The Christ Consciousness is Always in the Now

In this article I am going to discuss why the Christ is always in the now. I am following Master Padmasambhava’s discourse[1].

Master Padmasambhava says: «There is no past in the Christ mind, there is no future in the Christ mind. There is the now, but the now is not still stand. the now is the eternal flow (…) the river of Life»[2].

Time is a Function of Matter

For most people on earth, who experience the world through the soul vehicle- the four material bodies: identity, mental, emotional, physical- it takes time to truly grasp the Master’s words.

This is because we all begin our lives on Earth with a sense of separate identity. This was necessary because the purpose of coming to a material realm was to experience freedom.

This test is only possible if we can see more than one possibility. However, in the spiritual realm of oneness and Christ consciousness, there is only one possibility: to view reality from the perspective of Christ consciousness, where duality is impossible.

Therefore, we came to an environment designed so that we could begin to see at least two possibilities and create more.

On Earth, however, the temporary state of mind has become a permanent state of mind due to the actions and choices of most people.

The dense material plane on Earth created a delay between our choices and their results, giving rise to the illusion of time.

Most people identify so deeply with their physical form that they can no longer grasp their spiritual identity — the 'conscious you', the Christ within us. People identify with the separate self created in matter.

This has given rise to the perception of time: the past and the future. As a result, most people try to anticipate 'what could happen' and focus on what happened in the past.

This has also led to value judgements about their experiences, because the self born in matter constantly feels in danger in this world and is afraid of being hurt or dying.

How can we get out of this mess?

Spiritual Growth and Spiritual Awakening

We can achieve this by examining our inner selves and psychological processes with the guidance of our Masters. Gradually, we can disidentify from the outer self and the many selves created within the ego's structure that perceive everything through the lens of time.

The outer self always focuses on external factors, such as what should or should not happen.

However, the 'conscious you' is not bound by time because it is a formless being that originates from the spiritual realm. It can, at any moment, transcend the mortal perspective of the outer self.

When it does so, it enters the 'now', the intemporal dimension of Christ consciousness, which is neutral in relation to the external world.

Rather than focusing on changing the external conditions of the world, the Christ consciousness is focused on transcending itself.

However, the 'now' of Christ's consciousness is not to 'stand still'. Why? Because Christ is, by definition, 'self-transcendence'.

Self-transcendence is not a process that can be measured in time because time is an illusion created in matter. Self-transcendence happens in the formless core of spirit.

I know from experience that it is very difficult for any embodied being on Earth to grasp self-transcendence as something that is not a movement from one state to another, as we are used to seeing in the material world.

However, 'movement' only occurs in the material world and is a feature of matter; it does not apply to formless spirit.

That's why Master Padmasambhava says that we cannot grasp Christhood; we cannot understand it — we can only express it.

Because you see, when we try to ‘understand’ we are using the mental abilities that were created in matter, in our soul vehicle.

However, matter will never help us to understand spirit.

What we can all achieve is the experience of Christ expressing through us. This is something we can all attain and pursue.  

[1] Master Padmasambhava, Is There Past or future in the Christ Mind? Through the messenger Kim Michaels, in Being the Christ in everyday Life, 2025,  E-book

[2] Op. Cit., p. 32.