The Concept of 'The Now' - Understanding The Concept of The Now

Written by Adrian Newington

There were times when I became so caught up in my sorrows that I became unaware of the reality of the present and ended up distancing myself from the world around me. Though I would desperately try to make the effort, the times that I was with my friends, I found that I may as well have not have been there at all. Through being so established in sorrow, I would have no concentration. To raise a smile would even bring sadness upon me as the aspect of happiness I would try to emulate would go on to remind me of better times. When I made plans and appointments, I would often overlook them if I was not prompted by family or friends. Sometimes, being with a certain group of people could prompt sadness, so I would end up avoiding their company.

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Though I still yearned to be a part of their lives, I would stay away so as to ease the pain.

It is the Ego which is guiding these actions through a fear of being sad. It fears revealing to other people what is deep within, what is hurting. It fears noone might understand the situation or the grief and only come forth to condemn us for our situation. In this circumstance, the best thing to do is to be patient and keep on trying. Though the friends I avoided continued to mean a lot me, I knew that I had to be patient with myself as I would eventually find a way to share with them what my heart really wished to. If you can link up with these thoughts, then take as much time as you want and know that, in time, things Will get Better.

Indeed, things are getting better right now as you read this book and others which have been written with the same intent. Your searching for a better way of living has now been Clearly Defined, and your Goodness and Love is now guiding you home. Affirm your Worthiness at this very moment to a life equal in the happiness and prosperity to that which you have always been dreaming of.

TIME TO RISE.

When sorrows eventually peak, it is then time to activate awareness philosophy. Understand the value of "THE NOW"; understand what it is you are searching for as you project and ask yourself:

"Will I really find what I am looking for in the past?

Be daring enough to ask yourself:

"Are my answers already contained within me?"

"Am I willing to search deeply for my Truth?"

Remember that your pain is brought about by association with the past and an isolation from the truth. The beasts of the animal kingdom who live perfectly in "THE NOW" do not know of suffering a yearning heart, since they do not have the ability to make a comparison through contemplation of past events. Our pain is relative since we compare what is, against what was or what we would like to be. In the present moment, there is no association, there is only existence. So when we stop associating, we stop the pain.

Obviously, because of our humanity, a person would need attain great Skill, Knowledge, Discipline and Love to live Perfectly in the present. So until we come to live permanently in such a state, we will always be prone to experience the burden of pain and its seemingly never-ending quality. However, through knowledge that demystifies human behavior, we can give ourselves a chance to resolve grief in a much more effective way than we could have if we were to lack such knowledge.

If we give ourselves a chance to truly Experience our pain rather than Bare or Deny it, we will allow the feeling to become complete, and be complete in itself. It will have a birth, it will grow, but more importantly, in time, it will die. It is through blocking the development of any emotion by rationalizations or justifications, be they subtle or pronounced, that unresolved feelings are maintained and carried within. Uncried tears can then block our future vision in the quest for Love and happiness.

Bring yourself closer to your emotion by surrendering to it. Let go of the thinking side and become one with the feeling.

Identify exactly what it is you are feeling and be True to the feeling, then let it pass. I found that many times my sorrow would comes in waves. It was when I would try to go against this force by not fully going with it, that my sorrow would become incomplete and therefore prolonged.

I would try to find answers, but through the questions in my mind, I would only bring alive my original drama and rekindle the hurt. From these actions, it seemed like there was to be no end to the pain, as wave-after-wave of sadness would break over me.

When such experiences were peaking for me, I came across a few books which told of the Peace that can be found by knowing of and staying in the present. Now I can see that to have thoughts like:

"If only it were like it used to be,"

...is to sustain or prolong a part of my life that would eventually come to the same conclusion. To continue to think these "If only" thoughts, was to project myself into the past, and since the past is related to pain, I invariably brought that pain back into my reality. It is the Ego which seeks the ways to eliminate pain by wanting me to live the illusion of happier times. When I come back out of my dreaming into reality, I bring pain to myself. By remembering that the Ego operates through survival thinking, it will now conceive a way to eliminate the pain it has just caused. It is here that we could do a thing that might bring later regret. By learning to stop for a moment and recognise the projection of thoughts to an illusion, you give yourself a chance to remain within your reality where stillness is to be found.