Welcome welcome! Today we are hitting a big topic that may elude many of us. But come on in with an open mind and an open heart because here at Gemstorm Relevation, my sole intention is for all of you to live your best lives. To become the best versions of yourself and live in passion and purpose while being present.
In today’s blog, we are exploring being present. What it means to live in the present, the way that we can be present, and why it can be so hard to STAY in the present.
The Meaning of being Present
Firstly let’s chat about what it means to be present?
Being in the present means living in the moment. Realizing that yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift hence why it is called present.
Choosing to live in the past or the future not only robs you of enjoyment today, but it also robs you of truly living.
How to be Present?
So what can you do to stay present?
How to be Present? – Make a Commitment
Remaining present will take effort and a level of commitment. You can do this by choosing to start your day in the present. One of the best ways to do this is by grounding your energy after you wake up, and any time through the day you find yourself worrying about the future or fixating on the past, ground again. I have some meditations on my channel that can help you do this, and they are super short. I’ll leave the link below. https://youtu.be/NJHIrjHhMX0
How to be Present? – Develop a Routine
As mentioned before, your routine can be with the grounding meditation I have suggested – but you could also set yourself some alarms. These alarms will help you remind yourself and assess. Have I been present since my last check-in? What kind of things have I been doing or thinking that have taken me out of my presence? By acknowledging and being aware of your thoughts, it will help your practice of being present evolve naturally.
Become Aware of your Body
Staying in the present will require you to get very familiar with yourself. To learn how to hear what your body needs. Again, the practice mentioned above with alarms will really help you get more familiar with yourself. Or, you could also do my body scan meditation every day as well. This body scan meditation can help you connect with the body and listen to it more clearly, especially as you do this practice regularly – https://youtu.be/4QHlsJNIcRU
Remain Conscious of your Thoughts
Keep thoughts positive and present-focused. To help you keep your thoughts on a more positive vibration, I would highly recommend my Chakra affirmations nighttime meditation. https://youtu.be/sGshN88NXsM
I created this video to help cleanse the Chakras with affirmations that are targeted for each Chakra. When the Chakras are flowing well, it helps to keep your vibrations in a more positive state, so the mind’s narrative won’t always default to the negative.
But if you find yourself whirling in thoughts of negativity or anxiety, recognize your signs and immediately stop. Stop exactly where you are and do the 54321 method. This method brings you back into the body and activates the senses. First, you look for 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste. This will help you bring yourself back into present awareness.
Be Aware of your Surroundings
Periodically through your day, take the time to notice the things around you.
What can you see in those moments that bring you joy, happiness, and gratitude?
Enjoy Being Where you are
How often do people find themselves waiting? Waiting on something trivial like a bus or waiting for some future event to come that will surely bring them happiness? When this happens, I can be happy. When so-and-so apologizes, I can forgive them and then be happy. Regardless, we have a choice to make – we can choose to happy right now as everything is without an ultimatum.
This was likely one of my biggest “aha” moments on the journey was realizing that no matter the circumstance, I get to choose. I get to choose to be happy, and I get to choose how I react – or better still, don’t react. That regardless of how tough things may appear right now, I can find and ALLOW myself to feel happiness.
Now, that person waiting for the bus, if you were to approach them and ask them what they were doing, they would likely tell you that they are waiting for the bus, right? But what if instead, this person replied with I am enjoying fresh air while I sit on this bench watching life happen around me. This is being present. A simple switch in perception can make all the difference in this life in how we enjoy it and be present in it.
Why is Staying Present so Hard?
And, lastly. Let’s get real about why it is so hard to STAY in the present.
I got this excerpt from an article on Psychology today and thought it just explained it so perfectly, so I wanted to share it here. If you would like to see the article for yourself, click here.
“Human psychology is evolutionarily hard-wired to live in the past and the future. Other species have instincts and reflexes to help with their survival, but human survival relies very much on learning and planning. You can’t learn without living in the past, and you can’t plan without living in the future. Regret, for example, which makes many of us miserable by reflecting on the past, is an indispensable mental mechanism for learning from one’s own mistakes to avoid repeating them. Fears about the future are likewise essential to motivate us to do something that is somewhat unpleasant today but has an enormous benefit for our well-being in the future. Without this fear, we would not acquire education or invest in our future; we wouldn’t be able to take responsibility for our health; we wouldn’t even store food. We would simply eat as much as we feel like and dispose of the rest.
The other reason why it’s so hard for us to live in the present is that our intelligent cognition simply denies its existence. Our mind views time as a continuous and linear process. Because it is continuous, any millisecond before the present moment is already past, and any millisecond later is already a future.
But the “live for the moment” recommendation must have some truth in it if it’s universally recognized as a useful strategy for dealing with distress. Indeed, research evidence does show that people who are capable of discarding thoughts about the past and the future are generally happier.
Can our evolutionary disposition to overly focus on the past and the future be tricked into giving the present more space, making it endure? I believe it can. One useful strategy is to acknowledge the fact that “me” today is not exactly the same person as me yesterday or me tomorrow, that our lifespan is comprised of multiple selves on different shifts as we develop and change throughout our life. This is not an illusion but a reality. If “me” is the sum of my memories, desires, thoughts, and feelings, then clearly me today is a very different person from me 20 years ago, and who knows who this person might be twenty years from now. This reality becomes more apparent to us when we look at our photo album from the distant past, and people who have gone through a major crisis in their life would acknowledge this fact more readily than others.
While the multiple-selves paradigm might seem a bit scary to some people, it is actually quite encouraging because it suggests that we should care less about past regrets and future fears. Our past and future selves are not total strangers to us. They are indeed our relatives, but they aren’t us. And while we care about our relatives, we care way more about ourselves. I may blame my past self for mistakes made in the past that affect my life today, but the more detrimental emotion of regret can be rendered null and void. I might feel concerned about how my future self might be coping in a few years’ time, but I can’t really know how he would feel about his new circumstances because again, he is not me”.
So, you see, it is very much hard-wired as our natural narrative to live in the past or the future, but we do not have to fall victim to our DNA. We choose to change the narrative by connecting with our higher selves to know what we need.
While we cannot deny our past because it has brought valuable lessons, it doesn’t mean we have to dwell there. Upgrade your DNA with the simple practices mentioned here that will help change the narrative of the mind. It comes down to a simple choice and a commitment to that choice.
Any time that you seek guidance, please feel free to reach out to me. Or if you need some support you can book an appointment with me here.
Thank you for joining me today, and I hope this information will help you in the future.
Until next time,
Relevate the day,
Anna – xo
P.S – if you would like to follow me on all of my social platforms, or support my business see my links below 
Facebook
Facebook Group
Instagram
YouTube
Etsy
Pinterest
Amazon
Donations
Bookings