A MEDITATION ON STAYING PRESENT
We took a trip recently up to a beautiful part of Australia to see my dad for his 70th birthday. And as we stepped off the plane to balmy temperatures and ocean air, the internal monologue began.
Uh-oh, here we go again, you’re on holidays Rebecca, cue the anxiety.
But I waited. And waited. And as every day of our short trip passed, I realised that Anxious Annie had forgotten to pack her bags! Hallelujah! This is what holidays are meant to feel like.
And it was all because of another realisation I’d had on a meditation retreat a few weeks prior: if we can only manage to be here instead of over there, then no matter what’s going on, we’ll have the best chance at experiencing peace.
So, give this meditation a go. PEACE! xx
Be here. Here where you are. Here in this moment. Here where life happens.
I get it. The mind doesn’t want to be here. It wants to be over there.
Hanging back in the past… or rushing forward to the future, it’s rarely satisfied with what’s in front of it. Just like a kid in a candy store. With so many treats to choose from, it tries to have them all… and ends up tasting none.
But with practice, we can show the mind the only place it will experience freedom; true happiness. The only place it needs to be.
Here.
Here where reality is.
Here where beauty resides.
Here where compassion develops.
Here where calm calls home.
Here where we find the breath.
Here where we’ll find contentment.
Here where distractions dwindle.
Here where our eyes are open.
MEDITATION
For our meditation, let’s further train the mind to be here. To stay put. To experience the freedom, the spaciousness, the stillness that being here brings.
Connecting with the breath, repeat the anchoring phrase: Be. Here.
Be. Breathe in.
Here. Breathe out.
Be. Breathe in.
Here. Breathe out.
Staying with our breath. Staying with the present.
Tying ourselves to this moment. Nurturing a bond with the here and now.
Experiencing everything that here has to offer. Sounds. Sensations. Sight. Smells.
Keeping anchored in our body, as thoughts enter and exit. Breathing in to thought and breathing out through thought.
Finding this place that is here is the only one that brings us anything real.
Real grief.
Real love.
Real success.
Real joy.
Real emotions.
Real calm.
Real contentment.
Real beauty.
So be here. The greatest place you can be.
