The present moment

Every single thought you could have is either centered in a remembered event, the ever flowing now, or a possible future event. It's really hard to remain in the now, and sometimes it's necessary to think about past or future events in order to learn, or plan. Do you find yourself drifting a lot between these states? I think one of the biggest problems we find in life is getting too extreme with past or future thoughts. Shit, I find myself worrying endlessly about how near-future technology might negatively impact us, when I should be right here focusing on this exact moment. How exasperating! I think a lot of us get really caught up in the past too, like exes, traumatic moments, things that unfolded in a really unfortunate way, etc. It becomes this tug-of-war, where you're trying to remain in the middle but keep "what if-ing" about one side or the other.

GoatLord said:

Shit, I find myself worrying endlessly about how near-future technology might negatively impact us, when I should be right here focusing on this exact moment.

Really? Tell us about it.

https://richarddawkins.net/2016/03/no-big-bang-quantum-equation-predicts-universe-has-no-beginning/

Speaking about time, there's a new theory that suggests that there may have not been a big bang. Rather, time is infinite in both past and future, and has always been in existence. That the Universe has no beginning, and end.

Kontra Kommando said:

https://richarddawkins.net/2016/03/no-big-bang-quantum-equation-predicts-universe-has-no-beginning/

Speaking about time, there's a new theory that suggests that there may have not been a big bang. Rather, time is infinite in both past and future, and has always been in existence. That the Universe has no beginning, and end.

Back to square one.

I've heard that too and it's interesting that a traditionally Eastern perspective on the universe is now being seriously considered by some physicists. I don't think that changes the fact that remaining in the present moment is incredibly important.

Explore meditation; anapanasati is good for learning how to confine your thoughts and attention to the present moment.

Goatlord, it might be easier to focus on things if you weren't high.

I actually have been doing pretty good with the present moment myself. Sometimes it gets really ugly when I get too caught up in what ifs.

I totally don't live in the past.

*boots up Doom*

I think people who live in the past have a problem.

*buys NES game off eBay*

GoatLord said:

like exes

Absolutely

The philosophy I live by is "living in day-tight compartments" because worrying about the past does no good because you cant change anything thats already happend, same goes for the future. Just worry about today because its impossible to live in any time but the present.

I constantly think about the future, in terms of weeks, months, and years. I focus my thoughts on meeting financial goals, and setting deadlines for them. I am fond of writing it all out on paper, pacing around while drinking coffee.

I decide what I should do for fun off the cuff.

*hits bong*

I think it's impossible to think about the present because by the time you realize you're thinking about the present, what you're actually thinking about is already in the past. Either that, or you're thinking about the "present" when you really mean the near future.

In fact the present may not exist at all, or not be something that is measurable. Think about the past and present as two regions that meet at a single point, but that point is not something that is real.

But then I realize that the division of time into past and present is completely arbitrary and only makes sense because of the way we, as humans, experience time. In fact it doesn't make any sense to think as time as a sequence of instants, where some instants can be assigned the label "past" and others "present." Instead, I think it makes the most sense to view time as something like (continuous) space, as a thing that exists all at once.

Relativity makes me even more confused. There it may not be possible to assign an order to two events that are far enough apart, as a consequence of the relativity of simultaneity.

*Hits Rockstar Energy Drink*

I live in the past, that's why I still play DooM lol.

Even if you could travel to the future or to the past, what would be there when you got there? The present moment. It's all you know or will ever know. There is no time; there is only Now.

I'm starting to see why GoatLord got the *hits blunt* thing in this forum.

Doomkid said:

I totally don't live in the past.

*boots up Doom*

I think people who live in the past have a problem.

*buys NES game off eBay*

Nailed it.

*hits wife with a racket*

Soon there will be an ennobling of truth the likes of which the galaxy has never seen. It is a sign of things to come. We are being called to explore the galaxy itself as an interface between energy and curiosity.

Have you found your vision quest?
This quest never ends. Imagine a blossoming of what could be. We must inspire ourselves and strengthen others.

Reality has always been beaming with warriors whose essences are enveloped in wisdom. We are at a crossroads of transformation and illusion. Our conversations with other travellers have led to an unfolding of ultra-quantum consciousness.

*let the bodies hit the blunt*

Kontra Kommando said:

https://richarddawkins.net/2016/03/no-big-bang-quantum-equation-predicts-universe-has-no-beginning/

Speaking about time, there's a new theory that suggests that there may have not been a big bang. Rather, time is infinite in both past and future, and has always been in existence. That the Universe has no beginning, and end.

I've heard some pretty crazy theories about time before, I love reading about this stuff. I myself like to believe that we can only experience time according to how many dimensions we have. We, 3-dimensional beings, experience time linearly, with a past and a future. Time goes forward towards the future, and what already happened is past. Simple as that.

Now, imagine we are 2 dimensional entities. Imagine that time also moves in one direction only, towards the """future""", but there's no concept of past. Everything that isn't present and future doesn't exist. It's weird, and probably impossible to rationalize in a way that we, 3D people would understand, because our brains are incapable of comprehending how a 2D enviroment, let alone time, would work.

From here you can just go crazy with your theories. What would time be like in 1 dimension? Maybe there's no past, nor future. What about 4 dimensions? Maybe past and fure happen simultaneously, independent of the present. Hell, how would time be in a 5 dimensions? Maybe past, future AND present happen at the same time! Jesus Christ, time is a fucking trip, man.