In The Now
Listening to Richard Moss talking about his new book, The Mandala of Being, on a www.hayhouseradio.com programme this week, it reminded me of the real reason why I prize spontaneity above all things. At a surface level, pleasures that arrive by surprise always seem more joyful than those that were expected, yet the power of spontaneity to lift the spirit lies in its focus on the present moment.
As Richard Moss explains, “There are only four possible directions your mind can carry you at the instant you leave the here and now of yourself.” Those directions are the past, the future, judgement of self or judgement of others. In the centre of those directions is the present moment, which he says “can ultimately be understood as the place of our deepest awareness, what is called in some traditions, the Higher Self, or the Holy Self. It is presence: a fully alert, yet completely relaxed and spacious attention where no thought separates you from your experience. This is our true self, where who we really are begins anew every instant.”
While it’s true there are gifts to be found by focusing on the past or the future, as well as knowledge from discernment (rather than judgement) of self and others, the ‘now’ is where we really want to hang out if we’re interested in living as our authentic self. Dwelling on the past can lead us down sad avenues that no longer serve us, or convince us that the future can only bring more of the unhappiness already experienced. Living in future time defers our happiness, as we wait for something outside of ourselves to occur before we can be content with our lives. Judgement of the self demoralises and demotivates us, while judgement of others keeps us separate, disconnected and lonely.
The power to enjoy what you have and to create more of what you enjoy lies only in the present moment, which is why mindfulness is the true path to happiness. When you have an awareness of where your mind is wandering, you gain the power to redirect it back into the present moment, the only place where authenticity lives. You become free to experience life with a sense of enchantment – relaxing control and allowing events to unfold.
Living authentically in the present moment – unbound by past, future or judgement – is a mystical experience, as described by the poet E E Cummings, who wrote “We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit.”
As he so rightly points out, true spontaneity arises not from irresponsibility, but from a deep inner trust and sense of self-worth. I’d argue that we don’t always need someone else to awaken us to our own sense of value or sacredness, but sadly that’s probably true, given the social conditioning we’ve all experienced. We’re more likely to have been criticised than found valuable or sacred, particularly if we’re marching to the beat of a different drum from the god of endless activity and productivity. George Santayana, the poet and philosopher, endorsed the delights of the present moment when he wrote,“To condemn spontaneous and delightful occupations because they are useless for self-preservation shows an uncritical prizing of life irrespective of the content.”
So, this week, we are prizing the content of life. We are looking to immerse ourselves in things that fully occupy us in joyful ways, to be curious, to throw the diary to the wind and to follow our whims to see where they might lead us. If we find ourselves in the past or the future, our magical path back to the present moment is to remind ourselves of the things we are most grateful for in our lives right now. If judgement of self or others crops up, we can return to a more mindful state by focusing on what we appreciate about ourselves or the other person in the here and now.
Mindfulness is a challenge. It won’t be easy, because our minds do love a wander, but there’s fun and spontaneous pleasure awaiting you if you can just keep turning your attention to right here, right now. Stay out of the past and let the future take care of itself – it might just surprise you in a fabulous way!
Click through to the Coach Fabulous advice column by using the link in the Favourite Sites section on the right or by going to http://coachfabulous.blogspot.com. For alert emails on new postings, email subscribe@iamfabulous.co.uk. To contact me, email coachfabulous@iamfabulous.co.uk. All material © 2007 Alison Porter. No article may be reproduced in full or in part without the express permission of the author. (Originally posted 22 Oct 07)
Monday, October 27, 2008
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