N.O.W. was given its name for a number of reasons –– as a tip of the hat to Eckhart Tolle, as an acronym for its aural neuromodulation technology (New Origin Waveforms) and as a reminder that life is not a journey that takes time, but rather is a process of continuous, instantaneous awakening.
Instantaneous awakening can be seen in the rise of serendipitous occurrences and positive life changes one increasingly perceives as a result of listening to N.O.W. and becoming more solidly located in the present moment. The appearance of “witnesses” (to use a term from A Course in Miracles) or Signal Graces (a Roman Catholic term) is due to a perceptual awakening –– becoming more awake to the “now” brings clearer perception of the interconnectedness of the forms of the world.
At first, the rise in serendipitous occurrences –– the chance encounters, the call from a person presently being thought of, the sudden answer to a question being pondered, the unexpected empowerment to accomplish what is needed to be done, the seemingly impossible bestowal of resources needed –– are completely unexpected and practically miraculous. With continued awakening to the present moment, serendipity becomes a normal, joyous way of life.
As an ephemeral construct and artifact of the brain’s processing power, the egoic mind tries to make itself real by misperceiving situations and turning them into problems that need to be reflected upon (past focus) or worried about (future focus).
These same situations could be perceived by the awakened consciousness as serendipitous occurrences. But the egoic mind needs the drama and suffering of past regret and future fear (always created through thinking –– words strung together in the mind over “time”) because lack of thought, which is the hallmark of true Presence in the now, means the ego does not exist.
This is how egoic thought, whether past or future focused, obscures I AM consciousness that perceives connections (serendipitous occurrences) that already exist.
Yes, the egoic mind becomes disillusioned and loses hope for success as it encounters the limitations and transitory nature of all forms. Our ego feels the negative effects of the false perception that we’re separate from our true self and from others.
But isn’t it curious that feeling disillusioned, hopeless or disconnected can only be experienced in the present moment? A Course in Miracles points out “A future cause as yet has no effects. And therefore must it be that if you fear, there is a present cause”.
I’ve noticed that if I have fear of the future it is caused by lack of faith and trust in the IS-ness of the reality of the present moment.
There appears to be a direct relationship between present moment awareness and joyous, serendipitous occurrences. And there also appears to be a direct relationship been past or future focused thinking and a feelings of separation, longing, stress and anxiety.
This leads me to believe that life is now –– not then, nor later on.
