Looking for fun and excitement? Do you sometimes feel like you are living within a confined domain of potential experiences – searching for new experiences but not really knowing why, except that they are fun and they take you outside of your normal day to day programming? What if what you are really looking for is a lot simpler than constantly getting the buzz of excitement?
Programming is not quite living. Because you constantly follow the plan, you know what you are supposed to do next; you need to always think predictively to achieve your plan. You know exactly what you can and cannot do.
Living in the moment does not go well with thinking about the future or the past. Living in the moment is getting fully imbued with what is happening right now. Having the kind of focus on the present and on yourself that does not allow for any worries, for any future plans, for any straying thoughts. When you fully focus on the present moment alone, it is like a whole new dimension of experience opens up. You suddenly feel more in touch with your true nature, and you are sure of what you want and how to get it, or how to clearly express it. Focus on just being, without any other interruptions.
“When people are not in the moment, they’re not there to know that they’re not there.” says Ellen Langer, a psychologist at Harvard and author of Mindfulness.
That is why, perhaps, when you begin focusing on the present moment it sort of feels like you are really awake, maybe even for the first time.
“Mindfulness decreases ego involvement,” says Michael Kernis.
And it is true. The ego relies on a sort of contract with the surrounding world. A contract that states what people can expect of you and also how you expect people to treat you back. As you focus on the moment and less on the upholding of this contract, it feels like the ego is suddenly not so important anymore, while still being quite clear on who you are and what you want.
One of the big problems we have today is boredom. You constantly hear people say that they are bored. While, really, this is the most exciting time in history to be living in. You have access to virtually an unlimited number of possibilities of spending your time. Your curiosity is your only limit. I think it all relates to the ability to focus on the present. A bored person is just a person who is constantly waiting for something else to happen, something other than what is actually happening.
One of the consequences of trying to be as present as possible is enjoying richer experiences. It seems like the sheer quantity of stimuli you can process increases; or maybe their quality. The flavor of things, the quality of sound, the visual richness around you, all of your senses.
So how do you do it?
To me, the easiest way was to start by doing something I really enjoy. Whatever manages to reach out to the strings of your heart. It is then you get the feeling you would like to prolong that moment for as much as possible. It is then that time presses you to make the most of it. And in really trying to retain the moment, the moment retains you.
Remembering to repeat the experience often enough to transform it in a habit would be the second step. The clarity of living in the present adds a lot to your day to day life.
Living in the present is not a destination. This is it. You’re already there.
