Here is an excerpt from my book, Seven Steps to Inner Power:
“How do you observe? By being here, now (as we discussed in Awareness in chapter three) so that you are undistracted by thoughts of the future or the past (which don’t exist anyway). Remember we said that now is all there is; therefore, any blow coming to you, or any blow needed to strike at your opponent, can be known (or felt, or sensed) now. This foreknowledge (or ability to sense things) is the best offense and defense you can have and is the reward for being disciplined to live only in the NOW, the only reality. Thus, focusing on the present moment is truly observing reality, a skill cultivated in higher martial arts training. Certainly, to defeat an opponent, don’t you need to be in the “right place at the right time”? Remember, the only time that can happen is now.
We also observe reality when we observe the symbols of reality. Isn’t it true you often look at a photograph of a loved one when you can’t be with him or her directly? The symbol takes the place of the person’s presence.”