Sitting in the glow of candlelight, surrounded by mystical artifacts of another person’s journey, with the conversations of strangers floating through the air, I am surprisingly moved, grounded and completely present in this space. Deep in the midst of my own private, and profound conversation I travel through the layers of my own intentions, fears, and dreams. There’s nothing like having another person whom you love deeply be a mirror for you to see your own state of being.
The Purest Moments…
These moments of pure, be-here-now, presence are what dreams are made of it. Whether you are in the present moment feeling happy, or sad, fearful or accepting, when you are in that present moment you are gathering power, and finding clarity. Yet, most of us spend our time scattered across different lives, different continents, different periods in time until we are nothing but a storm of diffused fragments that cannot make any traction.
Fear keeps most of us from being even momentarily present because we might discover something that we didn’t want to acknowledge. We might have to get real about what isn’t working. How funny, we want answers, we want change, but we don’t want to do hard work. Perspective is everything in the present. You could see these revelations and clarity as painful reminders of your soft spots and vulnerabilities, or you can see them as they really are, opportunities for big magic!
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What Being Present Means
When I slip into my own darkness… Be it depression, fear, anger or angst, I know I have cut myself off from the Flow of the Universe, and more specifically the present moment. Now, being in the present moment isn’t about being oblivious to the past, or the future, or even the things going on in the world, or your life as a whole. Being in the present moment is about not being attached to the chaos… giving away your power.
You can observe the scene unfolding without interacting. Sort of like when you parents told you to look, but not touch. Choose wisely, and intently the things you wish to place your hands, and heart upon. That way you are in full agreement about where that road could take you. Then you lay your spirit upon that intention and fall curious to what comes next.
Being present is about letting go of the need to control. When you want to control the outcome over everything, rather than focusing on the task at hand, you are slipping out of the present! Surrendering to the circle of intention that is the “right now” is a powerful gesture. You relinquish your need to do a million thing at one time, and getting nowhere fast. Imagine a life of just flowing rather than forcing!
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Be Here Now
Simply call yourself back to the present throughout the day. Pull yourself back into the hum of the room, the solid earth beneath you, and the rhythm of your own breathing. You become present, grounded in the here and now, which is where the flow of intention flourishes. A simple, sacred act of fortifying the spirit.
Breath Connects You to Life and Life is in the Present Moment
Breath-work is a simple way to bring yourself into the present. Our push our bodies way too hard, taking for granted good food, and good sleep, and most importantly healthy breathing. Shallow breaths create stagnant and scattered energy and intentions. As you move into the cycles of your breathing with intention you rejuvenate your body, clear your mind, process your emotional centers, and ground yourself in the here and now.
A Simple Breath-work Exercise To Move You Into The Present
1. Activate your breathing session by getting comfortable. Let yourself become settled wherever you are. In your chair, on a bench, beneath a tall tree, at your desk or in your bed. Loosen your shoulders by swinging your arms gently. Shake out your limbs. Release the muscles in your face. Feel yourself sinking deeper into the ground beneath you, into the moment, and into your breathing.
2. Sip cool, refreshing air through your nose. Pull your breath deep into your belly, feeling it grow and expand. Now let your middle expand, and then your chest. Once you are full begin to exhale through your mouth.
3. As you exhale feel a stair-step rhythm begin to happen. Release your breath from the chest first, then the middle, then the belly. Reversing the order as you inhale through the nose again.
4. Feel yourself building energy as your breathing takes on a flowing rotation…inhale… exhale…inhale…exhale. The ebb and flow of your breathing will activate your bodies natural flow… Moving energy blocks, bring you in the present moment and granting you wisdom and knowledge stored deep within.
5. Try this exercise for at least 5 minutes, or as long as you need. Your whole body will relax and return to a state of wellness. Your stress levels will decrease and you will begin to see the masterpiece of your life unfolding before you.
6. Other tips to ground yourself in the moment: Stretching and body moment such as walking, yoga, or swimming. Feeling your body helps you to be more present because we tend to slip outside of it when things become difficult. Mindfully enjoying a cup of warm herbal tea, or a light snack. EFT Tapping is another amazing technique that I use in my practice for releasing and becoming present.
Try noticing what is around you when you are feeling out of touch, or spacey. Like playing Where’s Waldo begin mindfully taking in the space around you. Find 3 colors in your current setting. Find 3 shapes. Find 3 different sounds. Find 3 different smells. Find 3 different textures you can touch. Look up, down and side to side.
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Be Nowhere
If I am in need of major healing and clarity I like to slip out of the time loop of daily life. This is an intuitive approach to becoming neutral. Removing yourself from the situation abolishes the limiting patterns and tunnel vision that can sometimes bleed us of our insight and is prison. Like walking away from a frustrating problem, to then be met with a sudden solution.
1. Sleeping is the number one way that you can go neutral. When you need answers then sleep on it. When you sleep you move yourself into the receptive mode of being. You release tension, and the need to control. You move into sacred time where you are nourished by Divine light, and spiritual guidance. Sleep is the act of plugging in your spiritual battery to dismantle and recharge.
2. Meditation and trance are more intentional ways of moving into the neutral, “nowhere” state. You are quieting the analytical-self, to allow the intuitive-self to step forward. Embarking on this sacred journey of transformation awakens an innate desire to be in your spirit. I choose to use shamanic rattling and drumming for my meditation/trance work. The drum and rattle help to subdue the analytical mind, so the spirit self can speak. 10-15 minutes a few times a week is a wonderful place to begin.
Playing with Intentions
You’ve found yourself playing in the present moment. You are taking notice of how you are feeling, and allowing yourself to go deeper into the state to see why. That is the best question you can ask yourself in daily life… Why? Why am I feeling this way? Why am I stuck on this? Why does this make me feel good? Why is this important?
Sometimes simply asking why is all you need to do… No need for a lengthy answer. The question itself is a call back to the present. Just remember if you are not feeling good, high-vibes, then your spirit is saying to go in a different direction. So put one foot in front of the other and begin shifting your intention. No big leaps required, just small, intentions gestures of change.
In this present moment, as you are feeling through your whole being… You discover how you feel. But how do you want to feel?
Focusing on how you want to feel in your life is the foundation to creating everything else. Your deepest intention begins with I a feeling. That feeling is the seed you plant in the fertile grounds of the Universe to grow into a whole experience. So how do you want to feel?
Ask that question through the day and see how far away from that feeling you currently are. When you want to feel love, but frustration is all you can muster then ground yourself in the moment. Feel that feeling of frustration. Really breath it in, let it move through you, and the cycle out. We have to release our feelings by feeling them, not ignoring them.
Then you can move on to the next best feeling! And on and on it goes… Like climbing a ladder.
The Power of Possibility
Once you set your intention by rooting it into a feeling, open to the possibility. No matter what you feel, or the circumstance you find yourself in the one thing you can always trust in is possibility. There is always the possibility for something else to come. That is the nature of the Universe!
Hold that feeling of possibility deep inside of you. You need not worry about what shape that possibility will take… That only like diminish it’s power. The Universe knows how to take a seed, and grow a tree, and then a forest without any help. Paths will unfold before you bringing you situations and experiences that you could never imagine… So why waste the energy trying to?
In what ways to remain present? Let us know in the comments below…
