Being In The Now & Planning For The Future

Ask the Author: Question & Response

I have read parts of your website with great interest and completely agree that the need for your mind to take control of itself and not be ruled by learned and negative behaviors is the way forward.  What I would like to find out is that although we need to live in the now, in business and work we need to plan things out in our minds and use past experiences to shape our future dealings, and I think this is also necessary to some extent on a personal level or we never learn anything.  How can you suggest that we do this with positivity and not around our negative ego-based mindset? Many thanks.

– John, United Kingdom

1. The illusionary nature of negativity. When you choose to view something as “negative,” it simply gives an illusion power over you. The illusion has no power unless you choose to give it power. It is the value that you place on an illusion that gives it its power. Your energy is drawn to what you value, and consequently it will be what you value that you end up focusing on and experiencing.
The ego would love for you to think of it in negative terms because this focus gives it power. The more you focus on the ego, the more power you give it. The more power you give the ego, the more real you believe it to be, and thus it becomes a more significant part of your life. The more significant part of your life it becomes, the more you unconsciously relate to it as being a part of you. The more you unconsciously relate to it as being a part of you, the more you start defending it and its thought system. Thus, consider letting go of the idea of “our negative ego-based mindset,” for that only gives the ego a power it does not inherently have.

2. The present moment is a gift that you offer yourself. The present moment gives you an external view of your internal world. It allows you to see what you are supporting as real within your mind. How many times in the past has something “negative” happened to you, yet after introspection, you realize that the experience only helped you become a more peaceful and wiser being? And if that “negative” event assisted you in your growth and self-realization, then wasn’t that “negative” event or experience actually a “positive” experience? Don’t you feel gratitude to your past self for the courage and fortitude it took to assist you in becoming who you are today? I know I do. When I look at my younger self, I feel grateful for what I perceived I had to go through to become who I am today. Now when I go through challenges, instead of perceiving things in a “negative” light, I simply smile and appreciate how the moment is manifesting itself. Then I offer gratitude for the moment and move on. And because now my present self smiles, I know that my future self will laugh at all the “negatives” I once took so seriously.

My dear friend, in the moment, do whatever you believe you need to do to experience peace of mind and joy. Nothing more is asked of you to experience peace of mind and joy. If your current support system asks you to plan and use past experiences to obtain peace, then do so. During your day, if you desire “positivity,” keep reminding yourself to stay present, and feel how what you are doing, thinking or perceiving is affecting your state of mind. If your result is peace of mind and joy, then you are experiencing and flowing in the moment. If judgment, stress, anger or regret appear, then the continuity and flow of the present moment will stop and you will feel it. Yet do not judge yourself. Instead, thank yourself for having caught yourself, then return to the vibration of your divine self, correct your mind, offer forgiveness to yourself and others, offer gratitude, smile and continue to move forward.

3. The highest, best way for you may be different than the highest, best way for another, and thus the useless nature of judgment. In fact, the only value judgment has is to experience it enough times that you eventually acknowledge its uselessness. No longer choose to waste your energy in such a manner. As long as you seek to verify your own experience by looking at what is going on with other people, then all that is happening is that you are focusing on their experiences as opposed to having the benefit of your own. Instead of comparing yourself to anyone else, compare the life you are experiencing to the life you truly desire to experience. This is the one and only self comparison that you ever need to make.

4. There is so much wisdom within you now that if you only got a glimpse of it, you would chuckle at the idea of learning. When you accept your unification with the mind of God, you will discover a place that you have never left. All wisdom resides within you now. From this place, you will remember that there is nothing real you need to learn, and that actually what you are currently doing is unlearning what has been programmed into you that is blocking your awareness of your divine wisdom.

5. The idea of planning or problem solving, the belief that you have something else to work on or another problem to solve, only focuses more of your attention and energy on the issue that you are trying to resolve or get rid of. This actually has the opposite effect of what you are hoping to achieve, which is a state of peace. Yet I do not suggest that you ignore or resist it. Rather, engage in a process of looking at what you are working on and allow it to speak to you. Take the actions you need to take, and then let your thoughts of the issue pass away. Both focusing on and resisting the problem acknowledges the power it has over you. Don’t give the ego additional opportunities to throw fuel on the fire. Just deal with the challenge in the way you believe will gift you peace, and then let it go.

6. When you are thinking, perceiving, reacting, experiencing and creating beliefs, you are in a constant state of planning. When you are not present in the moment, due to past projections or future imaginings, then you miss what you have gone to all the effort of planning. What is the feeling that you wish to have from your experience? If you desire positivity, then stay on the road to positivity. If judgment enters your mind, choose to no longer play the ego’s game. Instead, forgive and pray for your brother and sister with the knowledge that all of their actions come from a place of love or from a place of calling for love. When a child is calling for love, do you judge the child or do you comfort the child? If the thought of anger comes, choose not to play the ego’s game. Instead, offer gratitude for allowing you to see where you are taking yourself through your own reaction and thoughts. No longer choose to invest time where there is no opportunity for growth. When the ego implores you to stress over a situation, instead choose to trust God’s plan for you. God knows what your highest will for yourself is, and He knows that you will be all right. Simply trust God until you learn to trust yourself. God simply holds the lantern until you rediscover and shine your own light.

7. Understand that there are innumerable ego-based patterns. One of these patterns says that goals are valuable and that an individual is measured by attaining the goals he has set. Setting goals focuses your attention on expectations, and expectations are one of the greatest barriers to being available in the present moment. The act of planning, on a deeper level, is a search for certainty, safety and security. The external act of planning comes from the internal desire for peace. A state of peace results from having trust in yourself. Trust yourself. Trust what you are bringing to yourself. Trust creates a greater feeling of safety and security, which then allows you to surrender more to what you are trying to experience in the present moment.

8. Allow yourself the feeling of being in the flow of a gentle, divine stream. As you allow yourself into the safety of this flow, the memory of comfort will embrace and encompass you. You will begin to recognize it, and it will no longer feel unfamiliar. Throughout the day, keep reminding yourself what you wish to experience. Whatever you choose to focus on is what will more frequently occur during your day. So dwell within the state of mind that you call positivity, defining positivity as that which brings you peace of mind and joy in the present moment. If planning assists in bringing this state of mind, then plan. As you are going through any process, recognize that you are doing so to attain a state of peace. Be aware that each thing you do, no matter what it is, you are doing to achieve peace. As peace of mind and joy become the motivation for more and more of your activities, as you experience the love and safety that comes along with such beingness, you will find preprogrammed concepts such as negativity or control becoming lesser and lesser parts of your journey. For what negativity could there be when every moment is a gift you’re presenting yourself? What need for control is there when you finally begin to trust that there is One whose only desire is for you to experience peace of mind and joy? What sense of security and safety would eternal beings such as you and I, and our brothers and sisters, truly need when there is One who has already promised us that everything will be all right?

 

This Q&A Includes The Following Topics:
  • Living in the now, but planning for work and life.

 
This question and response can be found in the book - There is Another Way: Overcoming Real World Challenges. If you enjoyed this Q&A, you'll really enjoy the book which is filled with inspiration and effective strategies for overcoming life's challenges. The book is due to come out in 2025. Click here to sign up for our newsletter so that you can be notified when it is ready. Thanks.

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