Living in the Now

One of my favorite books of all time is The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle.  If you are a person who has constant anxiety, worries, and fears about what’s going on in your life, you have to read this book.  It teaches how to forget about the past and not worry about the future.  Because, if you think about it, neither the past nor the future really exist.  There is no way to go back in time and change the bad things that happened to you in the past, so what good is focusing on them?  Likewise, you don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, so why worry about it?  (Of course, this is way easier said than done, especially when you’re a worrywart like me.)

The essence of the message in the book is to live each moment in the now with a peaceful mind.  Instead of focusing on what could or might happen, focus on what you want to happen and allow your mind to dwell on it peacefully.  In order to fully live in the now, you have to have an inner peace knowing that you are ok!  Yes, challenges may come along the way, but it is your attitude towards those challenges that determines whether they will have a positive or negative impact on your life.  Positive leads to positive; negative leads to negative.

A large part of living in the now involves surrendering.  “Let go and let God”, if you will.  You have to let go of all of those worries and fears that are occupying your mind, and focus on just BEing.  If you spend more time throughout the day stuck inside your head with your anxieties and what ifs than you do just breathing and being present, then that is your number one problem keeping you from the good you desire.  We must take time to simply BE.  And it isn’t until the last week or so that I’ve truly realized how important this is.  It’s challenging to stay disciplined, but the inner peace I feel after meditating, praying, or saying my blessings is always worth it.  It’s like my adrenaline gets going after my own spiritual workout.    

A simple affirmation that I say daily to help rid my mind of all anxieties and fears is this (which I got out of a Daily Word reading):

“Do not imagine disastrous scenarios; visualize what you want and allow your mind to dwell on that in peace.”

So if you’re going through some hard times and find your mind consumed with thoughts of worry, lack, fear, or negativity, say this affirmation a couple of times to yourself and then take a couple of minutes to put it into practice.  Close your eyes, breathe deeply and slowly, and literally picture in your mind what you want to happen in your particular situation.  Then just sit there at peace for a few minutes - breathing, focusing on that good that you desire.  Allow yourself to feel at peace.  I find that smiling while picturing in my mind all the good I desire works well.  Even if you have to force yourself to smile through tears!  (Which I have had to do on multiple occasions…)  Breathe, listen to your surroundings, and just be.  Take comfort in knowing that you are ok and that all things will work for your good!

This has literally been a lifesaver for me the past several weeks.  Life gets crazy, stressful, and tiresome, but I find that taking a moment to breathe and be at peace helps bring forth positive results in my life.  It will work for you, too!!

Love and blessings,

Kim :)