Have you ever found yourself driving past your turn-off on the highway? Or putting your fork down after a meal without remembering the tastes and smells?
Most of us live our lives on auto-pilot; our thoughts scattered in three or four places at once. We multi-task, we blip out, we dream, we remember. And as we do all these things, we are oblivious to the current moment.
But the present moment is where our experiences lie. The past is over, and the future is uncertain. Yes, we can remember, and yes we can plan, but if all our energies are in the remembering or the planning, there’s nothing left for the experiencing. It truly is the current moment that counts.
So how do we bring our awareness to the current moment? How do we stay present?’
I believe it’s in the practice of mindfulness – that state of being fully aware of the present moment, without judgment.
Mindfulness is a skill, like learning to ride a bike. Thankfully, you have already acquired some training wheels; the energy tool called Center of Head. When you are in the center of your head, your thoughts, your feelings, your intuition, are all emanating from one spot. You are in present time, acting with full potency. Your energy is not over in a friend’s aura helping solve her most recent problem, or planning what you will do tomorrow. You are in your body, and your Spirit is in the driver’s seat. Coming from this space of awareness, you can differentiate your thoughts and dreams from your neighbors. You are present.
Exercise: Getting Acquainted With Your Personal Sanctuary
- Sit in a comfortable chair with your feet flat on the floor. Close your eyes and breathe – in and out, in and out. Focus on relaxing your body and being fully present. Allow thoughts of future events and past conversations to melt away.
- Breathe in and ground to the center of the earth. Breathe out and sink a little bit deeper into your chair.
- Breathe in and imagine bringing all of your focus to the center of your head. Between your ears, behind your eyes, is the sixth chakra, the seat of your clairvoyance. With each inhale bring more of your energy into the center of your head. With each exhale, feel yourself sink a little deeper in your chair as your grounding cord connects you to Mother Earth.
- Breathe in and ground, breathe out and center. Visualize a miniature you sitting right in the middle of your third eye. With your eyes closed, imagine “seeing” out a porthole located about an inch above where your eyebrows meet.
- This place of stillness is the home of our Spirit. Some call it the Seat of the Soul. It is the middle of our sixth chakra, our seat of intuition.
- If you feel the thoughts of the day or the energies of past events still with you, just become aware of those thoughts, and ask them to go. It’s that simple. Ask the thoughts of the day to step out of your private space. Feel them leave. Watch as wisps of energy move out of the way. Close the door to this space and be alone.
- Some people imagine the center of the head as their favorite spot in nature. You might want to sit on a meditation cushion in the middle of a tropical rain forest or next to a waterfall of fanciful colors. Other people visualize a cozy, soft nest of pillows and blankets. You get to choose. Make the space your own.
- Sit for a moment longer in your personal sanctuary, this place of inner stillness. Know that this is your space. If you feel other people intruding, just ask them to leave. Watch as wisps of their energy float out of the space and return to the ether. You are alone and fully present and consciously aware.
- Before you come out of meditation, intend for your energy, your conscious awareness, to remain anchored in place. Intend for your Spirit to rest in this place of awareness, allowing you to be in constant communication as you go about your day.
- Now, open your eyes. Look around the room. With all of your energy in your body, not scattered in the past or the future, you are a more potent being. How do you feel?
When you are fully present in your life, you are mindfully aware of your thoughts, feelings and emotions. In this state of awareness, you are in the current moment, experiencing your life.
When you are mindful, life doesn’t happen to you – you make life happen. You are in the driver’s seat, consciously choosing which road to take.
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