In this inspiring video Ryan Levinson teaches a powerful lesson in what it means to truly exist in the present moment, and how he is able to get there.
Take a moment today to find what brings you utterly into the present moment. That experience of presence can teach you what it feels like to be right where you are, instead of in past or future thoughts. After experiencing a profound oneness with the present moment, it will be easier to practice present moment awareness in all aspects of life.
A few weeks ago I heard a speaker on education, but instead of learning about adolescent behavior I was taught a lesson in the behavior of my own mind. A person in the back of the auditorium had been chatting throughout the session, and my mind was not okay with it. Instead of focusing on that which I had showed up for, my thoughts were preoccupied with judgement. Even afterwards when the event had passed and was no more than a thought in my mind, I chose to keep the memory of a person I deemed “rude” alive through further internal judgement, not to mention commiserating with my friend who had also noticed this slight disruption.
In my last post I celebrated the incomprehensible mystery that is every individual human being. When my mind was busy judging a person for behavior I felt was unacceptable I was operating completely unaware of this intrinsic truth.
How do we foster compassion for other human beings when it is so easy to reduce them into nothing more than thoughts in our heads? The following video with author Karen Armstrong, on Super Soul Sunday, offers concrete tools for experiencing the depth of inherent mystery within all people:
What preconceived notions do you have about yourself and others? What assumptions do you make about other people? Today I am reminded by Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities that we are each an unfathomable mystery. When you let go of the need to know who you are, and who others are, you become open to experiencing the majesty and wonder of the reality of our existence.
Where do your actions arise from? I notice that a great majority of my actions are first thoughts. Sometimes the actions occur so rapidly that I haven’t yet voiced the thoughts in my mind. Sometimes I assume I’m acting from present moment awareness, when in reality I am reacting to a thought. This raises the question, what actions would arise if unprovoked by thoughts and assumptions?
There are many things I know in my mind. I know that the present moment is the only place of true power. I know I only exist right now and will only ever experience this singular now. But just as my actions often arise from thoughts, these truths during periods of my life become only thoughts in my head.
When these spiritual truths are mere thoughts for me I lack all understanding of them; I don’t know what it truly is to live from a place of presence, to act unprovoked by thought, to live free from fear. My mind becomes extremely preoccupied with past and future, and that causes stress and anxiety. Sometimes I’m so afraid I can’t do anything at all.
So what?
I could say that this is where the universe comes in to provide a sign of its reigning presence in my existence and that grace will descend and enable me to let go of all the fear and identification that I grip onto as if my life depended on it. I often speak and learn from comfort. But as “fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys,” as Dickens puts it, I feel it is helpful to express the state of my consciousness in a moment such as this where it seems to burn dimly, when my consciousness lies in the glaring gap between my beliefs and my state of being.
Spiritual truths, when they are just thoughts in your head, cannot change your life experience. Spiritual truths are to be tried, tested, explored, turned upside down, and contended with.
Do you already know that the now is where all peace and joy reside? That won’t mean anything to you until you make an honest effort to test the theory. I can look back at occasions of true presence in my life and know that I had real, miraculous, and deep experiences of peace and oneness with the universe. Yet even now as I look back they are but thoughts in my head. Helpful pointers maybe, but bearing no weight on my current state of consciousness lest I practice that which brought me there in the first place. Lest I practice presence.
I occasionally find that I keep myself distracted from the moment because of the underlying fear within that I would encounter in such a moment of stillness. Yet I know that I do not want fear, and that the facing of it is the only way it will dissipate. There is no way around it. I can only go through.
What do you avoid facing in the stillness of the present moment? What will happen to you if you face it?
Even if it seems unpleasant or unbearable, you will not die. You won’t go anywhere. But that which you had been avoiding through thoughts, emotions, past and future stories, habits, addictions, and to-do lists, will inevitably disappear in the light of your presence. Your true self will always remain.
There is a catch: this concept will remain a mere concept, void of any real meaning, until it is tried, tested, and experienced.
What is happiness? Why does it seem so elusive? I think the fleetingness of the goal called “happiness” is due to happiness being attached to outer circumstance. Things and experiences cause the high-energy feeling of happiness. Since life often doesn’t go according to plan, and happiness is dependent on a favorable experience, happiness disappears when a less than desirable situation arises.
There is good news for the feeling of happiness though. Happiness is an outer reflection of a powerful state of being. States of being cannot be dissolved, they are unalterably present, but can be obscured and covered up by layers of identification with thoughts and feelings. The state of being which happiness pales in comparison to is joy. As Tolle and many other teachers maintain, states of peace and joy, which are our natural states of being, are always available within, regardless of situation.
When I received this week’s “Weekly Words of Wisdom,” I felt like Swami Satchidananda was offering permission to be happy. Allowing yourself to enjoy a situation helps to uncover the state of joy within. When Swami Satchidananda talks about joy and happiness it is clear that regardless of terms, and even though he talks about Yoga practice in particular, that the truth towards which he points is the key to a higher state of consciousness available in all of life’s situations. Experiencing life from the state of joy is a profound spiritual lesson:
“You forgot to be like children. You may think that spirituality means to be serious, morose; that you can’t smile or laugh. That’s not spirituality. Your spirit should [be] filled with happiness, joy, dancing, singing, and dancing. Don’t be gloomy. That’s not the kind of spirituality we want in the name of Yoga. You should always be exuding happiness and joy—a positive spirit. Work itself should be a play. The Yoga practices should be playful and uplifting. There’s nothing overly serious about it all. God created the world as a playground. Allow the joy to come out. What is serious in this? We all come, gather together, live for awhile, and when the time comes, say goodbye and go. Within that period, can’t we be happy? God bless you. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.” Swami Satchidananda
A lot of commercials on TV this time of year talk about how to relieve “holiday stress.” Stress is a symptom of a dysfunctional relationship with the present moment.
Have you gone too far ahead into future thoughts, or slipped backwards into thoughts of the past?
The dysfunction that manifests as stress may be a sign that the present moment has become a means to an end, as Tolle often points out in A New Earth. This can happen easily when the present moment contains planning, cooking, organizing, and preparing for an event that in some cases involves many people. This can also occur if an event is viewed as unfavorable and you are waiting for it to be over. Yet, truly successful ends are dependent upon successful means. Meaning, that the present moment experience creates the experience of present moments to come.
If the holidays create stress for you, give your mind a break from thoughts of past and future. Holidays are reminders to enjoy the experience of the present moment; signifying its importance and wonderment available not only during this one present moment experience, but at all times.
When I get too serious about situations I say to myself, “This is just for fun!” Figuring out what will snap you back to the present, where all joy resides, can be an enjoyable and infinitely fruitful learning experience. This Thanksgiving let yourself experience the space from which all there is to be thankful for emerges, the present.
Ten Things I’m Thankful For (In No Particular Order):
The more you are thankful for, the more you end up having to be thankful for! Where does your gratitude gravitate this Thanksgiving?
Opinions are mind candy. Candy can be enjoyable in moderation, but in excess leads to discomfort, illness, and cavities. Facts can exist without the added sugar coating of an opinion.
When used in moderation, opinions can be useful tools for action in alignment with the reality of the present moment. Identification with opinions, which is to the ego as spinach is to Popeye, creates a veil of thought over all perception. Present moment reality becomes obscured; you can no longer see the depth of the lake because of the billows of sand just beneath the surface.
There is an easy way to settle the sand and see clear through to the bottom of the lake. Identification with opinions can be dissolved merely by noticing the opinions as they arise. Once you can see yourself thinking, you no longer are your thoughts. What will the world look like from this new perspective? “When the soul lies down in that grass the world is too full to talk about,” (Rumi).
The question itself sounds silly. Magic is a label for the inexplicable. Yet, magic not being real, we know that there is an explanation for that which we do not understand even if we cannot figure it out.
Tonight, as I watched clips from David Blaine’s Real or Magic, I began to see magic from a different perspective. Magic is a word used to make something unreal. Magic just means that something is illusory, or a trick, or momentarily without a good explanation.
What would happen if you perceived an event without mentally labeling it? What if the word magic is a disguise for true wonders that exist in reality?
A mind unable to concoct a logical explanation for an event does not make the event untrue. It is merely very difficult for thoughts to perceive beyond the barriers, rules, and limitations it has firmly set in place for itself. When those barriers become less important, and perception takes over from thinking, the world can transform beyond dreams, imaginings, and even things we call “magic.”
What I truly love about the following “magic trick” is the deeper truth of the interconnectedness of all beings that it demonstrates. Our five senses and thought forms may have strict limitations by their very nature, but consciousness, which allows it all to arise, has none. Consciousness is the space in which our reality manifests, and is the bond that connects us all. I hope you enjoy this video in which David Blaine offers another perspective on magic and how truly connected we are:
Do you ever feel “off”? Sometimes I feel out of sync with the present moment. In those moments I remind myself, that even when I feel out of sync I am still one with the present moment. I am still in it. I still am it. I can’t not be.
While in the midst of the human experience it can easily feel as if we are swimming upstream. Letting go feels like a big risk. But life will then give you a sign that everything is as it should be by the experience of pure peace, which is unattached to circumstance. Today I challenge myself, and any who want to join in, to let go of low-level fear, worry, and unacceptance. Let us see how life responds.
Let Yourself Learn 