The Now as a Portal: Returning from Illusion to Essence

ANAND BHUSHAN
Jul 23
4 min read

Everyone Talks About the Now — But Few Live It

We hear it everywhere.

"Live in the present."

"Be mindful."

"Now is all you have."

And yet, in our hyper-connected, digitally distracted, AI-saturated lives — what does that really mean?

We scroll, we stress, we plan, we compare.

Even when we meditate, our minds wander.

Even when we pause, we secretly chase an outcome.

So let's ask honestly:

What is the Now?

And why is it so hard to live in it?

The Now Is Not Just a Moment — It Is a Dimension

Most people think of “now” as a fleeting second — a tick on the clock.

But that’s not the real now.

The real Now is not a time.

It’s a state of being — a portal into a deeper layer of reality.

In my journey of 50+ years, through meditation, Vedic study, and deep introspection, I created a simple three-layer model to understand this:

My Universal Visualization Model (UVM):

Layer	Description	Experience
Layer 1	Pure Stillness / Infinite Consciousness	Silent, eternal awareness – the Source
Layer 2	Vibrational Field / Creative Now	Flowing, energetic presence – Shakti in motion
Layer 3	Manifested Reality	Physical forms, mental patterns, ego, time, memory

The Now lives in Layer 2 — between the timeless source and the world of time.

So when we say “live in the now,” we’re actually saying:

“Return from the illusion of thought (Layer 3), to the field of Presence (Layer 2), and occasionally glimpse the silent Source (Layer 1).”

Why Living in the Now Feels Impossible Today

The modern world is built to steal your Now. Literally.

We live in:

A world of dopamine-triggering apps
Endless newsfeeds designed to hook your attention
AI tools that finish your sentences
Schools that reward memory, not presence
Work that demands output, not awareness

Your consciousness is constantly pulled outward.

Your time is chopped into notifications.

Your identity is shaped by data.

The Now has become fragmented — not because it disappeared, but because we’re rarely with ourselves anymore.

The Ego Lives in Time — The Soul Lives in Now

Let’s go deeper.

Why is it so hard to stay present?

Because the ego, the “I” you think you are, is built on mental time:

Past: "This is who I’ve been…"
Future: "This is who I want to become…"

But your soul — your deepest Self — exists only now.

It doesn’t remember. It doesn’t plan.

It simply is.

That’s why presence feels so light, peaceful, and healing —

Because it’s the real you, free of story.

From UVM Perspective:

Function	Layer
Ego’s memory & planning	Layer 3 (Mind-constructed time)
Presence & flow	Layer 2 (Now as vibration)
Silent witnessing	Layer 1 (Conscious stillness)

The Spiritual Science of Now (Shiva & Shakti Within)

In Sanatan wisdom, this “Now” is symbolized beautifully.

Shiva represents eternal awareness — the still, unchanging witness (Layer 1)
Shakti is the dynamic creative flow — the active Now, the dance of life (Layer 2)
The world of karma and illusion (Maya) belongs to Layer 3 — where time, ego, and suffering live.

So, when you live in the Now:

You're allowing Shakti to move through you, while remaining rooted in Shiva's stillness.

This is not passive. This is embodied aliveness.

AI, Synthetic Thoughts, and the Urgency of Inner Anchoring

Let’s be real.We’re entering an age where even our thoughts are being outsourced.

LLMs and AI tools now:

Finish our emails
Write our songs
Simulate conversations

So what happens to you, when your words are not your own?

We are at risk of becoming synthetic reflections, losing the essence that makes us human:

Presence. Awareness. Inner truth.

“In a world where machines speak, your only real voice is the one that arises from silence.”

The Body and Nature Are Already in the Now

You don’t need an app to be present.

You just need to return to your body.

Feel your breath
Listen to birds
Touch a tree
Watch clouds drift
Taste water as if for the first time

Your body is not in yesterday.Nature is not planning tomorrow.They are already fully now.

Let them teach you.

From Individual Now to Collective Presence

Chopra’s article focuses on the individual — but in today’s world, we must go beyond.

We need to build shared presence:

Sit in silence with loved ones
Eat slowly with family
Have real eye-contact conversations
Create mindful schools, workplaces, and communities

“When two or more people become present together, a field of sacred energy is born.”

This is where the Now becomes a collective power — not just a private escape.

Practical Tools to Return to the Now

Let’s summarize some practical, grounded ways to live in the Now:

Practice	Description
Micro-pauses	Take 5 conscious breaths before a meeting or meal
Tech rituals	Put your phone in airplane mode 1 hour daily
Body scan	Notice your toes to your scalp without judgment
Nature moments	10 minutes outside, fully sensing
Slow eating	Eat with no devices — just taste
Inner dialog pause	Watch your thoughts as clouds — don’t follow