5 Steps to Living in the moment
LIVING IN THE MOMENT
Harvard research has shown that 47% of the time people are thinking about something other than what they are actually doing in the moment.
I have approximately a 50% chance you are truly listening to what I have to say.
I do recommend putting a lot of effort into this.
Take good notes and revisit this chapter as frequently as possible until you arrive in the now.
The journey into the now could be one that takes a lot of effort and time.
In fact, it took me six months of active training to arrive in the now.
However, when I did arrive in the now, a huge amount of stress was relieved from my shoulders.
I thought I had my happiness perfected, however, once I fine-tuned my awareness to be in this moment it took my happiness to a whole new level.
I created these steps through my own experience of learning how to live in this moment:
1. Be aware you are out of the moment. Realize your thoughts are in the past or the future.
2. You get three options: (a) fishing rod (b) raft (c) fireplace.
Close your eyes, and visualize yourself with a fishing rod. The fishing line is already cast far away. That fishing line is a symbol of your thoughts that are in the past or in the future. Reel in the fishing line back to the here and now, and when you can see the end of the fishing line go to step three.
Close your eyes, and visualize yourself on a lovely day on a beautiful lake. You are in the lake next to a raft. Go ahead and see yourself getting onto the raft, laying down, and feeling the sun’s warmth on your body. Then go to step three.
Close your eyes, and visualize yourself sitting next to a fireplace feeling the fire’s warmth on your body. When you can feel the fire’s warmth on your body, go to step three.
Make a mental note to yourself - are you option (a), (b), or (c)? Use the visual that is the easiest for you or whichever one makes you happiest. Go through the visualization, and then open your eyes.
What is going on with your senses?
Check in with your senses - touch, taste, sound, sight, and hearing. Say, “I’m seeing _______, I’m hearing _______, I’m tasting _______, I’m smelling _______, I’m touching_______.”
This has to be a physical experience. Make it easy, simple, and one sentence per sense.
*NOTE* Stay away from the word “feel” because that word connotes an emotional experience, and we are going for a physical experience.
Ask your heart, “What is the gift in this moment?”
Go into your heart space.
Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Place both feet on the ground.
Put one hand on your heart, one hand on your belly.
Drop your awareness into your heart center.
Take a deep breath.
One more time for good measure.
Drop your awareness into your heart center.
Focus your attention in the area of your heart.
Focus on creating an all loving, all nurturing, all accepting,
open environment there.
You can also imagine the last time you went to the airport to pick up someone you love.
Cultivate this feeling in your heart center.
When you feel like it has been achieved, allow your heartbeat
to come through your chest to the palm of your hand.
When you feel your heartbeat, ask yourself, to your heart,
“What is the gift in this moment?”
Wait for a response.
Ask, “Anything else?”
Wait for a response.
Repeat until your heart is complete.
There may be multiple gifts in this moment, and you want to ensure you are gleaning all the gifts you are meant to receive right now.
5. Gratitude for the gifts in step four.
Use the structure, “I am grateful for _____ gift (fill in the blank with each of the gifts from step four) because it adds _____ to my life.”
This deepens your sense of gratitude in your heart.
If you suffer from anxiety or ADHD, you can help yourself by following these five steps to living in the moment. Bringing all your awareness into this moment, receiving the gifts in this moment, and having gratitude for those gifts will help you focus and be more productive. It is going to help you get to places on time and offer you greater peace and contentment.
All of the benefits you receive once you have done the work of arriving in the now are truly remarkable.
You have to do this at least 50% of your day because the Harvard study showed 47% of the time you are probably thinking of something other than what you are doing in the moment.
Go through these 5 daytime steps 100 times a day.
That is once every five minutes for an eight-hour time period. I understand it may sound like a lot, however, it is about doing the work to arrive in the now. Once you have done these steps so many times you will be permanently in the now, never wanting to leave because it is so amazing in this moment!
I have been living in the moment since 2004, and I have trained many others to live in the now! It is possible!
I understand you can only live in the moment to a certain extent, and there is a need to plan sometimes as well as occasionally savor the past. However, mostly we want to be here now.
Schedule a time to plan.
For example, let’s say you are thinking about a dinner arrangement you have at seven, and it is three in the afternoon.
You might be thinking, “Where am I going to go? What am I going to wear? How am I going to get there? Who is going to be there? Am I going to like the food?”
Whatever it is, instead of thinking about it all day long, you are going to schedule a time to think about it, so let’s say six o’clock you have to make all of the decisions that relate to the dinner at seven. This frees you to live in the moment between three and six.
In addition to learning the five steps, scheduling a time to plan, savoring positive memories of the past, you have to...
Fasten Your Happiness Seat Belt!
Here are two quick steps you can use to boost your mood by living in the moment.
The seat belt in your car has two straps: one goes over your shoulder and one goes over your waist.
The Happiness Seat Belt also has two straps: the strap over your shoulder is live in this moment, and the one over your waist is choose happiness.
Without your Happiness Seat Belt,
it is a wild ride!
Let’s practice it right now.
We will start with the steps to living in the moment you learned earlier. For The Happiness Seat Belt, let’s begin with step two instead of step one in these steps to living in the moment because we will assume you are out of this moment now (step one of living in the moment is being aware you are out of this moment, thinking of something in the past or the future). Therefore, we will begin with step two:
Step 2: Pick the visualization below that makes you the happiest and is the easiest.
Close your eyes. Visualize yourself with a fishing line that is cast far away. You are going to reel the line back to the here and now. It is a symbol of your thoughts in the past or future. When you can see the end of the fishing line open your eyes and go to step three.
Visualize yourself in a lake next to a raft. See yourself get on top of the raft, and feel the sun’s warmth on your body. When you can see yourself on top of that raft open your eyes and go to step three.
Visualize yourself sitting next to a fireplace, and feel the fire’s warmth on your body. When you feel the fire’s warmth on your body open your eyes and go to step three.
Step 3: Check in with your senses.
I’m seeing _______, I’m hearing _______, I’m tasting _______, I’m smelling _______, I’m touching _______.
OK, and now we are going to go to step four.
Step 4: Ask your heart, “What is the gift in this moment?”
Place both feet on the ground. Close your eyes.
Put one hand on your heart and one hand on your belly.
Take a deep breath.
Drop your awareness into your heart center, and
focus your attention in the area of your heart.
Focus on creating an all loving, all nurturing, all accepting,
open environment there.
Allow your heartbeat to come through your chest to the palm of your hand.
When you can feel your heartbeat, ask your heart, “What is the gift in this moment?”
Wait for a response.
When the gift comes to you, ask, “Anything else?”
Wait for a response.
Repeat, “Anything else?”
Wait for the response.
Continue to ask, “Anything else?” until your heart is complete.
Step 5: Gratitude for the gifts in this moment.
Repeat, “I am grateful for _____ (fill in the blank with the gifts in this moment from step four), because it adds _____ to my life.”
There you have it.
You have achieved a different state of consciousness.
This is a new state of awareness after following
the five steps to living in the moment.
THE VORTEX!
You may have arrived in the now for the very first time.
Are you experiencing calm, centeredness, certainty, or a difference in any way? A presence? Present in the moment?
Welcome to the now! The trick is to stay here, and this is where the hundred times a day comes in.
I have clients who set mindfulness bells on their cell phones or get vibrating time watches so they can follow through with the direction of a hundred times a day. I encourage you to use tools to support you in this change.
The students who use support tools get the best results.
I have noticed throughout my practice people feel a sense of calm and peace as well as an absence of frustration, disappointment, stress, and fear when they have arrived in this moment.
Working on bringing yourself into the now is extremely beneficial for you.
IF YOU SKIP PRACTICING
THESE FIVE STEPS TO LIVING IN THE MOMENT
AT LEAST 100 TIMES A DAY
WITH GREAT EFFORT,
YOUR SUSTAINABLE HAPPINESS
WILL SUFFER.