To be truly free from the stresses of the world, you must learn to live in the present moment. What I mean is to live consciously aware of this present moment. Remember the grade school roster where the teacher would alphabetically scroll down the list of classmates; Say his name and wait for everyone to respond with “Present.” If no gift was heard, everyone knew that the person was simply not there. Now imagine roll call and your name is called but you don’t hear it because you’re looking out the window dreaming about the fight you had yesterday at recess. When the teacher said his name, “Present” was not heard. You weren’t really there; aware or aware.
If you want to feel peace, calm, amazing clarity, grounded, grateful and happy; then you must let go of the past, stop worrying about the future and be aware of what is happening around you right now, in this present moment.
This may sound easy at first, but it will take a lot of effort to change this habit for good. Every day, the world throws a ton of garbage at us as our fears, frustrations, worries and stress are ready to distract us, confuse us and take us away from enjoying the present. The good news is that once you learn to master the present, you won’t believe you could have lived any other way.
Do you want to try a new way of life by learning to live in the moment? It is well said that “if you want something new, then you should do something you have never done before”
I am going to share my personal method of how I learned to truly master life in the present moment.
First, let us prepare by recognizing that we must set aside all expectations and any preconceived results. For this I want you to seize this principle. Think happy and grateful; no matter what happens with any outcome, know that all things are working for your good, you are loved, you are not alone and all is well. Yeah, I know that sounds like a Saturday Night Live, Stuart Smiley, “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and I lost it, people like me” thing.
Seriously, most of our disappointments, constant thoughts, fears, and worries are rooted in our egos trying to micromanage the world and control everything in it. So let go a bit and try to let life happen for once. Don’t worry about the future, understand the fact that you will never have to worry about a place to live, the clothes you wear, and the food to eat. You can trust a higher power that your basic needs will be met no matter what you do. From this security, let go of your controlling ego that continues to fight and fight against what is really best for you.
I’m going to share an antidote. I don’t remember where I heard it, but I think it’s an appropriate example to illustrate my point.
There is a story of two friends who live in the country a few miles from the city. Life on the farm doesn’t seem to match all the dreams swirling around in their heads. They each hear about a job opportunity in the nearby town and decide to travel several miles together for their scheduled interviews. Since they must travel on foot, it is agreed that a short cut along the river will save much time on the journey.
As they walk along the river, a deluge of water inundates them both in the raging river. One of the friends fights and fights against the powerful force of fast moving water. He desperately thinks in his mind, if I can get back to shore, where he was, everything will be fine. In his struggle to fight the river as he tries to move towards the shore, he is defeated and dies.
The other friend, being swept into the river, immediately regains his composure, relaxes, turns around, and allows the water to naturally push him into the center of the raging current. He takes a wild rapid, face up, floats down the turbulent river. A sharp bend in the river forces the water and him to roll towards the river bank. He recovers, looks around him and realizes that he is only a few hundred feet from the same business where he has the job interview.
Alright here we go. It’s time to learn to enjoy living in the present moment with these six important steps.
1. Yoga and meditation
You must exercise both the Body and the Mind. Nothing does this more effectively than the healing properties of Yoga and Meditation. The whole approach to meditation is a tool to help you live in the present moment. It will help you find the answers within yourself as you begin to accept things as they are. Meditation takes some time to master, you can learn to be still and the more you practice it, the easier and stronger the influence it will have on your personal serenity.
Yoga will help your body prepare for meditation by relaxing your muscles and increasing circulation. This will help you quiet your mind and enjoy the stillness. The easiest way to turn your mind off is to focus on your breathing. With each exhalation, work to release any thoughts and emotions that keep coming up.
2. Nature- Those tree lovers really are on to something.
You really should take the time to reacquaint yourself with nature. The beauty and serenity offered by stopping to smell the roses will have an amazing therapeutic effect. It is often said that you can visit the gentle “Spirit of God” any time you wish in the stillness of a forest. You may want to just take a walk or sit under the shade of a tree in the park. Whichever way you choose, if you want to experience the sensation of being in the present moment, nothing will make it easier for you than a peaceful encounter with the energy of nature.
3. The past – it’s so yesterday that you have to deal with it, because “it’s over.”
If you really want to feel better about yourself, all you have to do is learn to accept past situations and relationships. Trust me, you will feel much better once you learn this. I know it’s hard, but come on, there’s nothing you can do to change the past. So stop thinking about it and accept it. The only thing that will bring the past into your present is to cloud and confuse your current thoughts. This has no value, joy or peace to you and will only make it more difficult for you to focus on this present moment.
When thoughts from the past arise, learn to accept them for what they were, allow those old emotions to wash over you, then return to the present moment and leave the regret and grievance behind.
4. The Future – Back to the future, over and over, please!
What day has a man added to his life by worrying? None! I think Jesus said that. So now, in order to continue our journey to live in the present moment, we will need to accept the future. Since he thought it over and over in his head, he must realize that he has no idea what’s going to happen, and of course worrying about it won’t make any difference.
At this point, I want you to agree with yourself that you will not waste another day going over and over again every possible outcome and option of what or why you should or shouldn’t. Enough of “What am I going to do?” How do you know if you’re going in the right direction when you’re not even moving? If you can stop worrying, endlessly analyzing and reflecting, you’ll find that you have more time to do something about it!
5. Enjoy the ride, because living in the now is really about “Awareness”.
Consciousness really only needs two friends; their names are “Grateful” and “Happy”. It is very important that you become aware. You need to start by having gratitude for all the wonderful relationships and things in your life. The feeling of being grateful will immediately give you a more positive and happy outlook. Being mindful is being very attentive paying attention to what you are doing in the present moment.
I want you to consider some chores like washing dishes or washing dishes not as just another mundane chore. In order for you to fully experience this activity it is important to do it with an open mind. Allow all your senses to open up to what you are doing. You may experience an incredible positive feeling that you didn’t even know existed.
6. Finally, to relax you must remember to breathe.
The only way to achieve mindful living in the moment is to maintain a relaxed attitude.
I want you to consider that there is your ego mind and your true higher self, both fighting for control of your thoughts. Now just allow your higher self to watch as your ego mind generates strange thoughts and fears everywhere. Your higher self can reconnect you with the present moment, if you maintain the insight to notice when your thoughts are getting out of control.
This can be most easily accomplished with a consistent meditative practice. You can use a simple breathing exercise to help you calm down and relax, if meditation is not appropriate. First pay attention to your breathing. Take slow, deep breaths, drawing air out of your stomach. Allow the thoughts to flow through you as you remind yourself that in this present moment, the past and future simply do not exist.
If you can successfully be in the present moment during the scheduled relaxation periods of the day, then you can extend this new awareness to the other parts of your day. As you become more and more comfortable spending time in the present, you will begin to notice that a better and more fulfilling life is waiting for you to enjoy.
Want to learn the rest of the story? Natural techniques to relieve stress
