Joe's World

Let's Be in the Moment

One common spiritual desire I often hear is to be in the moment. I believe this to be true, but I think that we often want to short cut the disciplined effort that is required to be able to get there. We often mistake being in the moment as just doing what we feel like doing at any moment. I have participated in many “spiritual” drum circles where people get in a circle and drum “together”. However there often seems to be a problem. Instead of drumming together, people are drumming out their own rhythms and the sound, if you took the time to listen, would definitely take you right out of the moment. You will want to be somewhere else.

From a spiritual perspective, I believe that the desire to be in the moment really means that we want to be able to connect to and align with a higher power at any time. We really want to be and do in the moment what our purpose calls us forth to be and do.

Did you ever notice that some people in your life just seem to raise the energy no matter what the circumstances and others take it down. It has to do with what they are connecting to in the moment and that can become habitual. If we develop a discipline of connecting to a higher power, it will become our normal state. “To those who have will be given more ….”

So how do we distinguish what power we are connected to at any moment?   It takes study and practice to learn the experience of the higher power. It takes the ability to take in data while staying calm and powerful. It takes working with a system that gives you real feedback so that you can become confident in your ability to continually distinguish the higher power from other distractions. The higher power is based in both practicality and mystery so it can't be recognized with intellect alone.

In Tai-Chi, I find all the elements are there to learn to be in the moment. Do you have a system that does it for you?