There is a power available to everyone right now.
To tap it, a shift in focus is required. The acts of a warrior are conscious, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant. Why? Because a warrior is in the present. A warrior is awake. A warrior also seeks to harmonize with existence, not fight against it—just as a warrior uses martial arts to prevent harm, not cause it.
We fool ourselves with the construct of linear time. Linear time acts as an equation to simplify the unfathomable and complex universe we function in—to narrow the field so to speak. While the equation works predictably at a certain level and is useful for managing life on planet Earth, it does not provide an understanding of the true nature of existence.
The larger truth is this: Linear time is an illusion. There is only the present moment, the now. A warrior knows this and aligns with the larger truth. The warrior resides in the now, and within the “now” the warrior acts.
Acts that flow from the now have great power. In the now, there are no such things as right and wrong, regret, second-guessing—these are intellectual judgments and mind games made in reference to a “past” or “future.” In the now, there is only a decision from the heart with a 100% commitment . . . because without past and future, there is nothing to refer to and nothing to regret. The past is a perception; the future is a projection. Both are phantoms.
In the now, all things are possible.
Recall a moment when you were truly present because the present moment was so compelling—giddy-in-love with someone equally in love with you; winning first place in a contest; hitting a home run for the first time. Really great moments override the predictable and familiar day-to-day grind, claiming your full attention because they’re so wonderful to be in. Past and future melt away from them, and intellectual judgments lose their meaning. If you have had a moment like this, you will know that while living it, you felt you could do anything. This is the truth. You can do anything. Truth and power are in the present moment, not in the past or future.
Use linear time for practical things such as scheduling a meeting or setting a goal. Then forget about it until you need it again, and pay attention to what you are doing when you are doing it.
Tips to get out of the time trap and begin tapping into the power of the present:
1. Don’t multitask unless it’s absolutely necessary.
2. Finish all tasks you start. This requires maintaining focus on the present.
3. Get out into nature as often as possible. Its primal beauty and lack of human static will help bring you into the present.
4. When making a decision, check in with your heart. If you have never done this, put your hand over your heart and ask yourself: Is this what I really want to do?
5. Do everything to the best of your ability. Not the best you could do at the time, the BEST YOU CAN DO. This sounds exhausting, but the opposite is true: It is restful to know you did your best, and it is restful to be in the now where you need to be to do your best.
6. Do something creative on a regular basis such as draw, work with clay, play the guitar, make a craft, write poetry (with no thought of outcomes)—anything creative. You don’t have to be good at it; you just have to enjoy it.
Begin now to tap into the power of being present. And don’t judge yourself—judging will bring you out of the present and into analysis of the past and worries for the future. The warrior doesn’t long to be anywhere else or to be anyone else—to do so wastes vital energy. If you wish to be someone else, become that kind of person. If you wish to be somewhere else, go there. Make it happen.
Everything is possible. You are in control of your world, and being in the present is where the power is.
