Eternal now: “… totally still but in endless motion …” ~ Adyashanti

sunset eternal now adyashanti

Being present – here & now – should be easy – yet it is not … as exemplified even by the ever-growing number of books (& other media content) on this topic 🙂 … seems very elusive and paradoxical, doesn’t it? … so the natural question is Why? …

Here’s Adyashanti’s answer: “… You’ve always been in time; therefore, you have never actually shown up here. Your body was here, but the rest of you went somewhere else. Your body has been going through this thing called “life,” but your head has been going through this thing called “my fantasy about life” or “my big story about life.” You’ve been caught in an interpretation about life, so you have never really been here …”

Yet he also suggests that it is inherently easy – thus the paradox – because: “… Here is the Promised Land. The eternal is here. Have you ever noticed that you have never left here, except in your mind? When you remember the past, you are not actually in the past. Your remembering is happening here. When you think about the future, that future projection is completely here. And when you get to the future, it’s here. It’s no longer the future …”

eternal now here adyashanti wild forest

So, we’ll take a very brief glimpse into Adyashanti’s simple, though profound, advice …

Eternal Now …

Take a moment
to check and see if you are actually here.

Before there is right and wrong,
we are just here.
Before there is good or bad, or unworthy,
and before there is the sinner or saint,
we are just here.

Just meet here, where silence is—
where the stillness inside dances.
Just here, before knowing something, or not knowing.
Just meet here where all points of view
merge into one point,
and the one point disappears.

sawarna beach silence stillness adyashanti

Just see if you can meet right now
where you touch the eternal,
and feel the eternal living and dying at each moment.

Just to meet here—
before you were an expert,
before you were a beginner.
To just be here,
where you are what you always will be,
where you will never add anything to this,
or subtract anything.

Meet here, where you want nothing,
and where you are nothing.

The here that is unspeakable.
Where we meet only mystery to mystery,
or we don’t meet at all.

Meet here where you find yourself
by not finding yourself.
In this place where quietness is deafening,
and the stillness moves too fast to catch it.

quietness deafening adyashanti

Meet here where you are what you want
and you want what you are
and everything falls away
into radiant emptiness.

~ Adyashanti

This poem, Eternal Now, is from Adyashanti’s book Emptiness Dancing … and is excerpted from the chapter Eternal Now where he goes further:

Total stillness of being comes when all resistance to movement, impermanence, aliveness, and change is absent. When all resistance is absent, there is complete stillness, an alive and vital stillness. It is totally still but in endless motion. It seems still, and it seems not to be moving only because there is no resistance.

Our teacher page on Adyashanti provides more information about his background and teachings, plus you’ll find blog posts, video posts, articles, books, DVDs, and more … about, and from, him.

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India is undergoing a humanitarian crisis brought upon by the ravaging resurgence of COVID-19 … if you don’t know about this or want an update, here is a recent New York Times post detailing What to Know About India’s Coronavirus Crisis … so, to do our small part to help, we are providing THREE vetted sources that can be used to help provide relief to India … we have donated personally and also as Stillness Speaks to PATH, CARE, and some of the GoFundMe campaigns below …

Despite the financial challenges that are amongst us all, if your situation allows you to donate then please visit one of the following sources … and contribute whatever is possible …

… Deliver oxygen where it’s needed the most through PATH – a global team of innovators working to accelerate health equity so all people and communities can thrive …

… Provide essential hospital services, more health workers, additional beds, oxygen supply, and much more through CARE (and their CARE India chapter) – for 75 years, CARE has led the way to a better life for the world’s most vulnerable people ….

… Donate to India COVID-19 fundraisers on GoFundMe – all fundraisers have been verified by GoFundMe’s Trust & Safety team and will be updated as new fundraisers are created and verified. All GoFundMe fundraisers are backed by the GoFundMe Guarantee which ensures that all funds on this page will go to those affected by India’s COVID-19 surge …

Helping those in extreme need is the “order of the day” …

THANK YOU!

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May you embrace the eternal now … and …

May you remain safe and healthy as you navigate these troubling times.

 

Opening quote, above Adyashanti Poem, and all italicized text is excerpted from Emptiness Dancing by Adyashanti.
Images: (edited and logo added): Featured and 1) Marshall beach at sunset in San Francisco by f11photo, 2) Wild forest in nature reserve by lugrin, 3) Sawarna beach at Banten West Java by mohdsiberimohdyusof@yahoo.com, 4) Scenic view of beautiful mountainous landscape by Imaginechina-Tuchong. All purchased from depositphotos, for use only on our website/social channels (these images are not permitted to be shared separate from this post).
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