Power of the Moment

Okay, so I'm a self-help nut and I'm always reading new things to grow my mind. Every once in a while a book picks me up and slams me on my ass. The book, "The Power of Now" is one of those books. I read it when I was in Morocco a few weeks back and it's been in my head ever since.

Some people do not like Ekhart because he makes claims that challenge how people look at religion, philosophy, life. I'm not a religious person but I'm open enough to look at things objectively. The premise of the book is that we live life as human "Doings" instead of human "Beings." That's why we don't know how to deal with getting older and the latter half of our life is largely an after though. He talks about the power of calling our attention to the present moment so that we don't live in our heads. Say someone cuts you off in the car and you get pissed off. You start telling yourself stories that this person did it on purpose and that they are bad and you wish you could follow them home and slash their tires... whatever, you get the gist. Those stories are where so many of us live.

To help alleviate this type of unconsciousness I started meditating. I've only been doing it for about a month and it's only after reading this book and meditating that I became aware at just how much chatter is in my head. It's absolutley insane. It's so loud now and I feel aware which is the first step; i.e. conscious incompetence, isn't that a pleasant saying; ha ha.

The reason I'm posting is that I'm just beginning this new adventure and the little bit of the surface I've begun to scratch is absolutely amazing. When I'm able to call my attention back to the present I feel stronger, more alive and more present with the people or challenge that is in front of me. After 34 years of living life one way I know it will take time and I'm not sure to what level I will take this, but it's pretty amazing. Almost like a whole new world and it's pretty freaking awesome. I thought I'd share as I'm sure this will be an area I continue to focus on.

QUOTE from the book:
Zen monk is giving a surmon and people have been coming to him for years and today he says, "Today I'm going to teach you the secret of enlightenment." Everyone perks up and eagerly listens as this is what they've been waiting for. In a simple, calm voice he says, "The secret to my enlightenment is that I do not think about things too much."

WOW! That hit me pretty hard. Simple yet profound. I think life is SO incredibly simple and the more we can strip away the crap the more fulfilled I think life can be.

Take or leave anything you want from this. Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy life to the fullest. It may be our only one!