Whether you are a believer or a Believer, there is an inescapable fact that exists for each of us. Regardless of what you choose to believe about First Cause (whether It is sentient or not), the mere fact that you are reading this Post means that you are experiencing the Two Gifts of the Moment. The First Gift of the Moment is called now or the Eternal Now (depending on your ethos - worldview). It has been said that we think some 60,000 thoughts per day and that the great majority of those thoughts are of the same things we thought the days before. And I would add that a majority of those thoughts are about the past and the future, more past than future. So many of us pass by the Gift of Now by spending it dwelling on the past as if the past could be changed. Some of us pass by the Gift of Now by spending it fantasizing about the future without understanding the relationship between our future, the Gift of Now, and the Second Gift of the Moment.
Now or the Eternal Now is the only moment in which we can have an experience. We can call up memories of past experiences or images of a future yet to be made manifest, but these memories and images can only be experienced in the singular, yet eternal, moment of Now. You may believe that this moment of your sentient being-ness is the result of some random events, or you may recognize, as I do, that this moment contains a Gift, one of the Two Gifts of the Moment, the Gift of the Eternal Now. And it is in this moment of your sentient existence, and this moment only, that you can experience life and embrace the Second Gift of the Moment. That is one of the Laws of your Creation. Your past and your future are bound by the laws that govern the Two Gifts of the Moment!
The Second Gift of the Moment is the Gift of Choice. Dr. M. drives this point home in the Handbook, over and over exalting you to recognize this profound gift and power that is in your control. A dynamic web of cause and effect, of Interrelatedness, Interconnectedness, and Interdependence shapes your and my world through the agency of our choices. Your choices about what to think, what to believe, how to be in this world shape the world that you experience. It is so important to remember that the only time that you can exercise the Gift of Choice is in the Eternal Now. Right now! That is a Law of Creation. As Dr. M. points out, your choices of yesterday (of even a moment ago) have already created their quantum effects in multiple worlds. Their energy can not be called back, only altered, transformed by the choices that you make right now. In this Most Precious Moment!
"To live is to be aware of the experiences and the choices that we allow to emerge within each precious moment!"
I hope you've taken the time to read some of Sandra's comments to my various Posts. She has been very thought provoking and shared some great references.
Trust Your Process!
Create Peaceful Space!
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You make an interesting point regarding the first gift of the moment, namely, that “we think some 60,000 thoughts per day and…. that a majority of those thoughts are about the past and the future…” As a doctorate student, it is not unusual to find myself engaging in futuristic thoughts of how to appear knowledgeable and carry a competitive edge in front of my peers and professors. This ongoing interpersonal struggle can lead to feelings of loneliness, dissatisfaction, and anxiety. Furthermore, as a professional in the health field, I often 'observe myself’ having past/future thoughts (as well as felt emotions) of clients in crisis. In doing so, I face the precursor-type symptoms of stress that can eventually lead to potential burnout that is so prevalent in this field. Coupled together, the effects of these pursuits can potentially put me at a high risk for stress related illnesses and a statistic within the high drop-out rate prevalent amongst college students. (Byars, 2005, p. 5-6).
Regarding the second gift of the moment, you make a profound parallelism of an individual’s sentient being-ness, namely, past/future experiences can only be experienced in the “singular, yet eternal, moment of Now” bound by the Laws of Creation. Consequently, as Dr. M brings out, their energy cannot be called back, only altered, transformed by one’s present choices. This special gift of interrelatedness, interconnectedness, and interdependence of the past/present/future ‘moment of now’ occurs for me, in a healthy and holistic manner, while I am engaging in the art of meditation. Duncan and Weissenburger (2003), in their research study, find similar results with college students. Through brief mindfulness meditation throughout the day, the authors write that they experience a sense of well being, self-connection, and belonging. The sequence of meditations include the first four minutes after waking, before starting the day's workload, returning home, and before retiring. These times are by ‘choice’ in the research study, as they represent the major transition points in the day when demands on personal resources (as well as an increase in stress levels)are at their peak.
In reflection, perhaps by choosing these critical transitional periods to meditate, it can create not only quanta effects at the individual level, but also "quantum effects in multiple worlds" (as Dr. M writes) when demands on collective resources are at their peak. As Alexander (1992) states: “Individual peace is the unit of world peace: a peaceful world is possible only if it consists of individuals with peaceful minds and peaceful physiologies”.
References:
Alexander, C. N. (1992). Peaceful mind, peaceful body, peaceful society. Retrieved on March 29, 2010 from http://www.mum.edu/m_effect/alexander/index.html
Byars, J. L. (2005). Stress, anxiety, depression, and loneliness of graduate counseling students: The effectiveness of group counseling and exercise. http://etd.lib.ttu.edu/theses/available/etd-11182005-155838/unrestricted/Byars_Jonna_Diss.pdf
Duncan, L., & Weissenburger, D. (2003). Effects of a brief meditation program on well-being and loneliness. TCA Journal, 31 (1), 4.
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