By Rev. Elizabeth Rowley

••KEEP••Rev. Rowley BW
Rev. Elizabeth Rowley is an independent columnist for The Atascadero News and Paso Robles Press; you can email her at revelizabeth@cccsl.org. 

Do you spend a lot of time in your head, either over-thinking, judging, analyzing, complaining, or re-hashing the self-righteousness of your frustrations with others? In so doing, you are renting your prime mental real estate to others for free! You’re also blocking the creative flow of love that Spirit wants to pour forth into your life now.

It is time to unkink your hose. When judging, you are not loving. When complaining, you cannot see the good. When over-analyzing, you get stuck in the past.
When watching CNN report the same news repeatedly, you are growing your brain’s amygdala until you’re anxious, jumpy, and on edge.

What would it be like if you were to take a backward step into the eternal, timeless presence of this moment now? I invite you to step into the nowness of the moment with me and join me in the realm of your ever-expanding good.

New Thought minister, author, and founder of the Agape International Spiritual Center in Beverly Hills, California, Michael Beckwith shared a story with me when he spoke at a special forum at the United Nations.

After the event, he left the assembly hall and got into the van when he noticed he didn’t have his cell phone. He told his wife at the time and the van driver that he needed to get that phone.

He went back to the assembly hall, where another assembly was already in session. He saw a woman speaking and knew his phone was right behind her. She said something profound, and everybody started clapping. In that break of energy, he went up on the stage, got his phone, and headed back out to the van. He told the driver,” Ok, on to JFK airport!”

They got about a mile away from JFK when he looked at the itinerary and said, “Oh, we’re supposed to be at La Guardia airport.

Oh no! We have to turn around.” The driver said, “You said JFK.” Michael said, “I know, but we’ve got to turn around, we might be able to make this flight.”

He turned around and was driving under the speed limit. Michael said, “You’re going too slow” – that’s the present moment. The driver said, “You said JFK” – that’s the past. He and his wife said, “We’ve got to get to La Guardia” – that’s the future.

They bounced back and forth between the present, past, and future. You’re going too slow (present), you said JFK (past), we’ve got to get to La Guardia (future). In between the bouncing back and forth, they’d stop to take a breath, step into the now, where there were no issues, and everything was fine.

This story is an excellent illustration of getting lost in the concept of time. Take a backward step and enter the nowness of the moment. Feel the power of Divine Love wash over you as you dwell in this realm of ever-expanding good.

And so it is.