Being present, in the now, in a state of bliss, or whatever you want to call it.
When you can immerse yourself fully in the moment/situation you are currently experiencing, without letting your mind wander and take you away from what is happening in the here and now.
Congratulations. You’ve reached a state that few will ever fathom, and even fewer will attain.
See, most people are either stuck in the past or existing solely for the future. Seldom will you come across an individual who is content with the present.
That said, there are many ways to skin a cat. What you’ll find below is some simple steps and ways I have found to be the most effective in my quest to make peace with the now.
Bear in mind, quieting the overactive mind is one of the most challenging things you can do. If you can do this, even for brief periods of time, most obstacles in life will seem like a breeze.
1) Visit a local park/ be in nature
I always find it help to pay a visit to my local park and be in nature. (Having a dog to walk helps in this regard). Every day I rise at 6am and take my dog for his daily walk, bright and early.
Of course, I also use this as means to perform a little “active meditation.”
I like going into the park, with no one around except my dog and the birds chirping.
Just being in nature, appreciating the stillness of the moment and taking in the views has a certain divine feel to it.
I find when I’m in nature time sort of slows down and it’s very therapeutic. It’s easier to just embrace the peacefulness and tranquility of nature, making it easier to just be in tune with the moment. (If you typically spend any time in nature, you’ll know what I’m taking about).
If you have a local park/ nature resort near to you, visit it and enjoy the beauty of nature. Few things in life can compare with the simplicity and serenity of it. (Ideally you want to go at a time that’s least busy).
2) Look and Listen
This is perhaps the simplest, yet most damn difficult thing to do. (It’s ironic how simplicity is the greatest form of complexity).
It requires channeling all your attention to the moment at hand and really connecting with the here and now.
Getting away from all the nonessential cluster of thoughts overloading your mind, distracting and taking you away from the moment.
You’ve probably heard some form of this phrase before.
“You’re here, but you’re not really here.”
But have you ever taken the time to understand and consider what this statement is really screaming out.
To truly maximise the quality of the time you spend in any situation, you must be fully aware of what is going on in the moment.
This is unfortunately something people rarely do. Usually we’re trying to escape from our current situation in the hopes of “finding” happiness in another time, namely the future.
The truth is, if you can’t be happy and accept things as they are now you won’t be happy in the future.
The art of looking and listening forces you to become present and aware of your current environment. (It really is an art).
You can really apply this anywhere and to any situation. In fact try it right now.
I use this all the time, and it really works synergistically with the first point (being in nature).
Listen to the world around you. Focus on the sounds. Look at the environment and really create a clear image of what is really around you.
For this to work effectively, it’s really important not to let your mind get the better of you.
Don’t question the moment and don’t try to conceptualise, label or define your surroundings.
This is a great exercise for calming the overactive imagination.
If you do this properly you’ll be more aware of your surroundings, kind of like having a heightened sense.
Sure beats being another drone, moving through time and space, with no real satisfaction and missing the beauty of the present moment and life itself.
You’ll also find it easier to simply accept the current moment, without stress and fretting.
In short, mastering the mind = true happiness
Life can be overbearing and beat you down sometimes. But when you can just accept it as is, with the knowledge that you can keep improving. All of sudden life just doesn’t seem quite so daunting.
Important considerations
It’s important to note that you’ll most likely not be able to completely clear your mind on your first few attempts.
Heck, even after a lot of practice it’ll still be challenging and you probably won’t be able to completely drown out all thoughts.
That’s absolutely fine. Thinking is a natural process and is an important asset. (I still think, and I’m not about to completely stop doing it anytime soon).
However, over thinking and managing the overactive mind should be the primary concern. I only concern myself with eliminating the over thinking aspect of my mind.
I know it’s foolish and completely illogical to try and eliminate all thoughts.
How do you know if you’re over thinking?
Good question.
I can tell I’m over thinking when I’m constantly thinking about something and getting stressed out over it, and letting it consume a lot of my time, effort and energy.
Practical Example:
In relation to fitness when I was fixated on hitting a personal best on the bench press. I over thought the whole thing. I thought about the goal all day and during my training session. It was no surprise that I ended up screwing it up and not getting the weight, because I was releasing all this negative mental energy and sabotaging my own effort to lift the weight.
Sometimes you just need to hang back and let your body just do it’s thing. (I know it’s damn hard to do).
I’ve actually recently had one of the best workouts ever, and I attribute a large part of this to just being present at the gym.
Not caring about anything going on around me or thinking about something other than the task at hand. All I focused on was the movement and the weight I was lifting. It actually was an enjoyable session.
What you have to grasp and appreciate is the fact that all we have is the present. Tomorrow isn’t promised to us.
Nobody knows what can happen. Learn to find the value in the current moment. True happiness comes from being content now. Not waiting for next week or the next 5 years.
Focus on making yourself happy in the now. If you hold it of till the future it, it likely won’t happen.
Live for the moment.
When you strip out all the unnecessary mental noise and take everything back to the simplicity of the moment, you’ll look at life in a whole new light.
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