The Underlying NOW – A Sanctuary from Stress

Sanctuary from Stress –

The Cycle of Change & the Underlying NOW

It’s been a while since I’ve written to you in.To say that this has been a poignant and rigorous 15 months for me would be an understatement (see the prior month’s article for my personal update).

In April, I wrote about the cyclical nature of life and about honoring the cycle we are in. It’s certainly easier to embrace some aspects of life more than others yet they are all part of the tapestry.

In our lives there are beginnings (creations; birthing of projects, new versions of ourselves, new starts), there is maintenance (and a sense of continuity) and there are endings (completions, dissolution, graduations).

Everything on the “gross” level of life is changing and cyclical.This plays out in every moment on a macro and microscopic level — in the 37 trillion cells that make up our bodies and in the one billion trillion stars. And in our lives.

Yet underneath every CYCLE, underneath the transitory and changing, is the unchanging, EVER PRESENT NOW.

However we tend to be “in” the future (anticipation) or the past (memory). We project into the future in the form of worry, or in the postponement of happiness (i.e.this moment is OK but I can’t wait for that moment or I’ll be happy when). Or we resist change in the form of attaching to the past or attaching to our idea of how we think things should look.

We are seldom in the NOW.

Everything other than –this very moment as it is–is a story. The present moment has all the juice and the peace. The now is life. Free of story. Free of past or future. Free of lament. Free of worry. Free of expectation. Free of judgment. Free of heaviness.

The now is the best place for our awareness no matter what the current cycle is—beginning, maintenance, dissolution—and no matter what the current externals look like.

So I invite you– to experience the NOW. Right in this moment– become aware of the SUBTLE ENERGY and SENSATIONS within your body without changing anything else. Yes, just be aware. Take some TIME for this. Alternatively, you can simply become aware of your breath without changing it. What do you notice? Did you drop in? Did you experience some relaxation?

We also benefit from directly addressing our thoughts** about situations in our lives that we find distressing (and taking tangible action and making changes when pertinent). One of the best practices we can do when we are upset about something is ask ourselves: “Who would I be without this story, without this thought**?” (whatever I THINK should be different). “Could the opposite be true?” “Is this a problem right now or a worry?”

Invariably, at least temporarily, you may find yourself in the NOW which is far lighter. And the stressful thoughts takes a back seat.

Life is dynamic. Life is cyclical. Things change. And yet the NOW is consistent. It is a place of reprieve and peace and power. Whenever you find yourself struggling with whatever is happening in life…invite the now in. It’s the best company you’ll ever keep.

** Credit to Byron Katie.