Edward’s Diary Entry 161: Getting back into the “Now”

As a reminder, in case you get flustered, anxious impatient, sad, bored, stressed-out, irritated, frustrated, nervous, angry, aggressive, fearful or violent… and find yourself going on and on and getting nowhere, you’re probably in a mental “now” moment that is either re-hashing the past, or obsessed with the future.

It’s not a question of being in the “now” or not being in the “now”. We’ve already said that now is now and bodies, at least, are in the “now” in real time. The unconscious mind processes are also in “now”-mode, but that doesn’t do us much good… That small percentage of our conscious minds should be focused on the “now” as well.

But this always depends on our Awareness of “now”. And how big and how clear our mental “now” happens to be – or we actually make it! If Awareness is engulfed in a hyperactive thought-process, our “now” can be very small and limited; and that means… you’re in for trouble. Take this situation as an example:

The mental process of 1) receiving an “insult”; 2) getting angry, 3) reacting to that anger and becoming violent in word or deed, 4) mentally dwelling on this and becoming further incensed by the event, and 5) creating a loop-feeling of further insult, agitation and anger, and 6) talking about this and ranting on and on with other people as soon as you have the chance…is all part of a “now” which is totally miniscule and stuck in a single moment of time, quite unconscious of all ensuing realities after the initial event.

I have seen this process last 2 to 3 hours in subjects, and their level of anxiety and mental suffering prevents them from seeing and even doing all sorts of things, even simple things like doing their jobs with a degree of efficacy! And what about the blue sky? the sunshine? a smile? some laughter? Where is the sound of birds singing? Where the cool breeze? A leaf falling from a tree? A sensation of pleasure as one rides a motorcycle or bike? Where the perfect spinning of the world? A cloud flying across the sky? The joy of breathing? What about simply being alive?

No, such a silly happening has drowned out all the beauty in the world, and one’s mind is centred on the insult received 3 hours ago. And not even an insult – just a chance occurrence of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. And then words were said that swiftly turned a chance encounter into a violent happening that obsesses you for days on end!

Minds initially confused by wrong thinking and undergoing the mental suffering of emotions out of control need to get back on track, and it’s hard to do this once the spark of violence has been ignited.

The recipe, however, is the same as usual: Breathe, Look, Listen, Sense, Taste, Retire to a quiet room and Chant, or repeat Om. Do a physical sensing exercise, or a tensing and relaxation exercise. Snap the mind out of its rut. Get back onto the “now” track.

It takes practise. It takes intelligence. It requires effort and clarity. These all start with willingness. Good luck, everybody.