The Eternal Presence by Sherrie Wade (Shree), MA Certified Meditation Instructor I remember in college in 1974, when I first heard the slogan “be here now,” I thought it was a revolutionary idea. I began to notice that most of my thoughts were of the past. They were regrets or laments over what I could have done differently, what I wished would have happened, or what I hoped to change next time. Or they were thoughts about the future, such as desires for career, wealth, relationship and possessions. These thoughts were based on removing my unhappiness, or on getting the security, freedom, or ease that I craved in order to relieve my worry and anxiety. Because my thoughts were either about the past or the future I was rarely able to enjoy what was going on right in front of me, or what I was doing in the present moment. Although this concept of “be here now” was enlightening to me I was not able to implement it. Even though I kept reminding myself: "Be here now!" I was unable to control my thoughts of the past and my aspirations for the future. Only in rare moments did I really experience the “now.” Maybe, when I was eating something I enjoyed, when I was out in nature, or spending intimate time with a friend could I remain in the present moment of the hear and now. Even when these present moment experiences were happening I didn’t examine what was really going on, so I was thinking of the here and now as another moment in time and space. It wasn’t until I learned the technique of meditation that I could begin to understand the true meaning of “here and now.” Here and now is not in time and space but is the Eternal Presence. I could hear my teacher’s words: “NOW, meditate!” In meditation, I noticed that there was an I that was watching or knowing the thoughts and experiences that were either past, present or future. That Knower was not involved in the thoughts or in time and space. I came to directly experience the bliss that is not on the level of the mind. It was the direct experience of the very life that we are, and that all this is, here and now. The life now became important and I began to have a glimpse into the Me that is not bound by the intellect. The intellect can only grasp what is after appearance and before disappearance. Therefore, the intellect cannot know here and now. Here and now is that which is before birth and after death and throughout the middle. Here and now is the unchanging bliss of the true Self. The intellect takes its power from that Pure Self or bliss and begins to say: “I am blissful.” Then the I assumes itself to be only the body and senses that is experiencing and not the Experiencer, or Knower. When we examine from where the I arises and goes to, we will come to know the true I, that is not caught in time in space. This I, is the very consciousness pure that never is born and never dies, so it is eternal. Then whatever is happening in the mind, whether thoughts of the past or future, or thoughts of the present experience, you remain the Knower of the mind or, the true Self, which is forever here and now. Then the bliss of the Self is known to be the reality and the changing forms are known to also be that same reality which is Pure Space or Pure Consciousness. Just as air can be still or begin to move as wind, but air is always air, so the Pure Consciousness or Self, can remain still or move into what we call thoughts or desires, but it is forever shining as here and now. The Self is always filled with joy, health, life, and the knowledge of the unchanging here and now, that all this is! The scriptures have written for ages to control the thoughts, to renounce the desires, and to deny the ego, but no one has been able to completely do this, as he or she is trying to do this with the intellect and the intellect cannot know the true Self or the “hear and now.” When you wake up in the morning there is the desire to function in your daily life. In the waking state you are filled with wants and needs, some happiness and some unhappiness. If a higher state of consciousness is not known and directly experienced, then your life can only be based on trying to get the most happiness and reduce or remove the pain and suffering for yourself or for the world at large. Without knowledge of the Self you and the world will remains fluctuating between happiness and unhappiness, and never feel easy, settled or free. Living in the freedom of the Eternal Presence is only possible when through meditation you directly experience your True Self, which is forever shining as the bliss of the Eternal Presence, here and now. When you live here and now, which is the Eternal Presence, then the true Self is the reality. When that is known, what could there be higher to desire, as you are already the Whole or Pure Space? What ego can there be to deny when you are already the infinite I, the bliss of the life itself? You are the purity, the freedom, the bliss of all that is. Patanjali Yog Darshan, says this in sutra, or verse 1:3, “Tadaa drashtuh swaroopay’awasthaanam. Then the Seer, the Knower, remains established in its true nature.” This is who we are! So why wait to get it? Just know your true Self, in the Eternal Presence, which is Pure, Free, and Forever right now! To receive a Free Doubt Free Meditation MP3 and to review our online home study meditation courses, teacher training, books and CDs please go to transformedu.com. Sherrie Wade, M.A., (Shree) has come to realize that the peaceful meditative state is our true nature. She speaks and writes with clarity and wisdom as to how one can unfold this awareness and transform one’s life. She is a certified meditation instructor from the International Meditation Institute, Himalayas, India, where she has spent over ten years in self-inquiry and study. Shree has been teaching meditation since 1985 and is now known as a teacher of teachers. View Shree's