Meditation for 12/18/13

Colleton River Plantation; Beaufort SC

"Life happens in the space between your thoughts.”    - Richard Gere

“Learn to be silent.  Let your mind listen and absorb.”  - Pythagoras

   “Living for the moment” is sometimes confused with the notion of “living in the moment.”   If one “lives for the moment” it tends to mean to forget about the consequences for current behavior.   Satisfying urges now is a common theme in advertising.  The message seems to be that whether it is installment payments, a hang-over or a damaged friendship it is forgivable because we were “living life to its fullest.”  So what does “living in the moment” refer to?

     Nothing can happen at any time but “now” – the past is gone forever and the future never arrives.  It is always “now.”  You can take this further and say that if you cannot find contentment “now” you will never be able to find it – it will always be “now.”  This moment we choose what negativity and what value from the past we carry into the future.   Whatever we are carrying from the past distracts us to from the reality of what “is” this moment.  On the other side of the equation, to the extent that we think our “salvation” or “happiness” lies at some point in the future we rob ourselves of the life that might have been, just as surely as any anxiety about future events dulls our effectiveness this moment.

     

     “Living in the now,” or being mindful, refers to being fully immersed in our surroundings.  This may be found for intervals by playing music, writing poetry, gardening, exercising, building models or other things. When not able to engage in these activities, there are some techniques that can be useful to extend the periods of time that we know this peace.  We can be aware of the space around us that allows things to “be” – nothing can exist without the space that allows it to exist.  This helps us to “see” (be aware of) everything without “looking” (attaching) to anything.  We can “hear” (be aware of) everything without “listening” to (judging) anything.   We can also use our quiet time to learn to create gaps between our thoughts – there are many techniques to do this.  This creates the space for intuitive guidance to reach us.  Try keeping a log-book for two weeks, and writing down the specific things that take you out of the moment.  You will be amazed how much judgments, desires, fears, guilt and shame rule your life.  There are other things that help bring us fully into the moment, but most important is that we start somewhere.  The only moments we truly live are those that the internal dialogue is shut off and we are fully present and aware.  And the only moment we ever really have is this one – right here and right now.

Today, may I be where my feet are.  D. Emch

Have a great Thursday!!

David