Becoming Present
Before I learned to Ascend, I was almost never present. I used to go back into the past, judging and analysing things I had done. Or I would go into the future, projecting forward my ideas about what I wanted to happen.
It was like I had a remote control in my hand, and I was constantly using it to pause the movie of my life, and to scroll forwards and backwards.
I didn’t realise how attached I was to my thoughts. Nor did I see how much stress I was causing myself, or how self-violence I was.
I was always worried and indecisive. I thought very hard about every step I was taking in my life, and I made up stories about everything that might happen. I was always scared of repeating the past.
Deep in my heart, I wanted to stop the suffering. I wanted peace – constant peace. But I didn’t know where to look. I read a lot of books and everything they said resonated with me. And I practised some meditations by myself. But I knew a book wasn’t going to enlighten me, and I wasn’t going to enlighten myself. I needed a true teaching, and a teacher to guide me and help me achieve my purpose.
“Life is now more fluid and simple.”
– Osvel, Cuba
As soon as I decided to find that teaching, Ascension appeared. Then I began to experience the peace I was looking for. I began to be more present, more alive. I began to discover things that I had not seen before.
In the first week after taking the course I was walking down the main street of my town with a friend. I saw a big sign – one I’d never seen before. But my friend told me it had been there for years.
Being more present also led me to have more discernment and clarity. I could make decisions without looking back. I began to take life less seriously and stop judging myself.
I realised that I was responsible for all my actions. I was not a victim. Everything that happened in my life, however my mind saw it, was happening only so I could let go and become free.
Life is now more fluid and simple. Challenges still arise, but I experience them differently.
It becomes obvious when I'm falling back into the past or projecting forward into the future. As soon as I see that is happening, I can choose to return. Peace and acceptance prevail throughout my life.
I’ve seen that peace is a choice I can make anytime. And nothing and nobody can take it from me.
About the author:
Osvel Ponce
Osvel is from Artemisa, Cuba. He learned to Ascend in 2009. He finds Ascension exactly what he needed: A real and simple teaching.