Now seems to have some mysterious properties.

alt text

  • It vanishes when we go to sleep. But when we wake up again it is always still there.

  • Life seems to be just a succession of Now. But no-one seems to know where one Now ends and another Now begins.

  • By the time you notice Now, it has already gone...and a new Now has taken its place - you just can't seem to notice Now in the Now.

  • Wise people tell you to live in the Now to be happy but they don't tell you how to get there.

  • You can only re-experience the past by thinking of it Now and you can only bring forward the future by thinking of it Now. But when you think of them Now, they are no longer the past or the future...they are just part of Now again.

  • We assume everyone else's Now is the same as our Now but how can we be sure? How do everyone's Nows stay synchronized together?

  • When we want something, we always want it Now. When we don't want something, we want it gone Now.

  • When we are enjoying ourselves we want Now to last forever. When we are not, we want Now to become Then

It seems like Now is everything and yet nothing.

So what is "Now"?

asked 19 Feb '10, 14:32

Stingray's gravatar image

Stingray
93.6k22130369

edited 31 Jan '12, 10:52

as an aside, have you seen the 'now' clock? it has 'now' instead of numbers. It's for people who get stressed out when they are running late etc. I accidentally saw it on the net.

(20 Feb '10, 00:41) DivineHammer

It's at http://www.thenowclock.com/ - unusual device. I've Now added a Now Clock picture to the question :)

(20 Feb '10, 08:50) Stingray

Thanks to all for sharing some quite thought-provoking answers

(21 Feb '10, 10:30) Stingray
showing 0 of 3 show 3 more comments

Love your question! Thank you for bringing it up. This requires a long answer (because the concept is fundamental to everything we discuss here) And I think that is why you brought it up.

I'm working now, and I am looking forward to writing an appropriate answer when I get home.

(The truth is, my answer to this question has been sitting in my head for months but the right opportunity didn't show up to share it.)

(added later)

Michaela, I feel this pressure to fulfill your expectations. I hope I can, but you should trust the validity of your own ideas and contributions. We all learn from each other. However, thanks for that confidence.

There is so much that can be said about this amazing moment called “NOW” that to truly do the concept justice a book should be written on the subject. But we don’t have that space here, and I lack the complete understanding to cover the concept in its entirety.

So I am going to restrict my answer to how it applies to the law of attraction for now, and maybe expand further through answers to other questions.

First of all, my ideas and understanding are borrowed from those seekers who have bravely ventured into the unknown so that the rest of humanity can follow in their footsteps. Only the way I explain what I learned from them is unique to me, and even then I maybe borrowing ideas without realizing it.

This moment called NOW is the most powerful, incredible, gift of creation that has been bestowed upon us, and yet only a few have ever stumbled upon that realization, and fewer still were given the chance to learn and apply this knowledge.

Call it suppression of knowledge for the sake of control, or perhaps a lack of interest on the part of the masses. But we have lived for centuries trying to survive with a rather limited viewpoint of our power over the reality that surrounds us.

Fortunately this chapter of our existence is rapidly coming to a close for a new awakening is imminent for our species. I believe that much of this anticipated awakening will come not from a dramatic shift in dimensional frequencies, though that event has been predicted, but it has more to do with our willingness and effort to begin the process of change from within ourselves as well.

I believe that one of the fundamental components to that change is in our understanding and use of “NOW”.

So what is so great about it?

Everything you have ever done as an entity of consciousness, all your multiple dimensional simultaneous existences, your past lives, your future lives, all are connected to this one moment you know as NOW.

It is an unbelievable position of power once your realize it.

In this moment of NOW you command everything that you know and experience.

So let’s put it into perspective with an example that is easy to imagine.

It is a silly example, but perfect for conveying this idea.
Imagine that you are a Circus clown right now and you are performing a balancing act on one of those giant balls, the type where the ball is as high as you, if you were to stand next to it.

alt text

Now you are standing on this ball in perfect balance. This point of balance is the moment you know as NOW.

Within this NOW there is a movement we know as time. But every passing moment of time unfolds within a continuous now.

Imagine this passing of time within NOW as the motion of the ball rolling under your feet as you begin to start walking on this giant ball.

Do you see that with every step you take you are still constantly maintaining your point of balance within NOW, the position of balance upon this ball?

This ball is symbolic, of course, and it represents your unlimited potential.

This potential is un-defined, until you define it with a choice within your consciousness. As Abraham says, each 17second attention is another choice of definition or attraction within this balance point of NOW.

Now let’s represent each 17second choice you make within consciousness as an imprint or a footprint you leave on the surface of this giant ball.

So what are you giving attention to right now?

Is it I am happy? That is an imprint you just left on the ball.
How about I am sick; well, that is another imprint you left.
Well, let’s get down to the stuff we all do, but don’t like to admit it.

I am unhappy; that’s an imprint in the NOW moment.
I want to be wealthy; that’s another definition in the NOW moment.
I want a better job; another footprint on the ball.
I want to find my true love; there goes another footprint in the NOW.

Now because time is constantly refreshing reality with constantly new opportunities, this passage is also represented in our example as the ball constantly moving.

The foot prints you leave on the surface are constantly rolling away from you as you continuously maintain your balance point within NOW.

At this stage the nature of these footprints take the form of energy constructions within creation as witnessed and manipulated through your consciousness.

For the most part you forget the nature of the footprints you leave on the surface of your ball because each moment is replaced with a new moment of attention.

But look! As you keep walking on this giant ball within this balance point of NOW, those footprints you left before are coming back around the other way to meet you again!

And guess in what form they are coming to meet you?
That’s right you guessed it correctly,
When they come back around the other way, they have become your new circumstances in reality and they meet you again at your balance point of NOW.

What you started as NOW in imagination comes around to meet your again as NOW in reality.

The nature of your new circumstances in your balance point of NOW is a reflection of your previous NOW within consciousness.

So let’s look at what was within your NOW when it was within your consciousness.
They were, I am unhappy, I want to be wealthy, I want a better job, and I want to find my true love.

Now look at what you have created!
I am unhappy means the NOW that comes back to meet you will create the conditions so that you are unhappy.

I want to be wealthy means right now I am not wealthy. And guess what, the NOW that comes around to meet you will re-create the experience of “right now I am not wealthy” within your new balance point of NOW.

I want a better job really means right now my Job sucks! And true to the power of attraction, the NOW comes around to recreate the experience of “right now my job sucks” within your refreshed new balance point of NOW.

Your whole life hangs on the balance of NOW, and it is continuously catching up to re-creating what ever that vision of NOW that you have within right NOW.

Everything you imagine as happening tomorrow or someday never show up because it is not a vision of NOW. Only what you envision within NOW as happening to you NOW can eventually show up within your future NOW moment.

There is more to NOW than this. But this answer is too long as it is.

But you get the point. Just this understanding of NOW alone can begin the process of a dramatic transformation within your current NOW moment.

Good Luck! And have fun with it!

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answered 19 Feb '10, 14:44

The%20Traveller's gravatar image

The Traveller
19.5k11942

edited 20 Feb '10, 15:58

Glad I checked in before bedtime - I'm an early riser. Your answer more than lived up to my expectation - I think I'll have to read it several times to fully absorb it. Right 'Now' my life is changing - thank you:-)

(20 Feb '10, 03:34) Michaela

Excellent answer, Traveller, and a most unusual way of looking at it. Going to have to think over this for a few days. Thanks

(20 Feb '10, 09:21) Stingray

By the way, I put a picture of a circus ball in your answer just to illustrate the point a bit. Feel feel to delete it if you don't think it is appropriate

(20 Feb '10, 10:37) Stingray

Nice touch with the pictures Stingray.And this answer has definitely clarified or shifted something in me. Thanks again Traveller:-)

(20 Feb '10, 14:32) Michaela

Thanks for the picture Stingray; it gives the answer that "extra" clarification. I appreciate it!

(20 Feb '10, 15:02) The Traveller

I would like to thank you for your answer,it has really opened a couple of well locked doors. Love and Light

(20 Feb '10, 18:29) Roy

Thank you guys! Your appreciation and encouragement is truly appreciated. As I said there is more to this that can be explained in this answer. But I did mention the multi dimensional part of our existence in the beginning. So let me add more about that here. Since you exist only within "NOW" all your other dimensional existences are energy identities with reference to where you stand. This is true with your progression in life. Each moment you actually walk into a new personality. They are like frames in a film strip and "NOW" is where the projector is.

(21 Feb '10, 17:11) The Traveller

Depending on what you do within "NOW" with reference to consciousness, you can modify the nature and experience within every frame in your filmstrip, which not only includes all the frames in the future, but also all the frames in the past. If you have a life where you suffered in the past, the only person who can change the influence those frames have upon your "NOW" is YOU, not the person who did you wrong. You can adjust and re-write everything from where you stand.

(21 Feb '10, 17:19) The Traveller
showing 2 of 8 show 6 more comments

I had another personal chat with The Pleiadian Collective a few days ago and this question of "Now" came up in our discussion.

They expressed the idea very simply and I thought it might be worth adding to this thread:


Past / Future = Operating system of "The Mind" ---> Limited perception = Victim/Perpetrator consciousness

Now = Operating System of "The Heart" ---> Un-limited perception = One-ness consciousness


In other words, whenever you are aware of Past or Future, you are interpreting your world through the mechanism that has been set up to create the illusion of our physical reality i.e. you are seeing "The Game" as a player of it.

Whenever you are just perceiving in-the-moment (the Now), you step outside of all limited perceptions and can see things "as they really are" i.e. you are seeing "The Game" from the outside.

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answered 31 Jan '12, 11:21

Stingray's gravatar image

Stingray
93.6k22130369

You are experiencing the "Now" the moment you stop thinking and doing and start BEING.

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answered 19 Feb '10, 19:08

TheSevenMan's gravatar image

TheSevenMan
5511218

Nice answer :-)

(20 Feb '10, 09:52) Eddie

The basic definition of now is this present moment.

From a physiological perspective, I would say that now is the duration of your working memory (anywhere from a few seconds to a couple of minutes).

From a cognitive perspective, now is whatever you are focusing on at this moment. So your now is different from everyone else's now (although it might occupy the same time period, as measured by an accurate watch). This should come as no surprise to a reality-creationist, whose reality they are continuously creating moment-by-moment.

From a spiritual perspective, the present moment is all you have, so dwelling on the past or thinking about the future takes you out of the present moment, because you have to focus on your memories of your past or your thoughts about the future, and that occupies your now.

From God's perspective, time has no meaning; it is all the same eternal now.

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answered 19 Feb '10, 16:54

Vesuvius's gravatar image

Vesuvius
32.7k851201

edited 19 Feb '10, 17:59

Nice answer :-)

(20 Feb '10, 09:52) Eddie

I eagerly anticipate Traveller's answer but will Give my own 2 cents worth for now.

From all I have read in spiritual texts the 'Now' moment cannot be grasped by the thinking, analytical mind but rather it is experiential. AS Vesuvius pointed out,dwelling on the past or pondering the future takes us out of the present moment which is the 'Now'. The past and future are merely concepts of the mind whereas the 'Now' just is. When we try to grasp it as a concept we can't because the moment is gone - in order to get it we have to 'Be' in the moment fully - liberated from the thinking mind.I think when we are in touch with the "Now' we are viewing the world from the essence of our being while our mind is in the background, instead of the other way around where our mind is in the foreground,obscuring our true essence ( the state in which most of us live).

When we are enraptured by a beautiful sunset or like an athlete - completely in the zone -then I think we experience the "Now" - I think it is the ability to do this that defines a good athlete from a mediocre one. The 'Now' moment is the only one we ever have and thus our power is right 'Now'.

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answered 19 Feb '10, 18:21

Michaela's gravatar image

Michaela
35.0k22277

Nice answer :-)

(20 Feb '10, 09:52) Eddie

(This is a copy of my answer to another question, "How important is it to live in the present moment".)

Living in the Moment is perhaps one of the hardest behaviors to acquire on one's spiritual journey. But at some point, you realize that this moment (whoosh- there it went!!!) is all I have! I do not have the future- it isn't here yet. I do not have the past; it's done and gone and is just a memory....

All we have is an never-ending stream of NOW.

Once you grasp this, your whole perspective changes. You find out quickly what is a waste of time, for example- worry? If you worry to the exclusion of everything, then you are wasting THIS moment, and a surprising number of moments-yet-to-come.

All of a sudden, (this happened to me yesterday) your granddaughter is plopped in your lap, and she wants your attention and love and you drop everything, and start to notice how precious this moment is, how fast she is growing, how easily she laughs, how beautiful all children are....She and I spent ten minutes looking at an old brooch I had in my jewelry box. It is two kitties, black, with rhinestone eyes. Lily loved it. She made the kitties dance, and eat, and I kissed the kitties, and she kissed the kitties...in other words, we lived in the moment, and when she went to bed, I realized that we had made a precious memory together.

What if I had just given her something to do, and gone on doing what I was doing when she came to see me? The moments would have been lost forever.

Now is where all of life "is at"!!! It is all you really have to work with. Do your best at making "now" count, and you will find that the past is wonderful, and the future will take care of itself.

Blessings to you all, Jai

P.S. Great Question!!!

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answered 20 Feb '10, 09:12

Jaianniah's gravatar image

Jaianniah
37.8k13104607

edited 20 Feb '10, 12:45

Thanks for a great question and all the amazing answers. I think we got it covered...

I'll just add that knowing about the now and understanding it intellectually is great, but consciously experiencing it helps us gain an even deeper knowing of it...

Nature helps me the most. At times when I notice I'm actually in the now, I'm normally observing nature. To me, being in the now means seeing things without the pre-conceived image of whatever it is, that's stored in my brain, along with its mental label.

If you are present and look at nature in the morning you can actually see it all vibrating. Again, we know this, intellectually and scientifically, to be true, but seeing it in real time is something else.

If you look at a plant in the morning, you notice that it grew overnight, so there was movement. Observing the same plant while being in the now enables you to actually see it growing now...

Be Happy Now 8-)

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answered 20 Feb '10, 10:22

Eddie's gravatar image

Eddie
20.9k11768

Where we are and what we are doing is NOW. Being fully present in each moment is experiencing Now. Our mind is like a prison that keeps us from experiencing Now, and thoughts of the past and future are the bars that keep us there. I am reading Eckhart Tolle's The Power Of Now. I am just starting it, but so far, it is helping to put to words and practice ideas I have discovered on my own.

When I was going to college, sometimes my mind would wander from the teacher in the Now to what I would make for dinner to what ingredients I need and what store to go to on the way home, future projections, etc... This was not good, I was there to hear what the teacher had to say, so I started counting tiles in the ceiling to keep myself in the room. What I didn't realize, was that this still was not being fully present, but it is the beginning of realizing. Also while reading, my mind would drift away, and I would find myself rereading and rereading the same section in the textbook over and over until I could get focused on what it was saying. This is not experiencing the now, it is imprisonment of the mind. When I would read a book to my son, I could read the book, the words from the pages came out of my mouth, but I had no idea what I just read because my mind was somewhere else, not engaged in the now moment.

When we exercise, we have been taught, conditioned to distract ourselves with tv, magazines, etc... things that take us out of our body and somewhere else, not present in the Now. While exercising for rehabilitation from injuries, I noticed how much more effective and less painful my workouts were if I focused on the muscles being worked or stretched. I called it a mind body connection.

I noticed that while I was eating my food, I would think how good it was and how I couldn't wait to have more, future projections. So I decided to slow down and enjoy my food and not have seconds, experience Now. I lost weight.

When someone is talking to us Now, and we are thinking about what we are going to say, future projections, then we don't hear what the other person is saying. We are not experiencing the Now moment, but dwelling in our mind behind the prison bars of future projections.

When we worry about the future, we create stress hormones in our bodies Now. When we think about past hurts, we create stress hormones in our bodies Now.

So, Now is where we are and what we are doing. Experience Now is being free from the mental prison of past and future.

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answered 31 Jan '12, 10:15

Fairy%20Princess's gravatar image

Fairy Princess
(suspended)

         What is Now?

Now is my divine self all wrapped into one.

Now is everything, leaving out nothing.

Now is forever, on the best day of my life.

Now is pieces of the tapestry sown together to make one piece.

Now follows you every where you go, and never looks back.

Now is the genius in your brain that never missed a though out right.

Now is the precise time of the day that nothing else matters.

Now is a challenge to the self, but not far away from you.

Now takes precedence, when nothing else will do.

Now is a reminder, as to what I need to do next.

Now takes you on the highs and low of life.

Now is the time, tomorrow is too late.

Now I have to turn off the TV, to get some sleep.

Now the Alarm Clock is going off, and I just fell asleep.

Now I am tired, and cannot continue to write about Now.

Now is Now, and Now, and Now, and Now, and Now!!!

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answered 21 Feb '10, 03:18

Inactive%20User's gravatar image

Inactive User ♦♦
470124198

now is LIVING, before is past, later is future. same concept also applies to time: past, present, future. as i stated previoulsy, all things that are essential in life and unique come in 3, such as the trinity. that is why god must be triune for evryhting that is essential and unique comes in 3. i also used h20 as an example: water, ice, steam. shalma

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answered 21 Feb '10, 07:59

Mebb's gravatar image

Mebb
1.2k1420

Hello Stingray, the "now" for me is being conscious at every moment as we go about our daily lives ... it is acting immediately on the moment, as the saying goes "he who hesitates is lost", hesitation is indecision, doubt, skeptical ... when we are confident, have faith and are full of desire we become unbeatable, this is the principle message in Napoleon Hill's "Think and Grow Rich" ... conscious thinking leads to creative thinking or to coin the words of that great french philosopher René Descartes "I think Therefore I Am" ... a green frog :)

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answered 01 Feb '12, 02:17

blubird%20two's gravatar image

blubird two
(suspended)

edited 01 Feb '12, 02:20

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