12 Reasons to Be in the Present Moment

‘Be present’ is perhaps the most commonly taught lesson within the spiritual community. Many that have felt compelled to practice this teaching have found themselves propelled onto a spiritual odyssey that transformed their earthly experience. The power contained within these two simple words is nothing short of limitless.

What is presence? 

Human beings are addicted to thinking. We have a continuous running commentary in our minds and many of us permanently dwell within an incessant, unforgiving stream of thought. In the world of thinking, we are living within the memories of the past and an imagined future. It is only when we awaken out of the illusion of thought and come back to the present moment, that we realise we have been lost in the dream of thinking. Presence is to be awake and aware of the current moment rather than lost in a sleepy illusion of thought.

How can we be present? 

There are many ways to enter the present moment. We may choose to become aware of our physical senses and how we are using them to interact with our reality in any given moment. For example, we may tune into the many layers of sound around us or the warming sensation of our hands wrapped around a cup of tea. We may choose to be present with the detailed flavour of our food or acknowledge the tapestry of colours in the autumn leaves. Alternatively, we can choose to direct our attention into the inner energy field of the body. We can begin to learn this by simply closing our eyes and feeling the presence inside our body. Yet another simple technique when choosing presence is to come back to the ever-present breath.

There are many layers to presence. We may be deeply in the moment where there is great stillness within the mind and we are graced with a large degree of awareness. On the other end of the scale, we may be on the outskirts of the moment. Here we find our mind labelling our perception of the world around us, yet we are aware enough to observe our thoughts as they come and go. It is important to remember that every moment grants an opportunity to be present. Making every moment of our lives a gateway to enter an awakened consciousness that is away from the unconscious realm of thought.

Why be present?

To be fully awakened from the illusion of the mind and to totally rise above thought is to be ‘enlightened’, this is an effortless state of ‘being’. However, we have spent our whole lives residing within the delusion of thought and we are deeply conditioned to live in this way. Therefore for many of us, the initial stages of integrating presence into our lives is a gradual process that requires action, habit and intention.

For this reason, choosing presence is largely a decision that we decide to make and many of us will require motivation to start this practice. So, what are the benefits of being present? Below I have comprised a list (in no particular order) of ways to describe a practice like no other. This is a practice of inner liberation and transformation. This is a practice that stretches past the world of the physical and into the unseen realms of the spiritual.

1. We find freedom from the mind chatter and unnecessary suffering from overthinking.

Before we learn and practice the concept of presence, we find ourselves constantly within the relentless realm of thought. We are tormented with overthinking where our mind runs around in circles producing worry, anxiety and stress. The present moment cuts us off from the stream of thinking and offers a ‘way out’ of our pain, even for a brief moment. In this blissful moment of freedom, we disidentify from the voices in the mind and connect with our inner peace. We begin to realise that much of our painful emotions are created or accelerated, due to our compulsion to think. We become aware that it is in fact, our mind that creates much of our suffering.

2. We become present with our emotional pain, allowing it to process and release effectively. Gradually we put an end to suppressed emotions and reoccurring patterns.

The practice of presence creates an ever-increasing awareness of our now moments. As a result, we wake up from the illusion of thought when we are experiencing emotional pain and we instead choose to turn our attention inwards. It is now that we become present with this pain. When we choose to feel into emotional pain, we feel it as energy within the body (we may feel anger in the stomach or anxiety in the chest etc…). This courageous and powerful practice teaches us to be present with our pain for the first time in our entire lives.

Emotion is nothing more than energy-in-motion, this energy must be released to prevent an internal build-up of the painful emotion. Such emotion will otherwise continue to return throughout our lives until it is released. When we are present with our painful emotion, we allow it to move through us quicker without resistance. Our mind will work to distract us from our pain, yet presence allows us to process and release it. This practice allows emotional pain to pass quicker. It also prevents trauma, emotional and behavioural patterns and other long-term repercussions, ultimately decreasing our suffering.

3. We invite in more awareness and claim our position as the observer, resulting in a radical shift in identity that awakens our true power.

As we grew into this physical world we formed our ‘ego’, otherwise known as our sense of ‘self’. With the human’s current compulsion to think, we fill our every moment with thought and we derive our sense of ‘self’ from the voices that sound like us in our head. The more we practice presence, the more we become the observer of our thoughts. As we increasingly find ourselves waking from the dream of thought, we settle into our position as the observer. Incredibly, this creates an ever-expanding split of identity within us. Upon realising that we are able to observe our thoughts, we begin to understand that we are therefore not our thoughts. A sense of being something ‘greater’ emerges.

4. We increasingly detach from thoughts and emotions. This allows us to see the ‘bigger picture’ and further decreases our suffering by stepping into our power.

When we reside in the present moment and awaken as the observer, we begin to transcend the thoughts and emotions themselves. This split in identity creates a spaciousness that allows us to choose not to believe our thoughts, ideas, opinions and beliefs (particularly the ones that feel unpleasant). This transcendence of mental constructs prevents us from being absorbed in the world of the mind and we no longer feel consumed by our painful emotions. Amazingly, we are often able to awaken to a ‘bigger picture’ and no longer feel enslaved by the mind as our true power floods our world.

We accept the present moment and surrender to it without resistance, allowing for more flow and inner peace.

5. Upon increased alertness of the present moment, we perceive it as all there really is. The past and future are no more than memories and imaginations of the mind; we awaken to the illusion of time.

Now the past suddenly has no power over our present moment. As a result, we begin to accept our moments as they arise. We realise that when we resist our current moments with the delusion of thinking, we create pain and suffering. Instead of allowing our mind to argue with the present moment and what it has to offer, we instead accept its place in our reality. We see into the impermanence of our ever-changing now moments and allow them to unfold naturally. We may choose not to accept the larger situation at hand but only the present moment itself. Now we surrender to the flow of the present, allowing for a much smoother and more peaceful daily experience.

6. We become aware of the ego and its false sense of ‘self’, freeing us from its controlling nature and allowing for what we are beyond the mind to shine through.

In our position as the observer of our present moments, we learn to hear our thoughts as egoic voices in the mind continuously distracting us from the present moment. Subsequently through practice, we become familiar with our sense of ‘self’ or ego. We develop a relationship with our ego, we uncover more about its survival tactics and how it resists the present moment. By shining the light of awareness onto the ego we further uncover its false existence, taking away its power over us. A progressively deeper inner silence can be found within our present moments, gracing us with freedom from the controlling nature of the egoic mind. Ultimately, what we are beyond the ego is strengthened and shines through the gaps we have created in the mind.
(For more information on the this please visit the following article; Recognising the Ego and Merging with Your Higher Self).

7. We transcend the inner critic and awaken a new self-love that then projects into our outer world.

When we repeatedly transcend the mind through choosing the present moment, we no longer derive our sense of ‘self’ from the cruel egoic voices within. Our split in identity allows us to cease believing and becoming consumed by the stories of the inner critic. As we become increasingly aware of our self-judgement, we silently observe it and choose to come back to the present moment. In our heightened awareness, the egoic inner critic quietens down and fades away as we deprive it of power. Expanding self-love emerges, as old tales the ego told us of victimhood and self-hate fall away and are replaced with a pure gentleness. This newly awakened love within our inner world cascades outwards and we fall deeper in love with the outer world around us.

8. We stop chasing short-lived happiness and awaken to lasting peace and joy found in the present moment.

When we choose to live more in the present, we spend less of our life dreaming in the cloudy illusion of thought. With our attention in the present, we ignite our physical senses and we see a new depth to the world as it suddenly bursts with aliveness. Our fresh look at the world is coupled with inner stillness, spaciousness and peace. Gradually we awaken to a pure joy derived from the simplest of things, found not in the future or past but the present moment.

Upon recognition of the simple beauty and inner stillness that can be found in the now, we stop chasing short-lived happiness in an imaginary future. We come to realise that future happiness is no more than a delusion of the mind that distracts us from the simple beauty, joy and inner stillness of the present moment. Ultimately we live a more fulfilled and happy lifetime, cherishing our experiences and the little pieces of heaven that are found in the simplest of things.

9. We create spaciousness within that stretches past the physical and into the spiritual, revealing a much greater existence and purpose. 

Inviting presence into our life creates spaciousness within. We are no longer permanently lost in the movement of thought and we find peace in the stillness. It is within the emptiness of the space between the thoughts, that we are alerted to a deeper sense of ‘being’. In this formless space we invite in more of our formlessness and we awaken to our spiritual nature. As the light of our divinity shines through the gaps in the mind, we no longer totally identify with our physical life and we begin to remember a much greater existence. We come to realise that waking up from the dream of the mind is simply the beginning. As what we are beyond the mind gradually emerges, revealing an infinitely deeper purpose.

10. We learn to recognise and follow our inner guidance, gradually integrating our higher self and living an authentic lifetime.

When we practice presence we shine the light of awareness onto our egoic inner chatter and it gradually loses its power over us. As the thinking in the mind quietens into the background, we better recognise the more subtle feeling of the heart. It is within the newly acquired silence of the mind, that we begin to feel into the gentle whispers of our inner guidance. We learn to recognise, trust and follow our intuitive guidance otherwise known as the higher self. As more of our true self shines through, we make wiser decisions and are guided on a journey of self-realisation. Peeling back the layers of our egoic self, we step into our higher self and become increasingly more authentic. Our outer world becomes a reflection of the authenticity within us and we live out our heartfelt dreams. Ultimately we create a life embedded with passion, fulfilment, purpose and meaning.

11. We feel an increasing sense of oneness and love for existence. 

In the silence of the present moment, we discover the joys of ‘being’, without the constant ‘doing’ of the mind. It is within this beingness that we feel a sense of connection to all that is.

Every thought and therefore sense of ‘I’ creates a sense of ‘other’. In the absence of thought, there is no ‘other’ and therefore no sense of separation between our self and the world around us. As the ego only survives through separation, it continues to disintegrate and an incomprehensible sense of oneness is free to emerge within us. In this ever-expanding sense of unification, we feel a transcendental connection to all that is. Awakening from the illusion of separation, we decrease our suffering like never before as we feel into an infinitely deeper love for humanity and the rest of the world around us.
(For more information regarding this, please visit the following link; Love In The Fifth Dimension).

12 . We live in love, not fear. Ultimately decreasing our suffering and living a happier lifetime. 

Within this physical world of duality, we find ourselves at a crossroads. If we remain lost within the illusion of thought, we constantly live our life restricted by unrealistic fears. The egoic mind was originally useful in protecting us from immediate danger, yet in these times the ego sees everything outside of itself as a potential to cause harm. This has created an illusion of fear that plagues our daily lives. We let our over-protective ego-mind rule us through a constant stream of thinking.

The present moment brings us out of the illusion and into reality. It brings us out of our minds and into our hearts. It brings us out of our suffering and into our natural state of being. It brings us out of separation and into our unification. It brings us out of fear and into love.

Final Words

Awareness itself is the power concealed within the present moment. The practice of presence is, therefore, a process of rebirth. We transcend the limitations of the mind and enter a process of remembering our infinite divinity. The present moment brings us freedom from suffering. We enter into a lifetime of more peace, joy, authenticity, fulfilment, purpose, meaning and a myriad of other love-based states of ‘being’.

Paradoxically we leave our expectations behind when we propel ourselves into presence, realising that our experience will unfold perfectly for us. As we journey along our unique road, we not only awaken to our personal mission but our collective mission here as a whole. We come to realise that the purpose of existence on the planet at this time is to bring awareness into the world, one enlightening step at a time.

With Gratitude,