Life in the Present Moment
As much as we may think we know what life in the present moment is like, the truth is that we have become strangers to that reality. Maybe you have had a chance to witness very small children? Have you felt how differently they flow with the experiences in each moment compared to most adults around them? The mind is not stretched into the past and the future. Only the present moment is important and it is lived with full intensity and zeal, even allowing emotions to freely flow.
We were born to live life fully in the present moment. What we have come to consider normal and natural for human life is a complete distortion of the Creator’s original intention.
We do not have to regress to childhood, but we can experience life from innocence as children do. It is not difficult to return to our birthright – to life in the present moment.
To do this is to practice Ascension. The pure thoughts rising from the Ascendant – the Ascension Attitudes – have the quality of addressing only the Now, only that which is anchored in the truth of the Ascendant. No distortion or stress is coloring the simple thoughts of Ascending. Then to live life in the Divine Presence of this present moment really becomes a matter of choice. Instead of allowing the mind to wander in the fruitless thoughts of the past and the future, of worry and fear, it is free to rest in the Now. As the mind settles into Silence our awareness is open to experience life as it is now. Not our interpretation of life colored by beliefs and past memories, but as it is unfolding directly from the Source.
The practice of Ascension is to refine our awareness to stay in the present moment permanently and to expand continuously into a greater experience of That. There is only one possible moment to practice Ascension. There is only one possible moment to experience Life. It is Now.
“Everything to be understood about the transformation of life from suffering to permanent happiness, from failure to success, from ignorance to enlightenment is to be found in the present instant of time.”
-- MSI
Nataraja Ishaya
Pada I Sutra 4, Enlightenment
At other times, the Seer identifies with the movements.
The mind is like a mirror – it reflects whatever is put before it. If the Seer is identifying with the movements, Reality is not experienced: the True Form of the Self is the Awareness of the silent,
Absolute Eternity of the present
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moment. When the mind moves, when it is out of perfect serenity and silence of the Ascendant, then the Seer sees the movements and believes the movements are the reality.
This is the structure of identification, the root of the Waking State of Consciousness. The Seer sees only what the mind presents to it. If the mind is chaotically active, the self loses the sight of its silent nature and identifies with the activity…. It is not that the self becomes the perceived object, that is impossible. The Self can never truly be out of itself. But it is possible for the individual to believe he or she is out of the Self. This happens whenever the mind is not still. At these times, the Self thinks that it is limited by space, time and causation. This is the root cause of all human suffering, mental, emotional and physical.
MSI
Question & Answer
I have been practicing Ascension for almost a week now and am already experiencing great results. It is so simple, yet so profound. I have been practicing various "self development" techniques and exercises over the years. If I dedicate myself to the practice of Ascension and continue to delve deeper in to other spheres, is this the only practice I will need? And can I finally abandon all other techniques I have used (with mixed results) to this point?
Generally speaking when a person assumes to master several different things at one time the process will be a bit slower than when he/she commits to one thing. Reason being is that the mind is juggling several tasks and ideas in order to complete the task of mastery thru experience. IF you could imagine yourself competing with someone to complete a goal to arrive at several destinations where your competitor is moving toward one destination, there might be a difference in the time it takes for you and your competitor to complete the journey.
For those who take to Ascension and commit to it with all their heart, mind, body and soul, the ability to achieve their goals is very quick.
I would have to ask: if something you have been doing is giving you mixed results, is it because of the practice or is it because of your approach? Are you committed and one pointed with the practices you have been using? If the answer is yes and you have not achieved the goals you wish to make then it's possible that the practice is insufficient to achieve your particular goals.
I find that there are many factors in approaching something, such as changing beliefs and changing goals as well as a lack of reflection in the process of assuming a direction that someone has no familiarity with.
You may have only the First Sphere, or you may have several Spheres of the Ascension Attitudes. In either case it is good if you use them all within a day with your eyes closed practice. By using all of the Attitudes that you have you will increase the momentum of your own expansion of consciousness.
If you are not able to go through all of your Attitudes in one closed eyed Ascending period, you can simply continue where you left off the next time you do eyes closed practice that day. In this way you have a greater chance to get through all of the Attitudes.
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Obviously if we knew what it was like to have complete control over our senses and direction to create, we would not be searching for a way to achieve such a goal.
So the answer is not going to be so matter of fact, for each individual is different in the way they approach goals and the way they take to instruction in both understanding and practice.
I could say for those who have learned to Ascend and have become dedicated to the practice, they find that is has proved superior to the other practices they have tried and given only partial results. But then realistically I personally don't delve into their past and what they have been doing. Why should I make a judgment about what they have been doing when I might have no experience with the techniques or processes they have been using? I can only reflect upon the approach to Ascension if I have some
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familiarity with the Student who is using Ascension and thru the interaction I would have with that person by talking about their understanding and approach.
Having applied myself to this teaching and having seen those who suffer little or no results from a lack of commitment and poor practice habits in the things they belief in or practice, I would say, that results come from those who commit themselves to an endeavor no matter what the goal is, if the goal is realistic and the method is proven.
Mahadeva Ishaya
We welcome any questions that you readers may have concerning the practice of Ascension so that they can be addressed here as part of the newsletter. You can email your questions to contact@theishayafoundation.org with the title Question & Answer? If you wish to participate in an online dialog about Ascension, we invite you to join teachers on the Ishaya Foundation Forum. Of course you can call or email us at any time for a more immediate personal response.
Multi-task Myth
Lord Chesterfield in 1740 offered the following advice to his son: “There is time enough for everything in the course of the day, if you do but one thing at once, but there is not time enough in the year, if you will do two things at a time. This steady and undissipated attention to one object, is a sure mark of a superior genius; as hurry, bustle, and agitation, are the never-failing symptoms of a weak and frivolous mind.”
I used to think that I was pretty good at multi-tasking. But, after Ascending and becoming more aware of what was actually happening around me, I found that I am not. Actually, current research seems to show the myth about multi-tasking…being good at multi-tasking is an illusion created while in the busy mode of multi-tasking!
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In 2005, the BBC reported on a research study, funded by Hewlett-Packard and conducted by the Institute of Psychiatry at the University of London, that found, “Workers distracted by e-mail and phone calls suffer a fall in IQ more than twice that found in marijuana smokers.”
- Researchers at the University of California at Irvine monitored interruptions among office workers; they found that workers took an average of twenty-five minutes to recover from interruptions such as phone calls or answering e-mail and return to their original task.
- Russell Poldrack, a psychology professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, found that “multitasking adversely affects how you learn. Even if you learn while multitasking, that learning is less flexible and more specialized, so you cannot retrieve the information as easily.” Discussing his research on National Public Radio, Poldrack warned, “We’re really built to focus. And when we force ourselves to multitask, we’re driving ourselves to perhaps be less efficient in the long run even though it sometimes feels like we’re being more efficient.”
One way to talk about being in the present moment is the art of paying attention --being available to truly listen to others as well as the still small voice inside and to become aware of the Source of All Thought. These cannot be accomplished when one is pulled in many directions at the same time.
However, it is normal for minds in the waking state to wander aimlessly through 100,000 thoughts per day. These thoughts are random or reactionary to the environment. So, few minds are accustomed to being one-pointed.
In Ascension! MSI said, “The mind can be trained to think one-pointedly, or it can continue to think as most human minds think, in conflict and diversity. Ascension’s simple suggestion is that this process of re-training is not only effortless but easy, completely natural and extremely quick. Part of the secret is to charm the mind during every phase of this transformation.” The simple, regular practice of charming the mind to rest using “The Art of Ascension” is all that is required to experience our heritage of Infinite Awareness, to gain true freedom, and to live life spontaneously. It becomes easier and easier to experience the love around us and to love more deeply. Life unfolds in perfection.
Jyoti Ishaya
Here and Now
“Here Now” is the only place you will find happiness, peace, joy, and the Ascendant Source Itself, which is the only complete fulfillment possible. There is no place to go to be Here Now. It is simply a choice.
The Art of Ascension is a precious gift to each of us from the Ascendant Itself. It takes us directly back into the Ascendant/Source to Here Now each time we think an Attitude, whether we consciously experience it or not. Remember that belief is not necessary, nor required. The Art of Ascension is a scientific mechanical series of techniques, the Perfect Prayer, absolute statements of Truth that work automatically. All one has to do is the regular Practice of it…….simply, easily, naturally.
Rather than allow yourself to be caught by the sorrows and snares of yesterday and the promises of tomorrow, which are nothing other than illusionary thoughts keeping you from being Here Now, make the constant choice to think an Ascension Attitude, eyes open and eyes closed. The more you do this the more you will naturally create the habit of living in the present and be fully available for what it is offering you, in Praise, Gratitude, Love & Compassion.
Nandisvara Ishaya
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This is the 58th edition of the Ishaya Foundation newsletter.
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