Be Present!
Not that kind of Present!
I know for some of us it is already the holiday season and we can’t get presents, egg nog, holiday movies, and bright shinny lights off our mind, but I want to talk about the gift of being present, which is the best present you can give yourself.
While I was battling depression I found myself living in the past and living in the future, but very rarely was I living in the present moment. My mind would go back to the past, where I would consistently beat myself up and break myself down for past decisions and actions. I would then look to the future and see only pain and hurt on the horizon. My mind was full of “should of done this,” and “what if that happens.”
After I started studying A Course In Miracles, I quickly realized that I was not living life in reality, but instead I was allowing illusions to drive my actions and my emotions. The past is no longer real and only lives in my mind. The future has not happened yet and thus the images only live in my mind. The only real moment was the one right in front of me, waiting for me to grab on to it and take action that will create meaningful results.
While in theory this is amazing. Past isn’t real, Future isn’t real, so focus on the Now. While it seems simple enough, execution was much harder than to be expected. If I was not focused and intentional, I would find myself quickly and easily falling back into regret of the past and concern for the future. This is when I realized that I had to do something different. Just understanding the concept would not be enough.
This is when I discovered a practice that worked for me and I believe it can work for anyone who needs to be intentional about their focus.
Check out the video where I explain the process:
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4aH6yF4adk[/embedyt]
USE THIS 3 STEP METHOD TO STAY PRESENT:
1: Take A Couple Deep Breaths
Breathing is a great way to stop, let go, and focus on the exact moment. When we take a couple deep breathes and we are focused only on those deep breaths we are living in the moment. We are thinking of what we are doing at this exact moment. Taking a couple deep breathes and being intentional about how we are breathing can be a game changer, in fact scientific research shows that focusing on our breathing can reduce stress as well as provide additional health benefits.
2: Tell Yourself An Empowering Thought
We have the power to control our thoughts and our actions and we are the only person who deserves to yield such an important power. We often allow the past, people, actions, events, etc. tell us our own self worth. When I felt disconnected to the moment, living in the past, or focusing on the future, I would take my deep breaths and I started telling myself something about myself that I knew to be true and that I was proud of. I would even tell myself something about myself that I knew I could be if I was to become my best self in this moment. There is so much power with telling our self empowering thoughts, but yet we don’t focus on giving our self grace. Doing this, puts us in the moment of now. “I am courageous!!!!”
3: Set An Intention
What are we about to do? What do we want to do? How do we need to show up to do it? What is the value from me doing this thing? When we set an intention, we get very present in the moment and our mind focuses on “what do I need to do right now to achieve a result.” Intention setting is something I do every morning and I found that it is a powerful tool to utilize when we are slipping into the illusions of the past and future. When I want to stay present, I focus on taking an action or displaying an emotion in the current moment that will help me or those around me. This is a powerful deceleration that will be sure to put you in the moment of Now.
Here is a great example:
Imagine you are about to take on something that scares you and when you are about to take action your mind is flooded with “what if” scenarios. You are no longer present, but instead your mind is in the future telling you untrue thoughts.
1. You take a deep breathe. As you take this breath you are focusing on the breathing. How deep can I breathe? How does it feel? How fast or slow should I breathe? Your mind is focusing, at this moment, just on your breathe.
2. You tell yourself: “I am courageous.” You start thinking about yourself as a courageous person and how this fear won’t stand in your way. You start letting go of the insecurities that have been placed on you from past situations and past relationships.
3. You set the intention that “I am going to do x,y,z to overcome this fear.” You declare an action that you are going to take right now to be courageous, thus resulting in an action that will serve your best interest.
Try this method and let me know what you think. Did it help you? Did it bring you back into the present moment?
No responses yet