The following piece is an excerpt from my book, “Word, From Your Mother,” a daily guidance journal written for my children, Liv and Pierce-Gabriel.
Excerpt #50
Do you take time to reflect upon life? I choose not to reflect on the past because it is done and gone. You can’t go back or change it; you can only live in the “now”–the present moment. Now his is all we have. There is no such thing as the future, so you can’t worry about that, either, unless you want to make up a big ass story in your mind of how something might play out. That’s a waste of time. Once you arrive at a future moment, it will be your “now.” Similarly, all past experiences were your “now” moments at that time.
What I often reflect upon is consciousness–the consciousness of this very moment. It’s profound. True, I like to ponder why we do the things we do. Why we say the things we say, but that is all ego stuff. It’s all a made-up story.
True reflection comes from one’s essence to be still with the here and now. That is the part of you that is free from stories that your mind makes up. I like going to that place. Like many of us, I force myself to be still. When you are still and focused on your breathing or some lovely music, you can drift into the “gap,” as Deepak Chopra refers to it. You can hone in on the consciousness of now. Sometimes, I like doing this with my eyes open and take time to recognize something that I wouldn’t otherwise if I was distracted by all the business of life.
Often, we consume our lives with lots of activities and movement all around us. You can still practice consciousness in these moments. There have been times when my body is in motion, like on a treadmill or elliptical, but my “center” is entirely still. There is a certain peace there, a knowing, a feeling of love. When I’m distracted, I envisage the owl high up in the tree on the Tenney River. That beautiful image of his stillness amidst the frenzy of the crows circling him at proximity. He acted as though there was nothing there at all. He was unaffected, unattached, still, and at peace—a true reflection of pure consciousness.
When there is chaos all around you when you are feeling mixed and muddled up, when the reeling thoughts of the ego’s storytelling are grating on your nerves, stop. Reflect upon the consciousness of now, your present precious moment. Don’t let anything or anyone rob you of it, including you! That’s why God says, “Be still, and know that I am, God.” There’s a profound meaning in that statement. A lot more than one can imagine or describe, but I repeat it every day to understand its true meaning. It is an essential piece that one should add to their daily reflection practice. It helps to center oneself and focus on the here and now. Try it and let me know what you think.
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