the power of now
If you haven’t yet utilized Ellen’s book collection in the studio, you are definitely missing out on some spiritual awakening; something that we can all value from!
As I’m wrapping up my first spiritual guidance book, The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle, I’m coming to the harsh realization that I am not nearly as woke as I would have thought. So, whether you think you need guidance or not, I highly recommend this book. I wanted to share some key points that have resonated with me. I would otherwise hesitate to reveal key points after recommending a book, but spoiler alert: if you’re caught up thinking about the past or future, you need to release those thoughts and start living in the now. To live a fully present life, (which essentially means spiritual enlightenment, so don’t get your hopes up too quickly) you must realize that there is no past or future. There is only now. If you’ve realized and adopted this idea as a permanent state of mind, congratulations you are experiencing the power of now.
We all need to focus on being present for different reasons. For me, presence pulls me mainly from thoughts of the past. For others it may be a force that pulls away from anxieties about the future. For most of us, it is some combination of the two. Yes, the past was a time in all of our lives. But when it was a time, it was now. Since there is not a single moment guaranteed beyond this one, you understand what I mean when I say that it is only ever now. All other facets of time are a construct.
Tolle’s guide to being present is active observation of our lives. Not thinking about moments, but feeling and recognize them; observing rather than participating. When we think, we lose the value of the moment entirely.
I had always considered myself to be a generally present person, though at times my thoughts have clouded my ability to lose myself in moments. My mind was in a different dimension; an illusory one at that.
I was missing the point of presence entirely. I often feign serenity by attempting to shield thoughts from forcing themselves into my mind; a temporarily relief. But distraction is repression, and acknowledgement of them often seems useless since they continue to exist.
By becoming an observer, as Tolle teaches, that we can disidentify our mind from the thoughts it cultivates. We can recognize the thoughts without adopting them as our thoughts.
Thoughts are not a facet of your personality or identity. This is important. They are a reaction to the feelings we experience as a result of the way that our minds have trained us to think. If we rid ourselves of compulsive thinking we can lose ourselves in moments, and in life. We can be present.
Presence can be unsettling for those who are accustomed to thinking. I imagine that it is a lifelong endeavor which initially reveals itself in short bursts, before the thoughts regain their authority. In moments that I have felt presence, I was actively focusing on my senses and what they were perceiving. Focusing on senses will heighten sensations and force thoughts to dissolve. These moments have made me attentive to new details within my surrounding world that I was not aware of. My static thoughts had distracted me from so much of life that I had overlooked entirely.
We practice presence in yoga when we focus on leaving whatever is bothering us outside the walls of the studio. In your next practice, I challenge you to heighten your senses. Feel the texture of the mat on your feet. Notice the softness of the light. Listen to the instrumentals in the music.
When we allow ourselves to feel, our thoughts are freed.
It is in these moments that we are most alive; we are present.