STWDM 13 - The Present Moment Is Your Magnet and Your Compass

Day 13 Message:  The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, 

you will see it.  - Thích Nhất Hạnh

Mind and body only live in the present. And in today’s meditation, we discover that the present moment holds tremendous organizing power in life, like a magnetic force. The power of our ever-present awareness automatically instills a sense of calm and happiness.  We heal this moment in time by centering ourselves and finding the place of peace, joy, and pure being. You can apply self-awareness and quickly learn when you are present and when you aren’t. This allows you to restore yourself to “the now” any time you want.

O:  Our highest most whole state of Being, our truest deepest most profound spiritual practice is to be present in this moment.  There is a magnetism that pulls us into the present if we allow it to guide us.  In the present we are our truest self and life is at it’s very best always.  The Buddha says it so simply - "The secret of health for both the mind and the body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, and not anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment."   For me, that is the most powerful spiritual practice – to be here now.

What kinds of dynamics and habits pull us away from the present moment?  Projecting into the future, being insecure, fearful – these are feelings that create heaviness and weigh us down.  When we dwell in the past or are consumed by worrying about the future, we resist what is the natural flow  to be here right now, completely free from doubt and strife.  What’s going on in this moment.  When you can allow the magnetism of this present moment begin to heal yourself.  Create a space within where presence and peace are possible and real in this very moment.  Can you experience the joy of that?  The same is true for healing.  You meet it here and now, right this minute. 

D:  Every brain cell lives totally in the present – all one hundred billion of them.  This must be so because the two things that cause brain cells to send signals are chemical reactions or electrical impulses.  They fire instantaneously.  What this tells us is that living in the present is the only real way to exist that is free of illusion.  Yet people get lost in regretting and reliving the past, repeating past mistakes, holding on to old conditioning and habits that block the present moment.  The future also presents a form of unreality when we fantasize about what may happen, anticipate how things will turn out or fear the passage of time that brings decline, disease and death.  Dwelling anywhere outside the present is disabling because every brain cell, in fact every cell anywhere in your body has no choice but to live in the present.  There is a kind of magnetism that pulls us into the now if we let it.  Life is at it’s best when it is fresh, new and spontaneous.  We can resist this magnetic pull and one of the most damaging ways to do that is to carry the weight of the past either physically or mentally.  The physical part becomes distressingly visible as the calories consumed yesterday turn into unwanted weight today.

But the emotional and psychological side is critical because this is where we make the now into a place we avoid.  We turn our backs on the now when we fall into bad habits and second-hand opinions.  We turn away from the present when we feel insecure or unworthy.  When you can follow the magnetism of the present moment, you have healed yourself in that moment.  We shouldn’t push happiness off into an ideal future.  The future holds no more certainty of happiness than this day because this day is where happiness is possible and real.  The same is true of the healing process.  You meet it here and now – right this minute. We heal this moment in time by centering ourselves and finding the place of peace, joy and pure being that only exists in the now.  The process is natural, simple and effortless.  In meditation, to live in the now happens automatically and after awhile it happens much more easily outside of meditation.  With more self-awareness, you learn when you are present and when you are not. This allows you to restore yourself to the now anytime you want.  What will happen when you get there? No one can predict which is why the magnetism of the now holds such power.  We want to meet the unknown which is the place where the true self always abides.

Journal Ideas:  1)  What were the moments today when you felt most present? These would be marked by feeling happy, free, unburdened, accepted, alive, creative, and filled with energy. Reinforce how good it felt to be present.  2)  Write down the moments today when you were pulled out of the now by distractions, discomfort in your body, bad memories, habits, other people’s words, negative emotions, or stress.  3)  Describe three ways to decrease these influences that took you out of the present moment. For example, you could make your work space quieter or turn off your smartphone for a while.