Earlier this week I woke up to quite a surprise! I had gone to bed thinking that the last bits of snow in my yard would melt soon and it would mean the end of winter (at least to me). Well, when I opened the curtains in the morning I couldn’t believe that everything was covered in snow! It was like we had stepped back into the middle of winter! In fact, it kind of threw me off because it no longer felt like spring to me. The day before had been warm and sunny. I had gone for a walk and didn’t have to wear layers of clothes, a hat or gloves. I know better though. Here in Michigan, just when we think spring is finally here, we usually get hit with some freaky snowstorm, even in April. So I was laughing at myself for even being surprised by the snow! As I made breakfast I went through my morning spiritual routine, which includes bringing myself into present time. Wow, what a difference that made! In fact, I did it a few times during the day as I found myself feeling like it was still the middle of winter.
You’ve heard the sayings like “Live in the moment” and “Carpe Diem”, but have you stopped to think what it really means to be in the present moment? We are spiritual beings who are right now in a physical body. Our bodies are always in the present time – living, breathing, existing. As spiritual beings though we are not bound by the same parameters as our bodies. We can move back and forth in time. It is possible as spirit to be back in time while the body is in the present. Has this ever happened to you? You’re thinking about or reliving something in the past and when you are done it’s like you’ve come out of your own little world to find that the song on the radio has changed or people have left or entered the room, but you didn’t notice. Time has passed and things have changed, if only for a few seconds or minutes, that you were not aware of because you were not in the present moment. I’ve had that happen to me and it’s a sign that I need to bring myself back into the present. What are some telltale signs that you as spirit are not in present time? If you are in the past you may feel nostalgic, weepy and sad, depressed, disconnected from the present or talk only in terms of the past. If you are in the future you may feel nervous, anxious or edgy even though there is nothing happening in the present time that should be causing these feelings. You may also feel a lot of fear, have a hard time grounding and being in the present, talk only in terms of the future or be worried about the future. What can you do to bring yourself back into present time? Say this out loud “Today is (month, day, year) , I call myself back from the past and back from the future into present time”. Yes it is that simple! Give yourself a few moments and see if you can feel a difference. There have been times when I did this technique and actually felt the direction from which I came back to my physical body! Many times I will feel more focused and actually have more energy afterwards!
Why is it important to be in the present time? There are a lot of schools of thought that say the present time is the only reality, it’s all that you have right now. The past has already happened and is gone. The future is unknown and with so many possibilities of what could happen, why waste time trying to guess? By being in present time you are fully in the moment and can live it fully. Think about how you live your life everyday right now. Do you do things like procrastinate, get distracted from important stuff or sweat the small stuff? We tend to live our lives as if we will be here forever, but what if you found out you only had a few more days or weeks to live? Would you continue to live your life the same way or fully embrace the remaining time by being in the moment? Another reason to be in the present time has to do with manifesting. As spiritual beings we have the ability to manifest our heart’s desires in this lifetime. In order to do this, we as spirit and our physical bodies must work together as a team. This becomes difficult if our body is always in present time, but we as spirit are out hanging around in the past or the future. Bringing yourself into present time is also a healing opportunity. When you do the technique, pay attention to which direction you as spirit are coming from, especially if it continues to be from the same direction a few times. Is there something you are holding on to from your past that you need to face? Or do you need to deal with anxiety about the future or the unknown? Healing these things can help you stay more in the present time. This last reason is also about healing. We all have the ability to heal ourselves on different levels, including the physical level. Because we as spirit are energy, wherever we are as spirit is where our energy is. If we are constantly in the past or future, then our energy is not completely in our physical body. In order to effectively heal, we need all of our energy here in the present, in our physical body.
Why not try over the next few days to be more aware if you are in present time. Stop at random times during your day and see where you are at that moment. Were you reliving something in the past? Worried about the future? Or enjoying the present moment? It is a process so be gentle with yourself. The more you do it, the easier it gets! I’ll end with this quote that sums it all up very nicely!
Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why it is called the present.
