Q: Are you here? A: Perhaps, most likely. Q: Are you now? A: Maybe not.
Q: Do you live in the present moment? A: That is hedonism. Or is it presence?
Q: When is your mind? A: In the past — ruminating, or the future — day dreaming.
Take a minute to determine if you are looking for the next idea or sentence or actually reading and
understanding
this
one.
The mind is always pushing toward the next thing. Endless thought is not human nature or the default performance of an evolved brain. The endless stream of thoughts and the flitting between past and future is the result of societal conditioning.
Q: What if there were no? A: ____________
Q: What if there wasn’t? A: ____________
Q: Left alone by the world, what would your mind do? A: It would relax, be at ease, do nothing but be aware.
Q: In the between times, where would your mind go? A: It would stay at home, go nowhere.
Your mind would not think about work when you are home. It would not think about past embarrassments. It would not replay and pre-play interactions with other people.
Take a breath and be aware of when your mind is thinking of — thoughts ahead or thoughts behind. But what do you think when you are now? There are fewer thoughts about this instant, if any.
These words, even the best, most insightful, and useful words can only ever point. Be Now. Experience what it is to fully inhabit the present moment — the razor thin but endlessly wide, expansive, and forever Now.
All thought is before or after. True peace is the absence of thought. Do not think. Be Now.
