. "We're living in a world that contributes in a major way to mental fragmentation, disintegration, distraction, decoherence," says Buddhist scholar B. Alan Wallace. We're always doing something, and we allow little time to practice stillness and calm.

For the full-piece - try this link -

The Art of Now: Six Steps to Living in the Moment

How often do you get that feeling of being effortlessly present?

All the best!


Might want to check out Eckhart Tolle. He wrote a book called "The Power Of Now".
 

Spirit of Light

Be who ever you want
Wasn't sure just where to post this ...

Hope you're all feeling well! And if not I hope things improve ...

Was just surfing around rather aimlessly when I came upon this article -

Life unfolds in the present. But so often, we let the present slip away, allowing time to rush past unobserved and unseized, and squandering the precious seconds of our lives as we worry about the future and ruminate about what's past. "We're living in a world that contributes in a major way to mental fragmentation, disintegration, distraction, decoherence," says Buddhist scholar B. Alan Wallace. We're always doing something, and we allow little time to practice stillness and calm.

For the full-piece - try this link -

The Art of Now: Six Steps to Living in the Moment

How often do you get that feeling of being effortlessly present?

All the best!
Most of the day.
 

Windwalker

Veteran Member
Premium Member
Only troubles? No happiness? Quite pessimistic. That is not living in present.
That's not what that passage is saying. It's all about not worrying about the future. It's saying each day has enough things to have to deal with, without creating a "what if" anxiety-ridden projection about a day that hasn't even come yet, so let all that go and be fully present in the moment of today. To think about the future is one thing. To live in the future fighting dragons that don't yet exist, or may never materialize at all, is another. Preserve your energies for dealing with the now, instead of letting it consume all your joy in worrying about things that are not today. It's not being pessimistic. It's an antidote to pesmissim:

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the (unenlightened) run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
This is very much teaching the principle of living in the moment, and for the same reasons. Be like the lilies of the field, for they don't worry and fret about tomorrow, they live and unfold in the moment, and are more glorious than any of our immortality projects. It's quite a beautiful teaching.
 

Windwalker

Veteran Member
Premium Member
Being only in the present moment is never effortlessly. It takes training since our mind is always in the past or the future.
When you are doing it, it is effortless. That's the point of doing it. :) The key for me is to simply check what is going on in your thoughts through being aware of your responses, particularily in the body. Are you feeling stressed? Is your brow furrowed? Are you clenching your teeth, tightening your shoulders, bracing for impact, looking down at the ground rather than what's in front of you? If you are, then you're living in the future.

Catch yourself, and say, "Oh yeah, I'm living in tomorrow," and then let that go and come back to now. The "difficulty", is simply a matter of breaking bad habits. You have to remind yourself and resist the temptations, until the old habits break. You create new habits, which then become the normal pattern instead of the old unhealthy patterns. Then, it becomes as natural as breathing, which is hopefully effortless. It's all just a matter of reprogramming our patterned responses. We don't have to be imprisoned by the body or mind's habits. Teach it new habits.
 
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Thief

Rogue Theologian
Wasn't sure just where to post this ...

Hope you're all feeling well! And if not I hope things improve ...

Was just surfing around rather aimlessly when I came upon this article -

Life unfolds in the present. But so often, we let the present slip away, allowing time to rush past unobserved and unseized, and squandering the precious seconds of our lives as we worry about the future and ruminate about what's past. "We're living in a world that contributes in a major way to mental fragmentation, disintegration, distraction, decoherence," says Buddhist scholar B. Alan Wallace. We're always doing something, and we allow little time to practice stillness and calm.

For the full-piece - try this link -

The Art of Now: Six Steps to Living in the Moment

How often do you get that feeling of being effortlessly present?

All the best!
I didn't check the link
it would take more than a moment

and having said that.....
living in the moment requires one step
not six
 

Aupmanyav

Be your own guru
This is very much teaching the principle of living in the moment, and for the same reasons. Be like the lilies of the field, for they don't worry and fret about tomorrow, they live and unfold in the moment, and are more glorious than any of our immortality projects. It's quite a beautiful teaching.
That is all OK, except for the 'heavenly father' part. Also, do not tell this to my grandson (he is appearing for his school examinations). He would say 'Grandpa, do not worry about tomorrow .. 'heavenly father' ..'. 'Heavenly father' also is supposed to help those who help themselves. There should be a balance as to how much one worries about today and how much one worries about tomorrow. :)
 

pearl

Well-Known Member
The key for me is to simply check what is going on in your thoughts through being aware of your responses, particularily in the body.

And that is preparation, which takes effort. The human mind is rather proficient in multitasking. In planning for what to have for dinner tonight I am remembering what was last nights dinner, while smelling the flowers for tonight's table. And yes, this awareness begins with the body consecrating of simple things, (how does your color feel against your neck etc.)

"Oh yeah, I'm living in tomorrow," and then let that go and come back to now. The "difficulty", is simply a matter of breaking bad habits.

True, but it takes training the mind and practice. Whether it becomes effortless may depend on the state of mind at the time as some are more stressed than others.
 

Windwalker

Veteran Member
Premium Member
And that is preparation, which takes effort. The human mind is rather proficient in multitasking. In planning for what to have for dinner tonight I am remembering what was last nights dinner, while smelling the flowers for tonight's table. And yes, this awareness begins with the body consecrating of simple things, (how does your color feel against your neck etc.)
It's an interesting thing I'm learning as I continue in this, that while there are periods of clear awareness and presence with every moment arising, we have to "do the laundry" as they say. We have to use our minds to plan, prepare, and to tasks. What happens is when we do these functional tasks of the mind, designed for that purpose, we lose ourselves in the old trained habits of the programmings of social concerns, acceptance and rejections, performance, value judgments, and all the like. Those are what grabs the focus of our awareness and we fall into the unconscious programs we have made our own.

I think the key for me is to remind myself to come and drink from that Well regularly to both replenish and ground the mind with Light. That helps to bring clearer awareness of falling back into the habitual mind. Doing that is relatively effortless. All we need to do is simply shift focus, "look up" as it were to see that we are running programs again. The "fix" itself is effortless. There is nothing you "do". You simply have to be aware enough to look. Getting there, as you say, is what is the challenge.

True, but it takes training the mind and practice. Whether it becomes effortless may depend on the state of mind at the time as some are more stressed than others.
The breaking of any deeply ingrained habits takes dedication, intention, and devotion to the greater result, which is Peace , Love, and Joy in every moment of living, even when doing the laundry or preparing tonight's dinner. It's all a process of peeling back layer after layer of the onion of obstacles we placed in our own paths to Freedom. But it's nothing we obtain through effort. It's already ours. We just have to open up the compacted ground of our hidden selves and surrender it, one layer at a time until we have released everything. Then who we have always been, will Shine.
 

Windwalker

Veteran Member
Premium Member
I'm simply stating that there are times when some obstacles are more difficult to remove and the well seems to be dry.
Yes, of course. Some obstacles can be covered over with a pretty hard capstone, protecting what is underneath. Stuff very hard to come to terms with emotionally for us.

Is the Core attainable?
That's a really good question. :) In a way, yes, but that core is infinite so one can keep going as far as one can in a lifetime. I'd say there is a threshold we can cross over in ourselves that gets us into that infinite core, beyond the illusion of the mind. We can see the Truth, in everything. And then it unfolds infinitely in every moment. The Core awakes us to be authentic and unafraid, at rest in the Infinite. To become a true human, is to awaken to that Core and let it become the center of who we uniquely are.
 

Geoff-Allen

Resident megalomaniac
Might want to check out Eckhart Tolle. He wrote a book called "The Power Of Now".

I have read it a few times - I had a VERY heavy pain-body at one stage and he describes it very well. Now I try to laugh at my ego and not be deadly-serious all-the-time ...

All the best!
 

Geoff-Allen

Resident megalomaniac
Mindfulness is being aware of yourself, others, and your surroundings in the moment. When consciously and kindly focusing awareness on life as it unfolds minute by precious minute, you are better able to savor each experience. Also, being closely attentive gives you the opportunity to change unwise or painful feelings and responses quickly. In fact, being truly present in a mindful way is an excellent stress reducer and, because of that, can be seen as consciousness conditioning, a strengthening workout for body, mind, heart, and spirit.

Sue Patton Thoele
 
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