What does “living in the present moment” really mean?
Living in the present simply means living and experiencing your life in this very moment.
Most of the time our focus (our thoughts followed by emotions) is on past situations or what’s to come next. While I think focusing on creating your future is important, the majority of your time spent and focus should really be in the now.
The now is all we will ever have. Life is just a series of present moments. To get the most out of your life and find the most peace — you need to keep the majority of your focus in the now.
Stop chasing the future and allow it to come into your present moment with ease. Don’t relish in the past, accept it and live in the now.
How living in the present moment cures things like overeating, screen addiction and depression…
I recently had a personal realization that led me to want to shift more into the present moment. My overeating (constantly looking for snacks out of boredom), screen addiction (one day I spent 7 hours on my phone) and random mood swings — all came from the same source: I was afraid to be present with myself. I was running from the now.
We don’t realize how disconnected we really are with just allowing ourselves to be in the moment.
We’re always looking outside of ourselves for stimulation. Whether you’re a go-go-go busy bee type of person, or someone who can’t just chill out in silence without being on your phone, watching Netflix, or searching for snacks… You are running and hiding from something. That something is the now.
One of the many amazing benefits to being more present is getting to experience the beauty and joy of the current existing moment — which is all we truly have.
Being present also helps us to see when we’re feeling emotions such as, fear, resistance, anger or resentment… and then to work with those difficulties mindfully, rather than suppressing them.
So… how can we remember to live in the present moment?
It’s so easy to get caught up in our thoughts, daydreams and distractions… forgetting to be here in the now.
The truth is that no one is perfect at this. Being present is simply a conscious choice or habit. It’s messy and beautiful and it takes practice.
Here are 6 practical and realistic ways to practice living more in the present moment:
Control Your Notifications.
Turn off notifications from apps that you don’t need to hear from. Sometimes these alerts have the tendency to distract us by taking our attention away from things we are currently working on. Set mindfulness notifications instead; you can have a chime regularly sound off on your phone or computer (numerous apps do this) to remind you to pause and be mindful of what’s going on right now. The meditation app, Calm, has push notifications that will send you a mindfulness reminder.
Set an Intention.
This is something I learned from yoga, but works well If you’re about to do any activity; start a work task, process emails, read a book, cook dinner… you can pause just before starting, and think for a second about what your intention for that activity might be. What are you hoping to do with this activity? For me, I might cook dinner for loved ones to cultivate connection. I might write a blog post (like this one) out of love for my readers. I might practice yoga out of love for myself. I process emails out of responsibility and consideration for those trying to communicate with me. By setting an intention, it reminds you to be mindful of that intention as you do any activity.
Reflect Daily.
At the end of each day (or at the beginning) take a minute to journal or just reflect on how your day has gone or. how you envision it to go. How have you done with practicing being present? What have you struggled with? Have you been using your mindfulness bells and setting intentions? What resistance has come up for you, what stories are you telling yourself about all of this? Daily reflection is one of the most useful habits for continuing to practice and getting better at practicing.
See Everything as a Teacher.
This method admittedly sounds a bit corny, but it’s actually amazing. When you’re feeling frustrated with someone, feeling stressed out by work, feeling upset or grieving about the health of a loved one, feeling anxious about an upcoming test … pause and see this person or situation as a teacher. What can you learn from them about being present? What attachments can you see in yourself that are causing this difficulty? What stories are you forming that are causing you to feel this way? What can you practice letting go of? What can you appreciate about this moment that you are taking for granted? In this way, every difficulty, every person, everything that arises in the present moment can be a loving teacher that is helping us along the path to being present.
Create A Small Regular Practice.
Form the simple habit of meditating for just two minutes a day (to start with). After you wake up, simply sit comfortably and try to focus on your breath for two minutes. When your mind wanders (and it will), just notice this and label it “thinking.” Then gently return to the breath, without any judgement. If you feel like extending it by a minute every week or so, feel free to do so, but it isn’t absolutely neccessary. The benefit of this regular practice is that you learn skills you can take and practice in other parts of your day.
Focus on the Five Senses.
This exercise is simple, yet effective and one of my personal favorites. By grounding ourselves sensorially, we can anchor ourselves in the present. The next time you feel anxious, distracted or stressed ask yourself these questions:
What do I see?
What do I hear?
What do I smell?
What am I sensing through touch?
What do I taste?
We can take it even deeper with this question:
HOW do I feel right now?
Becoming aware of all the above brings your right into the now.
If you are eating, just eat. Focus on what you are eating, how it tastes, your gratitude for the food, etc.
If you are working, just work. Become fully engulfed in whatever it is you’re focused on (put your phone in the other room). I promise this will make you a lot more productive — and happy!
I encourage you to take a moment to look over these 6 tips. Which one resonates the most with you? How can you implement more mindful habits throughout your day? Just as it might have taken you a little while to develop your strategies of running around and staying busy all the time, it can also take a little time for you to really notice and feel the benefits of mindfulness. So be kind to yourself and don’t be too hard if it doesn’t work the first time (or second or third)! It will feel strange. It’s worth trying them out a few times and seeing which ones work for you.
As Eckhart Tolle says:
“In today’s rush we all think too much, seek too much and forget about the joy of just being”
So I encourage you to channel your joy. It’s time to connect with the now. To come back to the present and really notice what’s around you, what you’re feeling, sensing and thinking even right in this very moment.