Presence takes practice.  You can build endurance, and you can increase your attention span.  

When attention breaks, getting back to the present quickly is key.  Observing patterns of thoughts, beliefs, circumstances, relationships, or scenarios that pull you out of this moment and into another one is an important step in the direction of staying present.  

And most of all, it’s a clear mind that is the key to staying present.  A ‘busy mind’ creates a lot of ‘busy-ness’ for the mind; or, in other words, more thoughts create more responsibility, energy demand, and ultimately depletion for the mind.  

If you choose to be present, choose to be clear.

And this happens only through meditation, time in nature, and prayer.  Exercise helps.  Eating well helps.  Strong social relationships help.  Getting out of debt helps.  Great health helps.  All of these things help.

And in the end, what makes the biggest difference is:  connection.

• Connection with yourself through meditation.
• Connection with others through nature.
• Connection with something greater that connects through your heart.

Think about it this way:  you are either connected or searching for a clear signal.  

It’s the same way if you’re flipping through channels on an old television.  You were either ‘searching’, ‘tuning in’ (using rabbit ear antennas in this case), or ‘watching’.  

In life, it’s very similar.  We are either searching for meaning/satisfaction/fulfillment, tuning into the moment to increase the quality of our experience, or we’ve found what we’re looking for and we are attempting to watch/observe it as much as possible to extend the moment.  

And just like TV, many of us settle on some program or show that is less than ideal, just so we can stop flipping through channels or spending time getting a clear signal.  

But here’s the thing… there’s so much junk on TV when you get lazy, you know?  

And similarly, there’s so much junk in your mind to think about that doesn’t lead to happiness, fulfillment, or love.  There are so many demoralizing, self-rejecting, not good enough type thoughts you can think about if you are not clear or receiving a clear signal.

And when you do receive clearly — which happens through the practice of meditation, time in nature, and prayer — your thoughts become very interesting, pointed, and supportive.  

This is the practice of presence.  Here goes:

• Step 1:  Set an intention.

Set an intention to be present and live in the moment.  Do this with all five senses by imagining life this way inside of your mind and feeling the experience as much as you can for a few minutes before meditating.

• Step 2:  Meditate.

Every day, clear your mind by observing what it wants to think about for 15-20 minutes with your eyes closed (this is meditation, in a form).  Do this 2x daily.  

• Step 3:  Observe.  

Journal a few notes down about any recurring thoughts, beliefs, or patterns that you notice.  

a) Rate your overall level of happiness and/or fulfilment with your life, as follows:  

0 = totally depressed and unfulfilled by life

and

10 = extremely happy and fulfilled by life

How happy and fulfilled do you feel about your life?

b) Take notice of the trend.  What is happening to this number as you practice?  Are you beginning to notice that you are feeling more happy and fulfilled? 

c) Finally, rate your level of presence, as follows:

0 = totally distracted, unable to focus in the moment.

and

10 = totally present, undistracted when in the moment.  

How present do you feel?

If you’re anything like me, what you’ll begin to notice is that your level of happiness and fulfillment will increase along with your experience of presence.  They tend to increase incrementally and together.  

Last but certainly not least, I would like to share with you the power of prayer.  There are many forms of prayer, although I use one.  

Through prayer, I feel more centered than through any other practice.  I see prayer as two-way communication and something that is available to all of us, independent of gender, financial situation, race, ethnicity, or geographical location.  

Please consider adding prayer throughout your day as a way to get to center, stay centered, and ask for help when feeling uncentered.  Then, listen, and take notice of how clear your mind becomes through this practice.

A clear mind is a centered mind.  A centered mind is a present mind.  And a present mind is a mind that is able to merge the conscious and subconscious in such a way that it produces the full potential of the human mind in action.  

To learn more about creating healthy thoughts and feelings, mastering your mind, and exponentially increasing the quality of your experience here on Earth, please join Self-Health.  

Just about every day, we have a new student join.  And it couldn’t be more exciting.  

When will you decide to dive in and learn how to master your health?  The resource is here waiting for you when you are ready.  Join us.

have a wonderful day,