A Journey into the Eternal Now
As humans, we are fundamentally tethered to the concept of time. We perceive our lives as an unceasing flow of moments, an endless river cascading from the mountains of the past into the oceans of the future. But what if we could untether ourselves from this chronology, detaching from the past and the future to dwell in an “eternal now”? This concept might seem paradoxical, even inconceivable, yet it offers a fascinating vista of our understanding of reality.
First, we must address the elephant in the room: Can we truly conceptualize a universe without time? The removal of time from our universe plunges us into the depths of a reality where the progression of events ceases. In this static universe, everything exists in an unending present state, with no evolution or motion since these phenomena require time to define their existence.
Yet, the concept of an “eternal now” still implies a temporal dimension. In other words, to speak of an ‘eternal’ now, we inadvertently evoke the notion of time. Herein lies the paradox: while we yearn for a grasp on the timeless, our very language and cognition are steeped in the temporal.
So, what does it mean to experience this “eternal now”? We find an enlightening perspective in the Zen Buddhist concept of “satori”. Satori represents a sudden awakening, an immersion in the present moment that is so profound that it transcends time. This experience of enlightenment unveils a reality where past and future merge into a single, timeless instant. In satori, one perceives reality unfettered by the usual constraints of time or even individual self.
Despite its paradoxical nature, the exploration of an “eternal now” serves as an intellectual and philosophical exercise that tests the boundaries of our understanding. It underscores the limitations of our human comprehension, reminding us of the extraordinary mystery that is our universe.
Dwelling in the “eternal now” is a concept that nudges us to revisit our accepted notions about time and reality. It invites us to question whether our perception of linear time, with its forward march from the past to the future, is the only possible way to experience the universe.
Could there be other forms of reality, other universes perhaps, where time as we know it does not exist? Or could our very perception of time be an illusion, a cognitive construct born out of necessity? In the vast cosmos, are we just temporal beings trying to make sense of a timeless existence?
We might not be able to fully answer these questions, yet in asking them, we expand our intellectual horizons and deepen our understanding of the universe. In this exploration, perhaps we may even inch closer to experiencing a taste of the enigmatic “eternal now”.
Morgan O. Smith
Yinnergy Meditation & My Book, Bodhi in the Brain…Available Now!
Morgan O. Smith 