Being in the Present Moment

Inspiration…What do you think of when you hear this word? The essence of the word is To Inspire – to breathe life in a body, an idea, a cause, a project – absolutely anything that is created in our life and world. Then there’s expiration – the exhale or out breath of life – heralding completion, the end of a cycle, death. When a child is born he breathes for the first time. That is the beginning of life. One day when he becomes old and dies, he exhales.

You are constantly inhaling and exhaling. It is happening continually whether you are aware of it or not, asleep or awake. With each inhale you are born into the moment, with each exhale you die with the moment. When you can embrace this dance of life and death, you can begin to live in the now moment. You understand that life and death are two aspects of existence, happening at the same time. Buddha taught 3 Universal laws, the first being the Law of Impermanence. The Law of Impermanence states that all phenomena is subject to constant change, to rise and fall,and no permanent states, either physical or animate, exists. The dynamic nature of phenomena is today a commonplace of science.

Because our ego/mind fears death, we project it into the future somewhere. We cling to moments of joy and happiness and refuse to embrace the moments we find challenging. When we become selective in what we choose to experience in life, we take ourselves out of the present moment. We become so busy trying to control our experiences. What would happen if you only allowed yourself to inhale without a letting go – an exhale? You could only do it so long and at great discomfort and then you start holding your breath until you have to let it go in a great swoosh of air. And then you might begin gasping for breath. Of course, your body will not allow you to do that for long.

That’s what it’s like when we hang on to experiences we enjoy. We refuse to allow the natural cycle to be completed – like a wave it  forms, crests, then dissolves. And because we hold on we can never fully experience the joy in the moment. The mind is always analyzing and judging to see if the experience we are meant to be living needs to be held onto or avoided. We begin to create more and more buffers and start to live in instant replay rather than live action.

There are an infinite number of beginnings and endings in every life. Each has its own timing, its own rhythm. When we embrace the Law of Impermanence we can begin to be fully present in each moment. We can begin to live life fully only when we accept that there will be an ending. And so we begin to live fully in this moment, and this moment, and this moment…

Let go of the past. Stop living in instant replay. Once you do, you will automatically stop projecting into the future. Our real work is to let go of our psychological attachment to the past and to stop projecting into the future. Be willing to live fully in each moment regardless of what is being presented to you. Become mindful of when you are operating on automatic pilot – old programing – or when you are fully present – open to allowing life to fill you with surprise and happiness.

When my mind takes me out of the present moment, the quickest way I have found to return is to focus on my breath. To focus on my inhalation and my exhalation. This always quiets my mind, the worry disappears, and I come home to myself in this moment.

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