2008-09-27

In the present moment

Being in the present moment, just to accept everything around as it is, the noises and sights, everything, without adding thought and interpretation to it - that is enlightment and meditation.

I learned how to meditate many years ago attending a course and I continued with exercises for a while. Somehow it came that I did it less times and somehow I think I could not really get into it very well.

Thanks to Henrik Edberg at positivityblog, who mentioned the name Eckhart Tolle in his post "What Would Winnie the Pooh do?", I re-discovered - or let's say, improved - how to get into the meditation status - to return back (or forward) to the present moment and fully be there. To live in the present moment is crucial as the present moment is the only time and place were life is happening.

Eckhart Tolle has published several short videos on several issues which I really enjoyed. His talks are short although he is speaking so slowly. But anyway afterward I got more from it than from others talking fast for fifty minutes. Watching some of those videos helped me today being able to enjoy the present moment for at least 5 times and I got more relaxed. So I want to link some of his videos here as I enjoyed them so much:
More are available at youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/EckhartTeachings

Related posts: The tension habit, There is suffering, The fear, Reduce the stress factors, Respect by attention, Urging to forge at full speed, Hurry home ... no more running, Get focused with 3 questions, Slowing down, Between short and long term goals, Know better and act on it, Living your opportunities.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

To be able to take yourself away from the mind and the emotions to find the present moment is such an important skill to develop.

I was doing one of my favourite sword kata in martial arts the other day (it really silences my mind) and I noticed afterwards how being present enables you to appreciate what is going on. When present you can enter much deeper into relations and perceive a lot deeper into conversations that are taking place.

Offcourse you don't need to be meditating or swinging swords to access the present moment. You just need to stop :)

Martin Wildam said...

Your comment reminds me to the idea I heard many years ago that meditation should be in any of our actions - so everything we do - we should do with full consciousness.

Shamelle said...

Jarrod, makes a good point. Is is very difficult to "always" live in the present moment. I think its mostly because we are constantly thinking about the future.

The Enhance Life

Martin Wildam said...

...or about the past.

Maybe it is not bad thinking about the future or reminding the past - the problem is if we stick to those thoughts. So that it is possible to live in the present moment most of the time and just have some thinking minutes or a thinking hour during the day dedicated to thinking. ;-)