The Tao Of Presence: Catch Me If You Can

I'd like to try something with you.

Let's see if we can catch the present moment,

Okay?

Ready.

.

.

Now!

No,

Not that time.

Okay,

Ready?

You ready for it?

Here comes the present moment.

We're gonna catch it,

I think,

This time in 3,

2,

1,

Now!

Didn't get it that time.

All right,

Let's try it one more time.

Really see if you can become aware fully of the present moment that's happening in 3,

2,

1,

Now!

So obviously this is a bit silly.

Sometimes you need some silliness and absurdity to help you realize the absurdity of what you might be doing or engaged in,

The fool's errand of trying to capture or understand the present moment.

This is also representative of my true self.

Where is it?

Uh,

Enlightenment.

Let me catch it.

Where is it?

I can't find it.

But when you notice the absurdity of this kind of task,

Then you can realize that of course the present moment is always here,

And I'm a part of it.

But I can't catch it,

Or have it,

Or understand it in any sort of separable way.

And that might be frustrating for a part of the mind that wants to understand things in this way,

Ah,

I want to have it,

But I can't.

So maybe I keep trying,

Keep trying,

Keep trying in all the different ways that there are,

All our different pursuits,

Maybe our pursuit of happiness,

Contentment,

It feels like it's in my grasp and then all of a sudden I just can't quite get it.

But I think maybe the practices of mindfulness,

Spirituality,

Certainly the way of the Tao has been a really helpful practice for me to let go of trying to catch the present moment via the realization that I am the present moment,

Or really,

Maybe less so I am the present moment and more so the present moment is who I am.

And when I notice that,

I can let go of that kind of energy,

Let go of the energy of grasping or pushing away or bracing against reality and realize that I am reality.

And then my movement becomes more like this,

More flexible,

More fluid,

More adaptable.

In Taoism there's the term wu-wei,

Action by inaction,

Unforced action,

Which is actually not passive at all,

It's incredibly engaged with the present moment,

But it's no longer trying to catch it,

Or have it,

Or control it.

It's moving with it.

The martial art form of Judo is rooted in wu-wei.

There are no offensive moves,

No attacking moves,

There's only working with the energy exerted upon me.

And then I become incredibly powerful because I'm not limited to the mass of just this little entity,

Because I've become in flow with the energy of the universe and the energy of this other person,

The person coming to attack me.

And then I make the slightest adjustment,

And they're flipped across the room,

If you've ever seen Judo in practice.

So that was the message that I just had to share.

We might find ourselves trying to catch the present moment,

Or catch something that just cannot be caught.

We're trying to catch what we think is a noun,

But really it's a verb,

It's a process,

And it cannot be caught in that way.

And what a great liberation to realize that,

Because then you can stop trying,

Stop exerting that kind of energy.

That energy can be channeled,

Re-channeled,

Into presence.

Wu-wei,

Action by inaction,

Effortless action,

That actually becomes quite powerful,

Because it's the universe happening through you,

As opposed to you attempting to control or understand the universe.

I just mentioned the Tao there,

I wasn't intending to necessarily,

But it just reminds me I have a whole course that goes through the entire Tao Te Ching,

Where do I have it?

Yeah,

Here.

This particular version,

Stephen Mitchell's The Tao Te Ching.

Many different versions are available of The Tao Te Ching,

This is just the one that I like.

There are 81 little entries in the course,

There are 83 days,

It's called Tao Te Ching Mastery,

It's on my profile,

And it goes through every session,

Or every entry,

Which are all just little ways to remind you that you are not separate from the universe,

The Tao,

The way of reality.

You are the universe,

And it helps you to let go of that effort to try to control it and understand it,

And when you let go of that,

There's the Wu-wei,

I start to flow with it.

And then some pretty cool things can happen.

So I invite you to join me there,

Or just to experience the Tao,

Maybe on your own,

And thanks for exploring with me.

Here it is.