What Do We Want Happiness
(This is an excerpt from a University Of Metaphysical Sciences course at www.umsonline.org,
please feel free to visit the school website)
Now! One of the greatest tools we have in avoiding the pitfalls of forgetting we are fluid and continuous with the universe is bringing our full attention to now. This is where pure mind lives. Many of the greatest spiritual teachings have pointed to this truth. One of the most relevant teachings for our times is contained in the small but power packed book The Power of Now (1999), by Eckart Tolle.
Eckart Tolle woke up one day, literally. His story is an amazing one, and from it we receive this gift of pure mind, in the form of the book The Power of Now. The message is that our minds love to dwell in the past and the future, and much of our energy, our creative life-force, is spent in these other places. Tolle reminds us to bring our attention to the moment, to be fully present in life. When we live in the past, in regret and wondering what might have been, we miss the moment, and look back to see where it went, only once again to miss the present moment.
Only by being right here in this moment can we bring our full presence to life, to live as we were meant to live, as fully creative, aware beings, feeling the energetic flow of all of creation, and knowing ourselves as sacred life vessels. Tolle gives us a simple yet powerful story in the beginning of the book, and though I hope you have already experienced these teachings, I will share the story with you here:
"A beggar had been sitting by the side of the road for thirty years. One day a stranger walked by. "Spare some change?" mumbled the beggar. "I have nothing to give you," said the stranger. Then he asked: "What's that you're sitting on?" "Nothing," replied the beggar. "Just an old box. I've been sitting on it for as long as I can remember. "Ever look inside?" asked the stranger. "No," said the beggar. "What's the point, there's nothing in there." "Have a look inside," insisted the stranger. The beggar, reluctantly, managed to pry open the lid. With astonishment, disbelief, and elation, he saw that the box was filled with gold. I am that stranger who has nothing to give you and who is telling you to look inside. Not inside any box, as in the parable, but somewhere even closer: inside yourself."
Being fully present in the moment does not mean avoiding planning for the future, or being in denial of the realities of life. It means understanding that this moment here and now is the only time we really ever have, and that by paying full attention to the present moment, by being fully aware of ourselves and our surroundings, by tuning in, and connecting with pure mind, we have much greater ability to shift our energy, to release blocks related to the past (this does not just refer to childhood, or distant past, though that is where patterns are set. Often we are stuck in yesterday or even 5 minutes ago!). We also have a greater ability to problem solve, for in the moment, in pure mind, effortlessness exists, and we know whether to be still or to act. We are poised between the world of energy and the world of form. We are the modern alchemists when we are in the moment, creating from the flow of life. This is the truth of who we are.
And now, more from Alchemist Tolle:
"What is power of Now? None other than the power of your presence, your consciousness liberated from thought forms. So deal with the past on the level of the present. The more attention you give to the past, the more you energize it, and the more likely you are to make a "self" out of it. Don't misunderstand: attention is essential, but not to the past. Give attention to the present; give attention to your behavior, to your reactions, moods, thoughts, emotions, fears, and desires as they occur in the present. There's the past in you. If you can be present enough to watch all those things, not critically or analytically, but nonjudgmentally, then you are dealing with the past and dissolving it through the power of your presence. You find yourself by coming into the present."
Where To Look For Enlightenment
"Where shall I look for enlightenment?
"Here"
"When will it happen?"
"It is happening right now."
"Then why don't I experience it?"
"Because you do not look."
"What should I look for?"
"Nothing, just look."
"At what?"
"Anything your eyes alight upon."
"Must I look in a special kind of way?"
"No. The ordinary way will do."
"But don't I always look the ordinary way?"
"No."
"Why ever not?"
"Because to look you must be here. You're mostly somewhere else."
—Anthony de Mello