A Love walk (part 1) Hi Bruce: I tried fighting with my own thoughts all my life until recently I turned to surrender. Yes, you're right, that's the only way to go. I felt peace and calm when I chose surrender and acceptance. However, sometimes I felt a little too calm, there's no excitement, no zest, no joy and just plain no emotions. What can you make of that? That's the way it may initially seem -- but I assure you it's an errant impression created by ego's fear of permanent extinction. We are accustomed to emotional investment in outcome, the absence of such attachment is a radical perceptual shift that leaves ego with nothing to do -- don't worry, when there's rightful work to do ego will be there to do it. :-) I am trying to live here and now, but my thoughts quite often just takes off. Then what is happening "here and now" is thought just taking off. :-) At times I can catch it and brings it back to focus. But most of the time it just goes beyond control. Let it go, just observe it. Being here and now is the antithesis of "focus," it is the spontaneous absence of intent (part 2) I thought "being here and now" means "focus" on what you are doing at the moment. No, it is not the same as intentionally focusing, which is an effort of thought. It's purposely paying attention completely to whatever you are doing, so thoughts from the past or the future cannot come in and rock the boat. No, it is simply "relaxing into" the moment, effortlessly seeing that the moment is all there is. For instance, I am driving, if my thoughts wonders off which one is "here and now": pull the thoughts back and concentrate on driving or follow the thoughts which can cause danger? Noticing where your attention is, that's all that's necessary -- noticing your inattentiveness is itself attentiveness, is being in the moment, any effort to focus (on the moment or anything else) pulls you right out of the moment again, or, more accurately becomes the content of the moment! As my friend Jim Moore is fond of writing, consciousness is what it is doing -- if you are intentionally focusing then that effort comprises your moment.