59. |
Live in the Present |
If you listen carefully to what people say, you will quickly realize that many of them spend most of their waking hours living in the past or future. They talk about how wonderful life was way back when, in some long-ago time. They reminisce about the “good old days” and how they wish things were that way again. The truth is, the good old days were not all that good. We just remember them as being that way because our mind typically retains the good from the past but not the rest. Reflecting on and reminiscing about the past is not necessarily a bad thing, but trying to live there is absurd.
When they’re not yearning for the past, people live in some far-off imaginary future — all the while missing out on the present, which is the only time that exists.
Life is taking place in the here and now.
Now is the only time that exists. It is also where your personal power lies. Louise Hay, author of several books and the founder of Hay House, one of the leading metaphysical and personal-development publishing companies, wrote in You Can Heal Your Life, “The point of power is in the present moment.”
This is a significant statement. Now is where you work, live your life, and create your future. What you are feeling in the present moment is what is attracting your future circumstances to you. At work, the job you’re doing today is paving the way for your future success, or lack thereof. This is another reason to always deliver your best.
Living in the now is the way to feel at ease and protected. We experience stress when our mind is focused on a past or future event. We become upset when we replay a past mistake or worry about a nonexistent future. The truth is, there is no worry in the present.
This idea has been written about for centuries, from the Bible message of “Watch ye therefore: for you know not when the Master comes” (Mark 13:35), to author Baba Ram Dass’s classic Remember: Be Here Now, to The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, which advises us, “Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have. Make the now the primary focus of your life.”
The more you can remain in the present, the more your life will flow. Ideas will come to you. The solution to a pressing problem will pop into your mind, and your stress will lessen or disappear altogether.
Does this mean you should not imagine your ideal future? Of course not, but it’s important to realize that while you’re envisioning your magnificent future, you are doing so in the present time. There’s nothing wrong with building castles in the sky as long as you don’t try to move into them.
What really matters is how you are feeling right now. Since you are, by virtue of the law of attraction, creating and attracting your future based on how you feel in the present, it is essential to do whatever you can to feel good now.
If you find yourself in a stressful situation, or feeling worried or fearful, stop whatever you are doing and become still for a moment or two. Take a couple of long, slow, deep breaths. As you exhale, feel yourself connecting to the earth. Continue to do this, if only for a minute or two, and you will begin to feel calmer. As you become more centered, your mind will quiet and you will be able to access more of your personal power. You may even want to imagine a bright light of protection from the heavens. Allow this light to engulf you, and let yourself feel its divine power.
The more you practice living in the present, the more your life will be in flow. If you want to know more about this idea, I suggest you read Tolle’s The Power of Now.