Can You Be Present - Here and Now?

byVVehkapera

467 followers

5 years ago

Do you often find yourself staring into the future and being far from your mind in your thoughts? Do you tend to worry about both the past and the future?

What would your life be like if you were more present here and now?

Conscious presence has been studied to increase happiness and satisfaction and reduce stress.

The positive emotions evoked by a conscious presence are also associated with a longer and healthier life. After all, the skill of presence is about learning to give up too much need for control and accepting life as it is.

Only through it can one find the joy of living in the moment, the presence.

Learn The Presence Of Children

Children are the gurus of presence. They are naturally able to enjoy life and do not worry about the future or cling to the past. Children also downright demand the presence of us adults and sensitively sense whether the adult is really present or just pretending to listen.

If weekday evenings go like a fog in terms of workday events and future work, a child’s constant search for attention can seem insurmountably exhausting. Often such evenings end in teasing, either for the child or the parent, or usually both. Then you can stop to wonder if the child’s teasing or personal irritation could be due to the fact that you were not present?

Many parents feel neglecting their children during working hours and being inadequate at work while at home. Surely the contribution in both would be sufficient if one were able to be present and focus on exactly what is being done and the people who are present.

Many great moments may go unexperienced if thoughts are constantly outside of the physical body.

Presence Requires an Accepting Attitude

When life faces adversity, it may be more tempting to let the mind wander away from the present to greener meadows. The modern world offers a lot of tools for escaping reality!

However, an accepting presence does not mean that one should surrender in front of everything and be a victim of destiny. Acceptance removes the sensitivity trigger from us so that we don’t always react to situations instinctively.

Only when you see and accept life as it is, without evaluation and criticism, do you get the freedom to choose how to face it.

The skill of presence makes it possible to notice the true state of affairs. Often the real problem is the idea of a situation and not the situation itself. Encountering difficult thoughts and feelings is not easy, but it makes it easier to feel faster when you accept that you sometimes feel bad.

Presence Can Be Practiced

Every human being has an innate ability to be consciously present, but it is a skill that is often forgotten over the years. Restoring a skill requires practice, but fortunately, practice requires nothing more than a conscious decision.

You can practice a conscious presence anytime, anywhere, even on the way to the grocery store. Make the most of all your senses and observe your environment and your own feelings.

What do you see and hear around you, what do you smell, how does your body feel?

Try to be fully present in an instant and sense your environment exactly as it is, without interpretations. When your thoughts go astray, accept it and gently bring your attention back to this moment.

After doing the exercise, you may find that the familiar route looks completely new. When was the last time you traveled to the store one trip with your mind and body?

What thoughts did this evoke in you? How and when have you practiced presence?