Living in the Moment

By John Foley

My favourite film is 'Being There', starring Peter Sellers. This film is based around a simple, sheltered soul who sees all things in terms of nature (the Seasons), as well as the here and now. 'Being There' is relevant in that we live in a society where we spend our waking hours and some of our sleeping hours living in the past and/or planning for the future.

We, as social creatures, generally are not living in the moment and we do not allow ourselves to be there even in conversations with others. In these conversations we are looking at our reactions to the comments made by others and underestimate our brain’s ability to sift through the words, emotions and body language of the other person. By preempting, we move ourselves into the future at the expense of minding the present. The present, this moment is what is important; it will colour, provide direction and influence the outcomes of any future moments. 

Using the last newsletter as a lead into this process I will look at observing thoughts. There is a difference between being aware of a thought and thinking a thought. It is subtle in that it relates to feelings and consequences. Being aware of a thought is like looking at a bubble; it floats but does not lead to other thoughts as does ‘normal’ conscious thought.  It is this normal conscious thought, “thinking thought”, that leads to chains of thoughts, tension and muscular contraction. When thoughts start to have a physiological response we need to realise that this is not a “bad” thing, if we are aware that the thoughts are causing it. This is living in the moment, we acknowledge our feelings to ourselves, especially to ourselves. If we can do this then we are in a position to look at why these thoughts are having this effect on us; we are able to store the connection between these thoughts, their physical response and emotional reaction for later analysis. Later analysis is essential if we are to allow ourselves the opportunity to change.

In this later analysis we are able to be aware of the thoughts without letting the thoughts have a physical response or emotional reaction. The emotions can now be seen for what they are and they are not in a position to take control of our behaviour. You will be able to notice that no physical response has occurred because there will be no change in your energy vibration; calmness and introspection will be possible. Allowing yourself to live in the moment is essential if you are to see the connection between your thoughts, feelings and physical response. Even if the realization makes you feel unhappy, disappointed with yourself or ashamed, this is a positive thing  - Do Not castigate yourself  -  celebrate that you have found a connection between a ‘Button’ and have created an opportunity to change your reaction to it!

The opportunity to do this has been created by allowing yourself to observe yourself, to be aware of your feelings and the triggers that are contained within all of us. The question you now need to ask is: “How do I stop my patterned reactions when these thoughts are triggered?” In other words what do I do when my “Buttons are Pushed”. The only response I can give you to this is by practice of some very simple techniques. In the next newsletter I will list a few techniques that may enable you to commence your journey of ‘living in the moment’.