Do It Now!

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Advent, Eckhart Tolle, possibility, present moment, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, waiting

It appears that I was correct when I “woke up” (read: “was shaken out of my lethargy”) yesterday about the possibility, the inevitability of never going back. I should have known when I read Eckhart Tolle’s Present Moment Reminder earlier this morning. He said this:

Give up waiting as a state of mind. When you catch yourself slipping into waiting, snap out of it. Come into the present moment. Just be and enjoy being.

It took the Sunday lectionary readings from the U.S. Catholic bishops to recognize how late it is. Did you know how soon the season of Advent is upon us? With all the consternation about the danger of traveling for Thanksgiving, have you even thought about readiness? Internal readiness, I mean…

St. Paul reminds the Thessalonians today that “You, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness…for all of you are children of the light. Therefore, let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us stay alert and sober.” It’s as if he is saying, “There has been enough hand-wringing and lamenting about the state of our country and the world. It’s up to each one of us to take charge of our situation because the healing will come from the inside.” It is true that we are in a season of distress, the like of which most of us have never seen before, but if we wait, let it be in a state of active waiting. Give up passivity and step into possibility and trust. Love as you have never loved before – not just for your own well-being but also for that of those who walk with you. Be here now and love the opportunity to BE!

Stillness

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creativity, Eckhart Tolle, let go, solutions, stillness, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

A few days ago I read a sentence that Eckhart Tolle had on his website. It was a “thought for the day” that might well be be made into a poster to hang in the bedrooms of busy people – or anyone really. See if you agree.

Stillness is where creativity and solutions to problems are found.

And remember that stillness is not the same as silence. Just check into your brain if you think you’re in stillness to see if there are still thoughts running around, and then breathe, letting everything fall away in the same way that the leaves are falling these days from the trees even when there is no wind – or even a breeze. They just let go…

The Essential Word

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agent for change, awareness, Eckhart Tolle, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I’m on retreat this week so I’m not sure how my time will play out for blogging. We start with morning meditation at 7:30 so, as my father used to advise, it’s “short stories” for now. Here’s a word from yesterday that came from Eckhart Tolle as a Present Moment Reminder. It seems perfect for me today and, if you are willing, it could be your prayer for everyone seeking to deepen their spirituality in “the Now.”

Eckhart reminds us: Awareness is the greatest agent for change.

Be Here Now

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Eckhart Tolle, future, now, past, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I found this quote from Eckhart Tolle in my email this morning. Although it may sound totally self-evident to you, it seems to me that it could be useful in our day today because there are so many strictures on our lives right now. If we want to use (rather than squander) this “however long” experience, having a simply stated goal like this might be just the thing to help us remember that consciousness is the way to proceed…

You cannot find yourself in the past or future. The only place where you can find yourself is in the Now.

Late Word

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Eckhart Tolle, future, live in the present moment, past, present, quality of life, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Good afternoon – or good morning as the case may be. I’m writing from California today, having arrived last night for a Thanksgiving/Christmas gathering with my siblings – a rare and wonderful occurrence. Eckhart Tolle has the perfect message for me for today in his “Present Moment Reminder.” Maybe it will strike a chord with you as well.

When you make the present moment the focal point of your life instead of past and future, your ability to enjoy what you do – and with it, the quality of your life – increases dramatically.

Blessings on your day…and throughout the week.

Awareness, Awareness, Awareness

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awareness, change, consciousness, Eckhart Tolle, possessions, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Eckhart Tolle posted something this morning that caught my eye in its simplicity and its perfect depth of meaning. It was easily said, I suppose, as we are all about “catch phrases” these days, but I plan to spend time and effort with this one.

“Awareness,” he said, “is the greatest agent for change.”

I had been thinking about today’s gospel, the one I always refer to as “bigger barns” and talk about as akin to the relatively recent appearance of the storage units that dot the landscape in most towns these days. I wonder sometimes as I look around my bedroom how I acquired all the books I see or why I can’t find an empty hanger on which to place the laundry I just took out of the machine. How many of us can name all our possessions these days, I wonder.

Seeing what is in front of us to see and doing what is before us to do becomes more difficult unless we stand still for a moment every little while, look about us and shake off all the accretions of the last ten minutes. (I hyperbolize, no doubt, but only to make what I am coming to consider as a very important point.)

I challenge us all to see how long we can pay attention to anything in particular today before we fall out of consciousness. Let’s see what we see!