The Catrinas of Mexico
One of the most important aspects of living in The Golden Flow™ is to live in the now moment. Here’s how.
By now you have probably heard and read much about living in the now moment. Perhaps you have had glimpses of its benefits. You want to live in the now, but often this state of living in the now seems elusive and difficult to maintain. So how do you live in the now? Here I want to give you the first simple, yet powerful technique.
Living in the now moment is an essential ingredient for living in the Flow. Living in the Flow has many benefits. When in the Flow State, you worry less and therefore have less stress. Living stress free has numerous physical benefits such as increased immune function and lower blood pressure, which can lead to reduced heart disease. When living in the Flow, people also enjoy numerous psychological benefits such as feeling more secure, and happy. People in the Flow have an exuberance about life that is contagious. When you are in the Flow you have a greater capacity to cope and to deal with whatever life brings you. Living in the Flow is often accompanied by a wonderful state of well being.
There is a simple technique for living in the now moment that is conducive to the Flow State. This technique helps eliminate two of the biggest causes of being out of The Flow – ruminating about the past, and worrying about the future.
Negative or painful emotions such as being sad, angry, or depressed knock you out of the Flow State. These emotions such as chronic anger, for example, are often brought on by continually regurgitating something that happened to you in the past. This isn’t to say you should never get angry. There is a place for anger. However, authentic anger, like most authentic feelings pass through you. You get angry in the moment, and then it passes. However, when you begin to recall other times you were angry, or people who made you anger, then the anger builds and you become consumed by it. When in the now moment, you are no longer focused on the past and emotional charges no longer have a hold over you.
Worrying about the future, or having fear about what will happen or won’t happen also puts you out of the Flow. Chronic anxiety is caused by the constant worrying about what will happen to you. For many, such future tripping is the norm. They are constantly playing out what if scenarios in their head, ‘what if he rejects me,’ what if she says no,’ ‘what if I don’t have enough money,’ and so on. Here too, when you return to the now moment by focusing on the now moment instead of projecting into the future, you eliminate the worry, fear and anxiety that comes from being over preoccupied with the future.
It is easy to see how constantly churning past memories or habitually projecting what you think might happen or might not happen in the future, puts you out of the Flow, leading to a pretty miserable life. Instead of focusing on the past or future, if you focus on the now moment it easy to see how you can free yourself from negative emotions and worry. So how do you remain focused on the now moment?
There are several good techniques for this. However, they all basically come down awareness and your minds ability to focus on only one thing at once. Have you ever tried to listen to someone in the room talking to you while at the same time carry on a conversation on the phone? It is very difficult. The mind has difficulty splitting its attention on more than one thing at the same time, especially for extended periods of time. This is actually a good thing when it comes to living in the now.
Living in the now is no longer a new age spiritual or metaphysical concept. Recently, psychology has looked at the benefits of the Flow State and living in the now. They have come up with effective techniques to do so. One such technique is called ‘savoring’. When you savor a delicious bite of your favorite food, done to perfection, where is your focus? Are you ruminating about something someone did to you in the past? Are you worrying about what is going to happen at tomorrow’s dentist appointment? No, your awareness is focused on that wonderful lump of food in your mouth. You are focused right here, right now, in that beautiful now moment. You have just entered the State of Flow where life is good and you are full of well being.
As you go about your day, savor. Welcome whatever is in your now moment with unhurried appreciation. Savor the fresh air, the beautiful clouds, the life force coursing through your body…there is always something you can find to savor in any given moment.
Welcome to the magnificent now moment, an essential key to living in the Flow. Watch for the next technique for living in the now coming soon.
