Nondual Zen Article:

Ruling Over Time

nondual title

Ruling Over Time
by Kathleen Sutherland

Living in the now, there is no need for patience. Now is like a bridge over the river of events. We stand on the bridge and watch the events flow by, we see future events coming, the past events behind us. Mesmerized by their flow, we think that we are moving, that time is moving, that we are moving through time. But time is static, always now. We stand at that fixed point on the bridge. Change creates the illusion of movement. But we are always here and always in the now.

You have infinite patience, once you realize that you cannot move into the future. Remain stationary and the future will come to you. It will bring you all that is slated to arrive. But that won't make much difference. You will still be who you are, where you are and in this eternal moment.

With no movement of time, I notice that all experience is of equal interest and value to me. Pleasant, then unpleasant, it plays dark and light. I follow it all, I learn from it all. But ultimately I'm more interested in the one who experiences than the experience. That one is always the same. That one is worthy of my focus. All the rest is changing, and just when I seem to get a grasp on any of it, it slips away.

But I am steadfast and reliable. I am the one who is always watching, experiencing, and never changing. If I truly see the seer, then I no longer need try to understand or keep up with the ever changing scene, the ever changing "seen." It's just my dream.

My dream is only interesting in what it reveals about me. In itself, it is only symbols and images. Likewise, this seemingly real world is only of value in what it reveals about Me. For so long we have studied the multiplicity in attempts to understand the One. Turn your gaze back toward yourself, instead.

Be still, and know that I am God. "Be still" means to be quiet and to remain in one place. It also means to remain in one moment - this one.

Let the events flow, knowing that you never move. You won't be carried into the future. It will be presented to you, in its perfect course. It comes to you, like a subject to a king or queen, never you to it. Your eminence need never move, need never make the slightest effort. For you are the supreme, ruling over even time.