Living in the Present

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The Present

What is it?

Intent & Why

• Provide an understanding of the ‘Present’ and the power of residing their

• Understand what isn’t the ‘Present’ and how to use this as a path back

• Provide an overview of ways to be more ‘Present’

• By being more ‘Present’, life is more fulfilling, in flow, stress free, fun and has more playfulness about it

The Present

Now

The PresentThis Moment

Not the Past Not the Future

Be more in the Now

Tune out distractions

Pay attention to what is important now

Have complete / full attention in this moment

The Past

Can’t be changed

Can learn from it to do things differently now

Use this to become happier and more successful in the

now

The Future

Can’t be predicted or controlled

Create a clear vision, plan to achieve, and then do

something about it, in the now (today)

Looking back

Looking forward

The PastDoesn’t exist

Mind made re-run

The FutureDoesn’t exist

Mind made projection

How in the ‘Now’ am I?

• The most powerful indication as to your level of ‘Presence’ or how much in the ‘Now’ you are is the level of

Inner peace

• Signs of not being present:– Easily distracted, Waiting to speak vs listening, physical habits (nails, leg

twitch, other time fillers), lack of attention and ability to focus, mind full – constant ‘inner talk’, back and neck aches / physical tension, restlessness, doing more than one thing at a time, clumsy actions, quality of outputs low

The Present

• Most people spend 80% of their time in the past and future leaving 20% of the time in the now

• Time in the past often focuses on ‘Regret’ and feeling ‘Guilty’• Time in the future often focuses on ‘Worrying’ and projecting an

unwanted picture of what may happen• All that is ever real is what is happening right now……

• Look at what happened in the past

• Learn something valuable• Do it differently using

learnings

The Past(Learn from it)

• What’s right (good) & important now

• Full attention to the present moment

• Appreciate what is good now – in this moment

The Present - Now(Spend your time here)

• Picture the future as you would like it to be

• Make realistic plan to achieve it

• Do something today to move you in that direction

The Future(Help create it)

The Present - summary• The gift of the present is the most valuable gift we can afford to give ourselves and get us

one step closer to happiness. Having the present could be the hardest or easiest thing a person can achieve because of our every day routine and that routine may vary from one to another but the pattern in our lives stays the same.

• Successful people go thru life with the right attitude combined with the ability of being there at the point of action, this means that they are present and fully aware of what they want at a certain moment not thinking of what might go wrong but having the certainty of achieving the goal. How we prepare for the future, the way we plan for it, will help with the anxiety it might bring to think forward and imagine ourselves getting the promotion or travelling to visit a friend at another country.

• Why as children we enjoyed so much everything we did, work or play we found out a way to be happy doing it? Why then, now we do not feel satisfied about work, college and interaction with others? Because we fear either the outcome or income life is bringing. It is normal and healthy to remember the past as a matter of fact if we do not use the past to learn from it when we make mistakes there is a great chance of falling in and repeating those mistakes again and again because we are living in that past or mistake we made.

The Present - summary• To learn from the past means to pick the best memories and build upon those the highest tower so

we look forward clearly and to change those not so comforting memories into better actions in the time living or present. Nobody can do one thing about the past actions or go to the future to change it, but if we find in ourselves the way to concentrate in the task at hand and act upon it enjoying what we are about to do we will be present.

• Concentrating on the now will give joy to our existence, remembering to learn of past mistakes will give us a steady and strong resume for the everyday, to participate on our own future by planning daily, monthly and yearly with realistic goals, now! Life will make its own way everyday, we have to do the same, but one day at the time taking care of the present doing everything in our power to concentrate solely on the needs at the moment. Do not ignore the problem but address it with determination to solve it and it will go away but if it keeps coming back to hunt you down recall step by step of your plan and don’t be too hard on yourself, that could possibly be the issue.

• Starting with the wrong cause of a problem leads to a wrong solution that is why planning is the best tool to confront issues, together with the ability of being present and, listening others that could be in similar situations learn from your past and act. Feeling is the best teacher, remember what was felt and why, so it becomes easier to choose if we want to go thru that emotion again or not. Planning reduces fear and uncertainty because imagining the outcome and having an idea of what we want will prepare us for the future. Believe in the things you want for tomorrow as if they were real, plan, live and act today learning from the past and the future will be known to all of us.

Evolving theSoul

Raise Self Awareness

Evolvingactions Connect – Mind,

Body, SoulInner &

Outer

Alignment

Ecological actionAlw

ays in Choice

Pers

onal

dev

elop

men

t&

sel

f dis

cove

ry

MeditationChoice of thought

100% responsibility

For oneselfDaily habits

Food, Drin

k, Exercise

Inner PeaceTrue Action

FlowCongruentFulfilment

Self sourced

Inspiration

Guide

Leader

NATURAL IMPACT ON WORLD

Serve others

Influence

Results

Become more aware Evolve through self discovery Serve the world more effectively

Paths to the ‘Present’

• Become more aware – increase ‘mindfulness’ – trigger it initially if desired

• Notice if you are somehow ‘resisting’ the current moment – ‘doing something’ when you want to be ‘do something else’ – focus your attention purely on what you are doing

• Notice when you are in the past, if it’s not a positive experience – either use it to learn something valuable for using now or the future or drop it

• Notice when you are in the future, if it’s not planning an future desired outcome then drop it and come back to the present moment

Paths to the ‘Present’Pointers from the ‘Power of Now’

• Connect with the body – Mind / Body connection and awareness

• Give your full attention (super attention) to what ever you are doing

• Listen to the silence between / beneath the noise / words

• Become aware of the space between objects – how could things exist without the space between..

• Conscious breathing

• Meditation

What if? - What’s the point?

• When your level of ‘Presence’ increases – the moments of presence are surrounded by higher quality of experience. This improves interaction with others and positively affects the quality of your outputs

• Residing in the present moment is a path to minimal stress and increased focus

• Your ability to focus and assist others greatly enhances

• Lots and lots of others……

Resources

• Books– The Power of Now – Eckhart Tolle– The Present – Spencer Johnson

• Video– ‘What the Bleep do we know?’– ‘The Peaceful Warrior’

Excerpts from the ‘Power of Now’ – Eckhart Tolle

1’ The greater part of human pain is unnecessary. It is self-created as long as the unobserved mind runs your life.The pain that you create now is always some form of non-acceptance, some form of unconscious resistance to what is. On the level of thought, the resistance is some form of judgment. On the emotional level, it is some form of negativity. The intensity of the pain depends on the degree of resistance to the present moment, and this in turn depends on how strongly you are identified with your mind.

2. Unease, anxiety, tension, stress, worry — all forms of fear — are cause by too much future, and not enough presence. Guilt, regret, resentment, grievances, sadness, bitterness, and all forms of nonforgiveness are caused by too much past, and not enough presence.

Excerpts from the ‘Power of Now’ – Eckhart Tolle

3. Wherever you are, be there totally. When listening to another person, don't just listen with your mind, listen with your whole body. Feel the energy field of your inner body as you listen. That takes attention away from thinking and creates a still space that enables you to truly listen without the mind interfering. You are giving the other person space - space to be. It is the most precious gift you can give. Most people don't know how to listen because the major part of listening is taken up by thinking. They pay more attention to that than what the other person is saying, and none at all to what really matters: the Being of the other person underneath the words and the mind. Of course you cannot feel someone else's Being except through your own. This is the beginning of the realization of oneness, which is love. At the deepest level of Being, you are one with all that.

4. To be free of time is to be free of the psychological need of past for your identity and future for your fulfilment

Presence - More references• What is Personal Presence?

Personal Presence is a state of being, characterized by an expanded awareness in which you are magnificently resourceful.    In presence, states such as awareness of awareness, truth, love, compassion, courage and authenticity are immediately at hand.

• Why would you want Personal Presence?Personal Presence allows access to your own greatness; it’s a path to supporting and influencing greatness in others.  It gives you a place of being, from where to make the most informed decisions, the most compassionate choices, overcome fear, and access courage and, all the while you get to feel the feeling of ease.  Ease is something that is becoming more and scarcer in our lives.  The qualities that personal presence gives you access to, are ones that are key for high level personal leadership.

• What follows is a high level list of paths towards presence.   Within all of these paths is a call for practice.  It is through the practicing, that you can increase your own level of personal presence and improve your own personal leadership capacity.

• Here are 6 possible paths toward Personal Presence:1. Using your breathJust by becoming more fully aware of your breath and breathing can be one way to bring you more present. When we are quiet and relaxed, our breathing will have an ease and calm-way about it.  By becoming more fully aware of your breath and all of it’s qualities you will notice you will come more into the present moment with just a little help from your own autonomic nervous system.2. Using your voiceChanting can be a fun way to get more into the present.  If that seems a little out there for you – try singing your own name  softly, gently and with full sound – and repeat it 4 or 5 times.  Notice how the energy of your name vibrates in your head.

Presence - More references

• 3. Using your thoughtsStep 1 is to see our thoughts just as thoughts – and thus avoiding getting caught up in the meaning of our thoughts.  Step 2 is to become more aware of the background that exists behind our thoughts is a very effective and longer acting version of getting and living in presence.  This can take a more little practice and can become a natural way of being present with extended practice.4. Using your heartBy engaging in projecting and inner smile or an open heart, filling your heart with love, caring, compassion can be one way of bring yourself more present.   The Heart Math institute has done extensive research on measuring the amount of coherence that can be reached with this method.   There are products out on the market that can help you measure the amount of coherence you are able to maintain.5.  Using your perception and beliefsSeeing everything as connected in some way can be a mindset that can bring you onto the path to presence.  The more aware you can be of the interconnectedness of everything – the more present you become.  The more you become aware of the gap between the past and the future, the more aware of the present you become. The more aware of the edges of your own limits in perception – and then extending past those, the more present you can be come.6. Using your bodyBecoming aware of the world of sensations as energy in our bodies is one of the most effective paths to personal presence.  Doing body scans to become more and more aware of the somatic responses and then being present to those energies will lead you to greater and greater capacity for presence.

• You may want to explore some practices for yourself on the path to personal presence. There are many practices that one can engage into to improve your somatic capacity.   Things like aikido, yoga, chi-gong, tai chi, rock climbing, centering exercises, singing, chanting, swimming or walking are some practices that can be enjoyed.  They key to any practice is to find one that you enjoy doing and that you are willing to be fully present in.