Last week I wrote about 3 common challenges that people face on their healing journey. One of those challenges is acceptance or being in the present moment. The present moment is the time when you are aware and focused on what is happening right now, rather than being in the past or the future. Being in the present moment can help reduce anxiety and stress.
Why is the present moment less stressful?
Oftentimes when I’m out running errands at the bank or travelling through airports, I will often get a notification on my phone saying that it has found available networks that I can join if I want to. Smartphones are always scanning for available networks wherever you are..
Your nervous system does a similar thing. It is constantly scanning your environment for possible threats, and it tries to anticipate near-future conditions. This takes energy to do. And this is what we call STRESS.
The body is expending energy all the time. It especially uses more energy if we’re:
Living in the past, having conditioned responses and triggers.
Living to escape the past, “I’m not going to be like my parents”, or “I don’t want to repeat the same cycle over and over”
Trying to predict what’s going to happen with a heightened sense of alertness
Being solely focused on the external world.
When we find the present moment, the nervous system becomes more energy efficient and coherent. We stop expending energy towards the past or future. We can harness all our energy and focus it on whatever we want.
I think that the present moment is often thought of as a peaceful moment of calm. That’s not necessarily true. Simply put, being in the present moment means that we’re not distracted and all of our available energy is going to where we’re focusing. For example, while a surgeon is operating, I hope that they are not thinking about what they’re going to have for dinner tonight or that they’re not distracted by the argument they had earlier in the day with their colleague. I hope that all of their energy is focused on the patient in front of them.
Effectively, training for first responders is meant to train them to respond in a focused manner so that they’re not distracted by the intensity and uncertainty of the situation.
When I’m working with you in the clinic during a session, I am practicing being in the present moment.
How do we find the present moment?
Imagine that you’re looking through the viewfinder of a camera. The lens that you’re using just happens to be out of focus for what you’re wanting to see. As you look through the viewfinder, you slowly turn the lens and the picture you’re seeing slowly comes into focus. You can now sharply see every detail.
We find the present moment by focusing our awareness. As we become aware of what is in our viewfinder, the picture becomes clearer. We may become aware of our breathing, or how we’re holding our body. Or we may realize that we happen to be obsessively thinking about something.
The real gift of the present moment is connection; Connection with ourselves. We are, each of us, a little universe. Complex and unique, when we focus on the present moment, we connect within ourselves and we inspire others around us to do the same.