Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Being in the Moment...What Does it Actually Mean and How Do You Get There?



We are forever told to be in the moment, be present and be in the now, and besides the obvious, what does it actually mean and more importantly what are the strategies to get there?



There are so many benefits to being in the now:

Gives you a clear head and clarity
Keeps you calm
You feel grounded
You are fully engaged and focused on what you are doing in a given moment
You are fully present and more aware of what opportunities lie right in front of you right now.
You gain an appreciation of the abundance you have in this present moment
You are able to gain a positive perspective to a given situation
Being in the moment also gives you the opportunity to stop, pause and observe

Mindfulness teaches us that to be in the present moment means to be still in the mind, focused on one thing while being detached and non-judgmental. Being in the moment means we are not in the past replaying an old event or we are not projecting or anticipating the future. Being in the past will rehash old emotions, leaving you feeling depressed, disempowered and deflated. And when we project into the future we begin to anticipate, predict or place expectations around what we want the future to be and this mindset of future anticipation will create anxiety as the mind attaches to an outcome and feels uncertain and out of control.

Instead of being fully focused in the moment, we become distracted by all the thoughts and the story in our head. We begin to focus on the what ifs, or the shoulds or the why did I’s, and because what we focus on is what we get, we manifest the feelings we attach to the thoughts rather then what we are experiencing right now. What we focus on expands and where our focus goes our energy flows.

And if we understand that everything, especially emotion, is energy-in-motion. Then being in the present moment means all our energy is contained and channelled into what we are focusing on. When our focus is on the past, the future or bouncing from one scattered thought to another it means that our energy will be scattered and leaking all over the place. We either look like a hose pipe with a directed flow of water or we look like one of those sprinkler systems leaking water in all different directions.



NO WONDER WE FEEL EXHAUSTED!

This scattered energy means are energy is leaking in all random directions causing rapid exhaustion and burn out. So being in the moment means we are focusing energy cultivation (building our energy) and then directing it in a mindful way.

Think of being present with your partner or with your kids. Most of the time we are distracted by what we need to do or we are multi-tasking a million other things at the same time. We may be distracted by our phone or computer or other tasks we feel we must complete. We are not fully present to that person and so we miss a magical moment to connect with one another. Being in the moment means you can stop, focus all your attention (energy) on the now and be fully engaged with that person. Now you are appreciating them and will see and hear so much more because you are connected and present on a deeper level.

So here are my 3 favourite steps to teach the mind to focus on the present moment:

Detachment
Stop and pause and let go of the future or the past. Become the observer rather than a participant. Let go of any attachments to emotions, outcomes, perceptions, decisions. Let go of needing a result or needing control. LET GO of the NEED TO BE RIGHT or prove your point. Let go of needing meaning or let go of expectations.

Non-judgment
Create an observer mindset where you do not judge, you do not create a story, you do not attach meaning but you simply observe. This means you cultivate a deep level of compassion for yourself or for another person whereby you are observing to understand rather than to judge.

Acceptance
Acceptance means we accept what is in front of us. We accept a person’s mood or opinion or reaction and we embrace it rather than avoid it. We accept what is out of our control and accept what we can influence. We surrender to the lack of control and flow with trust and courage. We simply be! We open our hearts, we become grateful and we flow with what is.

Many people think that when I say surrender that I mean a passive state, but the key to achieving this is to realise that acceptance and surrender are both proactive states of being in the now.

Keep practicing because the mind learns through consistency and repetition and before you know it you will train your monkey mind to be still, to be focused, to be positive and to be in the beauty of the now!

To your truth and freedom with lots of love,

Cheryne
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NEW! Nurture in Nature Meditation and Wellness Retreat. Gembrook, Victoria. 12- 14 June 2015. Read more...

NEW! Monthly Meditation Classes held the first Wednesday of every month. 6 May 2015; 8pm-9:30pm
Held at The Tranquility Centre 357 North Road South Caulfield
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