Now Practice
If you want to be more present, if you want to experience the Now more fully more of the time, what does that actually mean? How do you answer when I ask you the question What is Now, really? What really is This that you’re observing and a part of right now?
This is the basic question that Saqib Rizvi and I have been exploring together through the vehicle of a podcast, and even the term “podcast” feels like a slight misnomer. These sessions are adventures of Now, interpersonal explorations the Beginner’s Mind. You may have come across the quote from Shunryu Suzuki (either from me previously or elsewhere) that states, “in the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.” To me, the Beginner’s Mind means a continual return to the status of a beginner, no matter what you’re doing. And how refreshing and liberating it is to be with another person and not feel the need to be an expert, but rather feel completely accepted as a beginner and share this innocent acceptance for the other in return. Saqib and I, in our explorations of Now, are two perennial beginners, and if there’s any expertise we offer, it’s the ability to be confident in not knowing anything.
The question “What is Now?” is paradoxical in nature and ultimately nonsensical.
As soon as you put “Now” into words…
You’re turning “it”
into a symbol…
into a concept…
into a representation
Of “it”…
But you can never quite capture “it.”
I’m reminded of the first lines of the Tao Te Ching:
“The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.”
Or it’s like what the Buddha said bout the finger and the moon. He said that his teachings were like a finger that’s pointing at he moon, and not to mistake the finger (his words, practices, and concepts) for the lived ineffable experience of the Moon (simply “Now”).
So, any description of Now can only approximate what Now really is. It can only point to it. And then all that’s left, is to look, to feel, with all of you, your mind and your body, in the space of the Beginner’s Mind.
What is Now like for you… Right Now?
Just see what it’s like to open up to THIS…
as it’s unfolding…
Now…
Notice how This is actually Brand New…
This has never happened before…
And will never happen again…
Then was Now and then will be Now…
only This…
Here…
Just notice how This feels without turning it Into a symbol for a moment.
No need to be an expert, just keep returning to the playful and curious spirit of a Beginner.
The What is Now question is like a koan. You may be familiar with the practice of koans from the world of Zen. A koan is a question or a story that is meant to knock you out of the symbolic conceptual world, and bring you into Direct Immediate Experience. There are no predetermined answers to koans, rather you can only find the True answer Now, if you’re willing to open to it.
So, when we ask the What is Now question, we’re opening ourselves up as channels for something to speak through us, and we just have to be willing to let it speak, and sit with the fear of how we might look when we let go of control. That uncontrolled space, to me, is where LIFE is, where Now is.
If you’re interested in playing with this question, here’s a short guided practice I recently recorded, and here’s a link to my weekly exploration with Saqib: What is Now? podcast.
A “hand” is Now.
The “sky” is Now.
”You” are Now.
”I” am Now.
You can see the underlying Now
in every “thing.”
***On a final note, I’ve added an option at the end of these blog posts for you to make a small contribution if you’d like. Please only do so if you feel moved to, and know that your donation goes directly toward helping me continue to provide affordable individual guidance as well as create new content, such as this blog, in the name of increased well-being and reduced psychological suffering. One particular project I’m currently working on is a book that encapsulates my psychological, philosophical, and spiritual perspective on getting to know oneself deeply and getting out of one’s own way. If you’re so inclined, your contribution would support these efforts and would be greatly appreciated (click the button below to donate). Thank you for being here!
