Present Moment Awareness
Photo Credit: Dingzeyu Li
“Think of strength-training at the gym. Growth comes when we work at our edge. We want to give up, but if we can stay a little bit with the discomfort ... that's where we’re really building muscle, increasing endurance, and generally expanding capacity. It’s the same with building our mindfulness muscles. We practice staying open and present when things get intense in meditation, so that we can stay open and present when things get intense in life.” — Jeff Warren
I’ve been writing about mindfulness practices this October. Last week’s topic was how yoga can shift from a series of postures to a spiritual practice when you make it a part of your regular routine. Today I’m writing about how meditation can help to expand your awareness. Next week will be my final blog post on mindfulness, exploring sensory experiences in nature.
To build on Jeff Warren’s metaphor of strength-training at the gym, a daily meditation practice has the potential to increase your current state of awareness. It’s one of those things that can be easy to blow off in the moment because you don’t see the results instantaneously. But the more you take time throughout your day to meditate, even for brief moments, the stronger you will become. Meditation increases our resilience by keeping us in the moment and non-reactive.
Meditation is a way of practicing present moment awareness. It’s really just a shift in our focus. One of the easiest ways to do this is by the simple act of being aware of your breath. It’s something our bodies do for us on auto pilot, but when you pay attention to the experience of inhaling and exhaling, to the sensation of air moving in and out of your nostrils, a stillness arises.
In Eckhart Tolle’s Essential Teaching Podcast, The Stillness Within, he explains how most humans are identified with their thoughts and beliefs. They are reactive to what happens in the world around them. Through meditation, we become aware of the deeper, transcendent dimension within ourselves. It is our connection with this stillness within that has the power to release us from living in an unconscious state. The more you practice it, the stronger it becomes.
Meditation can play a role in helping us to stay open, be more creative, and experience greater joy. Deepak Chopra has been at the forefront of the current meditation movement for over thirty years. A proponent of self-awareness, he is a clinical professor of medicine, a scientist, and the author of over ninety books. While his highly academic and abstract books like Meta Human are more than my mind can comprehend, and recent forays into AI don’t resonate with me, I found his earlier works, such as The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, helpful on my journey.
Jay Shetty is more of a motivational speaker than a spiritual or meditation guide, but for readers who lean more in that direction, he has a lot to offer too. An international bestselling author and podcast host of On Purpose, he’s also a former monk who used to spend up to eight hours a day meditating. His life transformed from minimalist to digital influencer, and in 2020 he initiated 40 Days of Meditation on social media to uplift his followers during the pandemic.
There is a misconception that meditation is something only advanced spiritual humans can achieve, or alternatively, a trendy Zen notion that requires formulative practices like listening to meditational music or podcasts. The truth is, meditation isn’t a thing to achieve, it’s a practice to engage in. It’s the process of becoming mindful, aware, and conscious. As I said earlier, meditation can be something as simple as focusing on your breath. Other pathways include walking alone in silence, focusing on an object, and repeating mantras, to name a few.
Whatever journey you’re on, dear reader, I hope that my musings have given you thoughts to ponder and that you will consider meditation as a practice to expand your awareness. If you’re still feeling uninspired, watch for next week’s final blog post on mindfulness practices where I’ll explore how sensory experiences in nature can create opportunities for greater conscious living.
COMING UP…
Books & Projects:
· All four of my books are available online at Amazon, Chapters-Indigo, and Barnes & Noble. You can also find them at select Chapters-Indigo and El Hombre de la Mancha bookstores.
· I am pursuing representation from a traditional publisher for my fifth literary fiction, a psychological drama that explores the complexities of mental illness and trauma. Stay in touch by signing up for my blog or following me on social media to find out when it will be published.
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