Some reflections concerning life: 3.- LIVING CONSCIOUSLY THE PRESENT

Created by:

Carlos Lasserre

There is a very fashionable concept that has its roots in Buddhism, called "Mindfulness", that is, the conscious being of here and now. When we review our discussions  with others or with ourselves, we usually find that are based on past events or events that are about to happen. Few times we take the chance to talk about what is happening to us here and now. The irony lies in that it is precisely this temporal space, the now, the only one where we have a real leeway to generate our changes. By linving consciously the present, we are able to:

a. Enjoying what we have and do:

Appreciating what we instead of what we would ever have,  not only keep us  away from frustrations, but also helps us to live in a state of constant joy. Being aware of such basic things and usually taken for granted, like having our five senses working, admiring the wonders behind nature events, or just living, helps us to contextualize what we live on the sense of its true value. The more we are able to marvel at the greatness given to us by our daily living, the less importance we will give to that minutia we are sometimes deprived of. And if we do an unwanted activity being complete aware, without the anxiety that it  involves by being pending for further rewards, we can find joy in activities that  we never imagined before.

b. Anticipating the future:

Any event for the future starts by a  present event. This concept, although simple, often goes unnoticed in front our eyes. Alan Kay said it: "The best way to predict the future is to invent it". If we are really aware of what is happening around us now, we will be able to correct on time tomorrow’s unwanted events.

c. Nurturing a healthy life:

Psychology explains that as the channels of consciousness towards the present are enabled, the flow of information used by the mind for ruminate on and worry decreases. Ruminatinig on the negative feelings are associated with past experiences, that is, "getting stuck". Concern is the attention  on the possible future events and their negative consequences. Both  coexist in times that are beyond our control, past and future, and by eliminating them helps to decrease feelings of anxiety and often stress. A we invest time worrying instead of investing to take action now to avoid them. The key is to identify the avoidable, as the serenity prayer says: "Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change, courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference".

There are Mindfulness neurobiological studies that show its influence on pain management. A greater awareness of pain, increases tolerance to it and accelerates the healing process.

Two practical examples to develop this subject:

Example 1:

Prepare a list of everything you have in your life that you consider valuable, and in another column everything you would like to have. Then give a grade from 1 to 10 to each item, and compared both lists. A good way to eliminate the myth of the relationship between happiness and money, is to  notice how  few high valued items of the first column are actually free.

Example 2:

Prepare a list of all your worries of future events and in another column all the things you are doing today to eliminate or mitigate its impact. You will find enough gaps in the second column and this explains why we accumulate them as concerns. Complete the list and change the word "concerns" from  the title, to "actions"