“Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.”
How do reality and the now influence the journey on the Way of the Coyote? What is reality? What does it have to do with the way we perceive time? From the perspective of ecospirituality, the past only exists in memory, and the future is just a projection of our memories. This means that both the past and the future only exist in our minds. The present moment is always becoming the past as we continue to move forward in time, and the future is always becoming the now as we continue to move forward in time.
Is time real? If the past and the future are products of memory and projections of the mind, do they have any real existence outside of this present moment? If so, how? Can a thing exist only in memory? If the past and the future are just imagined experiences created by the mind, then we are free in the now to create different experiences.
If there is any such thing as real time, then it can only exist right here, right now. If there is any such thing as free will, then it too can only exist right here and right now. This is because the past is gone, and the future is not here yet. We cannot travel back in time and exercise our free will about conscious choices in the past, because it no longer exists. Likewise, we cannot travel forward in time to choices that have not presented themselves yet because the future isn’t here yet.
But here in the now, we can make choices. Here we may exercise our free will to believe anything we want about the future…or the past. That is because this present moment is all that is real.
Reality and the Now: Pathway to Change
We’ve often heard the saying that the only thing to fear is fear itself. Our brains can conjure up scarier monsters than actually exist in real life. When our brains do this to us, we sometimes do well to prepare ourselves for the worst-case scenario. Suppose an abused wife needs to leave her abusive husband. If she doesn’t think about the possible things he could do to her, she may find herself in a dangerous situation. In such a case, fear of the unknown has a basis in reality.
But much of what our imagination doles out when facing the unknown can get in the way of progress unless we deal head-on with it. This is what crossing the first threshold, psychologically, is about. Until we look closely at the dark stuff that stands in our way, we may not realize exactly why we can’t progress. We may make excuses of limited time, money, energy, or choices when really we’re suppressing our will to overcome all odds and make things better for ourselves.
We have to cross thresholds into the darkness of the mind throughout our lives. Does it get any easier? I think it unintentionally does because we learn to surrender. We say things to ourselves like, “Here we go again,” or, “Get ready to feel crappy.” In such a scenario, we are not acting out of personal power, but out of learned helplessness. We’ve grown so accustomed to the way things were in the past that we no longer believe we have a right to something better in the future.
Of course, we all have dark times, and we all feel like giving up from time to time. But the passage through the dark places can bring light and strength if we have the patience to endure. Without darkness, you could not know the light. Without the bad times, you could not acknowledge the good times. Although sometimes we must walk through the darkness, as long as we keep sight of the path, we may emerge on the other side wiser and stronger. If we can remember to trust the path in spite of our fears, we will have crossed the first threshold into the Belly of the Whale.
In future posts, we’ll talk about what the Belly of the Whale is, and how it can lead to personal transformation. For now, just remember that the only place you can change your current reality is here. The only time you can change your current reality is now. The past is gone, and the future is an illusion. Now is when we can make the change.
Share your Thoughts on Reality and the Now!
What do you think about reality and the now? Share your thoughts in the comments below!