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By Gilbert@Soulhiker
It has become increasingly more common to come across phrases such as “being in the present moment” or “living in the now”’ especially in the personal development literature.
The concept, which has its roots in Eastern philosophies, has in recent years gained a great deal of interest in mainstream western thought through people such as Eckhart Tolle, Jon Kabat-zinn and many others.
The increasing popularity of the idea and its wide-spread use has quickly promoted its status from an esoteric concept to an abundantly used ‘power-phrase’ in the self-help arena.
But for those of you who are still pretty confused about the concept or have read it a couple of times on blogs and books but have not fully understood what’s the fuss about, I will attempt to demystify it in a few short anecdotes.
‘Living in the now’ means:
- Being aware of your present. Paying attention to your life as it unfolds in the present. Being conscious of what’s going on around you and inside you while you go through your day.
- Realizing that life only happens in the present. Past and future are only a concept. You cannot live in the past or in the future right? You only live now.
- Going beyond your stream of thoughts which always drag you to some blurry past memory or expectation about the future and wake up to the freshness of the present moment.
- Connecting with your inner space – the space or gap between your thoughts. That stillness of being that we feel when for a moment we stop identifying ourselves with our thoughts
- Living your life moment by moment. A lot of experts in time management will tell you to break down your big tasks in small manageable chunks. What they forget to say is to break them down in a way that does not distract you from your present. The size of your tasks should keep you focused on the present and not point to the future.
- Stop thinking that life will happen some other day or that your goal is round the corner. This distracts you from taking action now. I know something about this! It has been the biggest drag in my life.
- Self-talk to yourself in the present tense: “I am now writing an article”. This gives the command to your subconscious to turn its attention to the present and stop wandering about in some other place. This also prevents procrastination
- Give your immediate surroundings soft attention, a gentle recognition. Accepting whatever comes up without tension, judgment or friction. Let it be. It doesn’t mean letting things passively pass you by but on the contrary being actively yourself in the present moment.
- Being in the director’s seat. You are directing your life because you are no longer absent. You are no longer captive of your frenetic thoughts or hijacked by illusory daydreaming.
- Living life with joy and enthusiasm. Being more present and conscious in your life means doing things with better quality and with greater enthusiasm. Better decisions are taken which means your life is directed towards more positive ends.
How to get there:
- Living in the now can paradoxically be the easiest and most difficult thing to do. Being in the present is easy because you are already there. You do not need to go somewhere or do something to get there. As Jon Kabat-Zinn would say “Wherever you go there you are”. At the same time it is difficult because we are captive of our own thoughts. They are too real for us and we think there is nothing beyond thought.
- Everything starts from awareness. My motto is “Awareness is the key”. Practice your awareness. Practice it everyday and everywhere. It is easy because you can practice it anytime, anywhere without being noticed. Look around you and just be aware of something, anything. The colors, the wind, textures, sounds, smells, etc. The senses are gateways to the present. Spend some time everyday doing this. While you are on the bus, walking the dog, washing the dishes, eating your lunch. Just observe and be aware.
- Meditation is a powerful tool to practice mindfulness and being present. If you meditate, keep doing it. You already have the mind tools to be more present. If you do not meditate or do not wish to learn meditation, you can still find ways to access your inner space. Breathing is another gateway. Sometimes being conscious of two or three full breaths is enough to anchor your mind in the present. When I say conscious I mean putting your awareness on it. Feel it as if you are one with it.
- Accessing your inner space becomes progressively easier since you know where to look for it and how to enter it at the right time.
- You must know that it’s impossible to be present all the time. This should not be your goal. But it is possible to be more present by living more consciously and practicing awareness. The beginning is now. It always is!
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Really great guest post, Gilbert! Loved reading your ideas about living in the now.
Hey Gilbert
It’s a nice reminding post that breaks down the concept of living in the now.
And you’ve brought up a great point – it is both easy and difficult to be living in the now.
It is surprising sometimes to think that we are already physically living in the present, yet it is so hard for someone to be in the present moment for even more than a second! kind of scary in a way.
Anyway, nice guest post that brings up important points to an important topic in life
.
This is definitely a much-needed post… I think a lot of us who do practice present moment awareness forget that there’s a lot of people who really don’t know what that is.
Thanks for outlining it simply, for the practical methods, and for reminding us that not everyone understands this “simple yet difficult” practice!
Cheers,
Miche
Hi, Srini and Gilbert -
Great ideas!
For me, I often find myself telling myself that I must “be responsible” and do X, Y and Z before I can be allowed to “relax, slow down and smell the flowers”.
For me, living in the moment means taking time to smell the flowers even when I haven’t done everything on my “to do” list.
- Marie (Coming Out of the Trees)
@ Positively Present -
Hey Dani! thanks a lot for your comment!
@ Steven –
Hi Steven…thanks! It’s true how paradoxical the concept of ‘Living in the now’ can be. It’s such a clippery thing. You have all the time but when you try to take hold of it, it slips between your fingers!
@ Miche –
Hi Miche! Many thanks for your comments. What you said is so true. It happens with many concepts in life. From our point of view it seems as if the concept is universally understood but then we realize that it is not widespread at all but a a jargon restricted to specialized circles.
@ Marie –
Hey Marie! Good point!! Your definition of living in the moment makes a lot of sense to me. In fact that is what it’s all about. It’s about letting go of the frenetic rush to get things done and ’smell the flowers’ now. Not tomorrow, not after the job is done but now.
Gilbert,
Thanks for the guest post. I think presence is one of the most important parts of personal development. It’s an interesting challenge because personal development is about making changes to yourself in order to be a better person, and it takes time, so the person you are in the future is something you are working to become. But, in the midst of all this you have to remain in the present. I think you’ve made some great points here.
Thanks Srini!
You’re welcome
Yes good point. Personal development is in many ways forward looking since one aspires to develop and cultivate positive aspects of himself. There is always a goal and a target to reach. But this is why the concept of presence can be a dilemma for many people for they think that by abandoning themselves in the present means that they lose their aspirations and goals (which they think lie in the future).
The true realization comes when they understand that the only time you can act on a goal is now. The only time to change yourself so that results are achieved in the future is in the present. Goals do not exist in the future…this is a misconception we easily fall into…goals exist only in the present.
being in the present moment
Hi Gilbert and Srinivas.
I really enjoyed the clarity of this post – thanks for taking the time to write and post it.
You’re dead right that living in the now is the easiest and most difficult thing to do! There are so many amazing things happening for me right now I admit, staying relaxed and focused on the present is hard work some days, but thankfully, I’m getting better with practise.
Your tip to “self-talk to yourself in the present tense: “I am now writing an article” etc.” is crackin’ and seems to work for me.
Anyway guys, thanks again for all that good stuff.
Much love,
Ian.