This is a multi-part series by Neville Berkowitz on How to Live in the NOW
I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
-Rudyard Kipling
In writing How to Live in the Now (PersonalEmpowerment.co) I was attempting to understand this concept which Eckhart Tolle had made popular in spiritual and similar circles when he wrote- The Power of Now, which I personally found heavy going. His follow up Practicing the Power of Now was amazing for me to understand the concept.
However, even with this knowledge inside my head, I was still struggling to experience what it meant to be in the Now. I wanted the feeling of it. The experiential knowledge of knowing when I was in the Now and also when I thought I was but it turns out I wasn’t.
Being a researcher at heart, and professionally as a Global Real Estate Economist, I decided to read all I could get my hands on so I could attempt to perfect this supposedly utopian state of Nirvana, of being in the Now.
I must admit I had help! For reasons I won’t go into here, I feel the presence of strong Guidance in my life. If you want to find out more , please visit my spiritual website, GuideSpeak.com.
In writing this article I am trusting this Guidance to assist me.
Let’s begin with the WHAT of the Now.
I believe that the Now is not a time but a space- God’s space or if you would prefer The Source’s space. The Now is the space where you will connect with The Source or Oneness if you prefer. This space is eternal and omnipresent. By that I mean it is the only time there is to affect anything in your life. You can only use the only real power you have- the power of active choice- in this moment of Now.
You cannot change your mind to wear the red dress yesterday. You cannot decide to apply for a new job tomorrow. You can only make that active choice in the Now.
WHAT is with you as you make that active choice Now? God/Source/Oneness/Jesus/Buddha/Whatever Label you are comfortable with. The Energy is WHAT it is, what we call it doesn’t matter to the Energy or Vibration. If your favourite radio station is on 101.1 FM and the radio station is bought by some new investors who rename the radio station and it still plays the tunes you like, does it matter what the name of the radio station is?
In the Now space when you decide on your active choice, if you are aware or conscious of the presence of the WHAT is in the Now, what impact will that have on the conscious awareness active choice you make?
The WHO of the Now.
This has already been dealt with to some degree in the WHAT of the Now. If I told you that the Now space is full of untold Entities WHO are non-judgmental, non-controlling and non-manipulative in any way whatsoever towards you but have your best interests at heart, would you believe me?
If you don’t believe me but suspended your disbelief for a moment and allowed yourself to believe that you are surrounded by your Higher Self, Guides, Angels, Loved Ones in Spirit as well as by all the Wise Entities in Spirit and that they all only want what is best for you how would that make you feel?
How would your life change if I could prove that to you without any shadow of a doubt?
How would your life change if you could prove that to yourself without any shadow of a doubt?
What have you got to lose?
For one hour simply believe this to be true- that God/Source/Oneness/Jesus/Buddha/Whatever label you choose and your Higher Self, all the Guides, Angels, Loved Ones in Spirit as well as all the Wise Entities in Spirit are on your Team behind your every active choice you make for the next hour. Talk to them as if they were with you .Ask them about the choice you are about to make. Be receptive to feel their answers because feelings are the language of the Soul.
If you feel the WHO is with you in the Now and you enjoy that feeling try it for each successive moment- present moment by present moment.
The WHERE of the Now
The space that is the Now is infinite. It can take anyone and everyone in our world, our universe and countless other universes.
The reason for telling you this is that there is noWHERE you can be where you cannot be in the Now and feel the grace and unconditional love of God/Source/Oneness/Jesus/ Buddha or whatever label you prefer. The deepest dungeon of human misery is easy reachable instantly if you would only open up to live in the Now.
On a more personal level the WHERE of the Now is not in your mind, it is in your ‘no mind’- the place where thoughts cannot intrude. It is the gap between your thoughts- the meditative mind. You cannot think I must be in the Now because your ego based thoughts can’t get you there- they are the very thing that prevents you from being in the Now. Being in the WHERE of the Now is in the feeling of the Oneness of Spirit/God/Source/Jesus/Buddha/or whatever label you would prefer plus all the Spiritual Entities surrounding you with unconditional love.
The WHEN of the Now
The Now is not based in time it is based in space- infinite space.
The eternal moment of Now is all we ever experience in reality. The ego based thoughts of your mind transport you to the past and the future as your ego keeps you captive not allowing you to access your Soul which is only found in the Now- in infinite space.
Accessing your Soul is the only way to enter the WHEN of the Now. WHEN you access the Now you instantly connect with your Higher Self, your Guides, Angels ,your Loved Ones in Spirit, the Source/God/Jesus/Buddha or whatever label resonates with you.
WHEN is spelt NOW.
The WHY of the Now
Unless you are suffering from masochistic tendencies WHY would you not want to feel the bliss of Nirvana. The bliss of the most utopian high you will ever experience as you connect to the most unconditional love you will ever experience.
Smothered in unconditional love from your Higher Self, your Guides, Angels, Loved Ones in Spirit, Source/God/Oneness/Jesus/Buddha/whatever label resonates with you, overcome with bliss you will soar in Spirit by being in the Now.
WHY would you not want to experience this even for an instant.
The HOW of the Now
HOW do you access the Now?
To use an analogy- a block of wood cannot be easily penetrated by a breath to create a tune but an empty reed can be transported instantly into a musical flute. The Now is easily accessible by simply emptying yourself of your ego and allowing your Soul to connect to its eternal friends and Loved Ones in Spirit. The intellectual mind cannot be interrogated to find a way to the Now. Only by not thinking but by feeling, as feelings are the language of the Soul, can you begin to access the Now. Feeling the need to connect with your Higher Self, your Guides, Angels, Loved Ones in Spirit, Source/God/Oneness/Jesus/Buddha or whatever label resonates with you, without your ego based thoughts interfering in any way, is your passport to the Now. Let me assure you that only those who don’t think much but simply BE can easily access the Now .For the rest of us mere mortals we have to retrain our thinking processes to stop functioning so we can rid ourselves of the ego based thoughts and allow the feelings of our Soul to connect to the blissful realm of the Now.
It’s worth it to retrain yourself to be in the Now and, as you have experienced in your life, nothing worthwhile was ever achieved by it falling into your lap. Living in the Now is the utopian way to experience life at the leading edge of the continual wave than never breaks. Living spontaneously by trusting that you will be given exactly what you need when you need it for the highest growth of your soul. I wish you an enjoyable voyage in the Now.