Here and Now: Back to Reality

What is reality? Does it really exist or is it something we made up to fool ourselves into thinking everything is ok?

I believe it exists and when you find it life makes sense again.

During my pilgrimage to Europe last week I had the opportunity to return to reality. Ironically enough this happened because I was pulled out of my day to day routine. Whether I was visiting sacred sites, running through the French countryside, or dealing with the inevitable mishaps that accompany any great journey, I was continuously reminded that I was “there”. This brought me into a heightened state of presence and helped my mind understand I wasn’t in Kansas anymore. I felt awake, really awake, for the first time in a long time.

On the return flight this sense of presence lead me to another meeting with reality. This time in the form of Byron Katie’s teaching on questioning the mind to bring you to reality. In short, Byron was a miserable human being who had a great awakening and now leads an extraodinary life.  She went on to develop a process for questioning and turning around thoughts that cause suffering which she calls “The Work”. From experience it really does work. You begin by identifying and writing down a thought, how it makes you feel, who you would be without it, and finally turn it around and think about it’s opposite. This process helps you both “rewire” your thinking as well as bring yourself back to the here and now also known as reality.

The lesson? Life really is here and now. Only your thinking can go into the past or future where you have no reality because you do not exist. Staying in the here and now brings you back to reality and it’s the only place you can ever be. It’s here and now that you find your peace and joy because it’s the only place you can truly exist and make a difference. It's also where you find God and the miracle of life.

Here’s the final scene from Peaceful Warrior that highlights this lesson.