How long does the present moment now last for in time?

[Holygrail]

Doesnt it seem like the present moment doesnt even last for one second? Almost as if the present moment doesnt even last a .00000001 of a second. Like it's turning into the past instantaneously and like it never even occurred in the present.

Edited May 12, 2021 by Holygrail

[ivankiss]

In that sense; the past, present and future are all fused to One. And that's Now.

You cannot measure where it begins or ends. It's infinite and forever.

[Holygrail]

2 minutes ago, ivankiss said:

In that sense; the past, present and future are all fused to One. And that's Now.

You cannot measure where it begins or ends. It's infinite and forever.

such a mindblowing epiphany. just wow

[Dodo]

1 hour ago, Holygrail said:

Doesnt it seem like the present moment doesnt even last for one second? Almost as if the present moment doesnt even last a .00000001 of a second. Like it's turning into the past instantaneously and like it never even occurred in the present.

Great question,  present moment is not in time or could say it lasts 0 seconds from time's point of view. 

What you're saying that never even occurred in the present is a memory that you are experiencing now, in the present moment. 

Now is a continuous space, now, in which you can access memory (past) and imagination (future), as seen from direct experience, you are never not in that space of now - you can verify this.

It is only the you that you access through memory and imagination that is ever in the past or future and that is the ego.

This is the meaning behind the words "You are always here now"

TLDR: For the Ego there is only time and no now; For the actual You there is only now and no time.

Edited May 12, 2021 by Dodo

[wesyasz]

In Sanskrit, there is a word for a present moment, which is kṣaṇa and it lasts 0,013333 of a second, which as far as I know is believed that we are coming and going in and out each "static" moment and that one "now" must die for another "now", yet each of this now consists of past and future too.

[GreenWoods]

What I don't get is how motion works (motion which is happening right now). Motion means that one appearance is changing into another appearance. How is such a change possible, given that past and future are imaginary?

Any ideas?

(My best guess is that motion is not one appearance changing into another appearance. Rather, there is one appearance which appears like there is one appearance changing into another apperance. But that is just an illsuion. There is actually just one appearance. 'Motion' is one appearance. But I'm not sure, it's mindfucking me.)

[Jonty]

@GreenWoods My difficulty with this was that in the back of my mind I still had a belief that motion was happening in time. When I inspected my belief I saw that time was always part of any theory I came up with, albeit in the background. If you see clearly that time is a total mental construct you realise that there is no other option but that the shape shifting IS taking place, its just not happening in time. This moment is eternal. 

Its so ingrained into us that there is time and space that we have enormous difficulty shaking it off. Its part of our sub conscious for want of a better phrase. 

I found the best way to understand is by simply imagining a world where thought doesn't exist. It seems silly, but it works wonders for me. It's then easy to see through so many things. 

We still perceive the shape shifting, but then to call it motion would be a step too far. In fact, to even consider the problem of understanding this as an issue at all is a step too far! Thought on thought on thought........ 

Rupert Spira has a great episode on this. I'll try to find it. ?

Edited May 12, 2021 by Jonty

[Jonty]

@GreenWoods

[Someone here]

Exactly. Since reality is constantly changing. There isn't a present moment because that assumes a static point of time. 

[The0Self]

"moment" is merely a construct.

There is only what appears and doesn't appear.

Try to stay in the present moment (the now) -- now realize this is madness, since there is only now. It's effortless -- there's nowhere else.

[ivankiss]

@The0Self Yup. Very nice and simple.

[SolarWarden]

@GreenWoods You might look into the Absolute.

At least by some occultists it Itself is eternal motion and infinite space. Also ceaseless duration is also said to be it's attribute. 

[Tim R]

 @Holygrail The present moment doesn't "last".

"It" doesn't begin or end. Thus, it's in-finite. It is eternity. 

 

@GreenWoods

8 hours ago, GreenWoods said:

What I don't get is how motion works

"Motion" is an illusion created by memory. It's the idea that there is something continuous that goes along in the course of time. But there is only what is. 

Motion - Stillness

That's a duality. When does a thing move and when does it not move? There's no difference. The boundary is imaginary. 

Nothing moves. But equally, nothing rests.

[GreenWoods]

Thanks for the replies!

 

 

I did some more observation.

Motion and the fact that time is an illusion seemed contradictory. I wasn't able to make sense of it.

The normal understanding of motion is that it consists of many appearances happening after each other, like many screenshots. The motion of going up 10 stair steps consists of going up the first step, then the second,... But this hinches on time being real. Time is an illusion and yet there is motion.

If the present moment consisted of only one 'screenshot' (for example the 5th staircase), there would not be the appearance of motion. It would be static. Memory could give the belief of motion, but the actual 'perception ' would be static. But it is not static. This might suggest that we are conscious of several screenshots at once. But that is obviously not the case either.

The solution is that motion doesn't work the way it is generally thought of. Motion doesn't consist of several 'screenshots'. That is just the story invented to make sense of it.

In the first post I was on the right track. Motion is one appearance. 

It seems like the motion (which is happening in this instant), starts at A and ends at B, which suggest several screenshots and thus time. But it is only one appearance, one screenshot, which is structured in such a way, that it is interpreted by the mind to consist of several screenshots happening after each other. There is content in this now moment, and that is what exists. But it is one appearance, not many. Motion consists of one appearance. The mind says it consists of several. But you are conscious of only this right now. There is nothing behind the scenes. If there is motion right now, then there is motion right now. And if you are not conscious of several successive steps, then there aren't any. 

 

If you think this post is mental masturbation, you are probably right.  

If I just merge into pure Oneness, such 'problems' with how motion works don't arise. And 'I' do that often enough, but there is also a place for understanding, and this particular issue, I seem to only understand with a lot of active contemplation (and observation of course).

[SolarWarden]

The cosmic motion that is subject to perception is finite and periodical. The intra cosmic motion should be eternal and ceaseless. 

Maybe it either moves so fast or so slow that it appears to the finite mind as "stillness".

[EternalForest]

We measure time in seconds, so to us, this second is the present moment. If we measure time in some other fashion, it would be different. Time flies when you're having fun. Waiting in line feels like an eternity. So are we moving through time, or is time moving through us, with our own notions of what each unit represents?

[Dodo]

25 minutes ago, EternalForest said:

We measure time in seconds, so to us, this second is the present moment. If we measure time in some other fashion, it would be different. Time flies when you're having fun. Waiting in line feels like an eternity. So are we moving through time, or is time moving through us, with our own notions of what each unit represents?

Yeah but we are all moving with the same "speed" through time really because we always end up at the same now with everybody else.. So its really 2 options: Either we move at the same speed through time OR there is no time, just the now and time is a projection.

I think the second option is the right one, because I find it hard to believe that 7b people are able to all move with the same speed through time without a bug for millenia ... More like there is no speed through time cause it is just an illusory concept in the eternal now. Kind of prooves it.

Edited May 13, 2021 by Dodo

[LastThursday]

On 12/05/2021 at 10:45 AM, Holygrail said:

Like it's turning into the past instantaneously and like it never even occurred in the present.

If it never occurred is it all illusion? We're in a dream of nothingness where nothing happens.

[The0Self]

3 hours ago, LastThursday said:

If it never occurred is it all illusion? We're in a dream of nothingness where nothing happens.

"You" are the dream.

[LastThursday]

1 hour ago, The0Self said:

"You" are the dream.

Am I? Oh.