Entering the NOW
I have heard theories postulated that the state -NOW- cannot exist for us in our human condition. The merit of their argument is that in the nanosecond it takes for our senses to interact with the brain, the -NOW- of that moment has already passed. This is beyond a doubt an absolute truth. Yet that does not mean that -NOW- is beyond our human condition to capture. It is within us. It is always ours, but will never easily be caught. I have found two ways to enter the -NOW- two that work for me (like everything else, there is no one size fits all.) Once you have been in the -NOW- it will always be with you.
First though, a brief introduction to what I consider the -NOW- to consist of. For me, it is the all of everything- it is the underlying reality that contains all realities- it is whole-one- it is truth. Before diving into divine truth, start with your own surrounding, what can you say for certain is truth? Be aware of the true nature, yours and all things in your surrounding area. Feel and sense the flow of energy between truths, sense and become mindful of the energy drain of those people and things that present themselves falsely. Being at one in any and all surroundings allows one the ability to slow down the pace of life. The more at ease, the more relaxed, the less hectic.
There is another little trick that helps enhance -NOW-. Learn, teach yourself how to focus your senses. This technique can work with all the senses, but works best with sight and sound. By focusing your attention on a particular sense it intensifies that sense. With sight there are two ways to approach it- first you can focus on all the minutest details, notice everything you can see in your immediate line of sight. Secondly you can focus your sight on distance, extend your vision as far as you are able to. With the hearing sense, I like to focus my hearing, try to separate all the sounds or like sight, I see how far I can extend my hearing. Focusing your senses allows you to become more in control of them. And it is important to be able to control your sense to step into the -NOW-.
The two ways I have found to best enter the -NOW- are essentially polar opposites. One attempts to remove the senses the other tries to overwhelm them. The first way involves meditation and total control of one’s senses. The door to -NOW- that one finds with this method is always open but hidden. Find earplugs or silence and dark. Depriving yourself of senses allow you to be in the eternal moment -NOW- there is no time delay between sense and mind. There is no separation between self and -NOW- there is one thing that prevents unity though. The brain. Mind is the ego of self, it creates division- quiet it, I know, not easy. Let your thoughts float by, do not anchor to them, they come and go, come and go- DO NOT INTERACT WITH THEM!!! just let them come and go, floating by until, no thoughts, no mind, no separation, eternal moment -NOW- obtained.
The second way involves controlling your enhanced senses, as many as possible. You focus not on an individual sense, but on all active senses. Feel the air on your skin, hear the breath of your lover, see (externally or internally) as far and as wide as possible, smell the smoke of a bonfire half a mile away, etc…. It does not have to be all five senses, ideally I find focusing three senses works the best. One time in particular, I had a stiff neck, my wife asked me if I would like her to message it, I said yes please. As she was rubbing my neck and shoulders, I put on headphones with relaxing, meditation music and turned the television to a show about the cosmos. I was focusing my sense of touch, sound and sight, I lost myself and drifted into the -NOW-.
Drift really is the best work to describe it. Drift in the sense that you are not in control, self is, the deep being within you, the voice that answers back. You drift on a stream of consciousness, no ebb or flow, no up, down, left or right, it is all things at once. A direct line with the all of everything. Unknown knowledge becomes known, without the experience or teaching. What you carry back with you though, will be the sense of peace and harmony. It is that experience that you always have with you, sensing the peace and harmony in all situations. For me this experience is more common with overloading the senses and drifting into the -NOW-.
Entering the -NOW- through the door of meditation and absence of senses is more like entering the center of creation. I have yet to go through this door, though I have stood at the threshold several times. I find the door that is always open, yet hidden and desires prevent me from entering and pull me from the door. Desire for knowledge, excitement of anticipation at entering- at the door only true self can enter. Any sense of ego will be detected through one’s desires and the spell will be broken. I have learned to take the peace and harmony present at the door back with me, I let go of any frustration at not being able to enter the door. Drain desire of its power and you and myself can master it.
There is a third way, though it is less a way and more of thing that just kind of happens. It often involves repetitive motion activities. It is when you are doing something and you “zone out.” An example would be when I am hitting the punching bag. Sometimes I do what I call rhythm boxing, I put on music and hit the bag to the rhythm of the music. Eventually I am doing it without thinking, mind goes quiet, my senses are muted and I enter the -NOW-. It is like an intensely focused drift. Whenever I come back from these states I carry some knowledge back with me, something I had not known that I now understand as a fundamental truth. I call these known unknowns. If you pay attention, it can happen any time you happen to “zone out.” Though I find physical activity is the best catalyst for bringing on these states.
The individual can enter the eternal moment -NOW- by numbing or overwhelming the senses. The loss of senses brings one to their true self, the internal voice that answers back. Why is it important to enter the -NOW-? Too often humans spend more time worrying about the past or stressing about the future instead of living in the moment. Entering the eternal moment -NOW- allows one to appreciate each moment while in the moment. It is the awakening that leads to a sense of oneness with the all of everything. Each moment is a precious moment when you are living in and at one with that moment.
The information in this writing is basic and introductory. The most difficult thing, the thing that prevents most from even looking into the -NOW- is the brain. Mind attempts to separate and divide what should be unified. Learning to control your mind and stopping thoughts are the final step to entering the door that is always open, yet forever hidden.
