Benefits of Being in the Now

I would admit that being in the now can be hard and it takes practice. It is much easier to keep yourself busy so things that bother you or are hard to face do not appear at the surface because it hurts. Fight or flight is our natural response when we get uncomfortable or see danger in front of us although it could very well be imagined and not real. All of our stress or misery is imagined unless you are living it now. We hardly live in the now. The lives we lead are either in the past or future. However, when we learn to live in the now we can handle our difficulties and problems with much more efficiency than in a panic mode. Following are the benefits of living in the now I have experienced:

• Increased Relaxation – you experience a sense of calmness and peace when you are only focused in the now and being in the present moment.
• Clarity – when you are calm and relaxed, your senses have a sharp edge to them. Things become clearer. More importantly, you can see things as they are instead of clouded with your emotional negativity.
• Acceptance – when you are fully present in the moment, you tend to accept things more easily instead of fighting them. Fighting takes away a lot of energy from you. Remember, when you are fighting something, you are fighting the whole universe because it took the conspiracy of the whole universe to create that moment. Acceptance of what is allows you to create something different for next moment.
• Effectiveness – your ability to handle things more effectively increases when you are able to see things with clarity and accept them for what they are. Acceptance allows you to involve nature in co-creating what you want instead of fighting what you don’t want.
• A sense of being – being in the present also allows you to be more alive. When we are living in the past or future, we are living an imagined moment. However, being in the now is all what life is about. We skip living in the worries of past and future. This rich experience might bring more compassion and gratitude for what is. This compassion and gratitude allows you to create the moments you want to experience in the future.

How to do it?

Practice being fully present in the moment. Notice what is around you. Pay attention to the people you are surrounded with. Tune into your senses. Try to hear and understand what your emotions and feelings are telling you. Be with your feelings no matter how uncomfortable you might feel. Every sensation has a threshold. You want to surpass that threshold instead of avoiding it.

Being uncomfortable with negative emotions does not mean misery or unhappiness. You are a well of joy and no negative emotion can disturb your internal joy. If you stay with your experience long enough, you would feel and notice that it dissipates in the same energy it originated from. Once you feel calm and collected you know you have successfully went through the experience. You might have a warm feeling in your heart or you might tear up as you go back to your joy. Living in the now is a skill and it takes practice to make it a part of your being. Good luck practicing!!!

I would love to hear your experiences!