This Moment

This moment is here

And yet it is not really here.

Bits and pieces of yesterday

Are floating around in my mind

Pictures and sounds of yesterday

And of days gone by,

But not completely bye bye.

I hear them, I see them

They are with me

Coming mostly uninvited

Taking up space in my thoughts

Telling me about all the stupid things

I did once and feeling stupid

once again.

This is agony all over

Over what?

Something that happened thirty years ago?

Forty? Fifty? And still it bothers me?

I am here with my mind

Conjuring up all those images,

Sounds, and amorphous projections.

Some from movies, some from music

Some from my own sights.

All is memory, the carpet of the past

Woven by the sights and sounds of life.

And the Truth will shine through

And the truth will shine through

It’s inevitable. The end is always the same as the beginning. The truth started it all and the truth will end it all. And there will be an end to it. To what? To the light of our sun. It is destined to burn itself out. It will happen at some point in time. There is no doubt about it. And then this planet will die. The dark night will set in. There will be frozen ice masses covering this planet.

What will happen to all the souls evolving on planet earth? All those souls that strived to attain perfection in the experience of the One? Perhaps there will be another planet in another region of this universe – perhaps quite similar or not at all – where the souls can finish their training and evolution.

Why think about that now? Because it helps in finding out which present day philosophy and theosophy makes sense. If human life still exists in one Billion years on this planet, then any spiritual system has to account for the whereabouts of all those souls.

First of all: something exists. That is undeniable. I exist. You exist. This universe exists.

How existence came into being is a mystery. How this universe came into existence is the subject of many philosophical and religious systems. There are many believers following these various systems.

One aspect is beyond belief: what exists now, exists now. That is all that can be said with absolute certainty. Nothing else can be stated with the same kind of certainty.

Is existence “eternal”? Whatever has a beginning will have an end. Was there a beginning to existence? It is easy to say that existence has always been around and therefore will always be around. That is speculation and shows the limitations of the mind to conceive of true nothingness.

But then, nothing can come out of total nothingness. Something had to have been there to instigate this creation. What that “something” is (or was) is the fascinating subject of all philosophical and religious musings. In fact, it is also the subject of scientific thought.

I call it the One. This implies that there is only one true force in existence from which all else flows. Why this One is compelled to become the creator is the subject of much debate and speculation within the various religious and philosophical systems.

It appears that humans are the only lifeform on this planet capable of contemplating the mysteries of existence. Humans question everything in their environment. Humans question the point of their existence. “Why are we here?” “What is our purpose in life?”

A person can choose from all those various thought systems and attempt to get their answers through them. Or, a person can make their own inquiries and find their own answers.

Finding your own answers is like reinventing the light bulb. It can be done and may lead to new and novel ideas about existence.

It is important to respect all the various religious, philosophical, and scientific endeavors.  They all are attempts to understand the mysteries of existence.

But, while searching for answers, it would be unproductive to mix the various systems to fit one’s personal likings and preconceptions. Many different paths are offered, and a person should stay the course until the path leaves them, which means they no longer need the path.

So, pick a path that suits you. Listen to your heart most of all. If you find happiness, then stay with that path. If not, find another. Just because you were born into a family with a certain religious tradition does not mean you will find happiness with it. But you must honestly try your own tradition first, before wandering off. As the saying goes, the grass always looks greener over there.

The truth inspired all those various religious and philosophical systems. Some may be so old that their truth can barely be seen through the many layers piled on over the years. But it is there, you just have to do some extra work to dig it up again.

The truth always shines through.

To be in the Moment

To be in the moment is to be here, right here and now. There is no deviation from the place or time here and now. In the center – always in the center – flowing in the center of the stream of consciousness – it’s even swifter in the middle of the stream, away from the edges – can’t see the shore any longer – like the wide Mississippi – going on – going along – a bit faster than the Mississippi – the stream of consciousness – always remaining connected – in the stream – meditation is the inward looking at this stream  - merging with the stream – allowing for the stream to become more noticeable – like the eye of a hurricane – forever so still – unmoving but always dancing.

 

About the One

Can I venture an opinion on the One? Based on my personal experience?

It’s pretty simple: I am conscious of my own existence. I am conscious of my thoughts and feelings. I am conscious of my actions, such as typing these words. I am conscious of my wondering about existence. I can search the field of my mind and see where the limitations of my mind are. I cannot go beyond the mind. At the outer reaches of my mind where there is expansion, there is blissful awareness. At the inner reaches of my mind where there is concentration, there is blissful consciousness.

The expansion and the concentration. My mind vacillates between these two extremes. It shifts back and forth between them almost instantaneously. What they both have in common is the bliss component. There is blissful concentration and there is blissful expansion.

I experienced that for the first time in a dream when I was about 12 or 13 years old after having practiced my own form of “staring meditation” for a short while. I felt as expanded as the whole universe and as concentrated as the tip of a needle.

If I am in any way similar to the One, then the One should experience something similar in its being. And I should be similar to the One, because the One originated me, brought me into existence. Or did It? Maybe I am similar to the One, because I am of the same substance as the One, like a single drop of water in a vast ocean is not different in substance from all the water surrounding it. Maybe the One needs physical bodies to experience the bliss of contraction and the bliss of expansion. Or  perhaps It only needs the minds of entities for these experiences?