The Secret Path To The Present Moment
Have you ever got the advice "Be present"? We hear a lot about present moment and the importance of it. But why is it so important and what is it? In the past I used to think of present moment as of a part of meditation. You are focusing on your breath and realizing that you are here and now, you are alive, you know what you are doing (for example, in this case you are breathing). And even though it was sometimes a nice feeling which helped me to calm down, I still couldn't get the idea of present moment. I had this unpleasant thought that it just helps you to escape from your problems, not to solve them.
I went to Vipassana retreat, I listened to the different types of guided meditations, tried to learn more about mindfulness, but still was not sure what this present moment was. I wanted to be in this moment so bad, but couldn't quite understand how! My conscious part of the brain could force itself to be present, but I always had the feeling that there is a part of me that is far away from the ideal place of ease and peace.
At some point I don't even know how, I switched the focus from spirituality to science. I took the neurobiology class, watched documentaries about brain, listened to the scientists, read a lot of books. And I learned that our subconscious part of the brain is like software. You don't have to force yourself to run it; it just works the way it was set up. And then I started to think: but what if it is set up incorrectly? What if there is an error? And what can be this error? How can I find and fix it?
The thing is that if you want to be able to control your subconscious brain you need to get access to the software and update it. Imagine that you have iPhone (It could be a great slogan by the way: “iPhone 8 – stay present”, I wish Apple would pay me for this example) and you need to update your iOS. You get a notification but you haven't necessary ran it. Then you found some cool app, wanted to play with it, but got a message that in order to use it you need to update your software. And when I thought about it I finally realized what the present moment was!
“Being present” means observing your values and your ideals, evaluating current situation and adjusting your software accordingly.
Our brain is not always can run the update by itself. But if you learn how to get to the subconscious part of it, you can control it. Present moment is not about the time, it's not about the location either, not about the environment you are in, it's all about knowledge and information that you have. You are scanning your reality and adjusting your brain to the things that can serve you.
So why do we need to update our brains? First of all, because the initial setup of subconscious part of it can be inapplicable in modern society. Things which made sense thousands of years ago became absolutely useless nowadays. But we still have them. We also have our genes that we can turn on and off by working with our brain. We don't have to use the software given us by our parents or environment. A lot of things that our subconscious part of brain is doing make sense. For example you don't want to care how much oxygen you need to have in your blood, or to think every time you brush your teeth how to do that. If you had to control every little thing, you would go crazy! But you need to understand that some things can be changed and have to be changed in order to live the productive life.
Why do you think some people can become successful and some people can't? Well some of them are just lucky (I think that those are the people who live their 10th life or something, old souls). But some people literally make themselves. And to me there is no doubt that they have been able to do that by being present. Successful people don't stuck in the past, they don't waste all their time to worry about the future. They are able to adjust to the current situation not only their conscious brain, but their subconscious part as well. And I am not talking about acceptance here; I mean people literally change their genes, their cells, their bodies and minds. From my experience it usually happens when you start to feel a lot of pain caused by some unpleasant event. One day you wake up and tell to yourself: “I cannot live like that anymore, I need to change”. So the question is - how do you get to your software? The best way to do it is to observe.
You don’t have to meditate in order to become familiar with your reality. I think all the changes are coming from the decisions that we make. So you just need to make a decision that you will be absolutely honest with yourself in terms of your behavior, your mistakes, your fears, your flaws. You must look at the situation as it is, without judgment. Imagine that you are an actor and that you are playing the role. Does it mean that you have to play the same role for the rest of your life? Of course not! You can change it. But if you want to do that you need to be present. You need to see all pros and cons of your character, you need to understand all the problems that your weaknesses are causing you, you need to admit the fact that you are the one who is responsible for your happiness, stop blaming others and remember the fact that you can always make improvements. So in order to become fully present, start observing yourself with no judgment, your thoughts, your emotions, your feelings, and ask yourself the following questions:
What the best version of me would look like?
What should I learn every day to become closer to my ideal version?
Which emotions do I need to work on in order to be more peaceful?
How does it feel to be happy and confident?
How would I feel if I become this ideal version of myself?
You will be able to make a change when you start feeling it. Feelings are emotions and emotions are the chemicals within your body. Remember: everything psychological is biological. And most of our problems come from the chemicals that we produce. If your body gets used to “happy chemicals” and stops releasing stress hormones you will be able to become more productive and creative simply because your brain won’t get destructed by negative signals from your body. So it is very important to feel your new version, not just think about it. Your conscious thinking is just 5% of your brain; everything else is this software that is so hard to get into. But you can train it by creating the feelings, the emotions.
I recommend writing down the qualities that you want to have and the emotions that you want to get rid of. After that you can meditate, just observing your body and releasing one negative emotion each week and adding some great quality at the same time. And train yourself to check all your thoughts. If you get the ones that do not serve you, change them immediately.
I always ask Universe to help me. I believe that there is loving force around us which takes care of us if we ask. I give my weaknesses to the Universe (quantum field) and ask to turn them into new opportunities and new strengths. Each negative emotion that leaves your body adds strength to it. By releasing it you are decreasing the gap between your current version and your ideal version. It is actually not very hard to do; you just need to be determined and persistent.
Remember – everything you need is already within you. Don’t look for happiness in something external, you won’t be able to find it there, you need to look for it inside!
To sum up: be present, scan the reality, check all your thoughts, update your software, and be happy!
Be Strong And Love Yourself!