Being Present

A Step-by-Step Guide

Being present brings you both great power and peace. You will be more creative, relaxed and almost – and I hate to get too Buddhist on you early on - at one with all that is. In other words, you will discover a great connection to everything that your mind has been covering up with the constant distractions of past and future.

The continual mind chatter in your brain will slow down. With practice it will disappear almost completely. In its place will be a warm sense of joy – and a great appreciation of beauty.

Life appears to slow down – and problems evaporate into thin air.

Not bad seeing as it only takes a few seconds ay?

The following techniques show you how to enter this wonderful state at will. Whilst all will help you, some will probably stand out as being more suitable for you personally. Play with them all, but by all means focus on your favourites if you get better results this way.

How to measure your success? If you feel a light easiness and joy – you’re there.

Enjoy!

Being Present Through Silence

“Silence is God’s one and only voice”

Hermann Melville

Listening to silence is one of the simplest ways to become present.

All you have to do is pay attention to the silence that exists around you now. Even if it is noisy, there is always silence behind the sounds.

Look out for it. Listen to it. Don’t judge or label it – merely feel its presence.

Also pay attention to new sounds that pop up. Without labelling the sounds, simply ask: Where did they come from? Where do they go to once you stop hearing them?

All sounds come from silence, and all disappear back into silence. By paying attention to the silence behind the sounds, you will become present.

Being Present Through Breathing

"Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again"

L. Frank Baum

Another low-tech way to become present is by using your lungs. You’ll be amazed by quite how effective this can be.

To do so, just pay attention to your breathing – I told you it was simple!

Breathe all the way in... and push all the way out... slowly.

Breathe into your abdomen – deep, slow, measured breaths. Simply quieten your mind and focus solely on your breathing. That’s all you need to do.

As you begin to relax, take some even deeper breaths. Fill your lungs – and feel the sensations as you exhale... s-l-o-w-l-y...

It may help you to visualise yourself breathing in radiant light as you inhale... but it is not essential.

When you feel relaxed, and your mind is quiet, open your eyes and contemplate your surroundings in a meditative state. You are present. Let the good times roll!

Being Present Through Space

“Just as no sound can exist without silence, nothing can exist...
without the space that allows it to be”

Eckhart Tolle

Look around your room. What do you see? A computer, desk, walls, pictures, the ceiling...

These objects form the boundaries of your room - but they are not the essence of the room itself. So what is the essence of the room? What is there more of than anything else?

Space, of course.

To become present, simply consider the space that surrounds these objects, but don’t try to understand or label it. Space is a concept that is indigestible for the mind – you cannot “get your head around it”.

Simply note that no thing can exist without the space that allows it to be.

When you consider this space, you will be connected deeply with something that cannot be put into words.

Consider the space around all objects with an empty mind. Watch this transport you into the present.

Being Present Through Nature

"Trees are the earth's endless effort to speak to the listening heaven"

Rabindranath Tagore

.

Have you ever watched a tree or a flower without labelling it as a “tree” or a “flower”?

What’s the difference? Well, when you label something as a “tree”, you see what you expect to see – trunk, bark, twigs, leaves – and your mind accepts this as fact. You notice nothing remarkable – you have seen a million of these inanimate objects before.

When you look without labelling, however, the tree comes alive. You see – and feel – a vibrant radiance that you have somehow never noticed before.

You notice a space around the tree – a space of quietness and stillness, yet a space that appears to subtly radiate energy.

When you manage this for the first time, you will probably be deeply affected - as I was. You will realise deep within that you have never even properly seen a tree before. This is the first time.

In fact, if you regard the tree – or anything in nature – further, without labelling, you will feel inexplicably drawn to it. You will sense a connection that runs deep within you and every living thing on this planet.

By watching nature, a serene sense of peace will be instilled within you. By watching nature without labelling it with your mind, you will become present.

Being Present Through Acceptance

“Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves -
regret for the past and fear of the future.”

Fulton Oursler

The final way to become present is by totally accepting the present moment.

By surrendering to whatever is happening at the moment – and accepting it unquestionably – you give up all resistance and will become present.

Denial of the present moment is the surest way to continue to be run by your mind.

Merely accept deeply that “it is as it is” – and you will become present.

Don’t fight anything that has happened – accept it gladly... you will be pleased and surprised with the results.





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