Mark Ulyseas - In The Moment

In the moment, living cheek by jowl, with numerous numbing interactions induces one to lose oneself in a world of eternal stimuli - a castration of the mind that turns one into the personification of ‘AI’. And in this nebulous world one exists willingly entangled in an incestuous web, unlike those that prefer to break free from the savage… a savage mesmerised by the allure of social media… to seek the meaning of the Self, its existence in the menagerie of everyday mindlessness. In this seeking one changes perspectives, partners, clothes, and sometimes even country. This is good for such actions help peel away the layers of self-consciousness that wraps each of us in a selfimagined world. But this is merely the first step. Many years ago, on an isle, I had met people searching for the Self, eagerly consorting with the unknown or the forbidden in an attempt to reconcile with the all-pervading nothingness that gripped them. Alas, the intentions were right but the direction was directionless. How could one tell them that ‘direction’ is not a physical plain, a tangible thing that represents an end in itself… but that it exists in a dimension of one’s own making, where truth reigns supreme and love locks the doors to hatred and anger.

The sale of self-help books continues to rise. Perhaps this is a sign that we have taken a wrong turn even though our intentions are right. That we seek to find answers in the words of others, in the minds of others and in the directions of others, whilst, sadly, ignoring the elephant in the room… one’s own soul that extrudes a yearning to be acknowledged for its own worth and seeking to be rejuvenated by revelation and not celebration in the physical world.

In a few months another year will dawn upon us by a time of our own making…the numbers created by us to regulate our lives, to bring coherence to the ebb and flow of life and death. The futility of this regulation is apparent in the growing numbers that refuse to be governed by a time of our own making. It is heartening that the number of people attempting to break free from the tangibles of a physical world are growing every year. How wonderful this is for it gives us hope that someday we will all be free of the savage that resides within. I shall leave you now with these words of André Gide from his book, Fruits of the Earth –

“Do you think that at this precise moment you can feel to the uttermost sensation of life in all its power, completeness, and immediacy, unless you forget all that is not life? The habits of your mind hamper you; you live in the past and the future, and you perceive nothing spontaneously.

We only exist in the here and now; in this momentariness the whole past perishes before any of the future is born. Moments! You must realize the power of their presence. For each moment of our lives is essentially irreplaceable; you should learn to sink yourself in it utterly.”

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Om

Mark Ulyseas has served time in advertising as copywriter and creative director selling people things they didn’t need, a ghost writer for some years, columnist of a newspaper, a freelance journalist and photo-grapher. In 2009 he created Live Encounters Magazine, in Bali, Indonesia. It is a not for profit (adfree) free online magazine featuring leading academics, writers, poets, activists of all hues etc. from around the world. March 2016 saw the launch of its sister publication Live Encounters Poetry, which was relaunched as Live Encounters Poetry & Writing in March 2017. In February 2019 the third publication was launched, LE Children Poetry & Writing (now renamed Live Encounters Young Poets & Writers). In August 2020 the fourth publication, Live Encounters Books, was launched. He has edited, designed and produced all of Live Encounters’ 227 publications (till October 2021). Mark’s philosophy is that knowledge must be free and shared freely to empower all towards enlightenment. He is the author of three books: RAINY – My friend & Philosopher, Seductive Avatars of Maya – Anthology of Dystopian Lives and In Gethsemane: Transcripts of a Journey. https://liveencounters.net/mark-ulyseas/ https://www.amazon.com/Mark-Ulyseas/e/B01FUUQVBG