I remember my sister returning from college with an odd sort of book by Baba Ram Dass called Remember, Be Here Now. On the blue cover was a circle with points evenly spaced around it. Lines connected each point along the circle to every other point. In the center sat a Shaker style chair drawn in the same lines as those that connected the points along the circle.
Centered along each edge was the word "Remember" and running around the circle were the words "Be Here Now". There was no punctuation so when you tried to read around the circle your mind would get tripped up and "Be Here Now" would become "Here Now Be" and "Now Be Here".
As I read the book I had a sense that the message was simple but at the same time it was beyond my ability to understand. I wrestled with every word hoping that if I pinned it down and held it long enough it would reveal its secrets.
It never happened.
Now, forty years later, I think I might have the first hint of understanding and, as I had suspected, it was not overly complex.
The secret that lay hidden in that book is, as the title says, to Be Here Now.
To put it another way, when you do something, do only that activity. Be aware of what you are doing and be present in what you are doing at every moment.
When I first read the book I thought it strange that the pictures took up more space than the words.
I now understand why.
I enjoyed this writing and believe it has something to do with my understanding that what we see as complex is of our own doing. I have a fantasy that when I sit down with my Creator some day, He/She is going to ask me, "Do you have any questions" and when I pose my questions, the answer is going to be, "Well, Thom, it's very simple."
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