I've been living. I cannot say living painlessly or perfectly, but there have been glimpses of bliss. What more could you ask for? Inbetween work and more work I found the time to read a book. 'The Power of NOW' by Eckhart Tolle. The book is a best-seller, and Tolle's account of personal experience has resonated with many. After reading the book, this is what stuck with me, the bit that transformed my day to day thinking and thus changed my life.
So, this is my translation of the basis of what Tolle attempts to communicate in his book, ofcourse his writing goes far deeper- these are the basic understandings that I wrote down after reading.
It is a game-changer when it comes to how you handle your emotions.
1.
How are you possibly all your emotions?
You cannot be.
In order to know your feelings.
There is apart of you that is permanently detached from those feelings, simply because you are able to observe them. If 99% percent of you is 'sad'. Then there is the 'silent observer'.
The 1% percent of you that is witnessing the sadness.
You cannot possibly be 100% sad and be able to self-proclaim your sadness, because the part of you which knows you are unhappy, is not within itself unhappy, or it too, would be lost in that emotion. This part of you is your ability to analyse yourself or otherwise known as the observer within.
The untouched.
Unmoved part of yourself that is forever grounded. The spirit, I do believe.
This part of you is not lost in the human experience. It is in touch with the source of all life.
Forever. It knows that every moment, feeling and emotion is just a wave passing through.
It sees the thoughts and knows it is not purely the thoughts. It is not purely fear or even happiness. It is simply 'I AM'. It is divinity.
Meditation.
For me. Is accessing this divinity.
Being still allows you to go behind, above or beyond and see your thoughts and feelings from another layer of yourself. From the untouched I AM.
The next time you are suddenly afraid,
In that moment you are one with the fear.
Let it be. Then take a moment, to realise you are having a moment, now have the fear 'sit inside of you' take this moment to fully accept you feel fearful...
Soon you realise the part of you that is observing your own fear. Is you.
So, that part of you is not afraid. It is just a silent witness to the emotion.
Finally I wrote... 'that part of you is Gods love. The little tear drop in the vast ocean that has ways been. You can access it whenever you wish. It is forever fresh air.
Enjoy the human experience. But do not fully identify with it.
'We are in the world and yet not of it'.
2.
Save yourself (and them) with the NOW.
The power of Now is in the realisation that the past nor future is real. They are both purely projections of the Mind. When we allow these projections of what we remember or anticipate to control our lives, we begin acting out in response to the 'past' or 'future'. Moments which are no longer real, or moments that we have created which we cannot be certain will become real. This is the only way they can have any power over us, when we pretend they are.
This is how we cripple the power of the present, the Now, the only thing that really exists.
Shortly after reading the book, I had a moment of unpleasant thought- but the insight in the book helped me to unravel the thought and detatch from it, here is how that worked:
'I am sad that I witness a struggle from people I love, and some of the things said and done in the past, are still manifesting now.'
The sadness stayed in me, without seeking to understand it, I became angry.
But then I realised, what is my main concern if I am not sad for myself.
It is the empathy I feel for others.
But sitting in that sadness and anger means.
Just as they are identifying with the past. As am I.
If I carry the weight of past emotion then who will be saved?
The present moment is always fresh! Is always grace. If I also choose to dwell in the past then we are all drowning.
Why dont I then offer a space for air. Through being air.
A space for them to exist in the Now. Through me just being, right Now?
The present moment is always a saviour. Always divine grace.
Always new air.
Always love.
Okay.
Hope that was clear, sorry if it wasn't but if you really want to grasp The Power Of Now- read the book ! It's one to change your life and keep for life.
And read through again and again.
Theres alot of amazing in depth teachings Tolle writes to further heighten knowledge of self.
All from his own personal dissection of himself and experiences.
Just a human seeking to understand and be okay with his human-ness, as we all are.
Love to all who read.
And all who dont.
Hermenia.
