Powerful post!

Living in the present is a big one for me. Everyone who meditates, does yoga, trains for endurance sports or even plays music at a high enough level understands the real power of being in the now.

I think most people interpret being present in examples like enjoying time with friends or family, having fun, getting involved with sports. My view is that is too broad. Your mind is too active in those situations.

Slowing down your thoughts to the level of breathing, or a single thought is what I believe is the true meaning of being present. Examples could be Tibetan monks spending countless hours creating sand art, Japanese tea ceremony or zen mediation. ‘Now’ is this exact second, not necessarily this activity or situation.

I think it is very different from Csikszentmihalyi’s idea of Flow. His now is a much longer and broader experience. Perhaps Flow is what you are talking about in the second pillar, passively accepting the present.

In my opinion, if you are thinking about the second two pillars, you are not really in the now. You can’t evaluate your current situation or want for more if you are really concentrating on the moment.

While I believe the gap between where we are now and where we want to be is important because it makes (or can make) the world a better place, Buddhists would say that this is the source of all suffering. Want is the root of suffering.

On a more practical level, being in the now is a very powerful experience. That is why I love endurance sports and music so much. I love going for a long run and getting into a rhythm where all I think about is my breathing. I can drop my heart rate 15 to 20 beats per minute while exercising.

Playing music is also a big one for me. While I am not such a great player, it is an amazing feeling to practice a piece of music to the point where I don’t think about the notes or technique and just concentrate on the sounds. My skill is not so great so those moments are fleeting and I relapse back into thinking about the next note to play. That is where I make all the mistakes.

@Fabian You’re most welcome Fabian. The third pillar is actually the most useful one although on rare occasions the other two do have their merits.

@Cody “Every step of the way in your personal growth, there will always be new challenges… :) ”

I totally agree with you Cody. Thanks for stopping by

*****
This wordpress theme won’t allow threaded comments at the moment, something to work on.

Many people–myself included–understand that there’s a third pillar, but may not know how to attack it. I’d like to hear your thoughts on this. Like, once you recognize the third pillar, once you know you need to act in the present and to change certain things, how do you do it? What’s optimal?

Alan

Thankfully I’ve really been fortunate to reach a point where I am (more often than not) completely in love with the present—and that contentment, bliss, happiness with the now IS really important, whether just to accept your life as it is now, or whether you’ve “reached” your ideal dream lifestyle.

But two things can happen: 1) it can become difficult to keep reminding yourself that you need to continue taking the right actions to maintain the life that you want, and/or 2) you might be really happy with the now but FEAR about the future—about maintaining it. I am still dealing with that latter issue, and sometimes I am so afraid about paying the bills next month that I forget I am living my dream: sitting working in the beautiful rice fields of Bali right now, or on the beach in Thailand.

So, I think you need a healthy balance of both: acceptance and happiness with your NOW, and a bit of thinking about the FUTURE (but not FEAR about it). Every step of the way in your personal growth, there will always be new challenges… :)

Thanks for the thought-provoking post Christiaan!