Most of the time we worry about events, both past and future, and have anxiety about them. This is the nature of mind since it either thinks about the future or about the memories of the past.

I feel that happiness and peace of mind can come if we are anchored in “now”.

“Now” is very difficult to define because by the time we get down to it is already in the past! Even, Einstein, who was the high priest of time, always remarked that we do not understood “now”. He said we understand both future and past, but it is very difficult to grasp “now”. Thus for practical purposes “now” can be defined as work in hand and living on day to day basis!

Quite a number of people feel that we need to think about the future also, since most of us live on hope. There is nothing wrong with it except this “hope thinking” should occupy a small fraction of our time and the major portion of our efforts should be given to “now”.

Being anchored in “now” is how nature evolves. It comes in equilibrium with all the forces at a given time and then the next evolutionary step takes place. This is the power of “now” since nature takes time and effort to remain anchored in that time frame. In case it cannot come in equilibrium with the given time then it branches later on into the path which can do so.

There is a great lesson for us in this. If we get anchored in “now” then by coming in equilibrium with all the forces around us we resolve the conflict and can live sustainable and happy lives.

The old saying “We will cross the bridges when we reach them”, is apt for this situation. It helps us to concentrate on the work in hand and hence allows us to be anchored in “now”.

Also if we focus on “now” then automatically the correct path is shown by nature. Even if we make a mistake (by not allowing all the forces to come into equilibrium) then when we reach the bridge we can make a decision to either cross it or not.

The reason why the power of “now” shows us the correct path is because it gives us the ability to grasp the opportunities that come our way. This happens since the direction of further progress becomes evident as all other eventualities are exhausted in being anchored in “now”. It also makes us aware of the path because when we delve deeply in the work at hand it enlightens us and gives us better sight!

The ability to anchor in “now” also prevents us from dwelling on any negative events of the past. Thus the cycle of bad memories and their consequences is forgotten or resolved. This is the genesis of peace of mind and happiness.

Nevertheless it is difficult to remain anchored in the present because the brain keeps on either dwelling on the past memories or keeps on making movies for the future. Brain is a dynamic entity and hence the energy goes in continuous production of thoughts. This is how brain chatter takes place.

The only way to stop this chatter and be anchored in “now” is to focus on the work in hand or a single thought for a long time. This is the basis of Sanyam of Patanjali Yoga darshan. When we get anchored in “now” through Sanyam then it allows our brains to function optimally and helps us to see the opportunities present at that time. Thus the whole basis of Yoga is to be anchored in now!