TANAAZ (Forever Conscious): “How to Tune into the Present Moment”

how to tune into the present moment

Consciousness is defined as the state or quality of awareness. To be aware we have to be awake. Not just physically awake but also mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

We are all conscious beings, but achieving a state of higher consciousness is about developing the awareness of the hidden, unseen world. It is about digging deeper beneath the surface in order to uncover the essence or truth.

Consciousness can be similar to enlightenment. The truly conscious person is awakened to their fullest potential and therefore “lit up” with the energy of who they really are.

Raising your consciousness is not something that is only for the privileged few. We all have the ability to raise our levels of consciousness through being more aware of who we are, where we are and what we are doing.

Many spiritual teachers call this being “present”. It is only when you are fully aware of the present moment that you can truly raise your consciousness.

But what does this even mean?

What does it mean to be present?

How does being present help me?

Becoming Physically Present

Take a moment right now to observe 7 things around you. Look at your surroundings and identify 7 things that stand out to you.

Just by doing this easy exercise, it is has brought your attention into the present. When you are in the present, it helps you to become completely aware. For just a minute when you were identifying the objects in the room, there was no worry, there was no fear. There was just you, the observer, trying to tune into what you were seeing.

This works on a deeper level as well. When you can be present and tune in to how you are feeling, you also start become more aware and more conscious.

Becoming Emotionally Present

Take a moment right now to identify 3 things that you are currently feeling. Go with the first emotions that pop into your mind.

In that brief moment, when you were doing that exercise you started to tune into your emotional awareness. In this moment you were able to clearly tune into your emotional state of being and feel your energy. In this moment there was nothing else, it was just you, the observer.

We can go even deeper with this exercise onto a more spiritual level, but this is where it takes true commitment and practice.

In fact, all of this does, which is why even the most “enlightened” of people will always have days when they lose touch with who they are and their awareness.

Becoming Spiritually Present

To heighten your spiritual awareness, it requires you to learn how to separate who you are with the observer in your mind. To do this, give yourself 2 praises. This could be something like- “I really love how you handled that project at work today”. 

Whatever praises you come up with, say them to yourself in your head. As you are saying them, feel the response that you get when you hear them. That “person” that energy hearing the response is who you are. You are not the voice, you are the listener. You are the energy hearing those words.

Mind blown? I hope so.

Being in the present moment is really about holding on to your awareness and keeping in the flow of life. It is not about getting caught up in the past or in the future.

This doesn’t mean that you ignore the things that happened in the past, or you neglect your future. It just means that your active awareness is with the energy of the present.

When you are actively present you have taken care of your past and your future simultaneously. When you are in the present, you are one with yourself and the world.

Being present is a gift (pun intended) and the more you can practice tuning in to the moment that is around you, the more peace you will feel with your every day life, and the higher your consciousness will go.

“Wherever you are, be there. If you can be fully present now, you’ll know what it means to live”- Steve Goodier

 

 

 

 

~via ForeverConscious.com

 

PALLAVI THAKUR: “14 Things Your Soul Wants You To Know”

What does your soul want you to know?

1. What does your soul want you to know?

We get so involved in the nitty-gritty of life that we often forget the most important lessons we came here to learn – the lessons that our inner spirit is trying to teach us during our relatively short stay here on earth. Since the soul is the fountainhead of wisdom of guidance, it is always trying to communicate with us. Each life experience is an invitation to live as closely as possible to our soul’s true essence. This is what your soul wants you know…

2. You are OK just as you are

The main goal of life is to not really change, grow or transform yourself. It is to be at peace with who you are at any given moment despite what you have done or not done; said or not said. Transformation is a choice we all have, but from the soul’s perspective, it is not the greatest priority.

3. You are meant to feel deeply

You are meant to REALLY feel. Don’t hold back your tears, and don’t think it is wimpy, soft, or overly sensitive to expressive yourself. It is healthy to feel deeply and to give yourself permission to experience the richness of human emotion. Feel love. Feel sadness. Don’t walk in between as you daydream, really take the time to amerce yourself in the moment. This is what life is all about.

4. Be mindful

Mindfulness is simply the focus of your attention on the present moment, but it is anything but simple. With chaotic schedules, multi-tasking and an over-worked society, it is often hard to remain in the present and not get lost in the chaos that surrounds us. Mindfulness has roots in Buddhism, but most religions and spirituality practices include some attention towards love, kindness, and appreciation for a perspective on life that is bigger than oneself.

5. Your soul wants you to know stillness

When we are still, we can truly listen. As we listen we open ourselves to understand and it is within the stillness that we can feel the greatest connection to our soul’s wisdom. That is why meditation, being still in nature and finding a quiet moment for ourselves feel so appealing. They are opportunities to connect with who we truly are. Kind, compassionate, gentle and wise. We just have to listen.

6. Let go of outcome

When we work hard at something, it’s natural to want some kind of “reward.” But when you become attached to outcome, it can take the joy out of the process. Life presents us with infinite variations of this important distinction—between what we can change and what we can’t, between what is within our control and what isn’t.

7. The present moment is the most precious thing

The present moment is the most precious thing

People don’t realize that now is all there ever is; there is no past or future except as memory or anticipation in your mind. Most humans are never fully present in the now, because unconsciously they believe that the next moment must be more important than this one. But then you miss your whole life, which is never not now. “As soon as you honor the present moment, all unhappiness and struggle dissolve, and life begins to flow with joy and ease.

8. Perspective is a beautiful thing

Typically, when we’re worried or upset, it’s because we’ve lost perspective. Everything that is happening in our lives seems so big, so important, so do or die, but in the grand picture, this single hiccup often means next to nothing. The fight we’re having, the job we didn’t get, the real or imagined slight, the unexpected need to shift course, the thing we wanted, but didn’t get. Most of it doesn’t really matter.

9. Self worth cannot be verified by others

If you constantly seek outside yourself for approval and validation, you will never be happy. We are all different and we all perceive things in different ways but your reputation is not something you can really control. Your reputation is not really in your hands, so stop trying to please everyone around you and start pleasing your own SELF.

10. All that you need is already within you

All that you need is already within you

In this moment you have it all, right NOW and right here, there is nothing lacking. Take time to be quiet at least 5 minutes per day and in time you will discover that you do have access to HAPPINESS, PEACE, ABUNDANCE and all that is good at all times.

11. Everything in life is temporary

Every time it rains, it stops raining. Every time you get hurt, you heal. After darkness there is always light – you are reminded of this every morning, but still you often forget, and instead choose to believe that the night will last forever. It won’t. Nothing lasts forever.

12. Accept

To complain is always nonacceptance of what is. It invariably carries an unconscious negative charge. When you complain, you make yourself into a victim. When you speak out, you are in your power. So change the situation by taking action or by speaking out if necessary or possible; leave the situation or accept it. All else is madness.

13. Go out of your way to be loving and kind

Almost everything comes full circle. People who love themselves come across as very caring, generous and kind to others too; they express their self-confidence through humility, forgiveness and inclusiveness. So seek to understand others before you attempt to judge.

14. You need to clean the clutter

As Einstein once said, “Out of clutter, find simplicity; from discord, find harmony; in the middle of difficulty, lies opportunity.” Sometimes we make life more complicated than it is. We attach our happiness to achievement and then look for it in all the wrong ways and in all the wrong places. Of course, you don’t have to live like this. If you feel like you are, it’s time to simplify things. It’s time to clear the air and get back to the basics.

15. Your troubles are gradually improving you

Your troubles are gradually improving you

Someday when you least expect it life will blindside you with necessary chaos. And once the chaos has ended, you won’t remember exactly how it all transpired, how you made it through, or where you found the strength you needed to carry on. You won’t even be sure whether the chaos has completely ended. But there is one thing you can be sure about: When it does finally come to an end, you will be a much stronger person than who you were before it happened, which is precisely why it was necessary.

 

 

 

 

 

~via SpeakingTree.in

KATE SUPINO: “Why Now?”

Why Now?

If you are still wondering why many spiritual leaders emphasize living in the present, consider the following lesson.

Imagine the following scenario. You are driving in your car and you pull up to a red traffic light, in the turn lane to go left. There are two cars in front of you and a short line of cars behind you. Now stop to think. Remembering back during your lifetime, can you change what happened five years ago? How about three years ago? Maybe that’s too far back. Can you change anything that happened to you just six months ago? How about five minutes ago? Too far back? What about that car that recently drove up behind you. Can you go back and change what happened just one minute ago? How about one second ago, when you reached over and scratched your other hand. Can you change that?

Let’s go the other way. Can you predict with absolute certainty what will happen to you or anyone else in the world five years from now? What about one month from now? But that’s too much to ask. How about one second from now. Can you predict with absolute certainty what will happen one second from now? You might have an educated guess. You figure the light will turn green, the first car will start its turn, and you and the rest of the people in your lane will follow. There! You did it! You predicted with absolute certainty what will happen one second from now.

Or did you? What if the light doesn’t turn green? What if the traffic light malfunctions and your lane misses its turn? A thousand or more things can happen between now and one second from now. Maybe the first driver isn’t paying attention and is unable to go in time before the light changes again. Maybe the power grid fails. Maybe a crazed driver speeds into the intersection and causes a big accident. You really cannot predict with absolute certainty what is going to happen even half a second from now.

If you can’t change the past, and you can’t predict the future, it makes sense that there’s only one place where you can exist with absolute certainty. Now. The only space in time that you can exist is now, in this very instant. That is why you must always focus on the now. Don’t lament the past; don’t worry about the future. You cannot change the past and you cannot predict the future. But you can live in the now. It is the only place where you exist. The past is gone. You don’t exist in the past, anymore. You don’t exist in the future, because it isn’t here yet. Now is the only place you can ever be. So the answer to our question, “Why Now?” is: Because now is the only place you can be.

 

 

 

 

 

~via QuantumStones.com