Chapter 4:Time So, lets look at an example of what translating the passing present might look like as opposed to resting in the Eternal Present, or in the Now. Lets look at a meditation practice. The bell rings and the student has the typical few moments to settle in. The process of bringing awareness to the breathe starts, but rather than resting in the awareness of the sensations of the breathe passing in and out the nose, the meditator begins to think about the sensations. This sometimes appears verbally, like :oh it feels cool or im breathing shallow then on ohh, im noticing the tension in my chest dissolve as I breathe in. Notice these are all thoughts about the present moment. But this is the passing present. The meditator is taking the language of the universe, which is silence, and translating what he is experiencing into a language that he can understand. We will address the many pitfalls of verbally translating our experience later in this book. For now, lets just recognize that when we do this, we are resting in what the Christian mystics would call nunc fluens Which mean the passing present. Because of the inherent dualistic nature of language, even if we are verbally noticing our present surroundings and sensations, we are subtly out of the present moment. Lets look at the example above.Im breathing shallow might be a present moment fact…but it is so only in comparison to other breaths taken. Right there is the past. Im noticing the tension dissolve in my chest. This thought brings in the past and the future. The tension was heavy, now its getting lighter, and soon it will be lighter still and if the noticing is taking place now, then it must have not been taking place before. The very act of thought itself binds us to live in a world of time. But there is a way out. There is a way to rest comfortably in what the Christian mystics would call nunc stans
Posted on: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 04:17:57 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015