An undergraduate professor of philosophy once asked his class: "What is the most important thing you have?" Answers ranged from health to family, a home, ... The answer he was looking for was "this moment". This moment is the only thing we really have. It is where life takes place. The past is a shadow, it has no substance. The future is a dream, a projection, a fantasy--everything but a reality.
The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle, (1999) may just as well have been called, Zen for Dummies. The concept is so simple--life takes place NOW, but it does need explanation for those of us who are/were used to doing things the conventional way. Lamenting the past, and planning the future, and letting life pass us by.
Tolle explains the process of *Being Present*, without doctrine, without ritual. No complications inspired by the mind or ego. Just the principle of *self* as the observer of the mind. Self as the Being. The self *in-joy(ing)* life.
I hope you'll be back for more....
JM
Thank you Dr. Applebaum (SUNY New Paltz, 199?)
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My love, tammybleu[HEART][SMILE]
(You say) "I can say from experience that the things I used to worry about usually didn't come to pass in the way I imagined them."
People with unhealthy minds, or those with emotional difficulties usually DO find that their reality is much different than the actual reality. Your experience clearly illustrates this well known phenomena of being way off the mark when it comes to plan for the future. While a person is untreated, you are correct: They SHOULDN'T attempt to do this since they are only wasting their time, anyway. They are also introducing extra stress for no good reason at all. Once you get your head together you will then be able to do this with a MUCH higher level of accuracy ! Good luck with your problem !.
I have thought about reading this book. I like what you wrote about the past, that it is a shadow, and what was said about the future too. Interesting concepts. Looks like I need Zen for Dummies too. Thanks for the tip.
I have often though about The Power of Now as Zen for Dummies, except that reading the Power of Now isn't an intellectual process. It's about "being" the watcher of the mind--where intellect takes place. The rewards are so great that it's worth the read. The worst that can happen is that you stay in the mind-set you're in now.