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Tim Russert of “Meet the Press” passed away today at 58 apparently of a heart attack. He will be missed so much. He was even, fair & so excellent in his job. My heart goes out to his family. Just goes to show each of us, live in the moment. Anything can happen at anytime.
I am the same age as Mr.Russett was. No matter how hard I try to live in the moment, I cannot do it. Should I envy my dogs because they can? I don’t think so. Since they don’t contemplate or comprehend their own deaths, they cannot appreciate their lives.
The older I get, the more I think about this matter. I’ll betchya it’s supposed to be this way.
I appreciate your thoughts. Contemplate the future. But do your best to live in the now. I’m also Tim’s age. This evening I’m having a nice meal which my dog will sit by me and wait until I drop something. Sweet moments! Yes, you should envy your dogs-I do- mine. Anyway, we humans worry, worry about so much. But today is good.
Don’t envy your animals, use your contemplative brain to learn from them. The present moment is all there ever is and resistance to it causes most of our problems.
Good advice, Lotus, but I don’t think people are made in such a way that they can experience the world completely in the present. Our brains will not let us. We have to resort to meditative techniques to temporarily escape the awareness of time passing. Ultimately, that may be the one thing which differentiates us from many other animals. I do think it gives us an advantage in some areas. I can appreciate the intrinsic value of my dogs’ attitudes precisely because I live in a more dimensionally complex world of past, present and future.
It;s just that there is a negative side to this kind of knowledge about the future….we can’t avoid knowing the certainty of our own deaths. On the other hand, we can’t get our minds around the concept of not existing any more. Perhaps that saves us from insanity. It also explains why, when someone we knew dies, that we are so taken aback and have a hard time accepting the truth of that person’s exit for ever.
It does not have to be so black and white, and a quick 101 in physics is needed for these ideas you have about “time”. You are correct for most western educated people fear of our supposed annihilation fuels much of what ails us. But there never is annihilation, but that is the religion of consumerism/materialism. when we accept/understand that everything is connected and dependent on everything else to exist you achieve a calmness and that fear, that attachment-clinging starts to melt away. we do not need to achieve total self realization to start living in the present moment, but as we drift away just anchor yourself to your breath in whatever you may be doing; trading stocks or admiring a beautiful flower. Make this simple practice part of your life and and awareness will come to you, this is beyond mental concepts. we are all composed of the atoms that were present during the big bang, the same material that the stars are made of we do not “die” but that form that sprite thinks he/she is changes. we really are not who we think we are anyway,if our atomic material stopped vibrating at is special frequency we would simply spill onto the floor like so much sand…Contemplate this; the space between the atoms we are made of is more than the distance between the earth and the sun on a relative basis…amazing! A love this zen story; fundamentally a wave and water are the same thing, but as the wave started it’s journey across the sea it became filed with fear as it thought it would die when it crashed up on the beach. but then it realized it was the same as the water it was part of and it’s fear of “death” withered away and it was able to now move peacefully across the sea. we are like that wave. we don not need some religion to understand our relationship to the universe, to live with peace. You have the power to bring peace into your life right now by simply accepting the present moment. Not letting your mind tell you all this stories about death, all thoughts are empty but when you believe you are your thoughts yes this can lead to insanity. Embrace your thoughts make friends with them and recognize them for what they are…nothing and send them on there way. So simple…not! But with a little practice anything is possible. The complex world of past, present and future? Think about it..the past does not exist, the future does not exist either all there ever is is the present moment. Living in the moment is different than living for the moment, sure look back if you need to to learn something, and we don’t want to spend all our money wildly or neglect our bodies because there will be “future” ramifications. But for the most part staying anchored in the present will serve us best. Insanity by definition is not knowing your insane, accepting the changing nature of all matter is the sanest path you can possibly take, denying this is actually quite “insane”.
Sprite,
You seem to be a reflective and studied individual. If you haven’t done so, I highly recommend that you read “The Power of Now” and/or “A New Earth” by Eckhart Tolle
Obviously, from this and other posts, Lotus has read them and is putting it into practice. “A New Earth” is an easier read, is more detailed, and was written for a broader audience. Don’t let your mind keep you from reading and learning from them.
JerryYes Tolle’s books are wonderful, but it was Hawking’s “a brief history of time” that got the wheels turning and lead me to explore zen and dzogchen. More great reads are anything by Thich Nhat Hanh, Kabatt-Zinn and Suraya Das come to mind. The gnostic gospels are also compelling for a different twist on Christianity or what it could have been. But boy Jerry I never tire of reading “the power of now” for me personally it just resonated like nothing else I had ever read(and I’ve read a bit). The chapter on the “pain body” was life altering and I think his chapter on spiritual relationships is the best ever written on the subject. Just think…maybe you could actually be happy waiting in those long lines at banco national?
One of the most important, books in my life is the ‘Tibetan Book of Living and Dying’ my Sogyal Rinpoche …
I have bought at least 40 copies to give away …
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.com
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