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The present moment... neither here nor there...
Shoshin
No one in particularNowhere Special Veteran
KIa Ora,
Some friendly banter...:D 
...
I seem to have lost the present moment, it was here one moment then gone the next, I went back to look for it, but it was nowhere to be found, so I decided to set a trap and lie in wait for it to pass by, but it never did/does...
I'm really at a lose, I know it's here somewhere, I can sense its presence... but where ? Can somebody please help me find it ? I'll even give a reward for the one who can find it and bring it back to me right now ...
Whose up for the challenge ???
Metta Shoshin 
2
Comments
I'm still taken by that snippet I loved:
So sitting still, closed eyes, focus on the breath, calmly abiding and bringing the Mind home, know that there is no better place than 'here' and no better time than 'now.'
Can somebody please help me find it ? I'll even give a reward for the one who can find it and bring it back to me right now ...
Send me a cheque and I'll send you a moment....
Ah yes.
But when....?
No time like the present - what's the reward?
As soon as I realize it is , it is no longer. Bob
The present moment is like water in the hand, as soon as you grasp at it. It's gone. But leave it be, time stops and you have eternity.
I found it! Uh, well I just had it. It was here a moment ago...
Present moment: the breath you take in now.
By the time you breathe out, it's already gone.
You can't look for or seek out the present moment, because your always already in it..If you practice mindfulness often like everyday, the present moment will sneak up on you..The present moment will never just appear, it gradually appears over a few months if you practice often..It's your mind that has to shift, not reality!lol....remember you can't try to find enlightenment, & you can't try not trying to find it..So all you can do is practice other things that your supposed to practice, & you will find enlightenment seeks you out..That way your not trying & your not not trying, so just practice mindfulness & emotions feelings control until your mind starts shifting. :-)
@Shoshin
It is like trying to explain to a fish what water is.
It is within and without, it cradles your being and without it you would not exist.
It is not that you do not know where it is, it's that there is no where that you can be where it isn't.
Kia Ora@SpinyNorman,
The cheque's in the post, I sent it the same time I sent Jason the "What makes a Buddhist" membership cheque .
..
Metta Shoshin:)
@Shoshin
Like the goal of goalessness, or practicing for practice sake,
the present moment simply describes the sense data that is experienced free of our
conditioned responses.
we have a Radio-controlled clock in the kitchen.
For some reason, today, it had stopped, but was 'ahead of itself'; that is to say that, while the clock on my laptop showed 17 minutes past 10, the R.C clock showed 22 minutes past.
so it had automatically stopped itself, completely, to 'wait for time to catch up!'
How bizarre... once the correct time arrived, the second-hand whizzed round like a wild thing, to set itself to the 'correct, radio-controlled' seconds past.... all this took less that four seconds.... how time flies.....!
Kia Ora @federica,
When you're having in the moment fun ...
Metta Shoshin
You remind me of this boy looking for his hat.
We might not be able to aptly define what the present moment is but let us remember what is stated in "The better way to live alone" (Bhaddekaratta Sutta):
"Do not pursue the past.
Do not lose yourself in the future.
The past no longer is.
The future has yet to come.
Looking deeply at life as it is
in the very here and now,
the practitioner dwells
in stability and freedom.
We must be diligent today.
To wait until tomorrow is too late.
Death comes unexpectedly."
Have quoted it before, but it's always welcome.
Quick! Grab some duct tape! I'll hold it down and you slap the tape on it. Then we'll have this time for all time!
The moment the cheque clears... :0
Found this interesting. It's from Zen Teachings of Huang-po: The Chung-Ling Record
Seems to me he is saying don't bind yourself to any moment, not even the present one because there really is no such thing to begin with. Or that "moment" is a function of time but time is an illusion to begin with and don't bind yourself to illusions.
My take on the present moment for what it's worth, is when totally absorbed in the present moment..For example making love, or doing something you love doing..When totally engrossed with no thinking whatsoever, & your only doing..Then time from our reality or perspective wouldn't/doesn't exist, & an hour can go by in what seems like no time at all..Just like when we're sleeping, & 8 hours seems to go by in 5 mins..So when totally absorbed in it 100% & only using our senses, the past present & future are all the same, because we have nothing at all no thoughts at all by which to reference time..So if you could imagine that any thought at all that your thinking at the time, could or is affecting how you actually see things in reality (as in the quality of your sight)..That's what Iv'e noticed for myself that the less i think in general, the more everything seems to look different especially nature..Things look more defined is the best way i can explain it, like Iv'e been watching on Analog vision & have now switched to HD vision!lol..Honest truth, I'm not a BS "er".
Does not stay but there it is for what it is . . . most of us complicate or draw it into being something . . . so there it is . . . :wtf: .
You can't get here from there...Bob
When time doesn't matter?
Anticipation can be one of the best feelings.
It will be there if you don't go searching or trapping.