There is no other time. There is no past or future. They do not exist. This moment is a bridge between the two—a fleeting transition. This moment is the juncture in which life happens.
The quality of your experience of this moment is the quality of your life experience. If you want to have a satisfying, interesting, easy, and courageous life, then this moment must be satisfying, interesting, easy, and courageous. To change the quality of your life, you need only examine this moment. No need to be overwhelmed with all that needs “fixing,” for there is nothing wrong. There is only this moment, and if you want to play and practice changing your life experience, now is the only opportunity. Life can only be practiced now, which is a great blessing.
You are guided by inspiration, and you are hindered by fear. Practice what inspires you. If you are inspired to change something in your life, take an active interest in your relationship with each moment. If you have dreams and aspirations for your life,, there is no time like the present to examine what stops you from pursuing these preferences. (It’s fear).
This is the perfect moment to make choices and act because it is the only moment to make choices and act. And because this moment is so short and fleeting, you only need to make little bite-sized choices and take small actions. For example, if I want to exercise, but I really don’t want to exercise, I take one small action in a moment. There is no obligation or expectation for the next moment. Hydrate now. Change clothes now. Hydrate some more now. Do the first exercise now. Each moment, there’s a choice: continue or quit. Sometimes I quit. Life happens, interruptions happen. In the moment of an interruption I must make a choice: continue or quit. If I choose to quit, I accept that fully. If I choose to continue, same. Do the next exercise. Do the next. And then an hour of moments is gone, in a little string of choices. The thought of spending an hour in activity feels like too much, but I can handle one moment at a time. In fact, one moment is the only time to handle.
In the same way you can practice anything, including returning to each moment and opening to it. You can choose to be an active, interested participant in your life, but only in this moment. And when you can’t return to the moment and open to it, there is an opportunity to learn about how you are functioning in this world and (more importantly) why. Study your enslavement to an emotion or reaction.
I heard a guru once explain that the mind is like a corral of wild horses. To train them, you must first study their behavior. I’ve come to think of it a little differently. The Operating System of your life’s computer has taken over your experience. The robot is controlling the human. If the computer is in charge, you have no control, no free will. To reprogram it to function more advantageously, you must study how the Operating System works. As you engage in self-study (Svadyaya, according to yoga tradition), you are practicing self-mastery. You will discover the wise, competent, and kind being that you are. As you study your fear, you are practicing courage. As you practice exerting control, you practice freedom. Observing your enslavement is how you tunnel out of the cell with a spoon, one spoonful of moment at a time, to use yet another metaphor.
Support the practice by remembering: there is no past or future. No matter the disappointments of the past or the worries of the future, each moment is a fresh start, a brand-new opportunity. There is no time like the present. Be in it.
"If you are not happy here and now, you never will be." Taisen Deshimaru
Kommentare