HJ: Life happens in the present moment and the present moment is where you will find peace, happiness, joy and contentment. Living in the past or the future creates frustration, regret and unhappiness as we ignore the abundance and beauty of what we already have. Being past or future focused keeps us trapped in wishing and wanting instead of having and being.
The present moment brings gratitude and liberation — freedom and tranquility. It forces us to let go of expectations and appreciate things for what they are. Most of us are so used to living in the past and future that it takes a little practice to get centered in the present moment, but once you do, it becomes easier and easier until it becomes your permanent state, at which point you are very much closer to that state of enlightenment that we are all driven to seek.
Below you will find a powerful technique, broken up into 5 steps that will help you achieve just that — a life lived in the present moment.
– Truth
Mastering Your Life: How to Play the Game in Five Easy Steps
By Tiffany O Silver | Huffington Post
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Do you find yourself holding on to every moment in time, remembering holidays, births, deaths, weddings, divorces? Most of us track time, but if you get caught up in the past, you miss this moment. You miss the present, you miss what every new breath brings, here and now. The past is useful as a reference point, guiding our direction forward. But it’s not a place of habitation. If you base your future based on your past, you will surely get your past — again! Life happens, death happens, people come and go. All we have is right here, right now!
Imagine this energy is like currency — you get a certain amount each day, to create your now — so you wouldn’t want to fritter it away. Once you realize the impermanence of life, that there is only now, that the past and the future aren’t able to be held because they do not really exist, you can only be present! This is truly thegift we all seek; and our minds are free to create, moment-to-moment.
You may have heard the idea that there is no “time/space,” but what does that mean? Our brains don’t know the difference between what is real and what is fantasy — it only knows what you are focusing on right now. When we talk about our past, we can’t actually go there; we reintroduce it to our moment of now, and now our past becomes our present. If trauma is associated with that past, we also conjure all the feelings we once felt.
Life will continually give you feedback and situations that allow you to reset yourself. If you haven’t mastered the lesson by coming into peaceful alignment with what you are experiencing, you will be given the opportunity to repeat it over and over again, until you find a new way to respond. If not, you get to stay in repeat mode, blaming the world for what you feel; you get to stay in victim/perpetrator mode, never becoming an empowered co-creator.
But I’m not judging here; there is no right or wrong, as you can only travel at your pace; trying to speed you up will just cause resistance! However, we can demonstrate to others how to be that powerful co-creator, sharing by example ways to redirect the intellect back into the heart.
A divorced friend told me how tough her week was going to be, as her wedding anniversary was coming around. Many years have passed, many new faces have come and gone, and I wondered why this had to be a tough week for her. She responded, saying, “Because it reminds me of all the pain, betrayal and failures I experienced.” Helpful? No. Empowering? No. I asked her to see the marriage and the divorce as a blessing — because it has led her to this moment, to the person she is today, a much happier person than she was then. I asked her to focus on the benefits of the lessons learned, from the ups and downs. I asked her to look at the past and bring “great-fullness” into the situation, simply for having showed up for the experience. She began to cry and release, as she realized she was in fear — she was afraid that she had not yet not realized her ideal relationship and that made her focus on past perceived failures. Her mind has created an ideal situation that she can live up to — she can never do enough or be enough. Her inner dialogue is critical, she’s focused on what’s missing as opposed to what’s showing up.
However, the universe is created anew in every moment. And that means we can choose to shift gear in an instant. How? Here are a few tools that can empower you to move from where you are to here, in the present, dealing with what you feel.
Step 1:
Close your eyes, feel into the physical body, scan yourself. Is the body light or heavy? Are there pockets of density, pockets of light? Feel into you, see what’s showing up.
Now ask those pockets of density if they have a message for you, and listen for a response.
What are you’re not wanting to see, feel, hear or say? Be still for a few moments, see what appears. Just notice what you notice. It could be a color, a sound, an emotion, a person. Let yourself be with what is appearing without judgment. Just let your innate intelligence have a moment to share what is truthfully inside.
Taking inventory can liberate you from all the compart-MENTAL-ization. The mind has pushed down the pain and held on to expectations that the world has to be different than how it is. Or that YOU have to be different than who you are.
ACCEPT that every person is in their perfect place, all them to be who they are, not who you want them to be. Find love and compassion for their constant evolution. I can guarantee if we could do better, having access to what better feels like, all of us would flip the switch and be the best version of ourselves.
Flip the switch inside of you — know you are your best self, and that emotions are just that – “energy in motion.” Take a stand for your life today – that you are evolving at your perfect pace. How we treat others is how we treat ourselves; start with yourself, and then watch your relationships change!
Step 2:
When you see pain, judgment, sadness, regret or fear, fill these emotions with light. We are made up of light and information, so if we infuse the information with deliberate light, the energy can be transformed. Imagine golden suns filling you up from the top of your head down to your toes. Take a few deep breaths as you call in this transformative light.
Step 3:
For-give. For-give yourself and others for having demanded that they be someone other than who they really are. WE have to let everyone off the hook, especially ourselves. How can we ever create a new portrait if we keep repainting over the old one? Get a new canvas. Spend time imagining in your mind’s eye what would feel good, what would delight you. If you are wanting a relationship, imagine yourself with the partner of your dreams having fun, playing, enjoying each other’s company. Tap into that good feeling place. Since the universe doesn’t know time or space or what’s real or fake, it will send signals to the brain that this experience is happening now. This is how to create your new reality, by imagining and feeling that it already exists!
Step 4:
Once you have created this feel good place, you can begin to let go of the past, of the stories that have you trapped. Knowing that the thing you are currently upset about is rooted in the past, jump right in…to discover its source. Tap into the recurring old story, ask yourself where this story comes from – what is the underlying fear or issue. Once identified you will naturally have more compassion for the self, as you see that you have no choice but to play out the story until you bring awareness to what really happened to you. Then you will begin to transform!
Step 5:
Know there is no finish line. Pace yourself, be comfortable as you climb the valleys and peaks. Embrace the pace of the race, and let go. Surrender what you cannot do today. Invite in the answers, solutions and pathways to receiving what you seek in the perfect time. It’s all right here right now…nowhere to turn but inward. I was told once the longest journey you’ll ever take is from the head to the heart, so make this journey one of intention and exploration.
Let the truth set you free into a “great-full” being. What you appreciate appreciates. The attitude of gratitude brings in the focus of love, unity, fulfillment.
FOCUS on what you seek.
Hide and seek…what is hidden is seeking you too.
Play the game of life, make it fun, be in the discovery of you.
Remember, you are the authority of what you think and feel — not your past.
Guide yourself forward toward the focused, vibrant, joyful reality awaiting you!
