PRESENT MOMENT AWARENESS : IT’S IMPORTANCE IN LIFE THROUGH A BEAUTIFUL STORY

PRESENT MOMENT AWARENESS

LIVING IN THE PRESENT MOMENT MEANS LETTING GO OFF THE PAST AND NOT WAITING FOR THE FUTURE. IT MEANS LIVING YOUR LIFE CONSCIOUSLY, AWARE THAT EACH MOMENT YOU BREATHE IS A GIFT.. OPRAH WINFREY

A STORY RELATING TO THE PRESENT MOMENT AWARENESS

Once a group of 10 people arrived in a hut of a wise saint ( sadhu ) who lived far from the city in the forest

the saint assigned an activity to them

he took them to a place at the foot of the mountain

3 set of stones of various sizes were kept

he handed two big jute bags and a wooden stick To each person

he then said –

‘ add a stone in the bag for each event of the past that disturbs or bothers you.

past maybe the previous second also

add a stone for each event that stresses you about the future.

future means the next second also

choose the size of the stone based on the volume of the stress you have Experienced because of an event

think deeply about it, fill in both the potlis or bags and carry them on a wooden stick’

the sadhu further said,’ be genuine with yourself otherwise you won’t get the fruits of this activity’

all the ten people had two bags filled respectively

some bags were really heavy, some were mildly heavy, some were light and manageable

then the saint asked everyone to climb the mountain with him

the saint walked freely, happy with a smile. he didn’t have a bag

people started giving up one after the other

already the terrain was rough and along with heavy burden it was getting impossible

sadhu along with his student who had two small stones in his hand easily walked till the end

two other people also somehow managed to reach the top. they were tired and almost Breathless

the activity was done with only two people on top of the mountain

slowly, they went back to the hut

everyone drank water from the well and sat peacefully

MORAL OF THE STORY ABOUT THIS PRESENT MOMENT AWARENESS

sadhu then addressed everyone : –

the mountain is your life, it isn’t flat, smooth and easy. and in fact it shouldn’t be a smooth sail either or else it would becoming a boring tale of mere existence

the baggage as you know is a burden of thoughts about the past or the future

do you want this upward inclined already tough journey to be more burdensome, unbearable or painful or you want to climb free with a smile, Focused on your path

use your past to learn from mistakes

use your future only to plan and to apply your learnings

look at NOW this moment, this life, nature and situation.

give your best, stay free, smile and see how your life changes

experience and love those changes

there no better teaching i can give about life said the saint

so this was a story depicting the importance of the present moment

https://reflectwithsmitha.com/each-one-of-us-is-unique-lets-know-more-about-it-through-a-story/

EASY WAYS OF BEING IN THE PRESENT MOMENT AWARENESS

1. Being in the PRESENT MOMENT means being Focused on one thing or task at hand

Say for example talking to someone, eating, cooking or any activity without Any distraction or being lost in any thoughts basically past or future

Although its a popular topic in recent years, its a way of life that is backed up by good science.

When we engage in Mindfulness or The Present Moment, we are not ignoring or denying thoughts of past or future, we are simply choosing NOT to dwell on them

2. CONSCIOUS BREATHING

Conscious Deep Breathing, inhaling and exhaling through nose or inhaling through Nose and Exhaling through Mouth

Deep breathing through the Belly movement, count the inhalations and exhalations

Basically putting all our focus on the BREATHING To calm the monkey mind, the constant chattering of the mind

When we focus on our BREATH, we have no choice but to be in the PRESENT. To be ALIVE, To be HERE and NOW

Various forms of PRANAYAMAS are also helpful to bring us back to the PRESENT MOMENT

3. YOGA

Yogic postures along with the Breathing helps us to focus on our mind

Eg. Surya Namaskar where postures are done along with the breathing pattern which bring all our focus to the DOING, to the PRESENT

4. GOALS

Set your daily goals.

Keep a to do list of daily goals which you want to achieve during the day.

It can be the Simplest of things to be done in the house and set a time limit for it. Start doing it according to the plan.

There will be less Procrastination and more of DOING since you want to complete it within a time limit that will lead to being in the PRESENT MOMENT

Visualize those task, stay committed to it

think of the strategies to complete those tasks

how you can improve and enhance your tasks to accomplish it.

All these procedure will train your mind to stay active and being in the PRESENT

5. HAVING GOOD RELATIONS

Maintaining good and healthy relations with your immediate near ones especially with your spouse, parents or children as it is with these people that you interact with on a daily basis.

And any small strain in any of these relations can bring in mental stress and we start to brood on all the past not so happy moments with them and start spoiling our PRESENT.

So reconcile with them by bending a bit on our EGO for our own HAPPY PRESENT

6. ACCEPTANCE

Acceptance.. whether be it people, feelings or situations is IMPORTANT to MOVE ON in Life.

We can’t keep questioning each and every situation which Life throws on us. So Accept things or people which we cannot change and move On.

Remember this is not the end of the world.

The World is just a DRAMA, Play it well..

7. THANKFULNESS / GRATITUDE

Always be in the mode of GRATITUDE or THANKFULNESS in whatever you activity you do.

Gratitude for whatever you have right now in your hand.

Say for example…

when you are writing Then say THANK YOU for the hands, if you are working on a project then say THANK YOU for a healthy mind giving new productive thoughts.. etc. etc..

Mind you…. Not many are PRIVILEGED with the resources we are blessed with

8. MINIMALISM

Remove unneeded possessions which relate to your past memories.

So that those material things don’t take you back to your unfavorable past.

Observe Minimalism and keep spaces clear

9. HOBBIES

Try to take out time for Hobbies from your busy schedule, where you completely enjoy what you are doing, be it singing, gardening, playing instruments, sports.. Anything..

These activities bring all your focus to the PRESENT moment because you are enjoying every minute of what you are doing

10. PRAYERS

If you believe in God, the Almighty, whichever religion you belong to, take some time to sit in the alter, SURRENDER yourself completely to that DIVINE energy, removing all past and future thoughts.

Just immerse in the PRESENT imagining DIVINE flow of LIGHT or ENERGY flowing in you, protecting you.

Excellent way to be in the PRESENT. This can be practiced anytime throughout the day.

It energizes you and helps you be in the PRESENT MOMENT.

11. NONATTACHMENT

Remove ATTACHMENT for RESULTS.

Do the task in your hand with complete hard work, perfection and commitment and leave the rest to the ALMIGHTY.

If you remain UNATTACHED to the RESULTS, there will be no anxiety, stress for the future.

Think that the BEST will happen to you ALWAYS provided you do your work DILIGENTLY Which will automatically help you to remain in the PRESENT and not worry about the Future

WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, THERE REALLY IS NO OTHER MOMENT YOU CAN LIVE. NOW IS ALL THERE IS.. WAYNE DYER

BENEFITS OF BEING IN THE PRESENT MOMENT AWARENESS

1. Being in the present moment contributes to higher energy levels and more commitment.

2. Become AWARE of your present surroundings which leads to greater happiness in Life.

3. Have more control over your thoughts to get better solutions to become more creative

4. Become a better listener with increased self esteem thereby decreasing anxiety and worry.

5. Being in Present moment reduces stress and enhances our ability to deal with negative emotions like fear and anger.

LET’S CONCLUDE..

i am no teacher or saint to preach or teach people

but by god’s grace i come upon such references from books and teachings from spiritual gurus which gives me a lot of wisdom and ways to live my valuable life meaningfully

and teach myself and the people whom i associate with – to live with the right code of conduct and to raise the standard of living

making smaller changes in life will not only help us be a better individual

but also bring a valuable change in the society in the current scenario which is very much required

however small it may be but let’s atleast start from OURSELVES

let’s make the world a better place with our small efforts in all aspects of living

so that’s all friends, hope i could bring some insight in you

until next time keep smiling

MUCH LOVE … STAY HAPPY … STAY BLESSED… ALWAYS

SMITHA