OUR DESIRES AND AVERSIONS can only be for what we already know. We can’t seek or avoid what is unknown, simply because it’s unknown. Anything new must first be subconsciously compared to what we know, then judged either to be safe or a threat before it becomes part of our known experiences.
Our thinking mind is predominately living in the past so we are mostly unaware of what is happening to us right now. The present moment is an unknown, thus it is always new, always unexpected, full of surprises. Because it’s unknown it’s also very scary, because anything could happen to us at any moment.
It could well be something nice... but it could also be something not so nice, like we could have an accident, or fall ill, or die, or some other terrifying or painful event could befall us... and that’s just too much of a risk for our everyday mind to be made consciously aware of. If it did we would be living in constant trepidation.
So instead of being daring enough to tackle the uncertainty of living in the now moment, we are constantly living in the moments before the now... in other words, in the safety zone of the known past. It’s a protective barrier against the unknown present moment.
“He who thinks he knows, doesn’t know.
He who knows that he doesn’t know, knows.
For in this context, to know is not to know.
And not to know is to know.”~ Joseph Campbell.
He who knows that he doesn’t know, knows.
For in this context, to know is not to know.
And not to know is to know.”~ Joseph Campbell.
Life in the present is a new experience, new things are happening to us at every moment, but we shove them down into our subconscious mind until we can judge them to be either good or bad for us. Only then is it safe enough to allow them to seep up into our conscious mind as either an attractive or aversive memory.
If we could summon the courage to leave the past behind and live wholly in the ‘Now’ moment we would realize an eternal truth, “It is absolutely impossible to desire or be fearful of anything that is happening to us in the present moment”...
Dan’s Quote: “Life is being continually created, new, fresh and vibrant.
____________It takes courage and trust to live in the present moment.”
____________It takes courage and trust to live in the present moment.”
Header picture: ‘Freycinet National-Park’. Tasmania, Australia.
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