The truth is within you.  It is ever present for you to access at all times.  Breathe and become totally present.  That's it.  I can feed your mind information, but you can not KNOW it until you experience it.  So lets talk for a few minutes, and then I will tell you exactly what you need to do to know it for yourself. 

 

     We are speaking about living in The Now, as in Eckhart Tolle's book, "The Power of Now."

    

 

     First, we will talk about the source of all of our suffering and pain, what I will call the Ego.  Sometimes Mr. Tolle calls it the Mind, and in Christian teachings it is similar to what would be called the Flesh, and Pride of the Heart and Pride of the Eye.  You may even go as far as calling the egoic force evil, or sin, or the devil, or darkness; its up to you.

       

     Before I even start, keep in mind that living in The Now dissolves the "Ego." 

 

     Ego desires justification, always wants to defend itself, breeds fear, announces judgment, wants revenge, wants what it thinks is "fair", wants all pleasures, feels constantly threatened, fights for survival, can not forgive, holds on to hurts, remembers hurts.

     Anger is a byproduct of ego and fear.

     It is very important to realize that the ego judges situations, constantly judging and analyzing, and usually concludes that there is lack.  This causes dissatisfaction, and emotional pain, which may lead to anger, depression, and other negative feelings.

     Remeber, the past and future do not exist!  Only Now exists!  The ego lives in the past and in the future.   This creates lack, again, which creates pain.  The past is pain when we hold onto painful events of the past.  The ego judges the past event and decides it should have been a different way (instead of acceptance).  By creating lack this causes pain.  By living in the future, the ego projects negative and worrisome situations that do not exist.  By projecting the mind into the future in this way, it causes us to feel that things may go "wrong."  This causes emotional pain, and worry. 

     Again, living in the Now dissolves the ego, the past, and the future, and all that is left is Peace in the Present. 

 

     Let's discuss the Mind.  

     Realize first that you are NOT your mind.  You must be willing to Surrender your thoughts, to let go.  You must decide that today, Now, that you will not allow your mind to control you anymore.  You must be willing to free yourself from your mind and thoughts!  How? Easy!  Live in the Now.  I promise I will teach you how in about 2 more minutes. 

 

     The mind is a tool that was given to us so that we could become aware of our separation from "God".  It can be constructive or destructive.  For most of us, it has become a destructive force.  As a society, we are constantly thinking, and we can't stop thinking!  It has become a dis-ease! This constant stream of thoughts come from the Ego.  They are about things we want (or we think we need), the past, and the future.  They create lack, desire, and pain.  The Power of Now is that it dissolves these thoughts.  THEN, and only then, can the mind be used creatively and constructively.  In the Now, we can take positive spiritual energy and turn it into positive thoughts.  The ego works through the mind, so before we can use our minds creatively and constructively, we must live in the Now and dissolve the ego.

 

     Let's discuss "Problems."

     A problem is really a situation that you are resisting.  The ego judges the situation to be "bad," and this creates pain.  Instead, we need to breathe, Live in the Now, and dissolve the thoughts.  Then, surrender to God, or the divine, and Accept the situation as your Now.  Do you want to change it?  Go ahead!  Do it Now!  Plan it Now!  Do you want to leave?  Leave!  Are you deciding to stay?  Then stay!  Whatever you do, do it in the Now, Breathe, and accept.  Do NOT allow your mind to think about it in a negative way.  Breathe and dissolve those negative thoughts immediately.  Live in the Now, Accept it for whatever it is.

 

     Relationships / Forgiveness

     Living in the Now dissolves the past.  If the past is not here, then forgiveness is easy!  When you are in the Now, the past is gone, whether it was 5 minutes ago or 50 years ago.  Breathe, live in the Now, and be willing to let go of all thinking.  Suddenly you can appreciate other human beings in a different way!  You actually experience their presence, their energy, their life force!  Living in the Now dissolves all of the walls and baggage that we carry for the other person, and opens the door for truly connecting with that person in a deeper way.  Now when they speak to you, maintain that awareness of your breathe and body.  This will keep the Ego out of it.  As you breathe, accept the other person (not necessarily accepting what they say, but acceptance of them as a human being).  The ego judges what they say and immediately defends itself.  This causes arguments and prevents truly listening and understanding the other person.  In the Now, you can just breathe and accept the person, and what they are saying or doing is secondary.  This leads to true understanding.  As an aside, Imago dialogue is a phenomenal way to practice listening and acceptance, and can revolutionize relationships, especially in combination with Living in the Now.  Mirror, Validate, Empathize.  Witnessing in presence, without judgement.  Accepting otherness.  YouTube it!

 

     Being

     Presence- wherever you are, be there totally.  Just exist as your original state of pure consciousness, or awareness, of pure spirit, pure love.  Just be.   

 

 

     The truth is within you.  It is ever present for you to access at all times.  Breathe and become totally present.  That's it. 

 

     To become totally present in the now, we need to stop thinking and focus all of our attention on the present moment.  Just being, just existing in our original state of pure consciousness.  In stopping our thoughts, we dissolve the ego, and by being totally present in the Now, the past and the future disappear.  We experience peace and joy, Now.  We realize that nothing is lacking, Now.  There are no problems, just situations to accept and deal with, Now.  You can accept and love others deeply, without judgment, Now.  And finally, you regain control of your mind, only to be used when you want to, in positive, creative ways, as an outpouring of your deeper self.  

 

     So Now I will walk you through the following simple exercises to help you Live in the Now.

 

 

     First, we will practice observing your thoughts.  By paying attention to your thoughts, you become the "observer" of your thoughts, and the thoughts will dissolve.  This will help you experience that YOU are NOT your mind!  Seperate yourself from your mind and watch the thoughts happen.  They will go away!  It is liberating.  So go ahead and close your eyes, and for a full minute, pay attention to your thoughts.  As you observe them, they will dissolve.  Go ahead and pause the video while you do this.

     Interesting, isn't it.  Learn to become the observer, and you will never have running thoughts again!

 

     We know that in the Now, there is nothing lacking.  God has provided us with everything that we need.  Again, the ego creates lack, which creates desire, which creates emotional pain.  So again, breathe deeply and close your eyes.  Observe your thoughts and let them dissolve.  And now focus on this question: "What is lacking, Now?"  Do it for a minute before reading on.

     I hope that you felt deep within yourself that there is nothing lacking, that you are complete, and peaceful, and joyous, Now.  There is nothing you need to desire to be happy.  Joy and peace are available Now, at all times. 

 

     Now that we did those 2 exercises, we will try my favorite way to constantly live in the now.  It's easy and practical.  I call it "Body and Breathe Awareness."  So take a deep breathe and occupy your body.  Pay attention to your feet, legs, hips, back, arms, stomach, and chest.  Now bring all your attention to your breathing.  By bringing your attention into your body and breathe, again, thoughts dissolve, the ego dissolves, and you can just be totally present.  It's that simple.

     Becoming aware of silence and space is another strategy.  Silence without, stirs silence within.  We see things, but we don't notice the empty space between things.  And we here sounds, but we don't notice the silence between the sounds.  By focusing our attention on the space in between objects, and the silence in between sounds, it causes a stillness and peace inside of us.  You have to do it to know it!