How many times have you failed to enjoy an experience because your mind was distracted with thoughts of some past or future trouble or worry?
It’s good to learn from the past and plan for the future, but often we use this to avoid dealing with our present situation in life, which might be overwhelming us or we miss out on enjoying the here and the now.
If we never learn to find peace and enjoyment in the present, we feel constantly overwhelmed, anxious, and out of control, and this can lead to fatigue, depression, body aches, insomnia and a reduced quality of life and an inability to enjoy life.
Our senses are important in “bringing us home” to our experience of ourselves, in the present moment. When we experience the present moment we become present to ourselves, so we become more authentic. We become our true selves. When we can let go of our fears, we can experience the caress of a fresh breeze on our face.
When we are present with our sight, we can see the details of textures, colors, shape and form, that we otherwise would be missing. We can feel the cool air on our nostrils as we breathe in and the warmer air as we breathe out. We can feel the weight of our bodies against the chair as we sit. We can feel the softness of our clothes.
We can smell the fresh scent of soap when we wash. We can taste the flavor, see the bright colors, and feel the textures of our food.
We can listen to the sounds outside our window: trucks passing, birds chirping, dogs barking.
This brings us to the concept of mindfulness.
[info_box]Begin today to be more mindful with meditation. Sign up for The Art of Meditation E-course for FREE today.[/info_box]
We hear about it a lot these days, but do you really know what it is and how to create the conditions for its existence?
It’s found in many of the world spiritual traditions. The Sufis, the mystics of Islam, practice the concept of Presence. In mystic branches of Christianity, there is the concept of “centering prayer” where the “Presence of God” is the result of being mindful of a specially chosen “sacred word,” such as “Peace,” or “Love.”
Zen Buddhism, for example, focuses on this practice of mindfulness. “If you are going to eat that cream cake, make sure you enjoy it!” was the comment a Zen Buddhist teacher once made.
In other words, don’t go worrying about how it will make you fat, or how you shouldn’t really be eating it, or how it is bad for your heart, or other such thoughts.
These types of concerns are thoughts that take you away from the experience of the moment, which in this case, is the enjoyable act of eating a lovely cake. How does the cake look? How do you feel when you look at the cake? Notice that you salivate, you feel a little bit excited as you anticipate how delicious the cake is going to be.
Next, you experience how the cake smells and you experience a pleasurable sensation. Then you take a bite and experience the explosion of taste, chocolate, sweet and creamy, and silky, crunchy, smooth and soft, texture sensations inside your mouth. So much pleasure in each mouthful!
Mindfulness states that it is better to be “in” the experience of eating that cake than worrying about all its possible negative effects.
Obsessing about our thoughts, which tend to be mainly negative, is known as “rumination.” It is a common occurrence. This keeps us locked in either the past or the future and prevents us from being truly present.
We’re either remembering something that happened in the past or we are worrying about what is going to happen in the future.
Our thoughts can be productive or non-productive.
If we find ourselves constantly ruminating on resentments, anger, fear, worry or despair, our mental environment is not conducive to good health and well-being.
If we can begin to notice the space, the silence, in between each of our thoughts, we begin to make contact with the present moment.
In that present moment, we can start to experience the beauty which is ever present and calling us to be present with it, and we can begin to appreciate it and to experience it.
We live in a beautiful, exquisite world full of the mystery and the miracle of life. Yet for most of us, most of the time we are too busy to see it.
When we stop to contemplate the moment, when we just “stop and smell the roses,” we begin to see how much abundance exists within us and around us and we can begin to be extremely grateful for the priceless gift of life. When we do, we can feel gratitude.
We can experience pleasure and appreciation and begin to raise the quality of our thought environment from negative to positive.
Our lives go by very fast, and if we are not conscious of our thought patterns, we may end up angry, bitter, old and lonely. We may wonder how we got there and experience deep remorse for having allowed ourselves to let our lives go by in this fashion.
By developing mindfulness, we can become aware of the nature of our thoughts, and we can begin to cultivate a “thought garden” of beautiful thoughts of gratitude, appreciation, acceptance, and loving compassion, both towards ourselves and towards others.
[info_box]Begin today to be more mindful with meditation. Sign up for The Art of Meditation E-course for FREE today.[/info_box]
Affirm to yourself:
“I allow myself to experience this moment fully.”
No Excuse Action Step:
Throughout the day, notice when your thoughts are ruminating and instead take a deep breath and say something you are grateful for in the present moment.
Remember, I am here for you, to support and believe in you.
I would love to hear about how you practice mindfulness in living in the now.
Leave us a comment below and share on facebook.
