YOU ALREADY KNOW how important it is to live in the present moment. But what does living in the moment really look like? Feel like? And, most important, how do you actually do it?

Most of the time, our disconnection from the present moment is unconscious. We spend a large part of our lives blocking out what we don't want to acknowledge and accept. Difficult emotions, most of the time, are at the root of what we resist. In resisting emotion, we not only lose our connection to the present moment, but also to our vitality, our innate joy, and our power to heal and grow.

The following practices are designed to help you find out when, where, and why you might have shut down, and then to bring you back to life as swiftly and enjoyably as possible.

Give yourself some pressure-free time to play with these practices. Their effects will be cumulative. At a level deeper than everyday awareness, your being will begin to blossom. You will feel more peace, love, and contentment than you previously thought possible.

Self-Inquiry

A great sage in India, Ramana Maharshi, wanted to help his disciples break through all illusions of the ego. He sought to provide them with experiential proof that they were each indivisible from all of creation and that any sense of personal separation was totally false. Every moment, according to Ramana, was a sacred whole. He believed that all we need to do to realize these truths is to undertake a simple, yet profound form of self-inquiry.

The PRACTICE: Growing up, you became accustomed to saying "I" to describe yourself. But of what is this "I" composed? Where do you find it? And how? These are the questions that self-inquiry poses.

To practice it and find your own answers, begin to track down the "I" whenever it seems to appear. When a thought arises, ask yourself Am I this thought? When a feeling arises, ask yourself Am I this feeling? Ask the same thing with each and every sensation and experience you have. If you encounter a separate-seeming self that seems to separately witness all of the above, ask yourself Am I this witness? Keep probing deeper and deeper to find your absolute essence.

Do you feel part of a sacred whole?

Respect Your Wiring

Some people are excitable, while others are placid. Some people excel at following directions, while others are best at improvising. Most of us spend a tremendous amount of our lives wishing that we were wired differently, that we could magically shift the basic aspects of our personalities at will. This creates self-opposition, which keeps us from being present to what is. Accepting something about ourselves that we've long resisted, by contrast, is a wonderful way to relax into the Now.

The PRACTICE: Select one aspect of your wiring that you consistently disdain. Perhaps you're shy or talk too much. Perhaps you tend to isolate yourself or to socialize compulsively.

Whatever it is, give yourself a moment to stop fighting. Just let it be. You don't have to like it - just accept it. See how it feels to live without any opposition toward this trait. Keep going until you're loose, expanded, and flowing with energy. Ironically, to whatever degree change is possible, this type of energy is exactly what will bring it about.

Self-Acupressure

Acupuncture, along with its no-needles offshoot, acupressure, works according to an energy-mapping system of the body that's thousands of years old. In the debate about how effectively this system stops pain and cures illness, what's often lost is that each person's response to it is unique and unpredictable.

With a mindset combining openness and skepticism, always a potent duo for increasing presence, try this acupressure experiment the next time you're distracted or unfocused.

The PRACTICE: Hold your hand facing upward. Using the flat end of a pencil or pen, apply gentle and consistent pressure for five minutes to the indentation just above your wrist bone and exactly in line with your pinky. In addition to providing mental clarity, this point, known as SI-5, is also said to help with decision-making. Try it a few times, under different circumstances, and then keep it in your personal "toolbox" if you notice a benefit.

Push Yourself

In every moment, potential exists. Just beyond the boundaries of who we think we are and what we're capable of is always the potential for a new and surprising accomplishment. In order to achieve it, we need to let go of the usual and customary. We need to stretch our limits, gently, to become more of who we're meant to be.

The PRACTICE: Pick an arena of your life where you recognize the presence of some clear limits. Such a limit might be a habit that you haven't been able to break regarding eating or exercise. It might be a knee-jerk way that you express yourself, or keep your true feelings hidden. You also might be limited in how long you're able to stay present when faced with difficult emotions, or in your ability to treat yourself in a nurturing way.

Once you've selected the arena, zero in on a limit that you're willing to stretch over the next week. Think of executing this stretch as you would a yoga position - slowly and gradually exceeding your previous stopping point, but never pushing beyond what you can safely maintain.

In a very real way, if you commit yourself to this practice, you'll be a different person by the time it's complete.

©2006 Raphael Cushnir

Raphael's book
How Now: 100 Ways to Celebrate the Present Moment
is available online at www.HowNow100.com.

Send a beautiful, poetic E-Card FREE from Raphael's website.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

Raphael Cushnir is an author, teacher and popular contributor to O, The Oprah Magazine. To learn more about the book How Now and to send free Moving Moments ecards, visit www.hownow100.com. To learn about Raphael's other projects with individuals and organizations, visit www.livingthequestions.org and www.innermanagement.biz.