Live in the moment. We hear this phrase and others like it repeated not just among religious circles but even in daily life. So many profess that ultimate peace is found in living in the moment. What does it mean? What does it really mean to live in the moment? It seems to be a simple phrase and at first glance it is very obvious what it means. Most would say that they understand what it means to live in the moment even if they do not think such philosophy to be proper. If you were to ask someone what it meant to live in the moment they would likely say something like, “It means not to worry about the future and just enjoy the present.” They would be correct in saying that. However, do they understand what they say? Do you? Does anyone ever really think about this concept in depth? Do those that chant this mantra to the masses fully understand what that means? Most of the time, probably not. True understanding of living in the moment is much deeper than a simple refusal to let the mind wander into and worry about the future. That is, of course, part of it but not the whole thing. Living in the moment is not something that one can do all the time. Well, at least not typically here in our Western societies. It is important to plan ahead and set goals for the future otherwise society will eat you up and spit you back out. Accomplishing goals is one of the most primitive and naturally hardwired methods of improving happiness. It doesn’t matter what the goal is. Modern science shows us that we release chemicals that result in the elevation of our mood when we accomplish even small scale goals like finishing our household chores or completing that extra rep at the gym. So it is obvious that ‘living in the moment’ can simply not mean that we should disregard proper planning and preparedness.
So, we are back where we started. What exactly does it mean to live in the moment? The act of living in the moment is a conscious effort. It is not the abandonment of responsibilities or care for the future but rather a momentary effort made consciously to observe the present moment. We westerners get so caught up in thought, in ‘what-if’, in anxiety, and in affairs that really do not affect our direct experience. You’re walking down the hall at work. You’re thinking about what you will eat for dinner. You’re thinking about that asshole that cut you off in traffic. You’re thinking about that strained relationship or your economic situation. We see it every day; millions of people walking about with their heads full of questions and fabricated fears. We walk with our faces to our phones, scrolling through social media trying to live vicariously through others. We post short videos of our lives while our lives actually pass us by. We take pictures of important moments without awareness of those moments. We are constantly in thought or imagining negative situations and how we might avoid them. We are constantly reflecting on ‘what-ifs’ or how we could have handled something better. We do all of these things while we miss the present moment. Sure, you remember it. You were there. You even took pictures. Too bad that you spent most of the time thinking about possible problems or what you are going to do next weekend. Living in the moment means so much more than neglecting to worry about the future. It also means neglecting to worry about the past or about ‘what-ifs’. It means clearing your mind for the present moment and thinking only about the task you are currently performing. To the Zen Buddhist, this will be a familiar thought. One can use even the mundane and ordinary tasks as a moment of meditation. We may not be able to neglect our responsibilities and live in the moment 24/7. We have to plan and design the life that we want and deserve. There is work to be done by all of us. Who can say that they are complete? Who can say they need not to improve? Who can say that they know it all or have seen it all? So it is important that we build our lives and plan for the future. We need to set ourselves up for whatever our version or definition of success may be. However, we can still live in the moment. Take a second while you are performing some ordinary task and clear your mind. Say you are walking down the street or through your office building. Don’t stuff your face in your phone to see what is going on somewhere else. Don’t think about dinner or how many hours you have until you get off. Think only about walking. Note the birds and the other walkers. Note the cracks in the sidewalk and the shape of the clouds. Do not dwell on anything. Simply walk and observe as you do. Judge nothing. Think nothing. This can be done for any task. If you are shoveling dirt, do only that. If you are driving a car, do only that. If you find yourself on a boring walk through the same old places, do only that. A certain duality or polarity must be maintained between living in the moment and planning for your future. Set aside time every day, early in the day to plan and prepare for the events of the day. Divide your free time between planning and preparing for things to come and observing the things that are. Develop a schedule if you must. Set yourself up for your definition of success first. THEN you can live in the moment for the remainder of the day. If you know exactly what you are doing (or at least a loose outline), then you do not have an excuse to let the mind wander or become distracted. You can focus on the tasks at hand throughout the day. You can truly live in the moment. Do not let the modern definition of living in the moment be your definition. There is no merit in simply neglecting responsibility or neglecting to build your life how you desire. So many complain about their situation without creating a new situation. It is even easier to live in the moment if it is a moment of your own design. How hard it must be to live in the moment as the world comes crashing down around you. It is certainly possible but is it really what you want to do? So go forth, do great things. Build your life the way you want it. Create the moments you desire and then live in them.
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What is with the over valuing of the collective and the reduction of the individual? Does this not seem wrong to anyone else? Yes, I know of and accept our general interconnectedness. We are aware of this connection via modern physics AND mysticism. I am in total agreement. However, does not the paradoxical and polar nature of the Universe indicate that while being a part of a whole we must also be a whole of our own? Are you familiar with The Seven Hermetic Principles? If not, look in to them as I cite the Principle of Polarity in my argument as well as the persistence of paradox in the Universe. The Principle of Polarity tells us that all things have their poles. Opposites are often merely differing degrees of the same thing. What is light without darkness? Heat without cold? Something without nothing? Can you locate on a thermometer where hot begins and cold ends? Can you point me to a place where the light stops and the darkness begins? Of course not. So then, by applying this logic along with the Principle of Correspondence (as above, so below) we can easily see how this polarity is manifested via the paradox of the whole being a made of the individuals while the individual is made of the whole. We mostly all accept that we are connected and that is just a condition of the Universe. Period. So then why the obsession with increasing the connection via collective endeavors? Would it not be more simple and sensible to increase ourselves? To increase the individual? The chain is only as strong as its weakest link. If all the links are increased in strength does not the whole chain become stronger?
Our culture has taught us the great value of cooperation and the importance of being a part of something larger yet the same culture has diminished the power and liberty of the individual. Our religions tell us we are flawed and need to be saved. Our culture teaches us that we must be doing something for the collective for it to be a great accomplishment and that is true to a certain extent. Our culture tells us that we need friends and relationships to be happy and that being alone is negative. This is fallacy. We have recognized the importance of the collective yet ignored the method of improving the collective. New Age Religion even teaches that we should strive for communal behavior and that any value of the self is ego run amok. Even the New Age Movement has adopted the resentment of the individual. They teach that it is a reflection of a large ego if we are primarily concerned with our affairs. Now, let it be clear that I am not advocating selfishness or the idolization of oneself and it is not wise to try and elevate oneself above one’s peers. We cannot afford to consider ourselves more deserving or better than anyone else. My point after all of this is that being an individual and adhering to your own morality, your own fads, and your own ideas is the most important thing that we can do. Reject culture. Reject programming. Seek to become great but keep in mind the collective. Do nothing that will harm the whole because you are a part of the whole. That doesn’t mean that we need this undying devotion to the ‘bigger picture’ as we are taught. We do not need to be consumed with politics, religion, social issues, or any other macro problems. I know, easier said than done. The point of it all is to become a greater person and to increase yourself while taking care not to decrease the whole. Balance. You can be totally absorbed in the building of your own self without ever harming the whole and by building yourself you have built and therefore increased the whole. I think the most moral and personally beneficial path along these lines would be self-sufficiency but that is another topic.
So, in closing, take note of your own power. Reclaim your mind. Be your own person however you choose to be. Do not let culture devalue your individuality or tell you that the whole is more important than you. After all, if you die you will no longer be concerned with the human collective and thus the collective cannot be more important than you. They are equal. Treat them as such. You are just as grand as all of us, at least within your own sphere.
Start today. Put the clocks away. Lose track of time. That is when we are truly free.
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March 2017
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