Being "In the Moment" is one of those topics that at first seems obvious, but becomes rather slippery as we ponder what that might mean.  The first and most obvious meaning is simply that our attention is on what is happening at the moment rather than focused on the past or the fantasized future.  That might well be enough to enhance our well-being; if we can be released from those uncontrollable concerns we can shed a lot of drama from our lives.  We can stop worrying about a lot of things that are in the past ("water under the bridge") and we don't have to worry too much about a future that won't turn out like we imagine in any case.  That is good, and that can be very useful and "freeing" in many ways.

However, I don't think it ends there. Being in the moment in the sense of having no past or future seems a bit like being in the moment for a dementia patient.  They can certainly be in the moment by having almost no memory of the past, especially the very recent past, but that doesn't seem to be such a  good thing.  It leaves them confused, not knowing where they are or why, often putting a visitor into the uncomfortable position of being caught in an continuous loop of "question and answer" about the same topic over and over again with no apparent resolution because the question vanishes, as do the answers - but the desire to know and communicate does not.  Being in the moment like that is not such a great thing - being in the moment as a healthy experience has to include the past and the future, but the focus of attention isn't elsewhere in time or place - it is here and now.

As I think back on those times when I really felt like I was "in the moment" and "connected" to the universe (or nature or whatever) it felt like I was experiencing with my body rather than my mind.  It seems like a whole body experience, the center of my experience seemed centered in the chest region (maybe this is why the heart is associated with feelings of love and compassion).  The feeling is of being energetically "connected" to the rest of the world rather than as being separated and independent. It is a very good feeling of being "full" of life.

This morning, while sitting in my hot tub watching the constellation Orion shining overhead, I found myself wondering if this feeling, and this point of view of being in the moment, might not be associated with an older more primitive part of our being.  I began wondering if maybe there is a part of us that is very similar to other animals where the focus of attention is more on the body and the immediate surroundings rather than upon the intellect.  I appears that these animals are conscious in some way, and memories are still there, but the memories provide advice about what actions to take based upon past experiences rather than becoming the focus of their attention.  The same situation exists for planning ahead.  We are amazed when we see evidence of animals (especially our pets) planning ahead even just a few minutes.  It appears that they normally plan for the immediate future events, but not beyond just a few minutes at most.  However, we plan ahead hours, days, months and years, with that often becoming the main focus of our mental attention. Not that this is a bad thing, its just that it appears to be beyond the capability of almost all other species. 

When meditating I often get the feeling that there are two parts to my consciousness - one is the quiet observer rooted in my body and breath, the other is the talking mind that flits about from topic to topic, leaving very little trace and seemingly coming from nowhere.  I wonder if that quiet observer might be an ancient part of our mind/brain, while the talking part has to do with the large "new brain" that makes us so different from most other animals.  Maybe "being in the moment" is an exercise of focusing our attention using the "old" part of our brain and consciousness - and therefore is much more attuned to our body and the immediate world around us.