Have You Been Pulled Out of Presence Lately?

 

pulled out of presenc

There are any numbers of ways to get pulled out of the present moment.

The present moment, after all, is just a moment, surrounded by vast moments of past and vast moments of future.

It’s no wonder why it can be hard to find our place in the present moment on a consistent basis in our own personal presence or in our presence of mind.
There are times when you know you are not in the present.   That’s when you consciously step out to remember something from the past, or when you spend time during our day dreaming about the future.
The good news is in those times, you can easily see the value of our departure for what cool things it can bring us.
What about the times though, when you are not so conscious about your departure from the present moment?
Why might you want more personal presence?  Do you realize how much you lose or gain in those moments?

INVISIBLE_TEXT

Do you TUNE-OUT?  Do you worry?

Those are just two signs you are being pulled out of the present moment

 

INVISIBLE_TEXT

 

 

Here is a very short list of examples of moments where you might just lose sight of the present moment:

Tuning out, when listening to a friend’s story (or sentence)
Tuning in to the TV
Forcing things:  this thing must be done in this order.
Seeking approval, validation or love:  “Sure, I’d be glad to help you now”
Reading a restaurant menu: How many times have you ordered the sample dish that walked by you a few moments before?
Eating a meal (Especially if multi-tasking… reading, talking, watching TV)
Walking down the street during rush hour
Sitting on the train
Driving a car (Have you ever realized you just traveled 10 blocks but you don’t remember driving them?)
Any time you self-hypnotize yourself (reading a book, listening to a story, thinking of big concepts like love, abundance, etc.)
Paying bills
Avoiding things: housework, home repairs
Being late for meetings or appointments
Putting on non-matching socks or your sweater inside out
Holding on to that financial stock – way too long
Cocktail parties
Mini-Rules: When we use mini-rules as decision-making tools. (Things must run one way)
Silk-lined rabbit holes:  Those little tunnels of information gathering, YouTube watching and URL link following
Shiny Object Syndrome: I will be complete – when I have THAT new thingy.
Conscious presence takes conscious choice of choosing to be present.  We intuitively know it would be almost impossible to be present to everything, all the time – for we would be overwhelmed by information and sensations. There are many examples out there where it’s shown we process by filtering and generalizing.
It can be easier to stay present when you have a particular goal to do so.  Like when you were in school and you paid attention in class because you knew there was an exam in the morning.

To put being present into practice, here are a few methods I suggest:

1. Pick a particular time of day to bring yourself into full presence:
a. A morning meditation
b. Watching the sunset, and/or expressing gratitude
c. Mindfully eat a meal
2. Practice an awareness practice
a. The Gap Between the Thoughts Awareness Exercise (video)( 15 minute visualization)
3. Getting out into and listen to nature  and take some deep, deep breaths.
4. Just breathe.
Decide how you will define success for your own personal presence.  Will be a sunset watched? a mindful meal?  something else?

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