Now?

three simple letters n, o, w put together to make a word that has what seems to be a concrete meaning but that meaning has an idea behind it, these ideas blur out the experiential reality of it, deforming it of its true meaning at all which then takes us back all over again to where we started. Now. What now?

According to Oxford Dictionary, the word "now" means:
at the present time or moment.
 ie;
where are you living now?it’s the most popular style of jazz right nowthey should be back by now

You see, according to Oxford "now" is a part of time or a segment of time which means it is something that's a consequence of the past and something that will cause the future. This is an idea. When in experience, or in reality, all that there has ever been is right now, and it's a continuous stream of nows... without segments... without parts to differ one moment to another.

Now most people today, live in an idea of time, a fantasy really where events occurring continuously are separated from one another and so the only outcome possible in their experience is something that has no new outcome... they're not living in real-time or what we call now or this moment, which brings about new possibilities to what you perceive as reality. As you're reading this, i'd like you to come into awareness of this moment, don't cling on to this moment, let this moment or the stream of moments go by and look at it as a part of what we call now...

If you have completed this exercise correctly, you will find that you have liberated yourself in some way, you feel less chained to past events, less confined to what has happened before and more open to what is happening right now and so you don't have an idea anymore of what will happen in the future, you are free into the now.

The reason there is so much focus put on being able to experience the present moment is because it the root of so many forms of suffering, especially in terms of pattern... patterned suffering.

Well just to play devil's advocate let's say someone says to me "well how can you say that all there is is now when just yesterday i went to the groceries store, that was the past wasn't it? So the past does exist."
To this advocate i say, "show me. Show me now that you went to the groceries store yesterday."
and he or she would reply, "I can't. How can i? it happened yesterday"
And then i'd say... "so how does it exist?"

just from writing this post i realize, It's very hard to write about the present moment because it can't be captured in one frame of time because it's continuous not discrete, and it can't be intellectualized which is such a bummer because now i realize this post is pointless... So look for the present moment yourself
Hint: it's right under your nose

i guess all i want to say is... Hey!! Snap out of your illusion of time!! the time is now!!!

Benefits of meditation. What is meditation?

Before i go on about how meditation has improved the quality of my life immensely, i'd like to characterize what meditation is.

Meditation is a method to which you transcend a form or state of consciousness. Meditation does not only consist of sitting down quietly with self in one place, it can be any activity at all that brings about this transcended state of consciousness. Whether it be, listening to music, dancing, painting, anything that brings about inner peace in your daily life can be considered a meditative process.

I started meditating a year ago, in this case i do mean sitting quietly with self in one place. When i first started, it was very hard for me to sit still and completely listen to myself without any form of judgement or labeling. I could barely even keep my eyes closed for a long enough period. And so these were signs that i am not at peace. These "tasks" are so simple yet i can not perform them without feeling irritated.

This here is the first step toward a library of realizations. I realized i was not at peace with the environment around me and the environment in me. As i went on practicing meditation and learning to "ride the surf board", i got better at it and i gained the ability to keep a still mind. So for any beginners out there, who have just started meditation. Please know that it is a process, step by step process, so if you've done it once and find no result, it is only because you've made a very small step or small change. an Unnoticeable one. So really follow through the process, and you will not only find ultimate truths about yourself, you will begin to perceive differently, with more serenity.

How has meditation benefited me? On an experiential level, i find words to be insufficient in what it can really do but here i am giving it a go. Firstly, it has given me a sense of calmness and objectivity which has really helped me in-terms of problem-solving skills. Because when a problem arises, the last thing you want to do is panic and identify yourself with that problem, in order to solve a problem you must rise above it, or objectively look at it like it wasn't really your problem, because there's a solution to it. So it's simply a temporary problem. This applies to ANY problem at all, whether it be financial, relationship, education, personal, etc. A solution exists, therefore be calm and objectively look at the problem

another aspect is, it helped me become more compassionate, and full of energy. It has helped me to look at people with a lot more empathy and understanding for their situation, sometimes even more than they do themselves! This is because when observing self, we notice the unnecessary patterns we fall into which does not benefit our lives in anyway. Whether it's a reaction, a thought process that we're always stuck with, etc.

But enough about me, let's just look at some of the physical benefits that have been studied:





In general, if you can just spend 5-10 minutes of your time sitting with yourself instead of watching TV, or doing any other menial tasks, your whole day will seem fresh with a fresh perspective!