"Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment." – Buddha
Living
in the moment, being present, what does that mean? Like the above
quote says it is not thinking of the past or the future it is
thinking and living from this moment. I believe we have lost this
concept. Living and growing up in the western world it seems very
difficult for us to grasp what this means let alone feels like.
However, it is a very pertinent part of a healthy mind and one of the
greatest medicines for those of us with mental illness.
I
wanted to share a story that touched me and inspired me to write
about this concept. I am taking courses in Shamanism and I am learning about cleansing others with intention and sage. I had my
husband stand with his eyes closed arms held apart and I knelt down
before him and focused upon his health. I continued by wafting the
sage smoke around him and continued focusing on his health. It was
about a 5 minute process. After I was done I told him gently to open
his eyes and when he opened them he had a grand smile on his face and
his eyes were lit up. He looked like he was on the best drug in the
world!
He
told me how at first he was stuck with the thoughts in his head and I
told him to focus on an Eagle (which he had been having dreams of)
and so he fought for a minute before the intrusive thoughts stopped.
When he focused on the Eagle and asked to let go of everything he was
holding onto he felt the strangest thing; time stand still. He told
me he had never really felt that, he felt excitement rise into his
chest as he told me this. I kid you not, he looked around with his
eyes wide and a smile on his face and said,”All the colors look
luminescent, I have never seen colors in this way!” I told him this
is what being present feels like.
Living
with Bipolar I have learned how to stay present, it is very rare now
that I think about the future or past and believe me when I say it is
the best way to keep the crazy away! My husband worries a lot and it
has been getting to him recently and I have been telling him he
really needs to stay present. If you can't do anything about the past
or the future at this moment then let it go. I don't think people
believe it when I or others say all the answers for your worries are
right in the moment, if you would only let go the answers will come.
Not many believe this, they think to solve a problem they must keep
thinking about it, they keep doing this raising their stress level,
deepening their depression, exacerbating the problem. It is much more
efficient to let go.
"What a better way to create a clinically sick mind than to always be lost in your thoughts of the past and future." – Samantha Roby
I
still get tripped up now and then but the more I practice the better
I get and the less mental issues I have. If you have experienced
this, if you understand how to live in the present use it the next
time you fall into a depression. Our minds get very dark in
depression but if you stay present, do not feed into the thoughts,
focus your energy on positive things even as simple as watching a
comedy and you continuously keep yourself present the depression will
lose it's power over you. This is tricky though, this isn't an
overnight cure. I am not saying you do this for one day and BAM your
depression is gone. I have been practicing for years diligently. I
use to only do these practices when I did fall into a mental break
which helped lessen the hold it had over me and I came out of the
mania or depression quicker. Now the negative consequences of mood swings rarely effect me.
When
you focus on only what is happening now you are free. This also takes
accepting what is going on. What if your stuck in a long line at the
bank and have several other tasks to do. Most American's, and I have
witnessed this countless times, start getting fidgety. They look at
their watches or phones, they fidget more, then they turn to you and
complain about how they don't have enough tellers open, or how stupid
this wait is. Or some people feel they are entitled to not wait,
their time is precious ( that would be another post) but what can you
really do about it? If you accept it and just focus on the present
and not about what you have to do afterward the stress is gone.
Our
ancestors and those who still live close to nature know this. This is
simple knowledge and I believe this epidemic of mental illness stems
from a deep disconnection to reality, to the moment. That is what is
truly going on when you live in your head thinking of past and future; disconnection and delusion.
How
do you Become Present- Daily practices
- Meditation, specifically focusing on the breathe. This is done by getting into a comfortable position, closing your eyes and focusing on your breathe. This does not mean controlling your breathe, that is another type of meditation altogether, just focus your attention on your breathing and try not to control how you are breathing. Also, if thoughts pop up or if at one point you realize you have been thinking (it will happen a lot) just gently and non-judgmentally bring your focus back to your breathe. Five minutes a day of meditation is all it takes! It just needs to become a habit.
- Come up with awareness signals, for example, I used doors. Anytime I would walk through a door I would take a few moments and ask myself if I was being present. I reminded myself to be present and took the opportunity to either focus on my breathe as I walked or felt the ground beneath my feet as I walked.
- As I stated before when walking focus on how your feet feel hitting the ground. Many Buddhist monks would call this walking meditation.
- Either using pre-decided signals or anytime you feel overwhelmed or stuck in your mind focus on your bodily sensations. How does the chair feel that your sitting on? How does the cotton shirt feel that your wearing? What noises do you hear? What objects or people do you see? Again this is just observations so try to leave any judgments out like I see a nasty yellow house, that just puts you back in your head!
The
key is making it a habit to be present. If you constantly reminded
yourself for a period of time or use daily practices it will rewire
your mind and it will become natural to be present. Like I said my
husband struggles with this that's why it was just so wonderful to
see the excitement in his eyes when he discovered what it felt like.
Have you ever seen a child play? How happy and free they seem. It is
our nature to live in the present moment, you just need to remember
it.
If you have any tips and tricks that have helped you learn how to stay present I would love to hear about them! You can email me at SamRoby84@gmail.com or message me on GooglePlus or find me on Facebook.
