Pondercentral

“If you tend to reminisce about good times or relationships you have experienced in the past, you must understand these types of thoughts keep you from fully experiencing the present moment. Ideally, what you need to do is to develop the ability to completely experience whatever it is you’re experiencing at any given time, and then leave it behind. In the words of Fr. Anthony DeMello:

“Don’t carry over experiences from the past. In fact, don’t carry over good experiences from the past either. Learn what it means to experience something fully, then drop it and move on to the next moment, uninfluenced by the previous one. You’d be traveling with such little baggage that you could pass through the eye of a needle. You’d know what eternal life is, because eternal life is now, in the timeless now.”

Although this may seem like novel advice, it is quite practical, because many of us have a tendency to, as Henry David Thoreau once said, “loiter in winter when it is already spring.” If you are a person who is inclined to focus on good times in the past, please understand that all you are doing by “time-traveling” in this way is wasting thought and feeling energy that could be used in far more constructive ways. If you can begin to put into practice even in a small way what DeMello is recommending, you would most certainly notice an improvement in the quality of your life. You would also come to realize that these are indeed “the good old days.”

Jeff Maziarek, in “Spirituality Simplified”

For more information about this book visit Amazon.

Jeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

“…The desire to know what will occur, and the urge to make detailed plans to ensure one’s own security down the road, are both related to the ego’s need for safety as a result of its deeply held fear of death. You can deny the truth in this, arguing that it is only prudent that a person plan for the future. However, if you are able to look deep within yourself, you will realize that it is indeed an accurate observation concerning human nature.

To varying degrees, every single one of us is apprehensive about the future (i.e., the unknown), and so we burn amazing amounts of energy trying to get a hold on something that quite simply is impossible to grasp. According to Fr. Anthony DeMello:

“So why are you anxious? Can you, for all your anxieties, add a single moment to your life? Why bother about tomorrow? Is there a life after death? Why bother about tomorrow? Get into today. Someone once said, “Life is what happens to us while we’re busy making other plans.” That’s pathetic.”

These certainly are powerful words, and yet it is really tough to challenge DeMello’s observations. Think about it carefully for a moment or two. What possible benefit can be derived from feeling anxious about the future? The answer is none, unless of course you happen to enjoy experiencing the feeling of anxiety. Moreover, what is the payoff for spending a great deal of time planning one’s life in minute detail? Perhaps all of this preparation helps people to assuage their fear of the future to some extent, but it quite obviously prohibits them from truly enjoying their present moments.

Jeff Maziarek, in “Spirituality Simplified”

For more information about this book visit Amazon.

Jeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.