What is the present moment? What is realization? How is realization different from mindfulness? How to get in the present moment?
Let’s delve into that together, and then try to understand what we can and can’t really do.
Let’s start with the most important question: Why? Why do you need this? Why do you need the present moment, why do you need to realize it?
Because you’ve read about it in books? Or heard about it from bloggers? Or found it in esoteric literature? Maybe you heard it at some satsangs or various personalities’ presentations?
Have you answered this question for yourself? It’s unlikely that you just decided to be interested in this topic for no reason. There is a good chance that you have an affirmative answer to one of these questions
There is nothing complicated about the concept of the present moment. You realize that the Present Moment is what is happening to you right now, what you are doing, how you are doing it. Realization is just simple understanding. You understand what kind of process you are in right now. For example: I am in the process of looking, thinking, sitting, breathing and typing this text at the same time. I am in several processes at the same time, at this time something may be happening around me, sounds or smells – it’s all happening in the present moment, right now.
Most likely, you have a question: “Why do we need the present moment?”, or “How can this present moment help me or what can it give me?”, or “What should be done to have this present moment?”.
In general, no one has any difficulties in understanding what they are doing right now. There is nothing to achieve here, everything is simple and clear. But what does it mean to achieve The Present Moment and why is it necessary at all?
Here comes the biggest difficulty, and you will not find the key to it in other books or doctrines. The point is not to give a mental express of what’s happening right now, it’s about living it. Living through something is drastically different from giving a mental voice to your thoughts.
The phrase “the present moment” is correct, but it is not fully coherent because there is no instruction on how to get to “the present moment”. If I constantly say (aloud or to myself) what I am doing right now, it will bring nothing but discomfort and fatigue. Yes, I will be able to notice some things and temporarily get rid of certain thoughts, but it will be an escape from some thoughts to others. It works, but most likely that’s not why so much is written and talked about the present moment.
Let’s look at another mechanism – living something through. Not a mental thoughts voiceover, but living something through. Living something through is like having a deep sense of what is happening to us. When I begin to live through what is happening to me, I begin to feel a little more peace, silence, as if I feel better. When you don’t just understand the present moment but truly live through it, it becomes meaningful. Various researchers have observed this phenomenon but often describe it using vague terms without providing clear guidance on how to engage with the present moment.
Living something through is when we engage our attention in the process. We live through a certain experience by directing our attention to it. For example, you can start to perceive smells by focusing your attention on them right now. This is how you begin to live through a part of the present moment—the process of perceiving the smells. Deeply living through something means that you understand where your attention is directed and how it is distributed. When you do this, you feel “good.”
Simply “achieving the present moment” means understanding with your thoughts what is happening to you now. But for deeper meaning and real results, it is necessary to keep your attention in the present moment. You feel what is happening to your attention, observe it, and control it. This leads to happiness and a state of “good.”
Is it possible to be in the present moment and think, using thoughts? Absolutely. You can feel that your attention is in your thoughts and that you are in the process of thinking. If someone claims that to be in the present moment, it is necessary to stop thinking or that they are in a state of thoughtlessness, this person is either lying or trying to mislead you. Thoughts are always present, whether we notice them or not, and stopping thinking is equivalent to death. If this person keeps talking, they are using thoughts. It is impossible to speak otherwise.
Why don’t many write about this? Because most people are unaware and follow doctrines designed to control them. To truly be in the present moment, you have to develop your attention, and that’s not just about focusing on one thing. To stay constantly in the present moment while living a normal life, you need the “muscles” of attention. This means you need to be able to divide and hold your attention into four or more parts, understand and explore your attention, as well as understand your mind and the nature of thoughts. Most people don’t do this and don’t even try. Even those who have been meditating for years often do not get far because they only train a small part of their attention, and their esoteric knowledge limits their development. If you try to be in the present moment without training your attention, you might end up feeling detached from reality.
There is nothing complicated about the present moment, but you need to live through it and understand why it is essential. If you realize that you can’t live fully without it, develop your attention through training and manage your life completely. Make a choice to live without suffering and put in the effort to do so through your attention.