the Now

[pat19989]

Hello everyone. I have recently began reading Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now. First of all, incredible read for anyone seeking guidance with dealing with the mind and its many illusions.

I wanted to make a thread for observations about the Now, as well as reminders to remain seeking the Now.

Similar to Ozziwtf's recent thread 'Question about thoughts' (linked below)

https://www.bring4th.org/forums/showthre...?tid=19247

I have felt that as I am more mindful about being in the present, reality has seemed to be more fluid. Even hallucinatory at times. The physical world has always dissolved slightly for me when meditating; by this I mean that when my eyes are open a lot of times lines begin to blur, and if i remain empty enough everything can fade to black. This extent of concentration has only happened briefly. I'm finding more and more brilliance in things I have "seen" everyday but never truly felt. The more I begin to dissolve my ego, the more I am finding reality in the present to be more mysterious and expansive than ever before. Horizons have been blowing me away, a sky with large cumulus clouds is almost orgasmic.

I am still having trouble staying in this state for longer than a few minutes or seconds at a time.

Observations on this topic? Similar experiences?

Any good books come to mind on these topics?

Stories about the fluidity of our universe?

Stay present, my friends. Behind those thoughts of ours is infinity,

Love

[Anders]

Something that surprised me in The Power of Now is that Tolle writes about what seems to be the higher densities described in the Law of One:

"Since all worlds are interconnected, when collective human consciousness becomes transformed, nature and the animal kingdom will reflect that transformation. Hence the statement in the Bible that in the coming age “The lion shall lie down with the lamb.” This points to the possibility of a completely different order of reality. … We are not separate from our world, so when the majority of humans become free of egoic delusion, this inner change will affect all of creation. You will literally inhabit a new world. It is a shift in planetary consciousness. The strange Buddhist saying that every tree and every blade of grass will eventually become enlightened points to the same truth." - Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now, chapter 9

[flofrog]

Oh my goodness Anders I so agree.,,

So pat19989, I do have stories of second density… so first, I live in an old house and for the last ten years it’s been invaded by crickets at night. Mind you I keep my house really clean, it smells of flowers and fresh wax, I wash the floors… but crickets love me… so now crickets at night appear in my bathtub, we talk, ( we really talk, I can hear them answer, and I am not smoking anything ) but since I take a shower in it each night I brace to save them… so here’s what happens.. if I save the very very young ones that are minuscule, when I put them on the floor with a tissue, once I turn my back they disappear… I mean I turn my back then turn around immediately and they are nowhere in sight….

Same thing with baby spiders in the kitchen, I save them from the kitchen sink, and they disappear….

It happens repeatedly, like they want me to see it really.

Second thing is with larger entity of second dimension.

My daughter has a horse ( she is obsessed, she works hard and all her earnings go to horses ) so she has had this horse for a year and a half. If I go to his barn, first he nickers when I I get out of my car. They say horses recognize the heartbeat of the people they love. Anyway. I get close to his stall. If I pretend not to see him but turn my back to him, he’ll grab delicately with his teeth the collar of my shirt and I’ll, have to turn around to face him otherwise he won’t let go of my collar.

If I tell a joke to someone else not facing him, he’ll grab my collar again, and pull me towards him.

If he is sad he’ll just put the tip of his head against my breast ( there’s nothing there as I had a mastectomy) and he’ll let his his head there and close his eyes, and stays there. I mean I’ll cry. And if I wear a purse over my shoulder with his lips he’ll fool around the top of my purse as if trying to pry it open. If he is laying in his stall on shavings, and I sit by his side he’ll put his head on my thigh and falls asleep. I mean, we humans think we know best, it’s to cry for.

[pat19989]

Oh my goodness Anders I so agree.,,

So pat19989, I do have stories of second density… so first, I live in an old house and for the last ten years it’s been invaded by crickets at night. Mind you I keep my house really clean, it smells of flowers and fresh wax, I wash the floors…  but crickets love me… so now crickets at night appear in my bathtub, we talk, ( we really talk, I can hear them answer, and I am not smoking anything )  but since I take a shower in it each night I brace to save them… so here’s what happens.. if I save the very very young ones that are minuscule, when I put them on the floor with a tissue, once I turn my back they disappear… I mean I turn my back then turn around immediately and they are nowhere in sight….

Same  thing with baby spiders in the kitchen, I save them from the kitchen sink, and they disappear….

It happens repeatedly, like they want me to see it really.

Second thing is with larger entity of second dimension.

My daughter has a horse ( she is obsessed, she works hard and all her earnings go to horses ) so she has had this horse for a year and a half. If I go to his barn, first he nickers when I I get out of my car. They say horses recognize the heartbeat of the people they love. Anyway. I get close to his stall. If I pretend not to see him but turn my back to him, he’ll grab  delicately with his teeth the collar of my shirt and I’ll, have to turn around to face him otherwise he won’t let go of my collar.

If I tell a joke to someone else not facing him, he’ll grab my collar again, and pull me towards him.

If he is sad he’ll just put  the tip of his head against my breast ( there’s nothing there as I had a mastectomy) and he’ll let his his head there and close his eyes, and stays there. I mean I’ll cry. And if I wear a purse over my shoulder with his lips he’ll fool around the top of my purse as if trying to pry it open. If he is laying in his stall on shavings, and I sit by his side he’ll put his head on my thigh and falls asleep. I mean, we humans think we know best, it’s to cry for.

Beautiful stories flofrog. Thank you for sharing

I have noticed my cats have a strange ability to detect when my girlfriend or I are descending up the stairs to my apartment. Often times meowing or waiting at the door for us whereas the sounds of other people ascending and descending the 4-story building elicit no reaction. Second density creatures are truly incredible and mysterious, much more in tune with their senses than us people.

[flofrog]

I so agree pat and they do live in the now, they are fluidity. You are so right about fluidity and the universe’, I do believe our thoughts of a certain kind stop the fluidity, perhaps alll thoughts except when the mental aligns with the now.

[Anders]

Eckhart Tolle called dogs and cats guardians of being. I think he even co-authored a book about that. My current guess is that dogs and cats are in second density yet can sometimes connect to higher densities. Also wild animals in nature can do that it seems since I have sometimes experienced unusual behavior from wild animals such as fearlessness when they in ordinary situations would be afraid of humans.

[pat19989]

Anders, that sounds like a fair analysis to me. If we are yellow-ray bodies that can activate the higher centers, I'm sure 2nd density creatures can as well.

Found this excerpt from a website discussing Tolle's views and the book 'Guardians of Being' that you mentioned:
"Rather, Tolle says that dogs are in “a state of consciousness prior to the arrival of thought.”

“And that state has certain similarities with the state of presence, which is a state of going beyond thinking, where we are going,” he says.

Tolle says that, in some ways, animals are more “connected with being” than we are, and spending time with them can be enlightening. “I call them guardians of being,” he says. “Because for many people, they fulfill that function. For many people who are so lost in their minds, so much involved in their thought processes, the only moments they have when they are not trapped in that is when they are relating to their animal, their pet.”

[Margan]

Stay present, my friends. Behind those thoughts of ours is infinity

Beautiful!  

I was reminded of Alan Watts talking about the Now:

"The thing you have to see is that the flow of the Tao, as I said yesterday with the illustration of the people swimming in a strong stream that the flow of the Tao goes on anyway. Just like the flow of time for example, you can't get out of the present moment. You can think about the past, and you can think about the future. But since you do that thinking now. The present is inescapable. All right now, the present moment does, doesn’t it has a sense of flow. Time is going along, life is going along time actually the clock time is simply a measure of flow, a way of going to tick tick tick and counting the ticks and say well we’ve lived through so many ticks.



But nevertheless this is the real time as distinct from this ticking thing is it is a flowing, and yet it still isn’t that fascinating. If it moves but you’re always there it’s always now. You never get out of now. All right now if you can feel that see that you can’t get out of nothing. And you never will. I think now realize that what we call now is the same thing as Tao. The Tao, the course of things the eternal now the presence of God. Anything you want to call it see that’s now, and you can’t get out of it. So there’s no need to get with it, because you can’t get out. See, that’s beautiful you just to relax and you’re there. "

You can't get out of the now, never! haha so I guess it is kinda absurd to practice being in the NOW! because we are always there, anyways

[RitaJC]

Stay present, my friends. Behind those thoughts of ours is infinity

Beautiful!  

I was reminded of Alan Watts talking about the Now:

"The thing you have to see is that the flow of the Tao, as I said yesterday with the illustration of the people swimming in a strong stream that the flow of the Tao goes on anyway. Just like the flow of time for example, you can't get out of the present moment. You can think about the past, and you can think about the future. But since you do that thinking now. The present is inescapable. All right now, the present moment does, doesn’t it has a sense of flow. Time is going along, life is going along time actually the clock time is simply a measure of flow, a way of going to tick tick tick and counting the ticks and say well we’ve lived through so many ticks.



But nevertheless this is the real time as distinct from this ticking thing is it is a flowing, and yet it still isn’t that fascinating. If it moves but you’re always there it’s always now. You never get out of now. All right now if you can feel that see that you can’t get out of nothing. And you never will. I think now realize that what we call now is the same thing as Tao. The Tao, the course of things the eternal now the presence of God. Anything you want to call it see that’s now, and you can’t get out of it. So there’s no need to get with it, because you can’t get out. See, that’s beautiful you just to relax and you’re there. "

You can't get out of the now, never! haha so I guess it is kinda absurd to practice being in the NOW! because we are always there, anyways

Yes, that is my current experience 100%. No special states, just a constant peaceful awareness of reality no matter what the illusory momentarily experience.

[pat19989]

Stay present, my friends. Behind those thoughts of ours is infinity

Beautiful!  

I was reminded of Alan Watts talking about the Now:

"The thing you have to see is that the flow of the Tao, as I said yesterday with the illustration of the people swimming in a strong stream that the flow of the Tao goes on anyway. Just like the flow of time for example, you can't get out of the present moment. You can think about the past, and you can think about the future. But since you do that thinking now. The present is inescapable. All right now, the present moment does, doesn’t it has a sense of flow. Time is going along, life is going along time actually the clock time is simply a measure of flow, a way of going to tick tick tick and counting the ticks and say well we’ve lived through so many ticks.



But nevertheless this is the real time as distinct from this ticking thing is it is a flowing, and yet it still isn’t that fascinating. If it moves but you’re always there it’s always now. You never get out of now. All right now if you can feel that see that you can’t get out of nothing. And you never will. I think now realize that what we call now is the same thing as Tao. The Tao, the course of things the eternal now the presence of God. Anything you want to call it see that’s now, and you can’t get out of it. So there’s no need to get with it, because you can’t get out. See, that’s beautiful you just to relax and you’re there. "

You can't get out of the now, never! haha so I guess it is kinda absurd to practice being in the NOW! because we are always there, anyways

:exclamation: :exclamation:
Wonderful!

Also Allan Watts is the best.

Love

[Ebe]

You can't get out of the now, never! haha so I guess it is kinda absurd to practice being in the NOW! because we are always there, anyways

:exclamation:  :exclamation:
[/quote]
Indeed, we are in the Now but the difference lies in the fact that we realizes that or not. Not realizing it equals to "not being" in the Now because it goes unnoticed. I don't know if I made myself clear.

[pat19989]

You can't get out of the now, never! haha so I guess it is kinda absurd to practice being in the NOW! because we are always there, anyways

:exclamation:  :exclamation:

Indeed, we are in the Now but the difference lies in the fact that we realizes that or not. Not realizing it equals to "not being" in the Now because it goes unnoticed. I don't know if I made myself clear.
[/quote]

That is a good point Ebe. Instead of 'seeking' the Now as I phrased it, we should remind ourselves that we are in the beautiful, inescapable Now

Love

[Margan]

[flofrog]

There's a wonderful thing about the now, when I sit in meditation I first listen to all the noises, ( I sit usually my small garden ) and then I dont name them but hear birds, far away noise of a car, other cars, tree being cleaned out, someone using a hammer on a plank perhaps building a house, etc... but soon it's like time details itself, here, here, here, and suddenly it's constant attention melting into no time just now there quietly. pretty blissful.

[Ohr Ein Sof]

Eckhart Tolle called dogs and cats guardians of being. I think he even co-authored a book about that. My current guess is that dogs and cats are in second density yet can sometimes connect to higher densities. Also wild animals in nature can do that it seems since I have sometimes experienced unusual behavior from wild animals such as fearlessness when they in ordinary situations would be afraid of humans.

To my understanding, 2nd density is not veiled. I could be incorrect about this but, it could explain why they are able to sense and see entities that we cannot and have psychic experiences on the regular. Like when you are traveling home and your dog is waiting at the door for you and your spouse says, she has been sitting there for 15 minutes before you arrived. There would be no veil between the subconscious and conscious mind until they are where we are in this particular stage of soul evolution. However, even they have their limitations as you can only imagine what life would look like through their precious eyes. Probably pretty frightening to live in a red and orange ray world. This is a good thing to remember when we have pets and we have guaranteed them a home in which to learn.

[tadeus]

Observations on this topic? Similar experiences?

I can follow your observations.
I have described my observations in different posts, mainly here and here.

[pat19989]

I have begun feeling this strange sensation oftentimes when going to bed, but it occurred to me just now as I was scrolling through the forums. My whole consciousness feels like it is oscillating, not violently, but I can feel this frequency running through me. It feels like a circle expanding and contracting at a constant rhythm, but that circle is me. Am I feeling the very vibration of my being? I cannot tell if it is my blood circulating or something else entirely. If i was more prone to nausea it may be nauseating

[tadeus]

Maybe there are additional simple medical reasons like circulatory problems?

But it is interesting how the subjective perception can differ.
The main question is why only some people are able to perceive this?
Would it be an explanation that the third- and fourth-density body is activated?

[pat19989]

Two nights ago I had much trouble falling asleep. This happens to me from time to time for various reasons, but sometimes (this night included) I fade in and out of sleep and wake up very angry. I'm not a typically angry person and am very sensitive to the feeling. So I had all this trouble getting to sleep, waking up angry and fading back to sleep, and when I woke up I was still inherently frustrated and angry for no reason. All day yesterday I was wondering what made me feel this way but nothing came to mind, the feeling faded out throughout the day, didn't think much more of it.

Fast forward to the night time (last night), as we were getting ready for bed my girlfriend says to me, "I forgot to tell you, last night I woke up in the middle of the night and saw a large shadowy figure standing over your bed next to the dresser. It scared me to death and when I sat up in bed it vanished."

My girlfriend wrote it off as a figment of her imagination and she is more prone to fear in these sorts of situations than I am so I agreed with her. However, I am wondering if it is possible she was still in the astral realm upon waking and saw an astral figure, but returned to normalcy when she moved her body.

Could this astral form be affecting me while I am asleep? I did not commune with the creator that night as I usually do before bed. I also semi-regularly cleanse my apartment by burning a rosemary incense mixture and praying. Need I do more?

Love

[flofrog]

Pat many years ago the same thing happened to me, I woke up and saw two transparent figure at the foot of my bed. It was so strange and then they vanished as I turned to my hubby to wake him up and I saw his transparent self getting back in his body and then he woke up which is when everything vanished. I took this as protection

Intuitively I would tell you this is the same case for you both..

[pat19989]

Pat many years ago the same thing happened to me, I woke up and saw two transparent figure at the foot of my bed. It was so strange and then they vanished as I turned to my hubby to wake him up and I saw his transparent self getting back in his body and then he woke up which is when everything vanished. I took this as protection

Intuitively I would tell you this is the same case for you both..

Your light inspires me, Flo.

Many thanks

[Margan]

Praying before going to sleep is surely a good thing in order to protect yourself.
Re that shadowy (astral?) figure, I would sit with it in meditation - ask your higherself or the creator about it and what should be done.
I am sure you will get an answer in one form or another, it may be an intuitive knowing. You will be fine

[Ohr Ein Sof]

Praying before going to sleep is surely a good thing in order to protect yourself.
Re that shadowy (astral?) figure, I would sit with it in meditation - ask your higherself or the creator about it and what should be done.
I am sure you will get an answer in one form or another, it may be an intuitive knowing. You will be fine

Yes. I agree and to add, the Astral plane is closer than one might know. The residents there are always trying to contact us and not all of them are good. But entities they are and can be dealt with fairly easily as long as there have been no open invitations given which would change things quite a bit.

[Margan]

Pat, re the dark figure, I came across some info on "shadow people" today... there are different explanations about this phenomenon. Some say they are an overlap from another dimension or reality, or that it could be some manifested thought form related to negative energy or stress (it reminded me bc you mentioned anger).
If you are interested, check out the term. The website I found was in German so I won't link it here

[pat19989]

Pat, re the dark figure, I came across some info on "shadow people" today... there are different explanations about this phenomenon. Some say they are an overlap from another dimension or reality, or that it could be some manifested thought form related to  negative energy or stress (it reminded me bc you mentioned anger).
If you are interested, check out the term. The website I found was in German so I won't link it here

Thanks Margan that is very interesting, especially the thought-form related to stress. I will look into it

[pat19989]

I was just at a training meeting at work in which someone stood in front of us and presented. The presenter was standing in front of a light grey background.

As I was listening and watching (and dozing off slightly ) i started noticing this luminescence around the man presenting. It was like his body was glowing. And then I would sit up and wake up a little and it was gone. I went back and forth like this for like half an hour.

I go back and forth about what all of the illusions I see when my eyes lose focus and reality seems to blend together and change actually are. Right now I'm leaning towards peaks into the astral realm. However, I also think they could be purely physical peaks into the brain and the mechanics behind eyesight.

[flofrog]

Pat it’s so interesting. You could try this at night: sit in the dark with only one small light by your side, have a black background just like for example a black pocket for an I pad. On that dark background lit a bit by the light, pose your hands facing each other like having the tips of your fingers of both hands facing each other’s but not touching and then look at the outside area of your hznds just above their outline, you should probably start to see their aura, as a faint luminous color sometimes bluish or purplis or grayish.

Then move your hands a little one barely higher than the other and then switch, you shall see the aura moving between the two hands, like a constant link between the two, it’s quite lovely.

Then you can start to see this, and you are right about the loss of focus on the object itself, so you can see that around plants, flowers., objects, even if you think objects are without vibes, and, lol, of course humans. If you have a plant in your home, look at it and approach your fingers toward it, you will start to see the plant’s aura linking to yours…

It’s really funny. One evening I was at an opera and lucky to be sitting like in the fourth row. The music was quite beautiful, , and I was having a grand time. And suddenly I started to see that aura around the female singer and then it spread to the three other singers whose aura I was seeing too, all rather bluish. It was hilarious because at one point I tried to stop it and it wouldn’t go. Lol. That was fun. You gotta try !

[pat19989]

Pat it’s so interesting.  You could try this at night:  sit in the dark with only one small light by your side, have a black background just like for example a black pocket for an I pad. On that dark background lit a bit by the light, pose your hands facing each other like having the tips of your fingers of both hands facing each other’s but not touching and then look at the outside area of your hznds just above their outline, you should probably start to see their aura, as a faint luminous color sometimes bluish or purplis or grayish.

Then move your hands a little one barely higher than the other and then switch, you shall see the aura moving  between the two hands, like a constant link between the two, it’s quite lovely.

Then you can start to see this, and you are right about the loss of focus on the object itself, so you can see that around plants, flowers., objects, even if you think objects are without vibes, and, lol, of course humans. If you have a plant in your home, look at it and approach your fingers toward it, you will start to see the plant’s aura linking to yours…

It’s really funny. One evening I was at an opera and lucky to be sitting like in the fourth row. The music was quite beautiful, , and I was having a grand time.  And suddenly I started to see that aura around the female singer and then it spread to the three other singers whose aura I was seeing too, all rather bluish.  It was hilarious because at one point I tried to stop it and it wouldn’t go. Lol. That was fun. You gotta try !

I will definitely give this a try, it sounds magical !

[Brandon Gwinn]

I've read The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle and I thought it was phenomenal, especially the parts where he tied together Being with God and the Oneness of it all. Anywhere I see these themes expressed it delights my soul.

[pat19989]

I have been struggling with anxiety, identifying with the ego rather than with Being, and not meditating like I was a month or two back when I was in a more peaceful state. Over the weekend I had a cup of coffee (I usually stay away from caffeine because it can induce panic attacks for me) and then I drove for ~25 minutes on the highway (I also have a history of panic attacks on the highway). I was feeling my anxiety creeping in, and I was struggling for a bit and then one of the most freeing things happened. I momentarily stepped out of my mind and body, not visually but mentally. I laughed at my anxiety because it has no affect on me! It is a product of the mind and the body, but the mind and body are not me! I am infinity! My true identity took over and I felt so free. This happened about 10 minutes into the ride and for the rest of the ride I was kind of going back and forth between anxious mind identification and true Being.

I still have much work to do to stay conscious but my work is paying off! Even when I fall back into old thought patterns my newfound identity can bring me back in times of struggle! This event gave me inspiration to lean more intentionally into my meditation and consciousness!

I hope you are all feeling at peace, and if you are not, just know it is for your own good! Do not worry if you have lost the inner peace you once had, for the chaos you feel is equally necessary for your growth.

Love and light to each of you  :idea: