Between memory and imagination lies the Now, but...?

Not going to essay a quick answer here. Thoughts rumble around. I'll be back tomorrow.

Blessings.

Somebody gave me a TD for the above, How very strange.

I'm not actually sure, (((Sirius))), that I agree with your premises. Why should the Awakened state, the Now, lie between those two things? Maybe I misunderstand your meaning.

Anyway - in the normal life of the 'seeker', memory is a necessary part of the training. I need to remember to be mindful, where to place my attention, to concentrate, (sic), while meditating, all

that stuff. Are the memories of my little 'peak moments' important? Not in the grand scheme of things, perhaps, but they do serve to bolster my flagging resolve at times. Same with the scriptures and the advice I have received over the years.

Does my imagination help? Again, provided I realise that it IS imaginary, my ideas of the Awakened state can spur me on, help me to come to terms with the horrors of this world and to achieve some level of equanimity.

So I guess, at the level of illusion, memory and imagination, if properly channeled, can be useful. As tools of the ego, however, they will keep us enchained forever.

But, as I understand it, in the Awakened state, in the Now, memory and imagination tend to pull one out of the present. It's difficult, though, because we still have to live in a world where bills need paying on time, where decisions about mundane matters need to be made. Can we ever do without our mental tools completely? Probably not.

I'll stop rambling now.

EDIT,

I see. Yes, David Carse says similar things to the masters you mention, as does ACIM and other sources. It does seem that, post Awakening, life just unfurls, as it were, without any need for effort and planning. Hasn't come to my neck of the woods though. :-)

We can use what has gone before to unlock what we may hope for in the future.

From a spiritual point though, there are more things than we can ever hope to understand. Our memories are often tainted (as the past often is) and we limit our imagination to the confines of what we believe to be real and achievable. If we accept that there is more to existence then, we could look for this in the past and allow the possibilities of all into our imagination. This would bring all into the moment. This requires faith and acceptance that we will and we do have, all that we need to be all that we are.

When I was in graduate school attending a course on memory, the professor taught us an understanding of memory that changed my thinking about the world. I thought only human beings could have memories, but he taught us that even rocks showed memories, they show the history of their wear and tear. If they are examined, the rock can display its entire history, from birth to present state. Socrates said that the unexamined life is not worth living. Does that mean that we should not live without memories and imagination? Does living in the "now" mean that we should live an unexamined life? The purpose of living in the "now" is too avoid anxiety which can be the foundation for other psychological problems. Living "now" means that we should not LIVE in the past or the future, but act in the present, not without consideration of future goals or past behaviors. Even an effort to live in the "now" is a goal with the thought of the future and a look at the past; for example, how does the woman know that the clothes that she wears are are hers? She must remember that someone gave them to her.

You are what you do.

If you think, you are thinking; if you act, you are the acting; if you read, you are reading; if you're desiring, you are desire

I think, therefore I am thinking; I act, therefore I am action; I play, therefore I am playing; I observe, therefore I am observation!

There is no 'now'.

The perception of 'now' is only possible post-priori, thus 'now' is the past.

The perception of 'future' is only an extension of the past, so there is no 'future'.

Your past is not the whole/complete past.

All extensions of your past are thus not in relationship with the external world.

All movement of knowledge as thinking is a movement disconnected from relationship with the outside.

Perception of the outside is created through discrimination using your past (your knowledge).

In relationship there must be constant relaying 'to and fro', so you may adapt to the external world.

In freedom, this relationship is broken by the chatter of your own thinking.

In liberation, this freedom is expunged, dried up so that one is not disconnected from the world!

In order to notice connection or disconnection, your ego has to be free (private, disconnected).

Thus, how will you notice if you find liberation from your freedom?

You cannot grasp wind in your hand, instead you use a sail to make use of the flow of wind. If the sail is not positioned correctly, there is no power to move the boat. One has to constantly adjust the position of the sail to gain constant relationship to changing wind.

What is the place of knowledge in relationship?

To play tennis, you need to know the rules, in order to form the relationship!

How silly would it be if instead of relaying the ball back to his opponent, a tennis player played with the ball himself for 15 minutes before relaying it back to his opponent?

The world always reacts in real time; however, the psyche often machinates rather than experimenting.

Psyche wants something, so thus, it attempts always to calculate the perfect reaction, rather than instantly reacting and learning from imperfection! How can any reasoning be perfect if knowledge of the elements of the system is imperfect? All responses could be imperfect! Hence there is a 3 step process in relationship to the outside world: 1) trial, which gives rise to 2) error, which you 3) eliminate. Repetition of this process is relationship and leads to the goal. As the outside world constantly changes, relationship must continue, for instance: the previous solution may not work next time around! Thus, liberation is not a state, but a process!

Lets compare 3 conscious processes, i.e., the following: 1) Physical reaction (autonomic or programmed), e.g., reaction to touching a hot plate, or, returning a tennis ball, or, stepping out of the way of an on coming lorry; 2) Reflective thinking---where a sensory input reflects off of knowledge to generate immediate response---for instance, John tries to hit a football against a wall with desire to have the ball reflect right back to his right-foot, the ball comes back 2 feet to the right of his right-foot, thus, John repeats the task with one change (John bends his supporting knee more during the kick), and gets immediate response! John uses this process improve his technique. Reflective thinking relies upon memory (to create the goal), but not on memory to reason a perfect solution; 3) Egocentric reasoning---where a sensory input (information) motivates psychological reasoning that becomes detached from outside reality---here, the information is compared to experience (knowledge), which takes time. Time is thinking.

Action as a consequence of thinking is sometimes adequate, if the system one is trying to relate to is simple or known.

You may think you know a complex system, however, expectation from the known can lead to depression, when a complex system returns an unexpected reaction.

Without future I am dead. Being in the now has never worked for me.

Imagination gives my spiritual path direction.

Memory serves as the road map needed to avoid going in circles.

I have enjoyed a few "now" moments in my life, and suspect more are to come. Past and future thoughts are not pests but teachers who I can reference, and sometimes thoroughly enjoy.

Yes sometimes they can impede but subconsciously they are part of the "body" that have shaped my character, and for good or not, they do what they do.

I like that you call them "memory and imagination" :)

Concepts have the power to fool you, if you start to see them as seperate from yourself.