“The only safe place in existence is the now. We create time which is a jail. Everything that is not perfectly still is inside the jail of time. We are all one in the now. We are either frozen in time or eternally now, timeless. We are living either from paradigm or from presence, in the past or now.
“As soon as you are localized, you receive the karma package. When you are now, everything passes right through. The more you are present, the fewer stories you create. The initial incident may have hurt, but the stories you tell yourself about it are self-inflicted wounds. A charge, or disturbance, cannot exist in the now—there is no time to reflect, to create a narrative. Are you in the now or in your programming?” The value of the now is that there is no set structure, which means anything can happen. The Divine can come in and introduce new, life-supporting thoughts and actions.” —Stuart Mooney
I have seen this with clients in my psychotherapy practice. A woman I had been working with for several months (I’ll call her Marianne) had a chronic illness that had severely limited her quality of life. After several months of weekly sessions, she experienced an epiphany. She realized she had been living inside a structure of beliefs that was limiting her options for change, healing, and growth. She saw that this paradigm of beliefs based on the past, which had trapped her for so many years was actually fragile, like a house of cards ready to fall at any moment. She could step out of it whenever she chose. She wasn’t tied to the past. It was a profound realization that began to free her from her programming that had restricted her life in so many ways. As she became more conscious, more present, she saw she had options beyond her unconscious patterns. Her relationship to the illness began to change, allowing her to see it in a different light and open to the possibility of healing. Marianne’s life took on a new, fresh dimension as she expanded beyond her perceived limitations. She began doing the things she had enjoyed before her illness, like traveling with her daughter and teaching piano lessons. As she engaged in life again, her health began to improve.
When we are trapped in the illusion that we are frozen in a jail of time, there is no possibility for change. Being present moment to moment means no longer expecting the same repetitive behavior from ourselves or others. This frees our life and our relationships to change and evolve. It allows us to respond to people and situations spontaneously in the moment rather than reacting from habit. Opportunities for change and healing are always available when we escape the jail of time and enter the timeless present. This is the purpose of the spiritual path.
Consider This: Notice how you are a prisoner of the past. Open to the present moment and free yourself to respond spontaneously to whatever life brings.
