Eternity

Eternity is not a very long time. This is the most common and most consequential misunderstanding of one of the contemplative traditions' most important concepts. Eternity — in the sense the sages point to — is the timeless dimension of the present moment: the now that contains all nows, the awareness that is always here regardless of what time-bound events pass through it.

Cell Fifty-Nine places Eternity at this advanced position in the Lila because the experience of genuine timelessness — however brief — is not available to the ordinary contracted mind. It becomes available as the ego loosens its grip, as surrender deepens, as the practitioner's identification with the content of consciousness weakens and their identification with consciousness itself strengthens.

In these moments, the anxiety that arises from past regret and future worry simply dissolves, because both depend on the solidity of time for their power. The person in the eternal now is not indifferent to the past or the future — they simply see clearly that they are only ever here, and that here is sufficient. More than sufficient. Vast.

The practice: in the middle of a busy day, pause for one breath. Fully. And notice that in the space of that breath, you are entirely and only here.

In this moment, which is the only moment, I am whole.