Are you ever fully present? Is anyone?
Do you, like me, ever have a whacky day when the distractions JUST won’t stop? To make matters worse, maybe you are up against a deadline, or you are just too agitated to continue with whatever you were doing. How do you feel and what can you do about it?
To manage times like this I recommend building The Habit of Practicing Presence. The FOLLOWING four elements are essential for practicing living with presence: breath, ground, space, and sound.
Calm breathing is rhythmic and easy and it naturally happens automatically. On the other hand, when you notice your breath changing- becoming more rapid, shallow, and constricted, you are receiving a warning signal.
Ground offers support whether seated or standing. Our support system continues internally through our skeleton. Your posture reflects and depends upon its relationship to the ground.
Space surrounds us and it can impact our sense of safety as well as our mood. Is the space on your right more welcoming? Perhaps it is less cluttered? Notice your inclination to move one way or another. Can you sense expanding outward into a welcoming space versus contracting and pulling away from a congested space?
Sounds can be pleasant or noisy and loud. Does the distraction make listening to your thoughts or a friend’s comments impossible? This is a serious conflict! On the other hand, some sounds such a familiar song that reminds us of happy memories, or almost any rhythmic pattern enables us to accept or adapt to the sound and move on.
Developing the habit of checking in with these four elements can help you to adapt or manage your thoughts and choose to make wise choices
Once you have this basic orientation, you can begin to investigate specific elements of your experience. These elements are always present to gain refinement in your capability to recognize what you can do in any given moment. The objective is to increase your personal wellbeing and thus create the habit of practicing presence.
Please reserve Thursdays in March from 3-4:15 PM EST to join me for “Unshakable Habits” where we will successfully install a healthy habit and eliminate an unhealthy habit. It will be fun to do this together! Questions? Who doesn’t have questions?
Register NOW for our free information session Thursday, Feb. 16 from 2-2:30 on zoom. All who register will receive the recorded session, but please email your questions in advance if you know you cannot attend.
Namaste` Sharon
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