Presence is meditation in movement. It’s the apply of bringing mindfulness into the actions of every day life. We will apply the artwork of being right here, now, whereas ready in a protracted grocery retailer line, altering a child’s diaper, or sitting in site visitors.
Presence entails a easy but unimaginable shift—from the unusual way of thinking wandering to bringing our consideration to the expertise of what’s occurring proper now. You can also make this shift anytime, wherever.
Why develop this behavior? Religious leaders and philosophers have tried to reply this query for hundreds of years. And but Ferris Bueller (the impetuous highschool scholar from the basic 1986 movie) may simply have the most effective reply: “Life strikes fairly quick,” he warned. “If you happen to don’t cease and go searching for some time, you may miss it.”
He’s proper. Life with out presence strikes fairly quick. After we get up, go to work, and do the opposite issues we have to do, we frequently function on autopilot; the times fly by, as do the weeks, months, and years. The truth is, scientists have confirmed that this expertise of time “flying by” will increase with age. With every passing 12 months, the novelty of life diminishes and our notion of time accelerates.
After we get up, go to work, and do the opposite issues we have to do, we frequently function on autopilot; the times fly by, as do the weeks, months, and years.
This has led the mindfulness trainer Jon Kabat-Zinn to argue that should you actually need to stay an extended life, presence—not medicine, wholesome consuming, or every other technique—is the most effective answer. You might not really stay longer by way of calendar time, however your expertise of life and your notion of time will develop. The times, months, and years may be richer, extra significant, and extra totally lived.
Appreciating the autumn leaves, listening to the crunch below your ft as you stroll on the winter snow, smelling the scents of flowers or fresh-cut grass, feeling the heat of the summer time solar—these easy acts of presence gradual life down. They assist us undergo every day feeling extra alive, awake, and content material.
There are different advantages, too. Presence doesn’t merely change the standard of being. It may additionally remodel the standard of what you do, resulting in higher artistic move, enhanced relationships, and elevated productiveness at dwelling and at work.
By creating the behavior of presence, we are able to get in contact with the basic surprise of what it’s to be alive, and even probably the most unusual moments turn into extraordinary.
The best way to Keep within the Current Second
Nevertheless it’s not that straightforward. There’s additionally one thing fairly mysterious about this second. It’s not just like the previous, which stretches infinitely behind us. It’s additionally not like the long run, which stretches infinitely forward. The truth is, the second you attempt to seize it, it’s gone. It turns into simply one other a part of the previous.
Philosophers have strived to outline the current second. Whereas some have seen it as nearly nonexistent—fleeting and infinitely skinny—others noticed it as having infinite depth.
The truth is, the traditional Greeks recognized three ways in which opening to the current second will increase the depth of our expertise and productive potentialities of every second. First, after we totally expertise what’s right here and now, we not postpone what we most need. We stay our fullest life now. The thinker Epicurus captures this ethos of urgency:
“We’re solely born as soon as—twice will not be allowed—and it’s crucial that we will be no extra, for all eternity; and but you, who will not be grasp of tomorrow, you retain on pushing aside your pleasure?”
That is one thing many people have skilled. Have you ever ever heard the stunning and unhappy information that somebody near you has died after which thought, Am I dwelling life as totally and as presently potential? Loss of life makes us aware of our aliveness and the preciousness of every second.
Second, attending to the current second allows us to benefit from the complete vary of potentialities that exist in every second. This helps us adapt to even probably the most difficult conditions. If you happen to’re caught on the airport with a protracted delay, you possibly can let your thoughts swirl with ideas in regards to the previous and future: I ought to have taken the sooner flight or I’m going to be so late and drained. Or you possibly can expertise the ability of the current second and benefit from the brand new potentialities obtainable to you on account of the delay: go for a brisk stroll by the concourse, learn for pleasure, eat a meal, or meet up with pals on the telephone.
After we handle to enter the razor-thin second of presence, one thing superb occurs: anxieties and resentments dissolve. We expertise extra ease, calm, and peace.
Being current opens up a 3rd chance: happiness and well-being. After we spend the day touring by the previous and future, we are inclined to get trapped in a bunch of damaging feelings, from nervousness to irritation to resentment. The Epicurean faculty of historic Greek thought used sayings like this: “Mindless folks stay in hope for the long run, and since this can’t be sure, they’re consumed by worry and nervousness.”
After we handle to enter the razor-thin second of presence, one thing superb occurs: anxieties and resentments dissolve. We expertise extra ease, calm, and peace. Briefly, we expertise extra well-being. What’s the current second? This nearly feels like a trick query. Everybody is aware of that the current second is what’s occurring now. The wind within the bushes, the contact of material in opposition to your pores and skin, your canine brushing up in opposition to your leg.
The Science and Observe of Presence
The science on that is clear. Spending extra time within the current second results in higher happiness. A Harvard College research performed in 2010 by Matthew A. Killingsworth and Daniel T. Gilbert, for instance, revealed that happiness is inversely related to mind wandering—the period of time that we spend time touring by ideas about previous and future.
Killingsworth and Gilbert found that the majority of us spend plenty of time thoughts wandering—distracted from the current second. The truth is, the common individual spends 47 p.c of the day thoughts wandering: fascinated about one thing aside from his or her current exercise.
Their key perception, nonetheless, wasn’t simply that our minds wander. It was the hyperlink between presence and happiness. Killingsworth concluded, “How usually our minds go away the current and the place they have an inclination to go is a greater predictor of our happiness than the actions through which we’re engaged.” In different phrases, this landmark research exhibits that one of many keys to happiness lies in merely redirecting our consideration from thoughts wandering and distraction to what’s occurring proper right here, proper now within the current second.
A Observe to Shift Your Consideration to the Current Second
- Discover—see should you can turn into conscious—every time you step into the bathe.
- Shift your consideration to the sights, sounds, and bodily sensations of the current second. To do that, we suggest that you simply floor your ft and convey your consideration to your breath. Use what we name the “4×4 breath” or the box breath—4 counts in, 4 counts out, for 4 breaths. This transfer will enable you start constructing the behavior of shifting your consideration from thoughts wandering and stress to the current second.
- Rewire—encode this expertise deep into your reminiscence by savoring it for simply 15 to 30 seconds.
Fast Ideas
- Do it each day: Observe presence each day and, should you overlook to do it within the bathe, apply presence throughout another on a regular basis life second, reminiscent of strolling up the steps or beginning your automotive.
- The best way to keep in mind to do it: Essentially the most troublesome factor about constructing this behavior is remembering. That will help you keep in mind, we’ve developed a low-tech however extraordinarily efficient technique. Put a sticker at eye stage in your bathe door. If you happen to don’t need to use a sticker (or don’t have a bathe door), you could possibly use a chunk of masking tape with “Presence” written on it. After a month or so, as soon as the behavior is ingrained, you might discover that you simply not want it.
- How you recognize it’s working: After a few weeks or a month, you’ll probably begin to discover that you simply not have to consciously keep in mind to expertise presence. It simply begins to occur as you enter the bathe. That is the magic second of behavior formation. It signifies that your mind has wired a brand new set of connections round this on a regular basis exercise.
- In order for you extra: In case you have mastered the behavior within the bathe, strive including a sophisticated cue: stairs. Each time you stroll up or down a flight of stairs, see should you may be current. This can be a good time to really feel the sensations in your ft or to deliver your consideration to the sights and sounds that happen as you step. This extra cue will take you even deeper into the expertise of presence.
Tailored from Start Here: Master the Lifelong Habit of Wellbeing by Eric Langshur and Nate Klemp, PhD.
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