Not present today. So it's a mental blur, almost as if I 'lost' a day. So it's a good day to discuss "obstacles" [1]. "What if" thoughts can be playful. I'm not talking about those. I'm talking about worry snowballs on the way to an avalanche.
Worry is the misuse of the imagination. - anonymous
Thinking about and believing one iota of our worst cases future scenarios around challenges is probably the number one cause of stress (in other words, not being present). This Byron Katie video addresses one common worry and yearning (a similar line of thinking applies to many concerns over a myriad of challenges).
In the video, she talks about taking money concerns to the extreme. What's the worst thing that can happen? Lose your car and home? Okay, so imagine you are sitting outside on the day they foreclose on your former home. You are looking at your home from the neighbor's curb, and the sky is beautiful. Do you need more money in this moment--is it true? Are you okay? [2]
What, in this moment...this moment... is lacking? - Rinzai Zen adage (an invitation to be still and observe reality, rather than list a litany of what's seemingly missing...)
It's worth watching the video (if you are in a hurry, start at 5:00) and place yourself in that scenario (or use it to spur your worst case worry and do the exercise on that).
It's funny that my mind immediately went to: I'm not okay, it could rain hard and heavy enough to be unpleasant outdoors, turn cold and then I'd get cold and then.... (uh, that's the future--Katie already said it was "a beautiful sky" right now). But where will I sleep tonight? (again, that's later--anything can happen between now and then).
Wherever I went I was anywhere but simply sitting, on a curb, on a bright sunshiny day right then and there.
Yes, I'm okay.
A common complaint about the present, is "If I were in the present, then I wouldn't get anything done." Thinking and doing aren't the same. Worrying and doing definitely aren't.
These excuses are a sly way to avoid the present moment. The secret is most fear the present because in a real sense, "I" don't exist in the present, only All of Existence flows through. It's not that you are more fully alive when you are present, it's fully Life there, and no you.
Back to the practical, in the same day, I found this Abraham-Hicks video about a lady who makes lists. Again, action that comes from peace of presence is far different than that which comes from panic.
"It is helpful to make sure you are in alignment before you take action."- Abraham-Hicks
The lady in the video tells the story that she's driving down a bridge, and sees some folks. "What are you doing?" "We're jumping off the bridge." she leaps off a 45-foot bridge. Ecstasy, she says. And next day, her neck goes out. She is wondering what is off since she is so sure she is living "in my Now."
This distills why I underscore it's ordinary rapture:
"There is so much zest for life to be lived in far less jumping-off-bridges kind of ways, you see. And even the fact that you're jumping off of a bridge is a little bit of an indication that you're looking for something that you haven't been able to find in normal places... In so many normal places there is as much exhilaration as jumping off bridges will bring you...
It is our absolute knowing that you could sit on a bridge with nobody else around, come into alignment with who you are, and have a greater thrill than jumping off the bridge, you see. So what's our message--'Stop jumping off bridges'? Not at all. Stop looking for the kick you're looking for through action, and find it through energy alignment. So then when you say that I hardly do anything except revel in my Beingness, then we'd say, 'Good, now jump off some bridges.'" - Abraham-Hicks video clip, 2007 HawaiianWell Being Cruise
p.s. The first time I read Power of Now I took it to a cabin in the hills for a solo retreat with the last of my money (then), and I hadn't earned any income in a long, long spell. I mainly watched clouds during nap festivals, and admired ferns and moss. When I got back to civilization, a friend calls within the week, Do you happen to be available for a gig? His CEO cousin at a start-up ended up hired me for good fees for a long-term contract. The nap festivals were their own reward.
[1] So called "obstacles" are still the path. They arise from same Spot the whole kit and caboodle do. It's okay to veer off into cul-de-sac explorations too. They only feel a little crappier than calm.
[2] Not being heartless to people losing homes, etc. I chose a concern I could identify with. And it's also a cautionary tale as my anxiety bullied any inspiration. Folks worry about all sorts of things not even a glimmer of happening to them, yet in case of anyone thinking, "That's easy for you to sit there musing--that's never happened..." Yep, been there, done that similar penniless, car-free, home-free (rented) scenario in this life.
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