Many authors speak of the importance of living in the Now, being present in the moment, and being mindfully aware of the present. A popular saying capturing this is "stop and smell the roses." Richard Moss, M.D. has written several popular books on this topic, including The Mandala of Being: Discovering the Power of Awareness, (New World Library, 2007). Though disowning the title of guru, Moss is a leader of transformational information, focusing on the power of being fully present to heal emotional and psychological pain and suffering.
Moss brings a unique viewpoint to the value of living in the Now with his most recent book, Inside-Out Healing: Transforming Your Life Through the Power of Presence (Hay House, 2011). While popular authors Eckhart Tolle (The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, New World Library, 1999 ) and Jon Kabat Zin (Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life, Hyperion, 1994) focus primarily on the benefits of appreciating the present moment of now, Moss extends that benefit by advising that Now provides an opportunity for healing unnecessary emotional pain and suffering. He states that the present moment of now is the only time we can truly experience ourselves and access the body's inner wisdom and knowledge, abilities useful in overcoming fear and unnecessary suffering.
Stories Cause Emotional Pain
Moss explains that much human suffering results from the emotional pain stemming from stories we tell ourselves about the situations we experience. He indicates "...it is not what happens to you that is the problem; it is what you tell yourself and believe about what is happening that is the problem." For example, losing your job is painful and can justifiably cause concern about the impact of loss of income. Unnecessary emotional pain will compound the job loss if your mind is filled with thoughts such as these: I'm such a loser.; My dad was right when he called me a failure.; My wife will leave me and take the kids when she finds out I was laid off.; What did I do to deserve these terrible things in my life?
Moss calls these latter statements the stories we tell ourselves. These stories are always about things in the past, fears about the future, or judgments about other people or ourselves. His Mandala of Being models this, and was the title of his earlier book.
The Mandala of Being Model of Emotional Healing
In his earlier book, The Mandala of Being, Moss described a five position circular model for human awareness and thinking. The Mandala is a circle with the center being Now, the present moment—our awareness of presence. Occupying the top or twelve-o'clock position is the Future, with the Past at the bottom or six-o'clock, Me at the nine-o'clock, and You at three-o'clock.
The latter four positions of his model indicate the stories we tell ourselves about the Future, the Past, other people (You), and yourself (Me). Moss indicates all of human thinking occurs as a result of stories we tell ourselves about the past, future, you, and me. In the present moment of now, we are primarily feeling, not thinking. In fact, Moss asserts that the present moment of now defies thought. One cannot get outside of the present moment to think about it. When thought does occur, the event is already past.
Elusiveness of the Present Moment
In reflecting on parts of the book which I found difficult to follow, it struck me that these difficulties resulted from the very nature of the present moment—it defies description by words which are the tools of thought. Present moment awareness is an awareness of what is being felt—joy, sadness, pain, or pleasure. The moment of now is occupied with feelings not thoughts.
Most of us spend most of our time in places other than the present moment of now. Yet life occurs only in the Now. By spending time and energy outside of the present moment we lose the beauty and power of life in the moment. We are losing out on life itself.
There's a saying that pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. Moss's Inside-Out Healing addresses the situations when we experience inevitable physical or emotional pain and compound that pain into suffering by the ways we think about the situation—our stories.
Moss asserts that while much is written about the benefits of living in the present moment, there is little that describes specifically how to do it. He addresses this with his Mandala of Being model. Inside-Out Healing describes the process of identifying and examining the stories we tell ourselves that may be causing unnecessary emotional pain. Examples from his workshops clarify the process.
Emotional Pain is Unnecessary
The ability to think is a uniquely human ability which has resulted in great scientific advances. But depending on our thoughts alone, to the extent of identifying with our thoughts, is a mistake that contributes to human suffering through the stories our thoughts tell us about the Past, Future, others (You), and ourselves (Me).
Sources
- Richard Moss, M.D., The Mandala of Being: Discovering the Power of Awareness, New World Library, 2007
- Richard Moss, M.D., Inside-Out Healing: Transforming Your Life Through the Power of Presence, Hay House, 2011
- Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, New World Library, 1999
- Jon Kabat Zin, Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life, Hyperion, 1994
Jerry Lopper - IPPA member, business and engineering degrees. Jerry's passion for personal development shows in 5 books, hundreds of articles & ...
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