49. Self flowing with the Now

Life is this moment you’re living right now. If you manage to stay here now, life becomes a series of present moments which you flow through — like a string of pearls you glide through your fingers. Fully present, you act spontaneously in this moment and then flow into the next one. You are Self, flowing with the Now. Intensely present, you flow with the present. If you’re aware, you can take advantage of the synchronicities that Self provides to aid this flow.

I try to focus on one thing at a time and then rest while I let the next thing come to me. It is a two-stage approach of catching up to myself in the moment and then deepening it. Staying with myself in the moment, I’m not rushing to complete my long to do list. I am not straining ahead to be in the future. I deepen the moment by being in it with all my senses. I stretch it and go through the day in a string of completely present moments. In this way, I arrive at where I want to be almost as a side-effect.

I am also never disappointed when something ends because it never does. The string of present moments becomes the eternal moment. I am in the eternal moment — perfect, seamless, and effortless. My life will end when it ends and when it does, I’ll be present in that too.

In step

To remain in the point of power, you need to stay in step with yourself, no past, no future and no elsewhere. Don’t be behind, ahead, or outside of yourself in another person or place. Be rooted within yourself in the now in each moment. That is the place of power and miracle. Future and past are constructs of the mind, illusions that rob you of your well-Being. All you really have is now. Here you live, briefly visiting the past and future where necessary and not the other way around. Learning from the past happens now. Planning for the future is done now. Now is the only place you can experience the flow of life. Don’t hang on to what was and what may be. Flow with what is and stay present and available to what is trying to emerge.

In thinking mind, you’re out of synch with the moment, which is why it is so stressful. If your present moment is always a means to an end, if you’re always chasing the external, the creative potential of the Now is completely obscured and your life loses its vibrancy and sense of wonder. As a result, the mind becomes obsessed with the future as an escape from the unsatisfactory present. This becomes a vicious cycle.

Life happens in real time. Take care not to lag behind and don’t strain ahead. Watch out for things like continually being late or a tendency to force completion. Now is in real time, mind is out of time. In the Now, the hooks of the past, future or elsewhere in the present do not exist. All seeking dissolves and you have arrived. You’re no longer waiting for anybody or for anything to happen.

To be fully in each moment means disengaging from the previous one and resisting the pull of the one yet to come. Let go of holding on (to stuff from the past) and grabbing (stuff in the future). Breathe in, let come and breathe out, let go. Let the flow happen unimpeded and unforced. Don’t concern yourself with the rest.

Beyond anxiety

Living in real time is living separately from negative emotions such as fear, worry and attachment. These are mind-based and therefore out of real time. Although some of my day dreaming is pleasant, I am usually miserable when I exit the moment. Out of synch with myself I don’t focus on the routine tasks that make me successful and give me fulfilment.

When you yield to the flow of life, co-operating with each moment, flowing with whatever emerges, all falls into place effortlessly. Rather than being in constant fight or flight, you let situations come to you. Then you deal with them in Self relaxed effort. When you’re stressed and anxious, you’re not in the flow, you’re resisting. This is Ego trying to stop what wants to emerge. Pain is holding on. Here is where the flow is and where the absence of pain is. Here is where it’s happening.

Let go, or be dragged — A Zen proverb

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