This week on Intent, we want to hear your advice on how to be present. What can we all do right now to be fully engaged in the now, rather than worrying about the future or reliving regrets made in thepast?
Eckhart Tolle, whose entire spiritual work is based on being present, has described it as having presence. So much of Eastern philosophy is about being fully aware to what is going on in front of you instead of succumbing to the phantom fantasies of a non-existent past or future. And let’s not even go into the countless refrigerator magnets and bumper stickers that tell us to live for today and enjoy these precious moments before it’s too late. Whether you read this in a past issue of Psychology Today or an ancient Buddhist text, the big idea is this: being completely present to this moment is the key to true happiness.
Thankfully, we don’t have to go on a spiritual retreat or join a monastery to learn how to do this. It can be as simple as taking a five-minute breather when you are starting to feel overwhelmed with work. Or really making the effort to savor the nuances of your homecooked meal when you sit down to eat. Or really paying attention to the physical sensations in your arms and legs when you are doing something physically strenuous, like playing a sport or doing yoga.
This is where your expertise comes in. What helps you stay present and fully aware? Are there any particular activities, mental reminders, rituals or support groups that help you do this? We want to hear them all.
Join Intent’s mission this week to inspire others with ideas and activities that will help us stay in the present moment. Tag your blog posts "being present" and we will be featuring the best weekly content at the end of the week. If you simply want to share a quick idea in the comments below, we want to hear that as well. We can’t wait to read your contributions!
I carry a crystal in my pocket. When I feel my mind start to wander away from whatever I am doing, I clutch it, reminding myself to return to the present.
When I have a problem that is consuming my mind and time, I get constructive. This could just mean doing an extra chore or a job that has been put off for too long. I find gardening very theraputic or if it is an indoor day I might start drawing. In getting constructive I find that it allows me the time to mentally and emoionally deal with my problem whilst feeling satified that I did not waste time on it. The worst thing about a problem is that it does tend to distract us from the now and can bring out further feelings of frustration (another problem). Another productive move is to go and help someone else. I you are not feeling physically inspired come to a site like Intent.com and help with supporting our peers.
Check out my post on this site based on the talk I listened to by Thich Nhat Hanh about mindfulness and staying in the present moment. He says it much better than I can!
Great feedback, everyone! I find that starting the day early helps me stay present for the rest of the day. Looking forward to hearing more from all of you.
I think the trick is to keep an inner eye on your thoughts. When you find them either wandering or judgmental, to gently bring them back to what's happening around you, find something to appreciate or enjoy in the moment.
Creative Evolution…that rings truest to the pattern I have developed over the years. I try to be aware of my thoughts at all times…and knowing I feel best when they are centered, present, and in the flow. When they head in a path that is off my desired path, be it judgemental, self-doubting, anxious, or similar, I reroute them back to my centered place of faith, calmness and serenity. There is where I find peace and comfort. The soul, the core, the epicenter of all that is.
Dear Yumi:
Ironically, I'm on a five day spiritual retreat at a monastery this week but there is no danger of me joining up!
In my daily life, I begin early with meditation. Then, throughout the day, when I feel myself being caught up in ego, outward surface events or concern over the future or the past, I pause, close my eyes, breathe and recall who I am – Spirit, divine, sharing in the Oneness that permeates and imbues all life. These frequent time outs help me stay centered and mindful of the power and beauty of the Now.
Love, Greg
Just dont be and see what you see !
Tame our minds and hearts from wandering and wondering about the future. Remember that life is short and that all that we truly have in our hands is our today – the present – the here and now. Tomorrow has yet to come; may not even come for some. So savor.. appreciate.. enjoy.. live.. love.. work.. discover.. learn and relearn.. invent and reinvent.. laugh.. cry.. —- be the person that you are TODAY.
hi yumi and all!
for me "presence" is merely a matter of the full integration of self-
we only wobble in and out of presence when parts of our selves are in other places-
when we reside in the past-
when we reside in dependence on the effects of others-
when we reside in hopes and futures-
when we are anywhere but home in an integrated whole-
and to be whole we must become permeable to ourselves-
we must be able to freely travel in our minds eye through the barrier separating our conscious and unconscious-
with full access to a full integrated self we are naturally present- for we are never pulled anywhere but inwards and together-
no act or effort or ideology is required to ever be present-
only reconnection to self in the here and now-
and what is preventing this is pain-
global- cataclysmic- fetal- and infant- and childhood repression and trauma and deprivation-
otherwise known as the barrier between what we know- and what we dare not know-
once this psycho-emotional wall dividing our consciousnesses is safe to traverse and return-
we are always present-
and this presence is a love spring of self- and acceptance- of what is- IS
from here forward- faiths and ideal-ogies and practices are wonderful things-
but before we have grieved for the traumas which preceded even thought or language or conscious memories-
faiths and ideologies and practices simply become the next treadmill and defense mechanism-
if we fall off or stop- we're back where we started-
simply children longing for love-
the war is over- and despite the terror which is trying to block our return to integration-
we can now feel anything-
and we must feel everything-
right back to the bliss of our fetushood-
if we are ever to be present-
loving tears of coming home to all-
love roe
http://www.dear-roe-the-muse.com
Art of Living course is my answer. They really teach you very beautifully how one can be in the present moment. For those who are incapable of taking the course or are not ready yet because of any reason, I would say Breathing is the key to staying in the present.
But there are many things. Staying in present sounds very easy but really comes with much practice.
Mindfulness. For me, the difference between distracting myself and practicing mindfulness, accessing the Power of Now as Tolle would say, in one of intent. I find that if I pray (I am only learning how to pray in my 50th year on the planet) briefly, meditate then broadcast my intent to the universe I can sometimes practice true mindfulness and experience the inner peace of being present. I tried praying to/through various intermediaries and, perhaps because I was raised a Roman Catholic have discovered that I have a particular affinity to and receive the most strength/power from Lord Yahshua. Praying directly to God is especially difficult for me possibly because I can only define God by defining what God is not (like Lao Tzu
My emotions easily take me out of the present moment, especially anxiety. When I am anxious, I feel compelled to "act" in order to do something about the anxiety – send an email, make a phone call – somehow "fix" whatever I'm anxious about. Usually I can remember that I'm not present when I'm feeling this way but it is still difficult to lose the emotion. I remember something Leonard Jacobson said – "everything that exists has a right to exist" so I sit quietly with my anxiety and I let it rant and rave and just exist while I watch it. It eventually wears out and goes away and I am no longer anxious and at peace. So my key is just to remember that anytime I feel "bad," I just accept that it is there and let it sit with me.
Mindfulness. For me, the difference between distracting myself and practicing mindfulness, accessing the Power of Now as Tolle would say, in one of intent. I find that if I pray (I am only learning how to pray in my 50th year on the planet) briefly, meditate then broadcast my intent to the universe I can sometimes practice true mindfulness and experience the inner peace of being present. I tried praying to/through various intermediaries and, perhaps because I was raised a Roman Catholic have discovered that I have a particular affinity to and receive the most strength/power from Lord Yahshua. Praying directly to God is especially difficult for me possibly because I can only define God by defining what God is not (like Lao Tzu
A few years ago I was trying to work through some recurring personal issues, from my past. My husband was doing everything he could to help me to deal with (some of) these issues, and finally peacefully bury them, once and for all. I don't know if he had read this somewhere or how he came to know/hear/discover it, but when he shared this with me it was genuinely a lightbulb moment, that I had never stopped to consider before~
"When you are hungry and getting ready to prepare a meal, you don't go into the garbage you threw out yesterday to prepare your meal today~and if you desire current news and current events, you don't rely on yesterday's discarded newspaper to keep you up to date, today."
I try to remind myself of these morsels of widsom everyday. This conversation probably had as much impact on me as anything I'd ever heard/read/written in my entire life.
Being present …..now ! in this moment , are you there ?reading this present in your full concentration of mind .In simple words" Knowing what are you doing ". fully aware of the consequences of the act you are doing at this moment… in complete "awareness " i must say .The judgement is quite necessary to understand the" being present " state of here and now whether you are living in today or not.?Am I listening to people or just" hearing " what they say?because if you are living in today then you are "present" and if you fail to realise this than something is wrong with you and you must try and do something about it.
What is it that you need to know in being present ?Your consciousness!Ask your inner guide your "self" that ..am I right or wrong in the things I do?In real faith ,I mean not to cheat your self , am i not harming anybody including self directly or indirectly in this act of mine ?If you feel that you are wrong then try to change the "self " because I am not in present and this is going to give me a bad repute as I am going to do something wrong .
During my childhood I was taught in yoga that "Imagine god looking at you in each and every thing you are doing " which will be a kind of surveillance all the time preventing your conscious from doing what is bad for you.Your conscious attending this moment and justifying that I am doing this in complete faith with due permission from my mind and soul as i am being present in here and now.
The person who understands the concept of "being present " will never regret in his or her life that …." on this very moment if I die my conscious is clear and I was present all the time in that moment which I lived my life ".
Yumi….I just be..and there is no there….as you are you stay where you are…one thing is always one thing and that is where you are,,,enjoy as it is Now time for me to be present in what I call sleep(+)
Dom*