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OK guys, I do not claim to have all the answers but I’d like to throw out some thoughts for consideration and would love to hear your thoughts.
It seems obvious to me that all we ever have or ever will have is the present moment. The past and future exist only as thought, whereas, the present moment is reality and forever shall be. That being the case the present moment is not merely important but is all there is. Yes, it will change and will be a completely different experience constantly and forever but it will forever be “this present moment”. This present moment is without beginning or end and is eternal but in a constant state of change. Another way of thinking of the present moment is “what is” right now. In other words, whatever we are now experiencing in this present moment is all there really is.
I’m going to suggest some startling observations. First and foremost, we cannot change, influence or affect “what is” in any way in the slightest. What is, IS. We can only respond to it, we can like and accept it or dislike and resist it. Our whole life is the experience of, and responding to, what is in the present moment. Is this not true? If so, how is disappointment, discouragement, anger, resentment, greed, etc. ever justified? Is not the seeking of something different the root of all evil? We tend to think that resisting that which we do not like leads to change for the better. But I believe deeper contemplation indicates such not to be the case.
We can only find contentment, peace and happiness when we are in harmony with “what is”. If there is any resistance whatsoever, it causes tension, stress, anxiety, etc. Our problem, it seems to me, is that we tend to think life should be smooth sailing and become displeased when it is not. But life is variety, it is a constant changing contrast of duality, opposites, good, bad, long, short, up, down, hot, cold, etc.
Are we capable of actually changing anything, making choices, etc. After much deliberation and contemplation, I do not think so except as how we respond to the present moment. Does prayer change anything, I do not think so. I know there have been various studies that suggest that it does but there are just as many that indicate the opposite. Meditation is acceptance with gratitude for what is, while prayer is asking for something different.
We are obviously not generating our thought. If we were, we would know it in advance and be planing it. It flows from beyond. No brain ever created a thought or anything else for that matter. The physical does not create the mental, it is the other way around. Thoughts flow from beyond. “My brain is only a receiver. In the Universe there is a core from which we obtain knowledge, strength, inspiration. I have not penetrated into the secrets of this core, but I know it exists.” Nikola Telsa
I believe we are here to experience whatever this life delivers as aspects of the One or All That Is. Carl Jung’s famous statement I believe is true, “that which we resist, persists”. Perhaps change for the better comes as a result of accepting and complete surrender to what is in the present moment. It may not be that which we would choose but it will be that which God chooses. To me this is “faith”. It may be that regardless the circumstances that develop, our change for the better is simply in accepting graciously “what is”. Is this not the same as that which most religions advocate when they say that we should completely surrender to God’s will? If the present moment or whatever we are experiencing right now were not God’s will it could not exist.
Of course, this philosophy is essentially that of the Eastern thought of Non Duality or Advaita which rings true to the ears of this writer (a former Christian).
What would the world be like if everyone was graciously accepting “what is”?
openobserver 
You tackle many seemingly divergent ideas, so it’s hard to find a place to begin commenting. Your post reminds me of the book “The Tao of Physics,” which relates the modern discoveries of physics to the beliefs of ancient Oriental philosophy. Significant is that time and space are illusions, so all we really have is the present. Also, the Orientals believe in a living universe (“God is everywhere”) and that matter, energy, and consciousness are one.
Western science and medicine have de-vitalized the universe. It doesn’t give due respect for life itself. At least the Orientals recognize the concept of “qi,” or “life force.”
Western science has not proved life exists, yet it presumes to understand it. Nor has it proved the mind exists, although we think it is in the brain.
What is the relevance of all this? I agree heaven and hell exist in the moment, but the physical body needs nourishment to survive. Meditation by itself doesn’t pay the bills. Passivity must be balanced with activity, as individuals make conscious choices about day-to-day challenges. It seems to me that the attitude taken determines whether it feels like heaven, hell, or somewhere in between.
Thank you katharineotto for your comment. You make a very good point. One may say, well, if we are not the doer, then why get out of bed, why not just lie here or sit in our favorite recliner and watch the world go by?
I view it like this, we are what we are. We are not going to divert from our purpose or the way we are “wired”. We did not chose to be here, we did not choose our parents, siblings, when or where we were born. We did not choose or control our early upbringing or any of the infinite exposure that shaped the being we now are. The universe is guided by infinite intelligence and energy. I believe we are simply aspects of that intelligent energy and IT expresses through duality.
Perhaps the Infinite is pure knowing and pure perfection but IT chose to express which required contrast, opposites, duality, etc. Hence, the universe with its infinite diversity including you and I and good and evil. Perhaps you and I are not Tom and Mary but merely Tom and Mary experiences which revert back to the One as these experiences expire.
By the way, I visited your blog and your post titled “Books” and was intrigued by the one displayed “Mans search for meaning”. I went to Amazon and read some of the reviews and was impressed with the magnitude of the message of the book. I noted that some reviewers noted that the author, not only a brilliant survivor of the Nazi Auschwitz concentration camp but following that a highly acclaimed doctor of psychology. What an inspiration this man’s story. Thank you for sharing, I look forward to reading it. I further noted that he concluded that the driving force in man is not the pursuit of pleasure as Freud claimed but the search for the meaning of life.
I’m certainly not even close to the wisdom of this author but will simply say that my idea of the meaning of life is simply the experience thereof, whatever it may be and further that to make it as good as possible by accepting it graciously.
Openobserver,
Writing about this stuff is tough. You remind me (in some ways) of Eckhart Tolle. I got into him recently. See if this fits. Now is all that there ever is in emotional or essential time (timelessness). Clock time is something we use for practical purposes – I think the only useful thing is for measuring goals, BUT goals are only useful if you see yourself as apart from anything. I’m okay accepting what IS while I am included in the ISness, so there may be a little fun with what ISn’t (I’m goofy like that). I like the oddness of duality when it is held delicately as a oneness…opening us to a presence or presenting us to That Which Is Whole. Nature giggles in these delicate moments.
Mark
OK ridicuryder, yeah, me thinks much like Eckhart . 🙂 Thanks for the comment!