Notion Of Enlightenment
People focused on this notion of enlightenment?
If people are focused on enlightenment—or whatever word they are using to describe self-realization or awakening—at least they’ve realized that the answer does not lie in external things. They have realized that the answer lies within rather than in obtaining more possessions, or achieving this or that, or changing the world out there. So it’s a good thing. It’s a transitional stage from the normal state of consciousness, where all the solutions and problems are seen as external, to realizing that whatever we experience as our external reality is a reflection of our inner state of consciousness.
It’s true that the people who are looking for enlightenment are a minority. In ordinary human existence, people want to find the ideal partner, acquire more things, gain power, or acquire a better body. And in ordinary consciousness, you look to those things for salvation, fulfillment, and happiness. As you’re beginning to awaken, you realize it’s not there. But even for those who are beginning to awaken, the old mind pattern—the deeply ingrained pattern that always looks to the future for fulfillment and salvation—still tends to operate.
When we are “searching,” we are still looking toward the future?
Yes. This mind pattern assumes that the future is going to be more important than the present. It ignores the present moment, does not honor it, and does not give it its due. People who have been spiritual seekers for 20 years, have read hundreds of books, attended workshops, gone to ashrams in India—and they are getting frustrated, asking, “When am I going to get it? When am I going to get enlightened?”
The actual experience of awakening can only be in the present moment. The future does not exist, because nobody has ever experienced it. You can only ever experience a present moment. The future is a mental projection that you are having in the present moment. It’s not about the practical aspects of the future, like booking a flight or planning what you want to do this year, but the psychological future. That’s where we can get trapped. If you are always focused on the future, you miss the reality of life, which is the present moment.
When people get very old, there isn’t much future left, so they tend to focus mainly on the past. But they are still not in the present moment. Life is now.
Lastly – Why it Can be Difficult to Live in the Now?
Living in the now is so difficult because we are always encouraged to think about the future or dwell on our past. Advertisements, reminders, notifications, messages, and alerts are all so often geared towards the past or the future.
Think about how often you are busy doing something else, perhaps even fully engrossed in it, when you are jolted out of your flow by your phone’s sudden “ding!” Now, think about how often that message or notification helps you stay present and aware of the here and now.
Our phones are incredible pieces of technology that allow us to do so much more and do it so much more efficiently than ever before, but we really need to take a break from our phones at least once in a while.
Other factors that contribute to our inability to live in the now include:
1. We often edit out the bad parts of our experiences, making our past seem more enjoyable than it really was.
2. We face a lot of uncertainty when we live in the present, which can cause anxiety.
3. Our minds simply tend to wander!
