The Concept of "THE NOW"
Short Discourses
Of all the profound concepts of
awareness philosophy I have learnt, the one I continually keep on referring to,
the one that is so simple in nature, is the one that seems to have it's beauty
and value hidden by its own simplicity.
It is knowing that YOU, along
with your reality, exist for just that instant we call the present.
When that instant ceases to exist, a
new instant will then come into being. It is knowing that the past is only a
shadow of what was. It is knowing that the future is but a dream, it is the
unborn child.
In one respect, we could say that our
lives are part of an infinite series of Instant Moments, and when they
are all strung together, it is then given a name. That name is
time.
When the instant ceases to be the
instant, it is called the past. The instants that are to come are labelled the
future, but the past and future do not exist; they are an illusion and all that
REALLY EXISTS is the present.
All that really matters is
"THE NOW".
ONLY THE MOMENT
LIVES:
To understand the value of the Present
when trying to obtain relief from sorrow, you must appreciate the link between
the truth of the moment that you live in right now, and the illusion that there
might be something good for your peace hiding in a mist of shadows and
nothingness.
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The reflections of clouds on a still pond
are not clouds.
Though they have beauty;
if you were to reach out and touch
them,
you would disturb the stillness of the
water
and lose the peace and beauty you once
had.
The only reality was the
water.
The clouds you sought were an illusion;
just an image.
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This link between the
present and the past can now be seen as some form of goodness, pleasure or
beauty, and when you reach out to be with those qualities, you touch an
illusion. From this... sorrow is then born
REGRET, THE
TAUNTING LURE:
If we go through a painful experience, we
tend to go through many and varied "If Only" scenarios.
"If only it had happened this
way, I wouldn't have this pain".
"If only I had done this then,
I'd be happier now".
"If only I had this yesterday,
I'd have so much more of that tomorrow".
Among the many whirlwinds within the
mind, there are two important areas of concern that you should understand are
capable of manifesting pain. They are, a regret of what was, and a regret of
what wasn't. I may have become aware of an opportunity that would have been
good for me, but through fear, I could choose to remove myself from it. On the
other hand, it may have been removed from me against my desire. In another
example, I could come to the understanding that something I sought after and
experienced has left me feeling shaken and miserable. In each case, I am open
to experience pain if I choose to re-live the situation, or dream of how else
it could've been.
To maintain...
"If only I HAD done
this",
...is to invent a past that never was and
attempt to live in it. Realities that once were can be bad enough, but to
conjure up a past that never was, is to inflict nothing less than torment upon
yourself.
To say...
"If only I HAD NEVER done
this",
...is to deny the reality of a
choice.
Through the acceptance of a choice
that has brought pain, one can then appreciate that what was understood as
truth, is just a reflection of what was, and all that is important is your
peace in "THE NOW".
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