The past is as powerless to darken the present moment as is a shadow to reach up and drag down the form that casts it.

All of life's innumerable "shake-ups, breakups, and wake-ups" take place within what we call the "present moment." This ever-open window into life--through which we see the newness of life unfolding before us--is something much, much greater than all of the individual events that pass through it to reveal it.

The Secret Inlet into the realm of what is Timeless and Eternally True is our awareness of the present moment; for our awareness of Now is not an awareness of a given time, but is vested in that Higher Consciousness through which the things of time move in and out of creation.

ED: Hi. I'm Dr. Ellen Dickstein, and I'm here with bestselling inner life author, Guy Finley. Guy, I thought that today we would talk about the present moment. It's becoming more and more popular these days for people to talk about living in the present moment, but you've been talking about this for 25 years, so let's start at the beginning: Why is the present moment so important? GF: If we...

Part I: The only way to change that which we will be, and have, in a time to come is to learn what it means to work with what we are in the present moment! Part II: Whatever you are not present to, exists...but not for you.

The perfectly present moment is both the seed of who you are and of your experience of now. And just as you can't separate who you are from your experience of now, neither can you separate now from the real moment of change. They are the same. You can't end conflict later. You can't stop being sad, or cruel, or angry, or scared, or anxious later. Later does not exist in reality. This self-created, false concept of time allows it to create yet...

When we see the truth that the more we struggle to get ahead in life, the further it seems we must go to get "there", then we will know why the wise ones teach that nothing is more profitable for us to do than attend to the present moment, and to work there to possess ourselves within it.

Here's the most important thing to remember whenever you find yourself in a mad rush: what you really want, what you're really after, is a quiet mind... a peaceable state of self reached only by realizing there is no place more empowering for you to be than in the present moment.

Revisiting one's past and living out what once was is a false light at sea that promises safe harbor, but that draws the unwary to crash upon the rocks of regret and sorrow yet to be resolved. Learn to make the present moment your personal port of call and watch how the waves of what didn't work out disappear in the perfect calm of It's sheltering Reality.

The present moment is the canvas of creation: our perception, a palette of primary colors; our actions, brush strokes -- while thought provides both background and texture. To know these things is the beginning of the artful life.

Within you is an awareness that is capable of caring about everything that's going on around you at every moment. But first you must learn to be present in the moment so you can see. The more you see, the more effortlessly you will become aware of all that is not in order.

The awareness of our living relationship with the present moment -- our willingness to consciously practice its presence -- empowers us to know what's best for us without having to think about it.