My family spent Labor Day weekend at my parent's cabin. Our kids love to be in the water, fish, stay up late, have smores, and wander around at night when it's dark with flash lights.
For years, watching our kids be kids would have been something I wouldn't have really noticed. I would have been stuck in my head thinking about work, finances, and just life in general. I would literally think myself out of the present moment. Then after the long weekend I would struggle to remember everything we did. If I did remember something I couldn't really picture it all that vividly or recall things that were said.
But, this weekend, I found myself sitting in a sense of peace that is still a little unfamiliar to me. This peace felt as though I was truly admiring everything around me and my mind was clear. I realized that this is how we were made. We were made to be in presence no matter what we are doing. We weren't made to be thinking and worrying about work, finances, our relationships, something we have coming up in the future, or something that happened in the past. We were made for the present moment and nothing more.
Now, some intrusive thoughts did come about that my consciousness made to feel very real and I sat with those for a bit. But what I've realized is those moments when I'm stuck in my head happen fewer times than they did before, they are not nearly as intense, and they dissipate quicker than they used to.
What have I done? Nothing; quite literally, nothing. For me the game changer has been understanding the Three Principles of Mind, Consciousness, and Thought. The more I understand, from a deeper level not just intellectually, the better my life gets from moment to moment. We are feeling our thoughts moment to moment. We do NOT feel our circumstances, only our thoughts. What this did for me is it all of a sudden made me wanting to control everything in my life seem a little stupid and silly. I would think that if I could somehow control and manage people and situations or circumstances I would not have certain feelings and I deemed were bad.
As you walk, and eat, and travel, be where you are. Otherwise you will miss most of your life. That has been the background of my cell phone for quite some time and its a good constant reminder for me.
Here is some homework (and I will often repeat myself so just bear with me).
Be present in everything you do. When you "think" yourself out of presence. Just notice it. Notice it and get back to being present. I'll leave you with a couple quotes from Michael Neill's book - Creating the Impossible - A 90-Day Program To Get Your Dreams Out Of Your Head And Into The World.
"Each time we get past our thinking and into whatever it is that we're doing, we learn more and do better."
"Look around at adults as they sleepwalk through life, preoccupied with their problems, distracted by their devices, and, in the words of Neil Postman 'amusing themselves to death'."
Until next time,
Jackson Brown
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