A moment ago, when you talked about the eternal present and the
unreality of past and future, I found myself looking at that tree
outside the window. I had looked at it a few times before, but this
time it was different. The external perception had not changed much,
except that the colors seemed brighter and more vibrant. But there
was now an added dimension to it. This is hard to explain. I don’t
know how, but I was aware of something invisible that I felt was the
essence of that tree, its inner spirit, if you like. And somehow I was
part of that. I realize now that I hadn’t truly seen the tree before, just
a flat and dead image of it. When I look at the tree now, some of that
awareness is still present, but I can feel it slipping away. You see, the
experience is already receding into the past. Can something like this
ever be more than a fleeting glimpse?
You were free of time for a moment. You moved into the Now and
therefore perceived the tree without the screen of mind. The
awareness of Being became part of your perception. With the timeless
dimension comes a different kind of knowing, one that does not “kill”
the spirit that lives within every creature and every thing. A knowing
that does not destroy the sacredness and mystery of life but contains
a deep love and reverence for all that is. A knowing of which the mind
knows nothing.
The mind cannot know the tree. It can only know facts or information
about the tree. My mind cannot know you, only labels, judgments,
facts, and opinions about you. Being alone knows directly.
There is a place for mind and mind knowledge. It is in the practical
realm of day-to-day living. However, when it takes over all aspects of
your life, including your relationships with other human beings and
with nature, it becomes a monstrous parasite that, unchecked, may
well end up killing all life on the planet and finally itself by killing its
host.
You have had a glimpse of how the timeless can transform your
perceptions. But an experience is not enough, no matter how
beautiful or profound. What is needed and what we are concerned
with is a permanent shift in consciousness.
So break the old pattern of present-moment denial and present-
moment resistance. Make it your practice to withdraw attention from
past and future whenever they are not needed. Step out of the time
dimension as much as possible in everyday life. If you find it hard to
enter the Now directly, start by observing the habitual tendency of
your mind to want to escape from the Now. You will observe that the
future is usually imagined as either better or worse than the present.
If the imagined future is better, it gives you hope or pleasurable
anticipation. If it is worse, it creates anxiety. Both are illusory.
Through self-observation, more presence comes into your life
automatically. The moment you realize you are not present, you are
present. Whenever you are able to observe your mind, you are no
longer trapped in it. Another factor has come in, something that is not
of the mind: the witnessing presence.
Be present as the watcher of your mind — of your thoughts and
emotions as well as your reactions in various situations. Be at least as
interested in your reactions as in the situation or person that causes
you to react. Notice also how often your attention is in the past or
future. Don’t judge or analyze what you observe. Watch the thought,
feel the emotion, observe the reaction. Don’t make a personal
problem out of them. You will then feel something more powerful
than any of those things that you observe: the still, observing
presence itself behind the content of your mind, the silent watcher.
Intense presence is needed when certain situations trigger a reaction
with a strong emotional charge, such as when your self-image is
threatened, a challenge comes into your life that triggers fear, things
“go wrong,” or an emotional complex from the past is brought up. In
those instances, the tendency is for you to become “unconscious.” The
reaction or emotion takes you over — you “become” it. You act it out.
You justify, make wrong, attack, defend. . .except that it isn’t you, it’s
the reactive pattern, the mind in its habitual survival mode.
Identification with the mind gives it more energy; observation of the
mind withdraws energy from it. Identification with the mind creates
more time; observation of the mind opens up the dimension of the
timeless. The energy that is withdrawn from the mind turns into
presence. Once you can feel what it means to be present, it becomes
much easier to simply choose to step out of the time dimension
whenever time is not needed for practical purposes and move more
deeply into the Now. This does not impair your ability to use time —
past or future — when you need to refer to it for practical matters.
Nor does it impair your ability to use your mind. In fact, it enhances it.
When you do use your mind, it will be sharper, more focused.