Article Title: Living in the Now Author Name: Dr. Donald Schnell Contact Email Address: Donald@spiritualjava.com Word Count: 1,180
Category: Personal Development, Motivation, Self Help Copyright Date: 2003
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Living in the Now ©2003 Dr. Donald Schnell
Living in the Now
Your mind is like a TV set. It will give you pictures and images throughout your day. Your whole day is determined in the 7 minutes that you choose what program you are going to watch.
But what channel are you watching? The gossip channel? The tired and miserable channel? The Somebody done me wrong channel? Or are you watching the Success Channel? Happiness channel? The choice is yours.
Take charge of your programming. Make the decision that for the next 7 minutes you are going to be on the "Winners Channel".
Turn on your Winning Potential. Look around you and see everyone you work with as a winner. If you are at home, then see your children as winners. See your spouse as a winner. Reinforce for them whatever it is that they are doing that is helping them to be a winner. Surround yourself with winners and you will be a winner.
Next time you catch yourself thinking idly, watch the thoughts that flow through the mind, what are they? Are you trying to relive the past? Maybe you are reassessing past behavior or events? Maybe you are thinking how it would have been if you acted differently. Are you enacting past events in your mind? Even when thinking or daydreaming about the future it is colored by past experiences. If your past experiences of relationships were pleasant and positive, that is how you going to think about your future relationships. If the experiences were negative, that is how you are going to visualize your future.
It is always the past recreating your life. You may think about What someone told you, how someone treated you, how you did this or that. It is always the past. You are letting the past captivate you and influence your behavior. Reliving the past is recreating it constantly. You are not letting change enter your life. If the past was pleasant it is all right recreating it. But what if it was unpleasant? Living in the present means being aware of what is happening, what you are doing, feeling and thinking. It is being conscious of your thoughts and trying to have your thoughts focused on the present. In this way you look at situations as they are, without coloring them with your past experiences. When you live in such a way you can deal better with whatever you are doing at the present moment.
You see things as they are, without being influenced by fears, anger, desires or attachments. There is a story about two friends traveling by train. One was very nervous, restless and full of complaints the whole trip. He was impatient to reach his destination, and disliked every moment of the trip. He did not pay attention to his surroundings and his mind was full of impatient, restless and grumpy thoughts.
His friend, on the other hand, enjoyed the scenery, drank a cup of coffee, ate a piece of cake and chatted with the other passengers. He enjoyed each moment the trip. He lived in the present moment and made the most of it. On arrival he was fresh and felt good. His friend, as expected, arrived exhausted, tired and unhappy.
It is a matter of the right attitude. When the attitude towards events and life is positive, and the present moment is used to the utmost, life become a happy and enjoyable trip. Living in the present means concentrating on what is happening now, enjoying it and making the most of it. Do you know how many opportunities are missed, because of dwelling on the past, instead of seeing and being conscious of what is happening at the present moment? When our mind is elsewhere, we behave like a robot and repeat the same mistakes of the past, do the same things, and then complain that our life is dull and not interesting.
Wake up
to the present moment and live in it. The past happened and passed, so what is the use of reliving it? Do you enjoy it? If it is a pleasant experience O.K., you want to relive it and recreate it in your life. But why create the same event again, if it is an unhappy one? Why do you repeat something that caused you pain?
We are usually unaware of the process of thinking that is going in us. We think the same thoughts as a matter of habit. They come and we do not resist them. We welcome them even if they are unpleasant. We get accustomed to our thoughts and habits even if we do not admit it. In this way they become stronger and more powerful. As our mind recreates our past, we find that the present is always a mirror of the past. Then all we have to do is complain. Weird, foolish, tragic and funny at the same time, isn't it?
Living in the present means stopping to react impulsively. It means you can choose how to react to people, events and circumstances. In this way you can save yourself a lot of inconvenience and embarrassment. Being aware of what you are doing, make fewer mistakes and you conduct yourself better.
Concentrating on what you are doing develops your concentration; it strengthens your attention, so that work and study are done more quickly and efficiently. When living in the past, that is thinking about all things that have happened, we are enslaves by thoughts and emotions, we are not free.
On the other hand when concentrating on the present moment, on what is happening or what we are doing right now, frees us of unnecessary, burdensome and unpleasant thoughts. We have then peace of mind.
Try to
remember times that you were engrossed in what you were doing, and believe me there were a lot of these moments. Did you ever read a book forgetting everything else? Did you watch a pleasant movie, enjoyed your hobby or ate a very delicious food? In these moments you did not think about anything not connected to what you were doing. You were happy, calm and content. This is the great power and meaning of living in the present. You also get the bonus of freedom from obsessing and unpleasant thoughts. Remember, the present moment is very brief. It always turns immediately into the past. The future has not happened. Live in the present.
After a period of time of living and being aware of the present, a new kind of awareness develops. It is awareness of freedom, of being alive, of happiness and joy. We come to realize the peace, calmness, joy and freedom of thoughts that the mystics talk about. We find out experimentally that what they are talking about is nothing mysterious, mystical or out of this life. You find that this is a most natural and positive state.
Enjoy the present moment! Find the positive, good and useful in each moment! Refuse to relive the past in your mind!
Your mind is like a TV-change the channel!
******************************************** Dr. Donald Schnell co- founded with Marilyn Diamond of Fit For Life, the Spiritual Java Coaching Program, that is transforming thousands. The New Spiritual Diet, Incredible Value, One on One coaching Amazing Results. http://www.SpiritualJava.com or email: Donald@SpiritualJava.com
Donald Schnell is the author of The Initiation. Free Motivational Newsletter, The Buzz http://www.spiritualjava.com
Dr. Donald Schnell co- founded with Marilyn Diamond of Fit For Life, the Spiritual Java Coaching Program, that is transforming thousands. The New Spiritual Diet, Incredible Value, One on One coaching Amazing Results. http://www.SpiritualJava.com or email: Donald@SpiritualJava.com
Donald Schnell is the author of The Initiation. Free Motivational Newsletter, The Buzz http://www.spiritualjava.com