• Home
• About
• Archives
• Contact Me
• Donate
• Free Downloads
• Subscribe

Living In The Present

“What happened is past and there is nothing I can do about it. I can only be of assistance in your future and your dwelling on the past is not helping either of us.” –Mike Schaffner. I ran into an interesting “Everything Belongs To Its Own Time” article over at Productivity Goal that caught my attention: “What happened is past and there is nothing I can do about it. I can only be of assistance in your future and your dwelling on the past is not helping either of us.” –Mike Schaffner. What a great and succinct way to remind us to live in the present!

How Living in the Past Robs Us Of Inner Peace

Living in the past is a great way to disturb your inner peace. If the memory is a bad one, we relive it, but can never change the outcome. If the memory is a good one, we focus our energy there instead of where we are. Living in the past robs you of the joy of today. (Living in the future will also do this)

How To Get Back to the Present

I find myself living in the past or future sometimes, and I need to get back to where I am so I can regain my balance. I use the following technique:

1. I sit somewhere quiet with my eyes closed and my feet on the floor.
2. I breathe deeply for a couple minutes, feeling the air go in and out. If my mind wanders, I gently bring it back.
3. I concentrate on where I am, using all my senses except sight. I listen to the sounds. I smell the smells. I feel the chair, the air around me and my clothing.
4. I continue doing these until it becomes easy, or 5 minutes, whichever comes first.

That’s all. Four steps to bring you back to the present and where you are.

Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader or email.

© 2005-2008 LauraEarnest.com | Powered by WordPress | Deep Blue Theme
Terms of Service