10 Tips to Start Living in the Present

One of the best, unforeseen consequence of simplifying our lives is it

has allowed us to begin living our lives in the present. Eliminating
nonessential possessions has freed us from many of the emotions
associated with past lives that were keeping us stuck. And clearing our
home has allowed us the freedom to shape our lives today around our
most important values.

Choosing to live in the past or the future not only robs you of enjoyment
today, it robs you of truly living. The only important moment is the
present moment. With that goal in mind, consider this list of ten tips
below to start living your life in the present:

1. Remove unneeded possessions. Minimalism forces you to live in

the present. Removing items associated with past memories or lives
frees us up to stop living in the past and start living in the present.
2. Smile. Each day is full of endless possibilities! Start it with a smile.
You are in control of your attitude every morning, keep it optimistic and
expectant.
3. Fully appreciate the moments of today. Soak in as much of today
as you possibly can – the sights, the sounds, the smells, the emotions,
the triumph, and the sorrow.
4. Forgive past hurts. If you are harboring resentment towards another
human being because of past hurts, choose to forgive and move on. The
harm was their fault. But allowing it to impact your mood today is yours.
5. Love your job. If you just “survive” the workweek constantly waiting
for the next weekend “to get here,” you are wasting 71% of your life (5
out of 7 days). there are two solutions: 1) find a new job that you
actually enjoy (it’s out there), or 2) find something that you appreciate
about your current career and focus on that rather than the negatives.
6. Dream about the future, but work hard today. Dream big. Set goals
and plans for the future. But working hard today is always the first step
towards realizing your dreams tomorrow. Don’t allow dreaming about
tomorrow to replace living in today.
7. Don’t dwell on past accomplishments. If you are still talking about
what you did yesterday, you haven’t done much today.
8. Stop worrying. You can’t fully appreciate today if you worry too much
about tomorrow. Realize that tomorrow is going to happen whether you
worry about it or not. And since worry has never accomplished anything
for anybody, redirect your mental energy elsewhere.
9. Think beyond old solutions to problems. Our world is changing so
fast that most of yesterday’s solutions are no longer the right answers
today. Don’t get locked into a “but that’s how we’ve always done it”
mentality. Yesterday’s solutions are not today’s solutions and they are
certainly not tomorrow’s solutions.
10. Conquer addictions. Addictions in your life hold you hostage. They
keep you from living a completely free life today. Find some help. Take
the steps. And remove their influence over your life.
If you can only live one moment at a time, you might as well make it the
present.
The Art of Now: Six Steps to
Living in the Moment- By Jay
Dixit
A friend was walking in the desert when he found the telephone to God.
The setting was Burning Man, an electronic arts and music festival for
which 50,000 people descend on Black Rock City, Nevada, for eight days
of "radical self-expression"—dancing, socializing, meditating, and
debauchery.

A phone booth in the middle of the desert with a sign that said "Talk to
God" was a surreal sight even at Burning Man. The idea was that you
picked up the phone, and God—or someone claiming to be God—would be
at the other end to ease your pain.

So when God came on the line asking how he could help, my friend was
ready. "How can I live more in the moment?" he asked. Too often, he felt,
the beautiful moments of his life were drowned out by a cacophony of self-
consciousness and anxiety. What could he do to hush the buzzing of his
mind?

"Breathe," replied a soothing male voice.

My friend flinched at the tired new-age mantra, then reminded himself to

keep an open mind. When God talks, you listen.

"Whenever you feel anxious about your future or your past, just breathe,"
continued God. "Try it with me a few times right now. Breathe in... breathe
out." And despite himself, my friend began to relax.

You Are Not Your Thoughts

Life unfolds in the present. But so often, we let the present slip away,
allowing time to rush past unobserved and unseized, and squandering the
precious seconds of our lives as we worry about the future and ruminate
about what's past. "We're living in a world that contributes in a major way to
mental fragmentation, disintegration, distraction, decoherence," says
Buddhist scholar B. Alan Wallace. We're always doing something, and we
allow little time to practice stillness and calm.
When we're at work, we fantasize about being on vacation; on vacation, we
worry about the work piling up on our desks. We dwell on
intrusive memories of the past or fret about what may or may not happen in
the future. We don't appreciate the living present because our "monkey
minds," as Buddhists call them, vault from thought to thought like monkeys
swinging from tree to tree.

Most of us don't undertake our thoughts in awareness. Rather, our

thoughts control us. "Ordinary thoughts course through our mind like a
deafening waterfall," writes Jon Kabat-Zinn, the biomedical scientist who
introduced meditation into mainstream medicine. In order to feel more in
control of our minds and our lives, to find the sense of balance that eludes
us, we need to step out of this current, to pause, and, as Kabat-Zinn puts it,
to "rest in stillness—to stop doing and focus on just being."

We need to live more in the moment. Living in the moment—also

called mindfulness—is a state of active, open, intentional attention on the
present. When you become mindful, you realize that you are not your
thoughts; you become an observer of your thoughts from moment to
moment without judging them. Mindfulness involves being with your
thoughts as they are, neither grasping at them nor pushing them away.
Instead of letting your life go by without living it, you awaken to experience.

Cultivating a nonjudgmental awareness of the present bestows a host of

benefits. Mindfulness reduces stress, boosts immune functioning,
reduces chronic pain, lowers blood pressure, and helps patients cope with
cancer. By alleviating stress, spending a few minutes a day actively
focusing on living in the moment reduces the risk of heart disease.
Mindfulness may even slow the progression of HIV.

Mindful people are happier, more exuberant, more empathetic, and more
secure. They have higher self-esteem and are more accepting of their own
weaknesses. Anchoring awareness in the here and now reduces the kinds
of impulsivity and reactivity that underlie depression, binge eating, and
attention problems. Mindful people can hear negative feedback without
feeling threatened. They fight less with their romantic partners and are
more accommodating and less defensive. As a result, mindful couples have
more satisfying relationships.

Mindfulness is at the root of Buddhism, Taoism, and many Native-American

traditions, not to mention yoga. It's why Thoreau went to Walden Pond; it's
what Emerson and Whitman wrote about in their essays and poems.
"Everyone agrees it's important to live in the moment, but the problem is
how," says Ellen Langer, a psychologist at Harvard and author
of Mindfulness. "When people are not in the moment, they're not there to
know that they're not there." Overriding the distraction reflex and
awakening to the present takes intentionality and practice.

Living in the moment involves a profound paradox: You can't pursue it for
its benefits. That's because the expectation of reward launches a future-
oriented mindset, which subverts the entire process. Instead, you just have
to trust that the rewards will come. There are many paths to mindfulness—
and at the core of each is a paradox. Ironically, letting go of what you want
is the only way to get it. Here are a few tricks to help you along.

1: To improve your performance, stop thinking

about it (unselfconsciousness).
I've never felt comfortable on a dance floor. My movements feel awkward. I
feel like people are judging me. I never know what to do with my arms. I
want to let go, but I can't, because I know I look ridiculous.

"Loosen up, no one's watching you," people always say. "Everyone's too
busy worrying about themselves." So how come they always make fun of
my dancing the next day?

The dance world has a term for people like me: "absolute beginner." Which
is why my dance teacher, Jessica Hayden, the owner of Shockra Studio in
Manhattan, started at the beginning, sitting me down on a bench and
having me tap my feet to the beat as Jay-Z thumped away in the
background. We spent the rest of the class doing "isolations"—moving just
our shoulders, ribs, or hips—to build "body awareness."

But even more important than body awareness, Hayden said, was present-
moment awareness. "Be right here right now!" she'd say. "Just let go and
let yourself be in the moment."

That's the first paradox of living in the moment: Thinking too hard about
what you're doing actually makes you do worse. If you're in a situation that
makes you anxious—giving a speech, introducing yourself to a stranger,
dancing—focusing on your anxiety tends to heighten it. "When I say, 'be
here with me now,' I mean don't zone out or get too in-your-head—instead,
follow my energy, my movements," says Hayden. "Focus less on what's
going on in your mind and more on what's going on in the room, less on
your mental chatter and more on yourself as part of something." To be
most myself, I needed to focus on things outside myself, like the music or
the people around me.

Indeed, mindfulness blurs the line between self and other, explains Michael
Kernis, a psychologist at the University of Georgia. "When people are
mindful, they're more likely to experience themselves as part of humanity,
as part of a greater universe." That's why highly mindful people such as
Buddhist monks talk about being "one with everything."

By reducing self-consciousness, mindfulness allows you to witness the

passing drama of feelings, social pressures, even of being esteemed or
disparaged by others without taking their evaluations personally, explain
Richard Ryan and K. W. Brown of the University of Rochester. When you
focus on your immediate experience without attaching it to your self-
esteem, unpleasant events like social rejection—or your so-
called friendsmaking fun of your dancing—seem less threatening.

Focusing on the present moment also forces you to stop overthinking.

"Being present-minded takes away some of that self-evaluation and getting
lost in your mind—and in the mind is where we make the evaluations that
beat us up," says Stephen Schueller, a psychologist at the University of
Pennsylvania. Instead of getting stuck in your head and worrying, you can
let yourself go.

2: To avoid worrying about the future, focus on

the present (savoring).
In her memoir Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert writes about a friend who,
whenever she sees a beautiful place, exclaims in a near panic, "It's so
beautiful here! I want to come back here someday!" "It takes all my
persuasive powers," writes Gilbert, "to try to convince her that she is
already here."

Often, we're so trapped in thoughts of the future or the past that we forget
to experience, let alone enjoy, what's happening right now. We sip coffee
and think, "This is not as good as what I had last week." We eat a cookie
and think, "I hope I don't run out of cookies."

Instead, relish or luxuriate in whatever you're doing at the present

moment—what psychologists call savoring. "This could be while you're
eating a pastry, taking a shower, or basking in the sun. You could be
savoring a success or savoring music," explains Sonja Lyubomirsky, a
psychologist at the University of California at Riverside and author of The
How of Happiness. "Usually it involves your senses."

When subjects in a study took a few minutes each day to actively savor
something they usually hurried through—eating a meal, drinking a cup of
tea, walking to the bus—they began experiencing more joy, happiness, and
other positive emotions, and fewer depressive symptoms, Schueller found.

Why does living in the moment make people happier—not just at the
moment they're tasting molten chocolate pooling on their tongue, but
lastingly? Because most negative thoughts concern the past or the future.
As Mark Twain said, "I have known a great many troubles, but most of
them never happened." The hallmark of depression and anxiety is
catastrophizing—worrying about something that hasn't happened yet and
might not happen at all. Worry, by its very nature, means thinking about the
future—and if you hoist yourself into awareness of the present moment,
worrying melts away.

The flip side of worrying is ruminating, thinking bleakly about events in the
past. And again, if you press your focus into the now, rumination ceases.
Savoring forces you into the present, so you can't worry about things that
aren't there.

3: If you want a future with your significant

other, inhabit the present (breathe).
Living consciously with alert interest has a powerful effect on interpersonal
life. Mindfulness actually inoculates people against aggressive impulses,
say Whitney Heppner and Michael Kernis of the University of Georgia. In a
study they conducted, each subject was told that other subjects were
forming a group—and taking a vote on whether she could join. Five
minutes later, the experimenter announced the results—either the subject
had gotten the least number of votes and been rejected or she'd been
accepted. Beforehand, half the subjects had undergone a mindfulness
exercise in which each slowly ate a raisin, savoring its taste and texture
and focusing on each sensation.

Later, in what they thought was a separate experiment, subjects had the
opportunity to deliver a painful blast of noise to another person. Among
subjects who hadn't eaten the raisin, those who were told they'd been
rejected by the group became aggressive, inflicting long and painful sonic
blasts without provocation. Stung by social rejection, they took it out on
other people.

But among those who'd eaten the raisin first, it didn't matter whether they'd
been ostracized or embraced. Either way, they were serene and unwilling
to inflict pain on others—exactly like those who were given word of social
acceptance.

How does being in the moment make you less aggressive? "Mindfulness
decreases ego involvement," explains Kernis. "So people are less likely to
link their self-esteem to events and more likely to take things at face value."
Mindfulness also makes people feel more connected to other people—that
empathic feeling of being "at one with the universe."

Mindfulness boosts your awareness of how you interpret and react to

what's happening in your mind. It increases the gap between emotional
impulse and action, allowing you to do what Buddhists call recognizing the
spark before the flame. Focusing on the present reboots your mind so you
can respond thoughtfully rather than automatically. Instead of lashing out
in anger, backing down in fear, or mindlessly indulging a passing craving,
you get the opportunity to say to yourself, "This is the emotion I'm feeling.
How should I respond?"

Mindfulness increases self-control; since you're not getting thrown by

threats to your self-esteem, you're better able to regulate your behavior.
That's the other irony: Inhabiting your own mind more fully has a powerful
effect on your interactions with others.

Of course, during a flare-up with your significant other it's rarely practical to
duck out and savor a raisin. But there's a simple exercise you can do
anywhere, anytime to induce mindfulness: Breathe. As it turns out, the
advice my friend got in the desert was spot-on. There's no better way to
bring yourself into the present moment than to focus on your breathing.
Because you're placing your awareness on what's happening right now,
you propel yourself powerfully into the present moment. For many, focusing
on the breath is the preferred method of orienting themselves to the now—
not because the breath has some magical property, but because it's always
there with you.
4: To make the most of time, lose track of it
(flow).
Perhaps the most complete way of living in the moment is the state of total
absorption psychologists call flow. Flow occurs when you're so engrossed
in a task that you lose track of everything else around you. Flow embodies
an apparent paradox: How can you be living in the moment if you're not
even aware of the moment? The depth of engagement absorbs you
powerfully, keeping attention so focused that distractions cannot penetrate.
You focus so intensely on what you're doing that you're unaware of the
passage of time. Hours can pass without you noticing.

Flow is an elusive state. As with romance or sleep, you can't just will
yourself into it—all you can do is set the stage, creating the optimal
conditions for it to occur.

The first requirement for flow is to set a goal that's challenging but not
unattainable—something you have to marshal your resources and stretch
yourself to achieve. The task should be matched to your ability level—not
so difficult that you'll feel stressed, but not so easy that you'll get bored. In
flow, you're firing on all cylinders to rise to a challenge.

To set the stage for flow, goals need to be clearly defined so that you
always know your next step. "It could be playing the next bar in a scroll of
music, or finding the next foothold if you're a rock climber, or turning the
page if you're reading a good novel," says Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the
psychologist who first defined the concept of flow. "At the same time, you're
kind of anticipating."

You also need to set up the task in such a way that you receive direct and
immediate feedback; with your successes and failures apparent, you can
seamlessly adjust your behavior. A climber on the mountain knows
immediately if his foothold is secure; a pianist knows instantly when she's
played the wrong note.

As your attentional focus narrows, self-consciousness evaporates. You feel

as if your awareness merges with the action you're performing. You feel a
sense of personal mastery over the situation, and the activity is so
intrinsically rewarding that although the task is difficult, action feels
effortless.
5: If something is bothering you, move toward it
rather than away from it (acceptance).
We all have pain in our lives, whether it's the ex we still long for, the
jackhammer snarling across the street, or the sudden wave of anxiety when
we get up to give a speech. If we let them, such irritants can distract us
from the enjoyment of life. Paradoxically, the obvious response—focusing
on the problem in order to combat and overcome it—often makes it worse,
argues Stephen Hayes, a psychologist at the University of Nevada.

The mind's natural tendency when faced with pain is to attempt to avoid
it—by trying to resist unpleasant thoughts, feelings, and sensations. When
we lose a love, for instance, we fight our feelings of heartbreak. As we get
older, we work feverishly to recapture our youth. When we're sitting in the
dentist's chair waiting for a painful root canal, we wish we were anywhere
but there. But in many cases, negative feelings and situations can't be
avoided—and resisting them only magnifies the pain.

The problem is we have not just primary emotions but also secondary
ones—emotions about other emotions. We get stressed out and then think,
"I wish I weren't so stressed out." The primary emotion is stress over your
workload. The secondary emotion is feeling, "I hate being stressed."

It doesn't have to be this way. The solution is acceptance—letting the

emotion be there. That is, being open to the way things are in each
moment without trying to manipulate or change the experience—without
judging it, clinging to it, or pushing it away. The present moment can only
be as it is. Trying to change it only frustrates and exhausts you.
Acceptance relieves you of this needless extra suffering.

Suppose you've just broken up with your girlfriend or boyfriend; you're

heartbroken, overwhelmed by feelings of sadness and longing. You could
try to fight these feelings, essentially saying, "I hate feeling this way; I need
to make this feeling go away." But by focusing on the pain—being sad
about being sad—you only prolong the sadness. You do yourself a favor by
accepting your feelings, saying instead, "I've just had a breakup. Feelings
of loss are normal and natural. It's OK for me to feel this way."

Acceptance of an unpleasant state doesn't mean you don't have goals for
the future. It just means you accept that certain things are beyond your
control. The sadness, stress, pain, or anger is there whether you like it or
not. Better to embrace the feeling as it is.
Nor does acceptance mean you have to like what's happening.
"Acceptance of the present moment has nothing to do with resignation,"
writes Kabat-Zinn. "Acceptance doesn't tell you what to do. What happens
next, what you choose to do; that has to come out of your understanding of
this moment."

If you feel anxiety, for instance, you can accept the feeling, label it as
anxiety—then direct your attention to something else instead. You watch
your thoughts, perceptions, and emotions flit through your mind without
getting involved. Thoughts are just thoughts. You don't have to believe
them and you don't have to do what they say.

6: Know that you don't know (engagement).

You've probably had the experience of driving along a highway only to
suddenly realize you have no memory or awareness of the previous 15
minutes. Maybe you even missed your exit. You just zoned out; you were
somewhere else, and it's as if you've suddenly woken up at the wheel. Or
maybe it happens when you're reading a book: "I know I just read that
page, but I have no idea what it said."

These autopilot moments are what Harvard's Ellen Langer calls

mindlessness—times when you're so lost in your thoughts that you aren't
aware of your present experience. As a result, life passes you by without
registering on you. The best way to avoid such blackouts, Langer says, is
to develop the habit of always noticing new things in whatever situation
you're in. That process creates engagement with the present moment and
releases a cascade of other benefits. Noticing new things puts you
emphatically in the here and now.

We become mindless, Langer explains, because once we think we know

something, we stop paying attention to it. We go about our morning
commute in a haze because we've trod the same route a hundred times
before. But if we see the world with fresh eyes, we realize almost
everything is different each time—the pattern of light on the buildings, the
faces of the people, even the sensations and feelings we experience along
the way. Noticing imbues each moment with a new, fresh quality. Some
people have termed this "beginner's mind."

By acquiring the habit of noticing new things, says Langer, we recognize

that the world is actually changing constantly. We really don't know how the
espresso is going to taste or how the commute will be—or at least, we're
not sure.
Orchestra musicians who are instructed to make their performance new in
subtle ways not only enjoy themselves more but audiences actually prefer
those performances. "When we're there at the moment, making it new, it
leaves an imprint in the music we play, the things we write, the art we
create, in everything we do," says Langer. "Once you recognize that you
don't know the things you've always taken for granted, you set out of the
house quite differently. It becomes an adventure in noticing—and the more
you notice, the more you see." And the more excitement you feel.

Don't Just Do Something, Sit There

Living a consistently mindful life takes effort. But mindfulness itself is easy.
"People set the goal of being mindful for the next 20 minutes or the next
two weeks, then they think mindfulness is difficult because they have the
wrong yardstick," says Jay Winner, a California-based family physician and
author of Take the Stress out of Your Life. "The correct yardstick is just for
this moment."

Mindfulness is the only intentional, systematic activity that is not about

trying to improve yourself or get anywhere else, explains Kabat-Zinn. It is
simply a matter of realizing where you already are. A cartoon from The
New Yorkersums it up: Two monks are sitting side by side, meditating. The
younger one is giving the older one a quizzical look, to which the older one
responds, "Nothing happens next. This is it."

You can become mindful at any moment just by paying attention to your
immediate experience. You can do it right now. What's happening this
instant? Think of yourself as an eternal witness, and just observe the
moment. What do you see, hear, smell? It doesn't matter how it feels—
pleasant or unpleasant, good or bad—you roll with it because it's what's
present; you're not judging it. And if you notice your mind wandering, bring
yourself back. Just say to yourself, "Now. Now. Now."

Here's the most fundamental paradox of all: Mindfulness isn't a goal,

because goals are about the future, but you do have to set the intention of
paying attention to what's happening at the present moment. As you read
the words printed on this page, as your eyes distinguish the black squiggles
on white paper, as you feel gravity anchoring you to the planet, wake up.
Become aware of being alive. And breathe. As you draw your next breath,
focus on the rise of your abdomen on the in-breath, the stream of heat
through your nostrils on the out-breath. If you're aware of that feeling right
now, as you're reading this, you're living in the moment. Nothing happens
next. It's not a destination. This is it. You're already there.
What Is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is the act of BEING HERE NOW, or focusing your attention on

what you are doing and your surroundings; your mind is not in the past nor
is it in the future. It is right here, right now. The key to being mindful is
to stay present with mindfulness exercises.

Being in the moment is something that’s rare these days. We are pulled in
so many directions by too much stimuli, too much responsibilities and too
much hurrying. All this does is cause the mind to be always in the past
(“shoulda, woulda, coulda”) or in the future (worry about what might
happen). The result is stress and an unnecessarily complicated life.

It’s impossible and unrealistic to be aware of everything, all the time. The
brain would crash!

You know what it’s like when you’re at a mall and there is different music
coming from every store and there are bright lights and smells, people
milling around, advertising designed to capture your attention — it’s
sensory overload! If you need to concentrate on something (like exactly
where you are in the mall, and the location of the store you need to find
because it’s closing in 10 minutes) you find yourself wishing everything
would just SHUT UP AND SHUT DOWN until you get your bearings.

So, getting your mind under control and being able to focus and shut out
distractions will make you happier and calmer, and it will help you see
things as they are, not as you believe them to be. That is the basis of
mindfulness training: to stay present in the moment.

The following mindfulness exercises and mindfulness training will result in a

tremendous release of stress and worry, and will give you the ability to do
your absolute best in any endeavor. Use these exercises when you’re
flustered and pulled in a million directions at once; when you can’t get
something OUT of your head; or when you just need to do a good job.
1. Reverse the order you do things.

Allow yourself to enter a beginner’s mindset by reversing the order in which

you towel yourself off, get dressed, and put on your socks and shoes in the
morning. This will help your mind to stay out of its all-too-common auto
settings and instead help it to stay present in the moment of the task.

2. Write with the opposite hand.

Use the mouse with the opposite hand or brush your hair with the opposite
hand. You’ll laugh at how preschool-ish your handwriting suddenly
becomes, and how you really have to focus on making your letters NOT
look like potatoes!

3. Reorganize your books.

Stack them in a spiral, or organize them by color.

4. Pay attention to the full experience of walking.

Take a moment to focus on the sensations, the small and large movements
you make while walking, how objects seem to move past you, the
temperature, the wind, etc.

5. Pay attention to the full experience of breathing.

The sounds, sensations, smells, etc. (this is a great way to get into a deep
meditative state).

6. Change up your routine.

Drive a different way to work, reverse the order in which you get ready in
the morning, and eat something new for breakfast. Change up your routine
anytime you can.
7. Play the A-Z game.

As you walk in an urban area (NOT while you are driving, please), try to spot
all the letters of the alphabet, in order, as you walk. This works with
numbers too; set an arbitrary number and count them in order (either
backwards or forwards).

8. Periodically stop and smile.

Become aware of the immediate physiological response in your body. Feels

great, doesn’t it?

9. Whenever you catch yourself doing something out of habit,

STOP.

Start over and do it a different way. Even if it’s a destructive habit, go ahead
and indulge but be VERY mindful of the process. You can choose how to
make the action different — light your cigarette or pour your drink with the
opposite hand. And, if it’s a destructive habit, become aware of the urge;
become aware of the actions you are taking and the physiological response
to the habit.

10. Take a deep breath.

While you hold it, notice and name 5 things you can see, feel, hear.

The point of all of these exercises is to get you out of your routine and
habits and into the present moment.

Whenever something becomes habit, you stop being aware of it or mindful

of it. In a sense this is good because otherwise your mind would become
overwhelmed instantly if you were to try to stir your soup and have a
conversation at the same time.

This amazing ability lets us focus on the more important things by relegating
the habits to the subconscious.
However, we lose a lot of a great life experience when we stop being aware.
We lose the beauty and magic in every moment because we are always
rushing on to the next moment… and the next… and the next… or we are
stuck in a past moment… or we alternate between past and future without
giving any attention to right now.

You can use Omharmonics as powerful mindfulness meditation. Become

very involved in the soundtrack and how your body is feeling while you
meditate. Just these two points of focus are enough to keep your mind
occupied, at least for a while. Anytime your mind wanders, bring it back to
the experience of listening to Omharmonics. You’ll notice that your mind is
going to wander a lot (and persistently) in the beginning. With training,
you’ll be able to extend your present-awareness for longer and longer
periods.

You can use the above exercises as mindfulness based stress

reduction anytime. Some of these don’t require any extra time or effort
— just present-focus.

Mindfulness-based stress reduction is the most effective way to handle

stress. Better than exercise (which helps, but doesn’t last) and far, far better
than any escapist activity you can think of.

There is no stress if you are not worrying about what might happen. There
is no stress if you are not feeling resentment or guilt about the past. In the
moment, there is only happiness and peace.
MINDFULNESS ACCORDING TO THE BHAGAVAD GĪTĀ

Here is some wisdom from the 700-verse Hindu scripture known as the Bhagavad Gītā (§2.70-72):

One attains peace in whose mind all desires enter without creating any disturbance, as river waters
enter the full ocean without creating a disturbance. One who desires material objects is never peaceful.

One who abandons all desires and becomes free from longing and the feeling of ‘I’ and ‘my’ attains
peace.

O Arjuna, this is the Braahmee or superconscious state. Attaining this [state], one is no longer
deluded. Gaining this state, even at the end of one's life, a person attains oneness with the Supreme.

There is much in the above that is worthy of attention and comment. Note, for example, that it is stated
that desires ‘enter’ the mind. One might have thought the word ‘arise’ would be more suitable, but I
think the word ‘enter’ is correct. Thoughts, desires, feelings and sensations will not only arise, they will
inevitably enter our consciousness. It is often not in our conscious power or control to prevent these
things from ‘entering’ our consciousness. However, the advice we are given is that if we want peace we
should let these things enter ‘without creating any disturbance.’ Buddha Shakyamuni gave the same
advice, saying:

Whatever suffering arises

Has a reaction as its cause.
If all reactions cease to be
Then there is no more suffering.
We experience a ‘sensation,’ which may be physical or mental. If we react to that sensation with
‘liking’ or ‘disliking’ – that is, with craving, attachment or aversion – the sensation ‘creates a
disturbance.’ The result? Pain, suffering or distress---because we fail to be one with whatever be the
experience of the moment. That is the essence of mindfulness---being one with the activity in which
we are momentarily involved. For that to happen---if 'happen' be the right word---we must
be consciously and choicelessly aware in the present moment, from one moment to the
next, regardless of what we are doing, and regardlessof what is taking place in and around us. Simple
as that.

Now, if we simply allow ourselves to be dispassionately and choicelessly aware of sensations as and
when they arise---that is, if we act mindfully---then there is no ‘cause’ to produce any pain, suffering or
distress. In other words, no reaction, no cause … and no effect. It is only when we act and
react mindlessly that we create and suffer from ‘disturbances.’ Remember, mindfulness is not about
stopping the mind, thoughts or sensations; it's about allowing thoughts and sensations to
be present in the mind but not letting them 'run' you---that is, 'create a disturbance.'

Elsewhere in the Gita (in more than one place) we are told to develop and maintain a 'stable mind'---
'Becoming stable, without seeing here and there,/ Concentrating vision on the tip of [one's]
nose,/ With mind fully not roaming here and there' (§6.13-14). A stable mind is, to use my phrase, a
'mindful mind of no-mind', that is, a mind which is fixed and focused in the moment, choicelessly
aware of whatever is. A stable mind is a mind which, despite constant flux, and even in the midst of
disturbance---for sometimes that is inevitable---is nevertheless focused on what is appropriate for our
spiritual growth. A stable mind does not discriminate, nor does it 'roam here and there'---the latter
being a very good description of mindlessness. Unless the mind be stable, it is impossible to have any
peace of mind whatsoever. However, don't think for one moment that a stable mind is an 'unthinking'
mind. No, a stable mind is a mind which has ceased to think mindlessly, and which avoids
attachments, entanglements and aversions of all kinds. It is a mind which accepts relative 'good' and
'bad' equally as the way of life---that is, the way things are.

I love the statement that those who desire material objects are never peaceful. Of course that is the
case, for the people in question are never without fear. There is the fear of failure---that one might fail
to secure the material things sought after. Material things, once gained, tend to generate more fear---
especially the fear of loss, that what has been gained might disappear ... and then what? Also,
attachment to material things always results in an outflow of power to outside things, and that comes
at a great cost. You see, you can't have your power as well as your attachments and entanglements.
It's one or the other. Never forget that.

We are told to ‘abandon’ all desires and become ‘free from longing and the feeling of “I” and “my”.’
Anyone who is walking a spiritual path---regardless of the particular tradition---knows that there can be
no peace or freedom when there are cravings, longings, attachments and the like. However, there is
something even more fundamental, and that is our continued assertions of ‘I’, ‘me’ and ‘my’---that is,
our identification with our false self. Whenever we say, ‘I want X,’ we are strengthening our bondage to
our false self---the self that is never satisfied, the self that is always wanting more, the self that is always
fearful and anxious. If you want peace of mind, stop identifying with this false self and start living as
the person that you are. All these little ‘selves’ within you are not the real person that you are. They are
simply ‘disturbance’ in the mind---mere mental agitation (‘mental wallpaper’) which we mistakenly take
to be our true being.

The ‘Braahmee or superconscious state’ referred to in the portion of the Bhagavad-Gītā set out above is
the state of dwelling in God (Truth, the One, the [True] Self). Christian mystics would often say, ‘I have
my being in God,’ for it is written in the New Testament that ‘in [God] we live and move and have our
being’ (Acts 17:28). Powerful words. The goal of all spiritual practice is to achieve this state of ‘at-one-
ment’ with the Sacred or Divine. Even if you do not believe in a self-existent, unconditioned Supreme
Being in the traditional sense, you may still have a sense of the self-sufficient ground of all being or
the livingness of life. Be-ing Itself, if you wish. One may have problems with the concept of a ‘life force’-
--I certainly do---but it is hard to deny that life consists of living things living out their livingness, and
this self-livingness of life itself is surely Sacred or Divine. Have you ever had a moment---perhaps while
watching a beautiful sunset or sitting quietly by a tranquil lake---when you have felt ‘at-one’ with all life?
Well, that is what I am talking about, only the ‘Braahmee or superconscious state’ is perhaps deeper
and more unshakeable.
When you have attained---that is, consciouslyexperienced---this state of ‘at-one-ment’ with all that is,
you will never want to lose it. In truth, you can't lose it, but we do tend to forget our oneness with the
Divine. When you become a spiritually minded person the things of earth become strangely dim---and,
what’s more, you will no longer be ‘deluded.’ Now, we are not necessarily talking about ‘delusion’ in a
clinical sense but it is a fact that we are ‘deluded’ when we look without for that which can only be
found within us. Yes, I say this to you---if, when you hear the word 'God' or 'Christ' or 'Lord' you start to
think of some Power, Presence, Person, Being, Thing or Principle outside of yourself, then your thinking
is horribly awry. (That is the tragedy of mainstream Christianity, which would have you look without. It
is analogous to looking for the living among the dead [cf Lk 24:5].) True, this ‘Thing’ of which I speak
is much greater than you are and, being self-existent and unlimited, it also subsists in persons and
things other than you, but you will never find or experience this ‘Thing’ unless you---look within! And
when you look within, the veil of illusion covering your mind is lifted---and that is a wondrous thing!

This state of ‘oneness with the Supreme’ is the only thing of any importance in this life. We seek so
many things---material possessions, relationships, food and drugs---hoping that those things will bring
us happiness, security and peace of mind, but we neglect to seek the one ‘Thing’ of any value and
lasting importance---and the only ‘Thing’ we can take with us, as us, when we depart this earthly life.

Abandon your desires. Become free from longing. And stop identifying with your innumerable false
selves. Remain focused on whatever is, under all circumstances. In short, be the personthat in Truth
you are.

Bhagvad Gita’s Guide to Mindfulness

By Dr. Panchajanya Paul, MD

Mindfulness is a state of consciousness where one is non-judgmental,

open-minded and present-centered. Thoughts, feelings, and experiences
are acknowledged and accepted as they are. The value of mindfulness
has been recognized since the ancient times. Mindfulness is practiced in
some shape or form in all religions and traditions. Various Mindfulness
techniques are described in Buddhist scriptures like- the Dhyana-Sutra,
The Dhammapada, The Sutta-Nipâta; and Hindu scriptures like
Upanishads, Patanjali’s Yoga-sutras, and Bhagvad Gita. Although the
technique and practices may differ depending on the texts, the core
principles remain the same: “The control of the mind to alleviate
sufferings and to attain bliss”. It’s succinctly stated in Bhagvad Gita 6.5-
6.6, as translated by Swami Prabhupada:

“A man must elevate himself by his own mind, not degrade himself. The
mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well. For
him, who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but
for one who has failed to do so; his very mind will be the greatest
enemy”.

Mindfulness has been practiced in the east for around 3,000. It was first
introduced to the West by Jon Kabat-Zinn, who used it in the University
of Massachusetts Medical School to relieve stress and pain. Since then,
the mindfulness movement has grown immensely and had entered the
main-stream. It is being used in schools, prisons, hospitals as well as in
law, business, and education. For example, Tim Ryan, the author of ‘A
Mindful Nation’ received a 1 million dollar federal grant to teach
mindfulness in Ohio’s schools. Mindfulness has become part of many
psychotherapy programs like Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction
(MBSR), Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Acceptance and
Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Dialectical Behavioral therapy (DBT).
Mindfulness is good for the mind, brain and the body. Physical benefits
of mindfulness include improved heart and lung function, regulation of
blood pressure, relief of pain and acid reflux, and improved digestion.
Psychological benefits of mindfulness include improved sleep, mood,
well-being, trauma-recovery; and reduced stress, anxiety, obsession,
addiction, and suicidality. In addition, mindfulness increases empathy
and understanding, of the self and surroundings. It improves satisfaction
and makes us happier at whatever we do. It makes us a better – person,
spouse, parent, child, sibling, colleague, neighbor and a world citizen.

Mindfulness can be achieved through formal guided practices like

meditation or informally by following its principles. Bhagvad Gita
provides both the principle and practice of mindfulness. Gita is a
dialogue between SriKrishna and Arjuna, embedded in the Bhishma
Parva of the epic Mahabharata. Like the ancient epics of Homer ‘Iliad and
Odyssey’, the Mahabharata was rendered in oral tradition, and the
period of origin is unresolved. The authorship has been ascribed to
‘Vyasa’. Buddhist literature has references to Vedas and similarities to
Upanishads. There is no mention of Gita in early Upanishads and
Buddhist texts. This suggest that the form of Gita we have today was
finalized after the Upanishads (600 BCE), and Buddha (500 BCE). Gita
consists of 700 verses, arranged in 18 chapters. The chapter six of Gita,
also called ‘Dhayana Yoga’ or the ‘Yoga of Meditation’ explains the
philosophy and practice of meditation. Gita has many passages relevant
to Mindfulness. It will enlighten those seeking a higher level of
consciousness through mindfulness. Gita can also be instructive to those
who want mindfulness for the health benefits, and don’t want any
religion or spirituality. Those familiar with the Vedas and the Upanishads
will recognize similar allegory, sublimity and poetry in Gita. The abstract
and open themes make the text eternal and enduring. It allows diverse
people to reflect on them and receive the guidance they seek. Bhagvad
Gita’s messages have inspired world citizens like Henry Thoreau, Robert
Oppenheimer, Ralph Emerson, Carl Jung, Herman Hesse, and others. Sir
Edwin Arnold, who translated Gita into English, called it: ‘The Song
Celestial’. Aldous Huxley commented: “The Bhagavad-Gita is the most
systematic statement of spiritual evolution of endowing value to
mankind. It is one of the most clear and comprehensive summaries of
perennial philosophy ever revealed; hence its enduring value is subject
not only to India but to all of humanity."

Mindfulness is pervasive throughout Gita, more so in Chapter 6.

Following are some of the passages from Gita which emphasizes its
principle and practice:

Mindfulness Practice as per Gita: Chapter 6.11-6.19; as translated by Sir

Edwin Arnold,

“Sequestered should he sit, Steadfastly meditating, solitary, His thoughts

controlled, his passions laid away, Quit of belongings. In a fair, still spot
Having his fixed abode, - not too much raised, Nor yet too low, - let him
abide, his goods A cloth, a deerskin, and the Kusa-grass. There, setting
hard his mind upon The One, Restraining heart and senses, silent, calm,
Let him accomplish Yoga, and achieve Pureness of soul, holding
immovable Body and neck and head, his gaze absorbed Upon his nose-
end,2 rapt from all around, Tranquil in spirit, free of fear, intent Upon his
Brahmacharya vow, devout, Musing on Me, lost in the thought of Me. That
Yojin, so devoted, so controlled, Comes to the peace beyond, - My peace,
the peace Of high Nirvana! But for earthly needs Religion is not his who
too much fasts Or too much feasts, nor his who sleeps away An idle mind;
nor his who wears to waste His strength in vigils. Nay, Arjuna! call That
the true piety which most removes Earth-aches and ills, where one is
moderate In eating and in resting, and in sport; Measured in wish and act;
sleeping betimes, Walking betimes for duty.”
Here are the steps of mindfulness-meditation as per Gita. One should sit
in a clean and quiet place. The seat should neither be too high nor too
low. Gita suggests using Kusa grass, deer skin, and a cloth, one over the
other. For most, these items are unavailable, and but they may not be
necessary. The idea is to site on a comfortable surface neither be too soft
nor too hard. The environment should be peaceful, and not distracting.
Then focus the mind to one point. Try to restrain from thinking here and
there. The goal is to detoxify the mind, as a method of self-purification.
Keep a vertical posture with the body, head and neck kept erect. In this
posture, the cerebrospinal fluid can freely flow all over the body through
the nerves and brain. This will also allow easy and efficient breathing.
Focus on the tip of the nose and feel the life force (qi,chi,dhi ) going in
and out of the body with each breath. As the mind calms down in
meditation, the eye-balls will become steady and one may close them.
The mind is at peace without any conflict. The mind is said to be serene
and calm like a rippleless lake. There is no fear in the heart of Yogi. He is
untouched by lust and malice; pure as a baby in thought, word and
deed. The Yogi eats in moderation. Over eating will make one a dullard;
and under-eating week. Similarly, sleep in moderation; too much sleep
will make one sloth and too little sleep make one tired. In one who
achieves moderation in eating and sleeping, and is temperate in action,
Yoga becomes the destroyer of pain. Research has validated this. Yoga
and Mindfulness are now frequently used in hospitals and clinics for
pain-relief. The focused mind is able to resist the temptations and
distractions. It is like a lamb sheltered from the wind burning steadfastly
without flicker. At this point, the mind transcends self and attains a
higher level of consciousness. We find many parallels between Bhagvad
Gita and the ideas of Stoic philosophers. Both emphasized the
supremacy of mind over the material. Seneca ( 4BC-AD65) , the Roman
statesman, said : “For what prevents us from saying that the happy life is
to have a mind that is free, lofty, fearless and steadfast - a mind that is
placed beyond the reach of fear, beyond the reach of desire, that counts
virtue the only good, baseness the only evil, and all else but a worthless
mass of things, which come and go without increasing or diminishing the
highest good, and neither subtract any part from the happy life nor add
any part to it? A man thus grounded must, whether he wills or not,
necessarily be attended by constant cheerfulness and a joy that is deep
and issues from deep within, since he finds delight in his own resources,
and desires no joys greater than his inner joys.”

Mindfulness Principle as per Gita: 6.7-6.9; as translated by Sir Edwin

Arnold,

“The sovereign soul Of him who lives self-governed and at peace Is

centered in itself, taking alike Pleasure and pain; heat, cold; glory and
shame. He is the Yogi, he is Yukta, glad With joy of light and truth;
dwelling apart Upon a peak, with senses subjugate Whereto the clod, the
rock, the glistering gold Show all as one. By this sign is he known Being of
equal grace to comrades, friends, Chance-comers, strangers, lovers,
enemies, Aliens and kinsmen; loving all alike, Evil or good.”

The central principle of mindfulness is ‘control of the mind’. A controlled

mind sees the things as they are. It is open-minded and non-judgmental.
It is unaffected by external events like heat or cold, and pleasure and
pain. It sees the external world as it is, which is neither benign nor
malign. The practice of self-control gives clarity to thought and action.
The controlled mind can regulate the senses; one who has conquered
the senses, becomes a yogi. A yogi transcends above the material desires
and is able to see a stone, a gold and clod with equal value. He or she is
able to treat all people with humanity and humility without any prejudice
or bias. One recognizes the divinity in all and has equal regards for
friends, family, foes, saints and sinners. One keeps a positive
benevolence to all, even those who wish him harm. A similar message
was given by Jesus Christ when he said: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as
thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these”. Gita’s
message of universal love and brotherhood also inspired Gandhi’s
Satyagraha and Ahimsa (non-violence) movement. It can be summarized
in Rudyard Kipling’s poem IF-

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;

If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same…

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much;

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,

And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

In summary, mindfulness benefits the mind, brain and body. Regular

practice of mindfulness leads to physical, psychological and spiritual
well-being. Chapter-6 of Bhagvad Gita’s ‘Yoga of meditation’ provides a
clear and easy method of mindfulness. Gita’s message is timeless and
enriches humanity. Anyone interested in mindfulness and other spiritual
practices will benefit from Gita’s guidance.

Move from mindlessness to mindfulness by

minding the mind
Posted on Dec 13, 2017 in Chapter 06, Text 05 | 2 comments

We sometimes act mindlessly, that is, we act without thinking, being impelled by our
impulsive mind. The word mind has many meanings: in mindless, the mind refers to our
capacity for intelligent thought. In the impulsive mind, the mind refers to our emotional
faculty, the storehouse of our fears, desires and memories. Thus, paradoxically when we act
mindlessly, we are often fully controlled by the mind – what is less is not the mind, but our
control on the mind.
Mindless actions can be fearful and fateful – we may do in one moment things that we may
regret for a whole lifetime. The opposite of being mindless is being mindful, which is central
to self-awareness. Such awareness can begin with simply becoming aware of our physical
reality which can help us return to from the fictional reality into which the mind often drags
us. The next step is to become aware of our mind – what thoughts, desires and feelings are
entering there and what positions are they occupying in our consciousness. When we thus
learn to mind the mind, that is, we train ourselves to become alert to the motions within the
mind, we can resist its unhealthy or unsavory impulses faster and better before they acquire
an irresistible momentum.
The Bhagavad-gita (06.05) exhorts us to learn to mind our mind when informing that the
mind can be both our friend and our enemy – the onus rests on us to discern and decide
whether the mind from within us is elevating us or is degrading us.
The Gita’s spiritual knowledge increases our self-awareness by identifying the various
characters in our inner world. And the Gita’s recommended process of yoga, especially
bhakti-yoga, equips us with God’s grace, by which we can gain illumination internally and
make constructive contributions externally.