The following proposition is based on works by three different authors as well as my own thinking on this subject. The books are; The Mandala Of Being: Discovering the Power of Awareness, by Richard Moss; Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life, by Byron Katie (with Stephen Mitchell); and The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, by Eckhart Tolle. All three authors are often on lecture/seminar circuits, have written other books, and have Internet web pages. Moss cites and recommends Katie’s work and I will use Moss’s book as the framework for this writing. I have found Moss’s approach the most in sync with my own spirituality and I deeply appreciate his demeanor and style of writing. The other authors have more current books than the ones I’ll be referencing, but Moss’s book was released in 2007, much to my gratitude.

The first question that arose in me when I first read this idea of “living in the Now” numerous years ago, was a dismissive, “What?” It seemed like a marketing ploy for those trying to peddle spirituality to the masses, especially the utilization of the capital “N” when employing the word. Other thoughts were disbelief: if I wasn’t in the plain old now, where else was it? A more literal or philosophical assessment was that catching the now was impossible; how could one split time to such a small fraction? Things, any past or future conception of them, at least, appeared to be in the always-other time of “then.” Yet my first reading on this approach to living, The Power of Now, kept me engaged, though the style and language were a struggle. The second book I read several years later was Katie’s, Loving What Is, which I found more pragmatic. Both of these authors had a sort of epiphany or awakening that brought them to their approach toward life, that of living in the present moment. They also, following their respective epiphanies, had profound and sustaining changes in how they lived life. I was interested, but felt it was out of reach for me to do. It would take further reading and studying on the concept of an ego standing in the way of being in the present moment that would prepare me for conceptualizing this approach to life; which is quite a distance from actualizing the practice of living in the Now. It wasn’t until Enneagram training and certification with Riso & Hudson and their teachings regarding the nine personality types of the ego, combined with what they termed the experience of Essence, that I moved further down the path of understanding toward embracing this idea (or reality) of living in the Now.

The crucial point to grasp early on in this “living in the Now” work is the concept of an ego and the entity that is beyond it. I use “beyond” in the sense that one must get past what they are presently grasping as their true self. This beyond-ego entity has many labels. Ken Wilbur and others call it the Witness; the Enneagram teaches Essence; Rumi the Beloved; Washburn’s term is Dynamic Ground; other teachings use the label Whole, Unity, One; and religions typically use a term that designates a God of some sort; and in the books above as well as the remainder of this writing, the label used is Now. Another concept that gets at this point is ego being small-s self, while the entity beyond self is referred to as big-s Self or True Self, “being” and “Being.” The terms Witness, Essence, Beloved, Dynamic Ground, Whole, Unity, One, and Being all speak to the experiential aspect of this understanding: there is an experience with that which is more than the ego. Witness, Essence, Beloved, and Dynamic Ground, at the beginning of spiritual work, seem relational, an other-than which one perceives as the “me” of the ego. Experiences with the Whole, Unity or One dissipate this perception.

The Witness is adequately portrayed to even the uninitiated by the experiences we have while dreaming. Maybe because we are more appropriately cavalier about the ego while having a dream than we are when we’re awake. If we look closely at the time of dreaming we see (witness) that there is something watching the person who is having the dream. To get at this in a less lucid way, during meditation with a specific objective of quieting the mind, we witness that there is this chatter, this incessant “monkey mind,” that brings us any place but the calm, still objective with which we started. Yet there is a quality that is witnessing this self’s almost mindless activity, the Witness. In the Enneagram teaching we find the ego’s personality exemplified through nine basic types. At first it seems an affront to discover that which we hold as so uniquely “us” is in fact very similar to approximately one ninth of the population! But we also gain tools to observe our borrowed ego identity, a.k.a. our personality. This simple act of observing the auto-play of personality or ego is almost a waking meditation. In time we begin to manifest something more authentic, more our Essence.

One of the core teachings of any of the above-mentioned approaches to arriving at that which is beyond ego is this: love will be experienced on the path. Rumi writes with delightful prose of his deep experiences and calls it the Beloved. Washburn writes that once we are disillusioned with the ego project we once again experience the Dynamic Ground of our being. At first it can be very disorientating for it is very powerful, immeasurably so, certainly beyond what we had conceived through our mind or egoic grasp. In conjunction with these more humbling yet illuminating experiences of reality that go well beyond our ego both figuratively and literally, there are the experiences of meditators and non-meditators alike, bumping into the Wholeness, the Unity, the absolute One of existence. Those are the moments when something washes over us and we are lost in the moment, forgetting ourselves in the grandeur. We feel seduced by what is. We are momentarily, or in a more sustained way, in meditation, no-thing, yet a part of everything, “being” within “Being.” These happen in deep relationships, birth, death, beauty, nature, silence, and, yes, sometimes in tragedy.

Where do all of these descriptive occurrences unfold? In the only place that is real, in the right now. Or to use the “proper” noun (though I find it both a verb and a noun), these occurrences transpire in the Now. We realize, sadly at first, that the one and only impediment to being in the Now is our ego. In due time, however, these repetitive occurrences can be embraced as a reminder. This reminder, almost our own personal coach, perpetually comes along to inform us of when we’re not Now.

All this being said we can better appreciate the teachings of the three initially referenced authors, these enlightened ones, who have been instructed by that which knows and is at our core, whatever label we give it.

I have faintly divided this “living in the Now” concept into two aspects, the first deals with the continuous impediments by the ego to “living in the Now,” the second is the authors’ reflections on “authentic” profound awareness. Both of these are really only one task, that of awakening our consciousness. When we do this we simultaneously see the dream state of the ego existence and the transpersonal reality in which we exist. As Moss writes, “We do not have to change the world. We need only reclaim the fullness of our beings that is ever present and always seeking to awaken in us (p. xxi).”

“Eventually, to a greater or lesser degree, each of us loses contact with our spontaneous essence and begins to live more or less off-center. This is a period in life – for all of us – in which soul awareness is dormant and we become identified with a false sense of self (Moss, p. 8).” “To the ego, the present moment hardly exists. Only past and future are considered important. This total reversal of the truth accounts for the fact that in the ego mode the mind is so dysfunctional. It is always concerned with keeping the past alive, because without it – who are you? It constantly projects itself into the future to ensure its continued survival and to seek some kind of release or fulfillment there (Tolle, p.18).” Tolle even cautions us regarding the seeming end to spiritual work as an entrapment of ego, “…even my desire to become free or enlightened is just another craving for fulfillment or completion in the future. So don’t seek to become free of desire or ‘achieve’ enlightenment. Become present (Tolle, p. 25).”

All three authors speak of the need for control and our lack of trust. “Why does the mind habitually deny or resist the Now? Because it cannot function and remain in control without time, which is past and future, so it perceives the timeless Now as threatening (Tolle, p. 27).” Katie, quoting Michael Gazzaniga, writes, “’The left brain weaves its story in order to convince itself and you that it is in full control…What is so adaptive about having what amounts to a spin doctor in the left brain? The interpreter is really trying to keep our personal story together. To do that, we have to learn to lie to ourselves (Katie, p. xiii).’” Katie herself frames this as not living in reality. “When I argue with reality, I lose – but only 100 percent of the time.” Further, “I am a lover of what is, not because I’m a spiritual person, but because it hurts when I argue with reality (Katie, p. 2).” Her mode of being with reality is to do what she terms “The Work,” an intense deep inquiry into what we have up to that point accepted as truth. Moss’s approach, with inquiry, is to utilize the power of presence available in the Now to redeem the pain accompanying insight. “The more we do so, instead of throwing our minds into some form of self-protection, the more we grow in the mysterious power that is faith (Moss, p. 47).” Tolle states, “Through self-observation, more presence comes into your life automatically. The moment you realize you are not present, you are present. Whenever you observe the mind, you are not trapped by it. Another factor has come in, something that is not of the mind: the witnessing presence (Tolle, p. 45).”

“To put it more accurately, it is not so much that you use your mind wrongly – you usually don’t use it at all. It uses you (Tolle, p.13).” The results are that we not only experience numerous negative emotions and thoughts, but the absurd reality is that we need these negative emotions and thoughts to perpetuate our sense of self! Talk about being used by our mind or ego! The authors observe, “When you’re operating on uninvestigated theories of what’s going on and you aren’t even aware of it, you’re in what I call ‘the dream.’ Often the dream becomes troubling; sometimes it even turns into a nightmare (Katie, p. 5).” Speaking of the ego Tolle writes, “It is always seeking for something to attach itself to in order to uphold and strengthen its illusionary sense of self, and it will readily attach itself to your problems. This is why, for so many people, a large part of their sense of self is intimately connected with their problems. Once this has happened, the last thing they want is to become free of them; that would mean loss of self (Tolle, p. 39-40).” Moss delineates this farther by having categories of tamed and untamed emotions. “It seems incredible that anger and hate are ‘tamed,’ given how destructive these emotions can be…in fact, this way of being is the essence of our survival personalities: we accept a bearable level of ongoing suffering if that is what it takes to protect our identity and maintain our sense of self…it is far easier – from the ego’s point of view, far safer – to feel anger or hate, hurt or guilt, hope or fear, than nonbeing (Moss, p. 94-95).” “If you identify with a mental position, then if you are wrong, your mind-based sense of self is seriously threatened with annihilation. So you as the ego cannot afford to be wrong. To be wrong is to die (Tolle, p. 36).” Stated by Katie another way, “The ‘you’ you’re identified with doesn’t want to be discovered, because that is its death (Katie, p. 107).”

It seems apparent that something so easy, so truthful as living in reality, which only takes place right “now,” is well guarded by monsters of deception. Yet ironically their roar can signal one to inquire, through various practices, and melt their illusionary existence. The servitude and entrapment that held sway over us gives way to the birthright of our consciousness which is comprised of empowerment and freedom, to mention only a few. This acceptance of reality takes repeated courage, yet truth always wins. “Although it is a simple choice, it is very radical. You won’t make the choice unless you are truly fed up with the suffering, unless you have truly had enough. And you won’t be able to go through with it unless you access the power of the Now (Tolle, p. 54).” This quote ironically comes under the heading “The Joy Of Being,” but Tolle captures the necessity expressed by all three authors: “Give your fullest attention to whatever the moment presents. This implies that you also completely accept what is, because you cannot give your full attention to something and at the same time resist it (Tolle, p. 56).”

If reading these authors doesn’t already have you ego-hesitant, Moss cautions, “…as exalted as self-realization or Christ consciousness can sound, it is actually no picnic to make this evolutionary shift. In the movement from me-consciousness to higher levels of consciousness, we glimpse the vastness of the psyche, which in spiritual terminology is typically referred to as the Divine, and in Jungian parlance as the collective unconscious…the ego can become overwhelmed by the energy and content now available to it (Moss, p. 97).” As an aside, Michael Washburn writes to this identical reality. Here is a link to more information about his work. I also am looking to highlight Washburn’s work here on my blog under this same “Propositions” heading.

We find if we journey to this existence “beyond” ego that the birthright that awaits us has these attributes: “The word enlightenment conjures up the idea of some supernatural accomplishment, and the ego likes to keep it that way, but it is simply your natural state of felt oneness with being. It is a state of connectedness with something immeasurable and indestructible, something that, almost paradoxically, is essentially you and yet is much greater than you (Tolle, p. 10).” “As our minds return to our now-ness, an atmosphere strong in tolerance, trust, and compassion emerges spontaneously. This healthier and happier state is not the antithesis of a negative or lesser reality. It is not a question of opposites where if there is ‘good’ there must be ‘bad’, but is simply that the distance between our minds and our true selves has diminished (Moss, p. 327).” “Self-realization is the sweetest thing. It shows us how we are fully responsible for ourselves, and that is where we find our freedom (Katie, p. 247).”

And so we inquire. Tolle nudges us to expand the “witnessing” spaces, the silences, the places without stories and let being expand in the Now of existence. He suggests we inquire of the Now itself through our experience of it. Katie asks the questions, “Is it true? and “Who would I be without this story?” She states, “We’re either attaching to our concepts or investigating them (Katie, p. 231).” Moss has us inquire into where we go when we leave the now and maps four escape routes we use: me, you, past and future. To embrace the motive, the “untamed” emotions, for leaving our center, he has us embrace the fear in the presence of the Now. The Now is that expansive; it gives life to our fear of death, and then some. Herein is an invitation: forget the stories, be present to Reality. That’s the truth of every Now. As Tolle writes, “I cannot tell you any spiritual truth that deep within you don’t know already. All I can do is remind you of what you have forgotten (Tolle, p. 6).”


Works Cited:

Katie, B. (2002). Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life. New York: Harmony Books

Moss, R. (2007). The Mandala of Being: Discovering the Power of Awareness. Novato, CA: New World Library

Tolle, E. (1999). The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment. Novato, CA: New World Library

Joel Jacobs, 2007, All Rights Reserved