Being Present...and Living Fully!

Where ever you go….there you are! Where ever YOU go….THERE you are!
Think about that for a few seconds. You may not realize it, but for some of us, that means “going” up to 25 or even 45 or 50 places a day. Each and every one of those is a separate transaction…and another opportunity to be YOU all over again. So, who will you bring to the party, the office, the grocery store, the kid’s school conference? Who will be laying next to your husband or wife tonight? YOU get to choose. That is what life is about; choosing WHO you are going to BE each and every day.

This is called being in the moment….or BE HERE NOW! It’s a technique that you can learn to utilize and one which you can call upon at any moment. It’s the quality of being able to move beyond past experiences and future predictions to seeing NOW for what it really is…a moment in time. Because, after all, we are human Beings…not human goings or doings. Right?

Imagine having the ability to interact with that difficult employee without conflict. Or, how it would feel to be able to listen to a friend’s sad story ONE MORE TIME, but hearing and responding to it from a completely different place than before.

What’s the value of such a technique, you might ask. Well, provides the ability to start over again and again with a clean slate. When you start to notice yourself falling into the same internal dialogue, zoning out during a business meeting, or mindlessly picking at your mashed potatoes over dinner as contemplate tomorrow’s wardrobe…simply state these words to yourself:

"Be here now", and gently bring your attention back to where you want it.

FOR EXAMPLE: You're attending a lecture and your attention strays from the speaker to all the chores you have, to a date, to the fact that you're hungry. As you say to yourself
"Be here now", you focus back on the lecture and maintain your attention there as long as possible.

When it wanders again, repeat, "Be here now", and gently bring your attention back.

You may notice that your mind often wanders (as often as several times a minute). Each time just say,"Be here now", and refocus.
Try not to judge the experience or to keep particular thoughts out of your mind because as the old saying goes, “That which you resist, persists”.

For example, try this short exercise: Close your eyes for three minutes and try to think about anything except cookies. Remember, don’t think about cookies. When you try not to think about something, it keeps popping back into your mind. "I'm not going to think about cookies. I'm not going to think about cookies."

So, when you find your thoughts wandering, gently acknowledge and let go of that thought and, with your "Be here now," return to the present.

Initially, you might do this hundreds of times a week. But, over days (or even weeks) you'll find that the period of time between your straying thoughts becomes longer and longer. So be patient and keep at it. You can do it!