Life’s most important moment is NOW, not yesterday, not tomorrow. When we live with conscious awareness of the beauty and magnificence of the present, we conserve energy and remain centered, even during life’s complexities.
Present-moment awareness is vital to our growth as human beings. Negativity pollutes our present moment and prevents us from fully experiencing the goodness of today. Hanging on to emotional baggage from the past and old resentments, or even clinging to negative self-imagery, prevents us from experiencing an empowered life. Since life is all about relationship, we need to experience people in the NOW, not in yesterday or tomorrow. We cannot experience our total beautiful self, nor engage in life fully, with so much heavy baggage. We are the ones who choose to carry our own suitcase.
Be mindful and learn to let go
There is a negative and heavy energy associated with worry, self doubt, fear, and unforgiveness. Of course, these are phases all human beings go through, but we need to be mindful about reorganizing and overcoming these states of being. We can never change a personal condition until we first set right the things inside. Being aware of your inner state is called living a conscious life. This is when you are mindful of your inner and outer state. This is mindfulness. It is a daily, spiritual practice.
Children who have cancer are challenged beyond words, but they are also inspiring. Why? Despite their prognosis, their light shines bright. This is because they live one day at a time. Their expressed hope keeps the rest of us going. They cling to nothing. They’re the most illuminated people on earth! They make us think, “If life can be this good despite the odds this kid is living in, then why am I holding myself back from the present moment?” They show us something we may refuse to see about our own, potentially robust lives.
Women tend to cling to the past
Women are natural complexity managers. We manage the schedules of our children and parents very well. But often we’re so busy we forget to rest in a space of enjoyment. We forget how to fully appreciate the moment. Even though we manage complexity well, we also spend too much time on an emotional treadmill instead of directing energies toward taking in the best of life.
Women’s brains are wired differently from men’s. We tend to use the right brain more in decision making. The left brain has to do with logic, linear progression, and doing, whereas the right brain deals with gestalt, intuition, and being. Women activate more neurons in the brain. We have between 10 and 33 percent more neuronal fibers in our brains than men do. These fibers reside in the forward part of the corpus callosum, the dense network of fibers that link the two hemispheres of the brain. Because we have more connecting neurons between the left and right hemisphere, women tend to use both sides of our brain more than men do when problem solving. Women are much more aware of our emotional depth; men compartmentalize and divide tasks. Men can usually fix a tremendous focus on a task (translation: they’re really great at doing one thing at a time), but women can perform multiple tasks simultaneously (multitasking!) and are better at integration and seeing the big picture.
So, although women manage complexity well, we often do not easily let go of superfluous details. We’re wired to keep taking it all in. That’s why we need to learn how to “let go” much more than men do! Because we tend to manage our “communities of people” (children, parental relationships, families), we often keep regurgitating the past. We just don’t stay in the present moment as well as we should.
Today’s Tips
Do you ever wonder how you can stay centered while dealing with the daily complexity of tomorrow while you’re still feeling good about today? How can we train ourselves to stay more fully present in today, and not yesterday or tomorrow?
1. View the past as a learning experience. Life events trigger our emotional collection. We tend to interpret our current experiences through this lens. Allow the good to shine through and know the universe may be showing you a part of yourself--and your spiritual self development--that you need to see.
2.Focus on your capability to address the present. Stop agonizing over your mistakes, your parents, or what someone said. Move forward. You can develop inner strength if you wish to. You can be strong if you see yourself as strong. Begin to transform your self-image to include inner strength. It will translate positively into your outer world.
3. Make “One Day at a Time” your mantra. Nobody ever managed the past, present, and future simultaneously, at least not very well, so give it up! If you have much to overcome, remember that the journey begins where you are, not where you want to be. Don’t create more complexity in your life so you can’t see or enjoy what is in front of you.
4. Learn to let go. Be conscious of what you are clinging to that steals mental and emotional time away from you, your family, and communities. When you practice forgiveness, you’ll have more space to love life.
5.Make loving yourself a priority. It’s not about a daily shopping trip or a spa appointment. Be receptive to gratitude. Accept appreciation from others. Understand the importance of your own needs.
Today’s Affirmation
Developing the discipline to stay in the present comes from affirming your capability to be balanced and powerful. We cannot live in the present moment until we learn to sift out what is really important, to distinguish the real from the unreal in our daily routines.
Let’s affirm:
“Today I stop to smell the flowers. My life is about thinking and feeling and not all about doing. By taking care of me first, I enhance my contribution to others. I am strong enough to say no when I need to. I am smart enough to recognize when my energies are misdirected. I focus on choosing experiences in life that contribute to my own spiritual development. I release the negativity of the past and consciously choose to see the present as abundant, powerful, and beautiful.”
Every Blessing,
Charlene Proctor
The Rev. Dr. Charlene M. Proctor is the founder of The Goddess Network, an on-line educational resource for topics on spiritual growth, positive thinking, consciousness, and unity. Charlene inspires people to rediscover their own ability to lead authentic lives. Currently, she is a weekly empowerment expert for Lifetime Television’s The Balancing Act, offering a spiritual perspective on everyday life to millions of viewers.