Harry Moody is Director of Academic Affairs for AARP where he also publishes the “Human Values and Aging" Newsletter for AARP. Each issue is packed with astute commentaries and links to interesting and useful items about human values, spirituality and aging. Dr. Moody is no stranger to religion and spirituality. Trained as a philosopher with a lifelong interest in spirituality and religion, he has pursued a distinguished career in gerontology where among other notable contributions he has been a leader in bringing issues of spirituality to the forefront for professionals and the public. His highly acclaimed book, The Five Stages of the Soul provides a template for the spiritual journey.

In the May issue of HumanValues and Aging Moody’s quote of author Stephen Bertman about the dangers of too much emphasis on the “now moment” caught my eye. Bertman cautioned in his book Hyperculture that embracing the now could lead to irresponsible behavior in ignoring the future and not making plans for the future:

"The power of now replaces the
long term with the short term,
duration with immediacy, perma-
nence with transience, memory
with sensation, insight with
impulse,"

Indeed, Bertman is correct. But only when "now" is narrowly interpreted and becomes the ego now, not the spiritual now.

Every spiritual principle and practice can be distorted to serve personal ego needs. The spiritual now as presented by Eckhart Tolle and other spiritual teachers and mystics steps away from “me” opening up an all inclusive awareness embracing the totality reality that is the spiritual self.

In my book Escape Your Own Prison: Why We Need Spirituality And Psychology To Be Truly Free, I devote a chapter (“The Near Enemies”) to the the ego distortions of spiritual practices. I identify fourteen of the most common near enemies. These enemies of spirituality are “near” because they so closely resemble authentic practices making them clever self deceptions. The far enemies are clearly remote from spirituality – like the seven deadly sins they are easy to recognize enemies of spirituality.

How can the now moment be twisted into a self serving “me now” to become a near enemy? Here’s a quote from my book about the “now” as a near enemy:

"Being fully present in the here and now is widely considered one of the benchmarks of spiritual consciousness. We have seen that the ego thrives on the past and future with the now moment barely touched. You might even say that spiritual consciousness is “the now.” Yet even the now can be a near enemy when it is not the spiritual now but the ego version that distorts its meaning. How can “now” fall into the service of the ego?

When the now narrowly focuses on ME and my needs excluding a bigger picture, it can be strictly self-serving: “ I am fully present and want you now.” This is a young man speaking to a woman he just met. He has a strong attraction to her and wants to have a sexual relationship with her “now,” forgetting his involvement in another long-term relationship. He is convinced that his immediate desire is spiritual because he has the “courage” to feel and act NOW. Similarly, “I want to travel now” or “I want to leave my job now” may convince you that you are exemplifying spirituality by daring impulsive acts in the now moment. But a now that only serves your impulsive needs and desires and excludes a broader now is not the spiritual now but the ego version. “Now “ is more than your immediate field or momentary personal desires. Now is the totality of your existence and should encompass everything and everyone that is part of your universe. “Now” should not selectively include and exclude items solely in the service of the ego. Fully present means fully aware. Narrowly demanding what you want now because you are “fully present’ is a self serving distortion of the spiritual now—and a clever near enemy."

Thanks Harry Moody for reminding me about the near enemies—a subject that is a constant challenge along the spiritual path.

If you are interested in the free Human Values and Aging Newsletter contact Harry Moody at: hrmoody@aarp.org


(My recently published book "Escape Your Own Prison: Why We Need Spirituality and Psychology to be Truly Free" is published by Rowman and Littlefield (Oct. 2007) and is now available at Amazon.com,Barnes & Noble.com and other major book outlets.)

— — —

Bernard Starr, Ph.D., formerly professor of developmental and educational psychology at the City University of New York, now teaches “Spirituality in Film” and leads “The Spiritual Forum” at Marymount Manhattan College. In addition to his work in radio, he is a longtime contributor of commentary and opinion articles to numerous major publications. He is also the President of the Association for Spirituality and Psychotherapy and is the main United Nations representative for the Institute of Global Education that founded the Mucherla Global School in Mucherla, India. © Copyright 2008 by Bernard Starr.