A great deal has been made by some spiritual teachers about the importance of living in "the now" as a way of achieving freedom, inner peace and states of enlightenment.

I would like to illustrate that we are living in "the now" at every point in time that is if time even exists.

For instance, everything that is happening to you is happening "right now". That includes all your experience of the so-called present, the "memories" of the so-called past and thoughts about the so-called future.

The truth is that no matter "when" you "think" you are in time it really is always happening to you at that very moment. That moment for you is your "now".

The idea that one is living "in the past" as is so often claimed of those who "refuse" to live in the present is actually totally unfounded. That is, one may be having thoughts about what is considered "a past" but those thoughts still are taking place "right now". There is really no other way.

To make it even more obvious the idea that someone could possibly be having thoughts of the past at a time that is say in the past is absolutely ludicrous since one cannot really go back into the so-called past, can one? Well at least not until someone devises a time machine or a very clever Einsteinian experiment.

Hence one cannot really "live in the past", or future for that matter, rather only in the present or in "now". So all the exhortations from astute spiritual teachers about the importance of living in the now are, in my view, completely missing the point.

The question really becomes what are you choosing to do in the now, now that you recognize that you are actually confined to it?

Well of course one can choose to either ignore what is happening or one can be fully engaged in it. To ignore it means to either go into a false and contrived reality conjured up by the mind. To be fully engaged means to be fully sensually and passionately alive. Which feels better to you?

What is the consequence of making the former choice? Well it's as simple as saying that you have chosen not to exist.

So once you recognize your options you find that your choice to "live" in the now is a) unavoidable b) desirable and c) easy to achieve.

And you probably thought all this talk about living in the now was confusingly abstract, didn't you?

Dr. Nick Arrizza is trained in Chemical Engineering, Business Management & Leadership, Medicine and Psychiatry. He is an Energy Psychiatrist, Healer, Key Note Speaker,Editor of a New Ezine Called "Spirituality And Science" (which is requesting high quality article submissions) Author of "Esteem for the Self: A Manual for Personal Transformation" (available in ebook format on his web site), Stress Management Coach, Peak Performance Coach & Energy Medicine Researcher, Specializes in Life and Executive Performance Coaching, is the Developer of a powerful new tool called the Mind Resonance Process(TM) that helps build physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well being by helping to permanently release negative beliefs, emotions, perceptions and memories. He holds live workshops, international telephone coaching sessions and international teleconference workshops on Physical. Emotional, Mental and Spiritual Well Being.

Personal Web Site: http://www.telecoaching4u.com