If You Find it Hard To Enter the Now Directly

 start by observing the habitual tendency of your mind to want to escape from the now.[1]

Eckhart Tolle

December 1, 2023.

Discovery of what happens in my mind began in earnest about seven years ago while reading a remarkable little book, “As a Man Thinketh” by James Allen, which changed the direction of my life; this was my first step to living reality. Since then, it has been an exciting journey of discovery into the mysteries of that wondrous space – my mind; what a gift!

I share a home with my wife, Eileen. We call this place ‘Our Forever Home,’ in other words, on this earth. And considering our ages, we will leave when carried out in boxes.

So, it is with my mind. It becomes a home or a permanent place where I live or ‘dwell,’ I love this biblical word. The difference between my mind and my earthly home (at my age, our home location is determined by economics and medical support proximity) is that there is a choice of location—three choices, to be exact: past, present, and future. In my mind, I can focus on my past, present, and future life in terms of moments. Writing this journal entry, I see with no shadow of a doubt now, at this moment, is where my focus should be. But my mind’s habitual tendency is to turn to issues of my past, the long-term past where I experience many emotions: regret, guilt, and sorrow, to name a few. Then there are my future thoughts of anxiety, fear, insecurity, etcetera. I resolve this issue by observing my thoughts and turning away from them. From there, I redirect my thought energy to now – this moment I live. If I did not focus on this article as I write it now, it would be a mess of words.

Shifting my mind from habitual thoughts is more straightforward to write than achieve. Even if I locked myself away in a room where I could silence distractions such as people’s voices, music, and traffic, I would still have to contend with the interference from my mind. Focusing closely on my writing will produce an article worthy of your reading. I find that with writing, it’s a little easier for me to avoid diversions, and this is because I am passionate about writing and sharing my life experiences. If my mind wanders, my fingers stop typing, my brain alerts me of the situation, and I correct it immediately. But that is not the case with many other activities I perform. For example, in meetings with others, particularly when I am not participating, just listening – my mind will run amok.

Because I know this situation, I develop strategies to deal with these circumstances. For instance, I might ask a question of one who is speaking, and hey-ho, I’m back in the groove,

To summarize, I constantly keep an eye on my mind and instantly take action if I’m aware of drifting off from the now moment. I started this by determining to break one habit and replace it with a beneficial one. I did this consciously because, being diagnosed with ADD, I have to strategize daily to survive,

Please Note:

You will have noticed in this series that I reference “The Power of Now Journal – Eckhart Tolle.” The Power of Now Journal is just that: a journal whose pages are not numbered. The commentary you read on this page is a record of my personal experience arising from Eckhart’s comments on the relevant pages of the journal. With its dynamic wisdom, this beautifully printed book is available from Amazon. I feel confident that if you have read my piece, you will enjoy this delightful journal, even if you don’t usually keep or never have kept a journal.

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[1] The Power of Now Journal – Eckhart Tolle

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