"The Past Cannot Survive..."

"The past cannot survive in your presence... Whatever you need to know about the unconscious past in you, the challenges of the present will bring it out. If you delve into the past, it will become a bottomless pit... there is always more...

Access the power of Now. That is the key. The power of Now in none other than the power of your presence, your consciousness liberated from thought forms...

Give attention to the present; give attention to your behavior, to your reactions, mughts, 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 cannot find youself by going into the past. You find yourself bu coming into the present."

[pp. 55-56, Eckhart Tolle, Practicing the Power of Now: Essentials Teachings, Meditations, and Exercises from "The Power of Now"] See more at www.eckharttolletv.com/sunhutch 

"If the crick don't rise..."

"If the crick don't rise..."

To sit with no other human beings in the room...

To sit and type the words you read

You have entered this space in some other Now... 'This Now-Now'

Infused with the same Life that formed these symbols out of nothingness

The same Life that reads these symbol-word-language-forms

Now

Life... is

This Moment... is

This Life situation... is

We are one Life animating All

All-Ways in the Now... in this present moment...

We talk in time-formed language and suggest there is a future since we can think ahead and say "I will be meeting you at five o'clock." ...

And if we meet...when we meet... it will be now...

Life is only present in this moment...

We consider the 'past-Nows' when we recall an experience and memory of that experience... and we may define it by our opinion as being a pleasurable or painful memory...or something in between...

We consider possible 'future-Nows' when we plan and hope and dream... and we may wish for a better 'future-now' which probably means we are resisting this-Now... or we may create fantasies of future-Nows that are worse and so we conjure up fear in this present moment about something that is totally unreal and not present except in our thinking...

And now we get to the 'Real-Now'... the absolute and only 'Now' is 'this Now'...

This Present Moment... where Life continues its journey and acts through the various forms that it creates...

Stop and pause the train of thought...

Look and Listen to the Life that is...

Beyond labels... and definitions... and interpretations...

Be with what is...

Allowing without resistance...

This is Life...

Not 'my' life... for I am not separate from Life...

Not 'your' life... for you and Life are not separate ...

This is IT... this very Moment... this IS LIFE...

Enter the Now-Gate ...

Welcome to the only 'day' of Life...

which is continuously NOW...

We tend to divide everything in segments and categories and files and labels and days and months and years...all so we can have some illusion of manipulation, control, and record... AND...we may lose sight of the timeless quality of real LIFE... the present...

Thursday is a label that signifies nothing... if I am astute and have done my homework, I will be able to recite to you that yesterday was 'Wednesday' and tomorrow will be 'Friday'... but these days exist only in our mind... our collective mind in most cases...

They are only formed constructs to help us organize and keep life somewhat manageable... I have made some plans to fly to Denver in a 'future Now'... I really do not know if that will ever happen... We have come up with sayings that help to convey the uncertainty of 'future-Nows'... sayings like: "Lord willing" or "If the crick don't rise"... and so on... We need to operate in conventional ways in order for there to be order... so 800 people do not show up to get on an airplane the holds 33 beings... so someone might be there to pick me up when and if the airplane lands where it is intended to land... and so on...

And all these events... that we can plan ahead of time... may or may not occur... and if they do... each event will be in the Present Moment...always... none has ever experienced the future... although sometimes people do have glimpses from time to time ... which is a topic for another Now...

So we plan with a consideration for the uncertainty of LIFE... with a certain acceptance and flexibility... so when Life doesn't go exactly as 'we' planned or expected, we can adjust rather than resist what is actually happening. I would guess most if not all frustration and suffering comes from resisting what is .... the actual life situation in which we find ourselves... When we resist, we strengthen our ego by blaming others or ourselves... as if somehow life has struck us with a sucker punch... and the ego begins to play with ideas that of course Life is unfair and we must be singled out to experience this unfairness...  so our egoic mind processes quickly the likely suspects for blame... God... others... and sometimes ourselves...

Or we become quite philosophical and began to ask why... which is often another ego game that shoves us into identification as a 'victim'...  

If we are to remain awake and aware... we must be vigilant and observe the mind games our ego plays to try to distract us from being present... at times like a trickster that will go to any lengths to have the ego maintain its control...

The ego is not evil and is a natural part of the domestication process as we grow within families, tribes, and collective mindsets... There is almost an irony that we spend years in strengthening the ego in order to operate in our everyday world and then... after years of growing the personality strength, we find that we are really trying to let go of the ego so we can be more present in a new way... from a new dimension the transcends the personal... that gets the bigger picture... the transcends fear... regret... and even hope... all are mind games to focus on something other than simply being present right now... right Now!

We let go of what was ...and what will be...so that what is... can Be!

Peace and Love.... John 
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John Hutchinson
www.SundanceWellnessCenter.com - [latest post to blog]www.sunhutch.com - [blog intro page]Lancaster, Pa

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"God, the supreme artist, uses our life for the creation of art. We are the instruments through which the force of life expresses itself. We express our art in everything we say, everything we do. The creation is ongoing, it is endless, it is happening in every moment." ~ don Miguel Ruiz 

~~~

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Where is Your Attention Focused? [+Awareness Exercise]

Living in the Past? ... How? 
[plus Awareness Exercise]

A number of years ago, Caroline Myss recorded a series of talks on the "Anatomy of Spirit" and "Why People Don't Heal."  She noticed that often we become stuck and resist Life's spirit or energy.

Sometimes when I am listening to others share, I notice they are often speaking of things that happened years ago. They may be feeling hurt or have a sense that life is unfair. It is not hard to see how we all can fall into a false identity of being a victim... mistreated by a spouse, friend, associate, or life in general.

If you stop and look at the thoughts that run through the thinking process, there can be the incessant search for 'the answer,' or a search for what I did 'wrong,' or simply the replaying of all the 'wrongs' that have been done to us.

The ego loves for us to be lost in any kind of identification with the past... or future... which keeps us distracted from being in touch with the Power of the Present Moment.

I'm not suggesting that life situations, events, and actions in the past were not real. The issue is at least two-fold. If we are to let go of being identified as a 'victim,' we must find acceptance of what was... what happened, and what is the reality of the situation in our life now. The ego would like nothing more than to have us replay the past and stay lost in suffering...looking for companions who will commiserate. This of course strengthens the 'victim' identity and we believe all the stories we continue to create as we reinterpret past events.

Secondly, we may never know what motivated others or why things happened. Trying to figure it all out is a meaningless exercise that again keeps us from the present moment. At some point, if we are choosing to heal and remember who we are, we will find a way to forgive [accept] ourselves and others and begin anew in this moment. Expectations, desires, hopes, plans, and our idea of what is 'right' all play a role in how we interpret life situations and how we feel...both past and present, conventionally speaking.

There is a time to grieve, when we have lost something or someone we love. No one can say how long that period of grief takes. There is a difference in really grieving the loss of a person or expectation... and holding on to what we wanted that did not happen. Then we are simply resisting, which can lead to depression, anger, bitterness, despair, and a number of 'negative' emotional states that can be quite unhealthy and toxic for ourselves and others. It can lead to a lack of trust in self and others and continue to keep us from being alive Now.

If we find ourselves in such a state, or if we are with someone who is lost in the state of 'suffering,' perhaps we need to ask some questions:

"Why are you [am I] telling this story, again?"  ... When we are identified in a particular state or sub-personality, we tend to replay the same tapes over in our thoughts and we hear ourselves saying the same thing to others almost as a reinforcement of what we believe ... "That's my story and I'm sticking to it." He story of course sticks to us and sticks in out thoughts of how we have been 'wronged' or how life has treated us 'unfairly'...

"Is there anything I need right now?" ... At times we are so lost in trying to right the 'wrongs' of the past... or lost in concern and fear about what may happen in the future, that we forget we are really only ever alive right NOW... and unless we are in physical discomfort, we probably do not need anything to be in touch with the Life Energy streaming through us in this moment. Even physical discomfort, short of injury can be exacerbated by our mental and emotional state. Can you allow yourself to experience that you are 'OK' right in this moment?

How do we get from 'there' to Here?  ... to the Present Moment?... We all need to find our own path to remembering and being present...being more centered or conscious in the moment Life gifts us. And here are a few suggestions:

• Be aware of your body right now and your breath; notice the energy and sensations within your physical form; try to stay in touch with the present experience in your body; if and when thoughts enter, simply notice them without getting sidetracked and go back to noticing you inner body sensations... As you notice places in your body that may be tense, again, breathe into that area and perhaps apply a gentle massaging action...
• If having some strong emotions, simply be with them, sit and breathe into the feeling your are having now; if you find yourself thinking or analyzing, gently shift back to being with the emotion...let it deepen and travel through it; when we resist emotions, they become submerged and may unconsciously affect our experience and actions...
• Notice the space around you; look at the scene before you as if nothing was labeled and you are seeing it for the first time... be with the experience of noticing in this moment; hear the sounds without resisting anything; let whatever sound that is present be part of the symphony of that moment; Be aware of any scents you are picking up.... Notice all your senses... all part of the gift of Life right now...
• Thoughts come and go...they continually move through us... simply notice them without thinking... let them go through... if you notice the thoughts taking a journey  and playing an old tape, gently remind yourself that you are not your thoughts...and return to just being, while noticing some space between the thoughts that flow in and through...
• Listening to soothing music, taking a yoga or meditation class, finding a life coach, going for a walk in a natural setting...are all ways that may help you return to the present moment...
• Awareness [Disidentification] Exercise: Read the following to yourself as many times as you choose...
• "I experience my body, my physical form, which has many wonderful abilities to help me get around in the world and enjoy life... I am grateful for and love my body... and I am more than a body"...
  .
• "I experience various emotions and sensations that help me understand my interactions in the world and my reactions to what occurs... I am grateful for and love the ability to feel and sense life...and I am more than the emotions and sensations I experience...
  .
• I experience thoughts that come and go in my conscious mind and I am thankful for and love the ability to think and communicate... and I am more than the thoughts that come and go...
  .
• I am grateful for this physical body, the emotions and sensations, and the thinking process as all important aspects of everyday living... and I am more than all of these aspects... I AM  ...Pure Awareness... Consciousness... Being... in this timeless Moment... with the ability to decide how I will focus the creative life energy flowing through me...

  
A primary purpose of this Disidentification / Awareness Exercise is to remind us who we are and to help us detach in a healthy way from all the contents of consciousness so we may decide and act from the 'center' of our Beingness... From the 'Still-point' of Being, we choose the focus of attention and action with greater clarity and loving purpose.

In summary, we all have a 'past' in the sense that the Now has always been and we were there in the 'Now-Then' past as we are here in the 'Now-Now' present and will be present in the 'Next-Now' future.

Can you see how placing continual attention on past events... or on future possible scenarios robs us of Life Now? Getting stuck in historical mental reinterpretations or in projections and predictions into the 'future' are both ego fantasies that keep us from the Power of Life in this Moment of 'What Is.'

September 22, 2010 - John Hutchinson, Sundance Center

______________________________________________________

John Hutchinson
http://www.sundancewellnesscenter.com/ - [latest post to blog]
http://www.sunhutch.com/ - [blog intro page]
Lancaster, PA

"You can only perceive the beauty that lives outside you when you feel the beauty that lives inside you. Honor your body and accept it as it is. You have the right to feel beautiful and enjoy it." ~ don Miguel Ruiz 

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Fixing others Pain

[[In response to some questions or concerns from friends and readers, I have taken the opportunity to see what words might come regarding these inquiries and the results are what follow... Your thoughts and comments are invited... you may write them by clicking the 'Comment' link at the end of the blog article or send them directly to: john@sunhutch.com.]

How do I empathize with others pain (stories) without wanting to fix them?

This question is chock-full of sub-topics, so I will initially offer a few questions to contemplate:

• How does one fix pain?
• Whose pain are you trying to fix?
• Is it physical pain, a recurring replay of something from the 'past,' or a current moment situation?
• Why is the person telling you the "story" and what do they want from you? What do they expect from you?
• What does "empathize" mean to you? What would empathizing actually look like?
• Does listening to someone else describe events that were painful to them make you uncomfortable?
• How do you deal with your own "pain"?

The best thing we can ever do is be present in the moment.

Sometimes people become identified as victims and so are most comfortable drawing in others by repeating the 'victim' events, replaying and recreating past moments that are really only trips away from the reality of the present.

Sometimes we have had a traumatic event that has occurred and it is healing to share it with someone. If this is the case, your present attention can be a part of that healing moment.

Eventually some form of acceptance needs to take place... it may be in the form of forgiveness... it may take the form of letting go... No matter what form it takes, in order to find the Peace of this present moment, we let go of both the past and also let go of fantasies about the future.  This can help to create a spaciousness in the stream of thoughts and feelings so be become aware of the Being we are in this moment.

Finding space in our awareness apart from the stories in our head brings us once again back Home to the timeless Now... the present moment of LIFE.... From which all things have their form and existence... It is only here and now where we experience the Peace that passes all understanding.

[Note: There is always more we can say about each element in this question or any question. The real answers come from within to have transformative effects which last. -  jh]

______________________________________________________

John Hutchinson
http://www.sundancewellnesscenter.com/ - [latest post to blog]
http://www.sunhutch.com/ - [blog intro page]
Lancaster, PA