The Present Moment

 

Photo Credit: Mindfulness Meditation Institute

The Present Moment

Myrko Thum - “The present moment is the only thing where there is no time – it is here and now! It is the point between the past and the future – it is here and now! It is always there and it is the only point we can access in time. Everything that happens, occurs in the present moment. Everything that happened and will ever happen, happens in the present moment. It is impossible for anything to exist outside of it.”

99% of human suffering, mental issues, exists only because we are living in the past or in the future. When we are living in the past, we experience things like resentment, regret, shame, guilt and grief. When we are living in the future, we experience things like anxiety, fear, worry and self-doubt. And when we are living the present moment, there’s no such thing!

Meditation and mindfulness practice helps you stay in the present. The body is always in the present moment, it is the mind which vacillates between the past and the future. For instance, if you have a sick body, then whatever the body is suffering you feel it’s effect ‘now’. If there is an injury to your body, you feel the pain ‘now’ – not in the past or future. Whereas when your body is in the present, your mind travels into the past and into the future.

One can be in the moment by ensuring that the mind remains in the present in company of the body. You can be in the present by making the body and the mind unite. If body and mind are one, then the mind is in the present because the body is always in the present. It means that if you are walking, then your mind too is walking. It’s not that you body is walking and your mind is thinking something else. If you’re eating, then your mind too is eating – it is engaged in the process so body and mind are one.

The other way to be in the present is by focusing on the breath. The breath is always now – there is no past breath or future breath. It is the breath right now. By paying attention to the breath, you can use it as a door to the present moment.

Another thing that comes with our ability to stay present is that we are cultivating fearless presence to whatever shows up in our life. If you have that attitude, then you’re not going to fear any emotion. You’re not going to be a slave to any feeling; you’re going to be able to live life more freely, and that is the value of meditation. It frees up your mind, your heart, your life; it allows you to be more of who you want to be, who you were meant to be. In all of that, living in the present moment is key, and it comes naturally once you build a daily meditation practice.