Tags
authenticity, happiness, People, philosophy, Present, psychology, spirituality, the present moment
I can see in my own life now and in the past, that I am rarely fully in the present moment. My thoughts have been on the future worrying about a possible future event or in the past thinking about a past story that happened. There have been occasions in my life that I have been fully happy when I have been fully present.
They say the moment you become aware that you are not present, that you become present. It seems to be a sign of our times that we are constantly living in the future and the past. Imagine living a life where you have never been in the present moment….would you say that you have lived?
Stress seems to be a very common part of people’s lives in today’s society. Many of the diseases that we speak of today are a result of stress that is in our minds and our bodies. When we are fully in the present moment, it is impossible to be stressed. Stress is created from futurizing (imaging the future in a negative way) or pasturising (living in the past).
If we continue to live in a way that we are not fully present, we never reach a place whereby we are experiencing the fullness and richness of life. We could come to a place or a time in our lives that life has passed us by.
Many people, myself included use various methods to escape their current reality or present moment. These can range from working too much, drinking alcohol, eating excessively, using the internet….all these things are just temporary fixes however they never really help us to be in a place where we are fully in the present moment.
There are many benefits to living in the present moment such as being happier in ourselves, enjoying life more, having less stress, having increased energy and feeling more connected with ourselves and others.
Here are a few guidelines in how we can be more present in our lives;
* Practice meditation on a daily basis.
* Become aware of when we are not present.
* Breathe deeply into our stomach.
* Say YES to where we you are right now.
* Do things that you enjoy and allow you to become present such as singing, dancing, playing music…..
* Walk in nature and become aware of the beauty that’s there.
As always I would love to hear any thoughts, feedback or words of wisdom or inspiration that you may have.
Namaste.
~ TW
The Truth Warrior 
Tw, thank you so much for your post. I guess we all do this and I have found that meditating brings me back to where I stand and learning to let go of anxiety about things long past that cannot be changed or things yet to happen that I can’t control it’s outcome. I imagine is my controlling nature…sometimes she. I get ‘crazy’ a single, intentional deep breathe does it and it brings me right back where I am and exercising gratitude reminds me that here and now is all that I truly have. What a great way to start a weekend!
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Hi. Thanks so much for sharing your inspiring and honest comment. Namaste. ~ TW
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Your thoughts parallel my own on so many levels. Being present is my ideal state of being. The other day I was reading and it came to me that not only being present but doing in the present with that mind set can be amazingly motivating. Ok example. I can be in the present moment, but how actively do I stay present as difficulties arise? I am practicing dealing with these difficulties without relying on past input or future fears. If I focus on the problem and its possible solutions without attaching to the way it has always been done or becoming paralyzed with fear of what may happen, I just may see progress. One moment at a time. Thugs rje!
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Thanks for sharing. I really love what you said. Thats all we can ever do is just one moment at a time. Namaste. ~ TW
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Great post! Thanks for the reminder to be in the present and live for today, more specifically…now!
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You are very welcome. Namaste. ~ TW
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I agree about living in the now – all so true – but in that obsession one should never forget that a transient flower is based on knarled rooting which is not so transient – our past then is equally important, so also our memories our dear departed, our ancestors, our ancestry, our history. I agree that the unreal future is not on that same plane but the past IS
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Thank you for sharing. Namaste. ~ TW
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I am unsettled by the idea of obsessing about being present. Being present is my natural state. I can never be anywhere else really, but I do try to raise my awareness of what is happening in the present. It may be that I am spending time flipping through photo albums and remembering my parents and othe loved ones, or a particularly lovely vacation. I do not exist there. I exist now, but not obsessively. That’s just the way I see life. I try to address obsessions and find balance in the process. Does that make sense?
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Yes it makes perfect sense. Its all about being here right now. Namaste. ~ TW
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“a transient flower is based on knarled rooting which is not so transient – our past then is equally important” (Rathore 10/26/2013, above). The 12-step Big Book, “Alcoholics Anonomous” (1939) has a good explication of the present as opposed to past or future, which are in fact inaccessible to direct human experience. However, there is a history attached to the present state–it is how the present came to be as it is. And it may not be such an ideal past. But it is probably not something that can be meditated away very easily. The natural world is beautiful, but also unforgiving. I think that being O.K. with those two facts is an advance toward maturity.
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I really like what you said. Very wise words. Thanks for sharing. Namaste. ~ TW
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so with it, the words are home runs, i have often been in the zone only to find others attempting to take me to their reality, and it’s the road to confusion as they say and chaos, those who thought they controlled us, have enjoyed pulling our strings as they say, well, i think as Bob says, times they are a changing, all i need is a job..thanks
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You are very welcome. Times sure are a changing. Namaste. ~ TW
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the great news is that we are learning to love again, the world is wiser i hope, but it’s not so easy for those in the front line, thanks for the encouragement
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You are welcome 🙂 ~ TW
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Wow! Thank you for sharing. Over the last several months I have been blessed with somewhat of a second chance at life. Changes had to be made and they had to start with me. At 45 years old I had spent my entire life defining who I was by the way others saw me. I spent an enormous amount of time dwelling on the past and planning for the future. Planning outcomes which today I realize were out of my control. I wasted the present. Never truly being in the moment or recognizing that right here right now life is good.
Today I wake up every morning and spend some time with the God of my understanding and meditating. I practice taking that deep breath you spoke of and simply knowing for that moment everything is ok until it’s not.
Life doesn’t stop coming at you, so to speak. Drama, chaos, constant change. But once I learned how to live Just For Today, one day at a time, things seems so much more manageable and less stressful.
Understanding and finding a balance between what and who I do and do not have control over made a major difference for me. Accepting the past and dealing with resentments also helped tremendously.
I am finding that if I choose to be honest with myself and others I dump unrealistic expectations that cause nothing but pain and disappointment.
I choose to live today to the best of my ability. I choose to really take that moment and see the true wonder of all the little things in life that I so often took for granted.
It’s hard work and of course there are days that I fall back into living the same old way as before but as long as I am able to stop for a second, gather perspective and move on at the end of the day I have truly lived! Then I start all over again when I wake up.
Changing such old patterns of living and thinking and doing is a constant effort but well worth it. So may I suggest start with “just for today I will…”
I have been doing this and when I take a few minutes to look back and take inventory I find that my life is more rewarding, less chaotic and definitely more enjoyable than ever before. I find myself alone and smiling. The difference now is that I know why I’m smiling. I’m doing the things I’ve always dreamed of, I’m truly present for this journey I am taking through life and most of all I’m OK with being me, as a matter fact, being me is pretty damn cool!
P. S. I like the phrase.. “If you have one foot in the present and the other in the past then you’re pissing all over the present!”
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Thanks so much for your inspiring and honest words. What you said really resonated with me. Thanks for sharing. Namaste. TW
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Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful inspiring and thought provoking post. I really love what you said; “If you have one foot in the present and the other in the past then you’re pissing all over the present!” Namaste. ~ TW
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Very good!
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Thanks 🙂 Namaste. TW
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Staying present is a challenge sometimes yet the benefits are obvious when I manage it when dealing with stressful moments. The challenge for me is that it takes presence to remember to be present. 🙂
Regular reminders help. Thanks.
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You are very welcome. Best of luck with your journey. Namaste. ~ TW
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Thanks for the tips, you covered the important ones 🙂
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You are welcome 🙂 Namaste. ~ TW
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They say the moment you become aware that you are not present, that you become present. Both profound and true! I try to be present in even the most mundane tasks like washing dishes and doing laundry. It improves the experience and my life. I try to combine being present with being grateful as well. Thanks for following my blog!
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You are very welcome. Thanks for sharing. Namaste. ~ TW
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Pingback: Red carpets at the ready-The Versatile Blogger Award? | Perceptions of Reality
Thanks 🙂 Namaste. ~ TW
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I enjoyed this blog and because of this nominated you for The Versatile Blogger Award, click the link on my blog: http://ejb75.wordpress.com/ (Perceptions of Reality), to find out more and accept the award.
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Thanks so much for your kind nomination. I really appreciate it. Namaste. ~ TW
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Nice post. A wise person once had to remind me: “If you have one foot in the future and one foot in the past, then you are pissing on the present.” (Please pardon my lack of class in this statement.)
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That is so true 🙂 Thanks for sharing. Namaste. ~ TW
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Hi there, I nominated you for the VBA award to learn more about this please follow this link: http://bubz1.wordpress.com/2013/11/04/versatile-blogger-award-vba-yay/
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Thanks for your kind nomination. Namaste. TW
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Such an interesting post…I think a lot of us are guilty of projecting forward to imagined situations that we forget the life we’re living now. I’m always planning to do something, looking forward to it, getting excited and then when the day arrives instead of enjoying the moment I start thinking about the next thing I want to do. I feel like I’m always trying to catch up with myself and it can be tiring…thank you for helping with this 🙂
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I love what you said. 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing. Namaste. ~ TW
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Reblogged this on Sabbatique and commented:
Um post muito bacana, de um blog que passei a seguir. Você está escolhendo estar presente? Como isso é importante, pessoal. Crianças geralmente são felizes justamente por fazerem isso muito bem: viver o momento presente. Quando tomamos consciência de não estarmos no AGORA, automaticamente voltamos a ele. Passamos a fazer tudo com mais qualidade e a sentir muito menos ansiedade com eventos futuros (e esses eventos futuros são, às vezes, apenas criações de nossa mente, muitas vezes nem chegam a acontecer ou acontecem de forma totalmente diferente). E já que já postei livro em espanhol, por que não o inglês estar presente também? (sei que muitos apenas não falam o idioma como gostariam, mas o leem muito bem). 🙂
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Thanks so much for your reply 🙂 What you said sounds very interesting. Do you have a translation for it to English. Thanks. Namaste. TW
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Oh yes, sorry! I’m brazilian (Portuguese is our mother language) but most of my friends, who are the ones that read my blog, understand English very well. Here is the translation:
“This is a very nice post, from a blog that now I’m following. Are you choosing to be present? This is very important, guys. Children are usually happy (or happier) exactly for doing this very well: they live the present moment. When we are aware of not being present we automatically get back to it. And then we tend to do everything better (I mean, the quality is better) and we start to feel less anxious about future events (and many of these events are only creations of our minds, sometimes they never actually come true ou they happen in a very different way. So, I have already posted a book in Spanish why not to post something in English as well? (I know that you understand it, even if you are not so good when it comes to talk) :-)”
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Thanks so much for the translation. I really appreciate. I look forward to following your blog. Namaste. TW
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