A Heart’s Way ~ Present Moment Awareness

To live in the Present moment requires us to be focused on the Here and Now, instead of worrying about the future or regretting the past.
When you aren’t living in the now, you are most likely living in the past, by looking at a person from your past event that you wish you had done differently or remembering something you want to hold onto. Or you are in the future, projecting your hopes or your fears. Many of us spend a majority of our lives either reflecting on the past or projecting into the future.

We need to learn to break through our patterns and reactions, so that we can be in charge of our responses. We would all like to be in “control” of our lives. However, there are always situations, events and people who can interfere with our sense of “being”. Usually, someone or something triggers us and we unconsciously “react” to what we feel has “happened” to us. We may feel amazing one moment, and be triggered into a reaction the next. Sometimes it is our own ego that triggers our unconscious reaction, by bringing up a past memory or a future worry.

Clearly, we are not in “control” over our sense of “being”, let alone our ego/mind. However, we can be in “charge” of our responses, when we identify our patterns and know our reactions. When we can identify how our body reacts to situations and people, then we can begin to shift our focus to be in charge of our responses. In the beginning it may be after we have already reacted and are in our pattern. However, the more aware you are, the more opportunity you have to begin to shift and come into the present moment, so that you can be conscious and in charge of your response.

What does it mean to be in charge of your response? It means that you have a choice on how you respond to any given situation or person. Only you can choose how you want to respond, emotionally. You have a choice, you can choose to respond from a place of peace, from present moment awareness or from a place of unconscious reaction.

The easiest way to live in present moment awareness is to practice conscious breathing. When you feel stressed, road rage, or anxious, focus on your breath. You can also focus on your body, how you’re feeling, where you are, and what you’re doing.