The Art of Allowing the Present Moment
It's always here. It's always there. Right in front of you. With you...beside you...around you.. in you and yet it can be incredibly hard to grasp.
Being present is defined by calm, peace and ease but it is also power.
Finding presence in life and grasping some inner calm is really all about getting in alignment with the bigger picture of you. Whether you see it as connecting to God, your higher self or source energy - whatever you call it - there is a life force greater than you that runs through you and to you, through all of us, that can only be found in the present moment. Whether you find it or not, it exists - always, in all ways. But when you do find it, there's a shift so powerful you'll never quite see things the same way again.
Food tastes better. Laughter is sweeter. Perceived problems diminish. Sex is more amazing. And life in general becomes more fulfilling because the living part of it takes on a whole new level of experience. Maybe not 100% of the time that you are living it, but even if you only find it and hold onto it for 2% of your day, the effect that this shift can have on the rest of your life is truly profound.
"Where do I find this powerful now?" is probably the most common question and of course, the greatest irony for it never leaves you. Every time you choose to be with it, it is there with you.
For myself I have learned a few techniques that really do help me be present. Although I still consider myself in Kindergarten when it comes to the school of spirituality, certain big knocks have taught me a thing or two about the power of presence and why it is so important to work on and maybe, eventually...master this skill.
1. MEDITATE - it's the only way to start. And by meditate I do mean "to sit in silence for several minutes while the observer in you does nothing but focuses on your breath and allows thoughts to ebb and flow across your mind similar to the ocean tide coming in and out. No agenda. No mantra. No plan other than to observe and release thought. Breath in and breath out. Simply allow."
start with 3min and work your way up to 15min over time
choose a comfortable but upright position so your brain doesn't think "nap time!"
focus on allowing rather resisting - thoughts will come, rather than resist, let them pass
turn off all cell phones - nothing interrupts a flow more than a text or a snapchat! The world can wait 10min for you. Trust me.. you'll be better off for it.
2. PAUSE - find pause throughout your day to just take it in. This exercise doesn't have to interrupt your schedule or take away from what you're doing or achieving - in fact, it should enhance it. But taking a moment to stop and just take in the surroundings. What can you hear? What can you smell? What is your body feeling? You may find that you need to stretch or take a deep breath. Or, you may find simply that you bear witness to your own existence.
Simply acknowledging that you are breathing and that something bigger than whatever you're currently doing is happening all around you and through you can change how you go through the rest of your whole day ( and life! ).
Sometimes when I pause it will be in the middle of a very busy work day when I need to remind myself that all this "stress" is illusory. Taking a 30 second pause has saved me more than once from making a bad business decision in frustration and it has often made me laugh out loud about something that only moments ago was making me want to pull my hair out.
3. FLOW - Find something ( or more than one !) you love to do that makes you lose track of time by getting into the flow of it. It can be something physical from hiking to biking to swimming, or can be something creative, from writing to painting to decorating. Whether it's gardening, playing an instrument or cooking, the art of losing yourself in something is another way to be present in the moment without focusing on it so what happens is that the power of presence starts to flow through you.
For example, as you focus on your garden, pulling one weed turns into pulling another, and planting one bulb can turn into pruning and tree and before you know you've lost three hours in the glory of being at one with something wonderful, connected to your source, in the flow... Not to be confused with meditation though - people will often say to me, "oh my swimming or my painting is my meditation because I stop thinking about things". While this is a form of meditating, this meditative, flow-like state where you creating or simply being is not to be confused with actual meditation and the art of silence, nothing and pure observation for Meditation is the time that we truly get to know ourselves. And, Flow is how we express ourselves in a state of alignment. And I truly believe that we all must do both in order to feel fulfilled and happy.
Great Creators, Composers, even Entrepreneurs will speak to the power of this flow - how a force can begin to work through you in ways you've never really thought possible while trying to figure it out. We all have access to this in some way - the hitch is discovering which things bring the flow through you and not judging however that may happen for you.
All of these things sound really simple to do - and they are. The trick is being conscious and self-aware of doing them. Just like making healthy eating choices, the more you do it, the better you get at it and the easier it becomes to remember to do it. But it's important to note that you don't have to buy anything or change anything about yourself to start on this journey of finding presence. It's in you always - in all ways. All you have to do is hit pause once in a while and see what happens..