Time is always fading into the future. Even though we exist eternally in the present, it doesn’t mean we don’t age, change our minds, and see ourselves differently. Our experience of life is gradual, so we often don’t even realize how we have evolved.
I started doing a practice to learn from my gradual mental growth when I was a teenager. And I still use this reflective practice because it always teaches me something. When I was a teenager, I was riddled with anxiety and tension and was in full-on fight-or-flight mode. By chance, I happened upon a book on Eastern wisdom in a store and started reading it. That led me to teach myself meditation. As I learned more about (or should I say, became aware of) my mind, I became fascinated with it and started reading all the psychology, philosophy, and neuroscience books that I could get my hands on. That’s because the more I meditated and learned about consciousness, the more I could see the shifts in my conscious experience as my mind and perspective expanded.
I came up with a practice to help myself gauge how much my mind was shifting and, ultimately, how well my self-teaching was going. I would think back to how I saw the world six months prior. I’d really put my mind there and visualize how I used to see the world, think, and react to what I experienced. Then, I’d consider how I was experiencing consciousness in the present.
Doing this was always an enlightening form of contrast. I’d notice that I was thinking bigger, living with less investment in the story I was telling myself about reality, and creating more space to be mindful, intentional, and compassionate in the present. The more I practiced this over time, the more change I saw, which I used as a natural motivation to keep doing the work.
You can use this practice to help yourself be more present in your life and experience greater richness, connection, and mindfulness.
All you have to do is start with a simple mindful reminder in your day, preferably in the morning. The morning is best because it sets the tone for the rest of your day. That’s also why I like meditating in the morning.
Choose one thing that you do during your morning routine. It could be brushing your teeth, greeting a partner/child/pet, taking a shower, making your coffee, stepping outside, or whatever you look forward to in your morning. After picking the activity, give it an extra few minutes a day. It doesn’t have to be a lot; even spending five minutes or less is worthwhile.
During this extra time, really slow down and be mindful about every aspect of the experience. For example, if you spend a few extra minutes with your coffee, don’t simply drink it while scrolling on your phone. Gently allow the steam and vapors to flow into your nose, deeply smell the aromas, feel the warmth of the glass, notice your nostrils expand, and let the silky flavors roll across your tongue when you take a sip.
Being present–in essence—means having your full attention on what you’re experiencing rather than being distracted by random thoughts and noise in your mind.
After practicing an extra dose of mindfulness each morning for a week or so, you’ll start to notice your mindful muscle growing stronger. At other times during the day, you’ll catch yourself being more aware, closer in touch with your experience of life, and in a flow of easeful peace in the present moment. Not only is this beautiful and restorative to experience, but it also invites you to further strengthen your mindful awareness by spending a few minutes going deeper into those surprise moments of clarity.
In time, your mind will become trained to slow down, focus on your experience of now, and start actively seeing reality with greater clarity, insight, and compassion.
As you notice this presence fade in throughout your life, you can take a moment to do the practice I mentioned earlier in this writing. Think back to what your mind was like several months prior. Remember how reactive, blurry, and compulsive your impulses were. Then, see this moment. Notice how your mind feels more calm, clear, and peaceful. When you do this, you can see the literal change and growth of your consciousness.
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