Every Spiritual teacher from Mother Teresa to Thich Nhat Hanh, and Eckardt Tolle to Michael Singer will tell you the secret to happiness is to be present. That joy is found in the here and now, but how exactly do we stay present when we are thinking about being present?
Physically our bodies always are present in both the here and the now, but in our minds we dwell in the past or speculate what is going to happen in the future. So when we wish to be present, we are speaking about our mind and having our mind in the same time/space as our body.
Suffering occurs when we dwell in the past or speculate what is going to happen in the future. To stay out of the past and out of speculation, we need to come to our senses, literally. Ask yourself, what am I seeing right now? What am I smelling right now? What am I tasting right now? What am I feeling right now? What am I hearing right now?
Coming to our senses is an easy and quick way to get out of thinking. It is a practice we can all do and it takes less than a minute. I like to practice when I am washing the dishes, going for a walk, or cooking a meal. Over time “coming to your senses” becomes automatic and you will no longer have to ask yourself those questions to get to that place. We become present to the information of our senses as often as necessary. In time, this becomes a new habit and new way of life.
When we give ourselves permission to be fully present, just for a minute, by paying attention to our senses, we get back into the flow of life. We are sending a message to nature, to God, or to the whole of the universe that we are interested in more than just our small self. When we begin to flow with life we are no longer controlled by our worries or fears and are able to enjoy the ride a little more into 2021.
