The next moment from Steven Kaufman's blog

The Divine is just as present in this moment as It is going to be present in the next moment.

 

So why run from one moment to the next, looking to find It there, when It is already here in full measure?

 

Especially since looking for It in the next moment hides It in this moment.

 

Such a game of hide and seek.

 

 

Here we are, in this moment, where the Divine is everywhere, both within us and all around us, but we can't see It, because we are looking for it in the next moment, and so its Presence in this moment is obscured.

 

And then the next moment becomes this moment, but we still can't find It because we are still looking for It in the new next moment.

 

 

But if the Divine is here in this moment, then why is it not also in the next moment? Why can It only be found in this moment, and not the next?

 

Because this moment is Alive, whereas the next moment is only a shadow of Life.

 

If you want to find someone, do you find them where they are or where only their refection lies?

 

 

The Divine is Life and that Life Is Now.

 

The next moment is only a form that arises in this moment, in the Now. 

 

The next moment exists, the Divine Is.

 

The Divine is not found in that which only exists.

 

The Divine is only found in That which Is, because the Divine Is That which Is.

 

 

This moment Is, the Now Is.

 

The next moment is not.

 

The next moment is only an idea, a thought, a form, a concept.

 

The next moment is not what Is.

 

Looking for the Divine in the next moment is like looking for someone in what is only their shadow or reflection.

 

There is some relation between the person for whom you are looking and their shadow or reflection, but they are not the same.

 

Likewise, there is some relation between the Divine and the next moment, but they are not the same.

 

 

When you are in the next moment, looking for the Divine, looking for some sort of fulfillment, you are really still in this moment, in the Now, but having shrouded yourself in the form that is the next moment, the Divinity that Is Now is obscured, and so fulfillment eludes you. 

 

True fulfillment comes with finding the Divine, and Knowing yourself as That.

 

The illusion of fulfillment comes with acquiring some form, and adding that form to one's form-identity.

 

 

True fulfillment does not end.

 

The illusion of fulfillment ends almost as soon as it has begun.

 

 

When one drinks of the Real their thirst is quenched. 

 

When one drinks what is only a shadow of the Real, their thirst is unending.

 

 

It feels good to be thirsty, when one knows where the eternal Fountain lies. 

 

It does not feel good to be thirsty, when all one sees around them is a desert.

 

 

The next moment is a desert.

 

This moment, the Now, is where the eternal Fountain lies.

 

Drink from it but once and you will Know true Satisfaction and true Fulfillment.

 

 

But even having once found the Fountain and  having drank from it, you may on occasion find yourself wandering in the desert of the next moment, thirsty and in search of the Fountain that was right there, only a moment ago, but which has now vanished.

 

Just remember, if you can’t find It, it's not because It's not there; rather, it's only because you are looking for It in the wrong place, in the next moment, where It must remain hidden.

 

 

To locate the hidden Fountain just return to this moment, to the Now, and it will reappear, as if out of thin air.

 

And you will once again drink your fill.

 

 

And after drinking your fill, and having your thirst quenched, a thought will come along, like a butterfly in a field, and you may chase after it, and while chasing after it you may again wander into the desert of the next moment, and you will again become thirsty and you will turn to drink from the Fountain and it will once again seem to have disappeared.

 

Where has it gone?

 

Nowhere.

 

It remains where it always Is, in this moment, in the Now.

 

 

It is not the Fountain that has moved, it is you that has moved.

 

It is not the Fountain that has gone somewhere, it is you that has gone somewhere.

 

And where have you gone?

 

Into next moment.

 

 

The Fountain never moves, never goes anywhere.

 

It just Is, and It is always Now.

 

You don't really go anywhere either, since you also just Are, and are always Now.

 

You just think you do. You just think yourself into someplace that seems to be other than Now. 

 

 

So it is not a matter of actually returning to the Now from someplace that is actually other than Now.

 

It is just a matter of realizing that there is only Now, which can become disguised and so hidden when dressed in the apparent reality of the next moment.

 

 

Such a game Consciousness plays with Itself.

 

Peek-a-boo on a cosmic scale.

 

 

Never really any danger, never really anything wrong.

 

Just what Is, enjoying Itself.