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Set II chapter 6
How do I learn to live in the present moment? The easiest way to live in the present moment is whenever you start to delve into the dark memories of the past or into the imagined future, stop right there and look around you. Even looking at a tree, a car or anything in the physical universe can help you to awaken, because these objects exist only in the present moment. You must make a habit of doing this, because one wholehearted attempt to be in the present moment can rescue you from a lifetime of heartache. The only time you can be affected by the past is by your thoughts about the past and these thoughts are in your imagination. You can stop the movie at anytime you wish. As Vernon Howard says, "the more you think think think, the more you will sink sink sink". Your salvation always lies in the present moment. It is your ultimate savior. Look at the present moment as your immunity from harmful and poisonous thoughts. It is your get out of jail free card. THE DAILY GURU
"Everything is, as it should be. Tomorrows, todays and yesterdays are all one. Do not fear for tomorrow, do not cry for yesterday. Rather live this moment from a place of love. Time will cease, eternity will manifest, and in eternity, all is possible. No limits, no boundaries. Perfect freedom, perfect timing. No need to rush. No need for patience. You are perfect, whole and complete just as you are. Remember who you are and all else falls away."
Sometimes the being is more important than the doing. Who you are is much more vital than what you do. Anyone can do the whatever but only you can be who you are in each moment. Be wherever you find yourself and the doing will follow. Be first, do second. As long as you are running from who you are, your doing is as a sand castle. The next wave washes your efforts away. Find who you are in your fullness of life/being and then be that fullness in all things, at all times. Let go of the rest. Nothing else matters. You have come to this place and this time to be who you are.
As each of us is unique in our experiences, in our way of being in the world and in our responses to life, we must each come into a relationship with what we believe. It is always a matter of choosing what resonates with us. For awhile another’s beliefs may fit for us but eventually we are either pushed or led to the place where we stand on our own. It is then that we truly live our own lives.
As I give voice to my fear, I feel closer to peace. Being in relationship with my fear I feel more alive, more real. When I am in connection with the darkness, however it manifests, I am less conflicted. I do not have to fight an unseen enemy. For there are no enemies when I am in a place of oneness.
I believe the need for darkness is a part of our growth cycle. Darkness in this case means a time of going within so that later we can bloom. The time of our visitation is yet to come. We are to wait for it when we sit in the dark. It will not tarry. All is as it should be when we cannot see in the dark. A way is being prepared even as we sit. Our part is to have open hearts, open minds. The open field will bring in the harvest. With water, blessing and positive energy our efforts will be rewarded. We are not to tire or be dismayed. Again, all is as it should be in each moment. When we are free of reservations and limitations, anything is possible. Allowing the darkness in our lives to just be, opens us to all possibilities. Nothing is left out in the all in the all.
There is indeed an abundance of life, an abundance of wealth. Every good gift is available to me. There is no drought, there is no lack. All is available to be freely taken, received and freely passed on. The river of life flows freely, no dams of fear, no dams of anger, no dams of resistance. Open hearts and open minds are being filled with love, grace, peace, wisdom and knowledge. Again, every good gift is mine and I do not need to understand why that is so.
Some experiences are amenable to change in the next moment, but for this moment I need to accept the experience just as it is. For if I reject the reality of what is before me, I miss out on all that that one unique moment has to offer me. The gift, the teaching, the experience may come again. However, with each repetition, if I am not open, my resistance to what is may increase more and more such that a wall is erected between myself and my experience. As I erect the wall between myself and what is before me, I begin to go through life in ever-increasing unawareness.
When I live in unawareness, life no longer touches me. The meaning of the moment is pushed away. In unawareness, I am numb, I am confused, I am fearful. I live out of judgment. The solution goes back to allowing each moment to fully come in and give the gifts it is bearing. Once received, these gifts become a part of who I am. With every moment accepted just as it is, I become ever capable of receiving more gifts.
I would not get rid of old habits until I start practicing new ones. It would seem embracing the new comes before letting go of the old. There will be times when the old still asserts itself. It is those very times when I need to have faith that time and practice of the new will accomplish the goals I set. The fresh water mixes with that which has been long stagnant. Initially, it is not a pretty sight. When enough fresh water is allowed to flow freely the stagnant stench will be but a memory. The fresh water could represent the new behavior that is set in motion to replace old patterns. As the water continues to pour forth even the memory is washed away. And that is okay. No need to hold back the water out of a fear that the flow will dry up and stop pouring forth. Once the dam is opened there is no end to the water. The reservoir is bottomless and yet, filled to overflowing. In infinity and eternity, there is truly no beginning, no end. The Alpha and the Omega find their place in the all in the all.
Joy, unconditional love and peace have no real opposites and are not influenced by the external. All three feelings can prevail in spite of sadness, hurt and chaos. Joy, love and peace are who we are in our essence. Joy, love and peace are taproots to the core of our being, the source from which all flows. Because they are so essential they defy description. We refer to them as unspeakable joy, love without bounds and peace beyond understanding. Maybe at times, the threesome require faith to set the stage for remembrance. And that is okay. I can use whatever bridge it takes to get me from where I am to where I want to be. Once I know that my essence and my source are joy, love and peace I can let go of my need to control all things. I can be fully present in the moment.
