Being Present to What?

Posted on November 06, 2021 by Greg Myers, One of Thousands of Leadership Coaches on Noomii.

Something a bit weird about our shared experience is that we are always here – in the present moment. If we are thinking about the past, it is us, now, having thoughts about the past. Thoughts about the future? Those thoughts are happening now. Emotions? Sensations? Feelings of Flow or bliss or all-consuming rage? All now, all the time.

We experience time in one direction, from the past to the future, and when we notice anything, it can only be in this moment. We can revisit the past (though our recollections are uneven, not always accurate, and change as we explore them). We can plan, worry, or daydream about the future, but the future is rarely (if ever) exactly what we imagined it would be. In fact can’t escape the present – our awareness and perspective are anchored firmly in the moment. Under stress, we pick some sliver of sensation, emotion, or thought and narrow the expansive Now to some one manageable thing.

This may seem to fly in the face of the mindfulness movement, with its constant admonition to be “in the moment.” If we can ONLY be in the moment, why tell us to be there? What is going on?

For most of us, at any given time we are paying attention to only a small part of all that is going on around us (bodily sensations, thoughts, and emotions). Make a circle with your thumb and forefinger (about the size of a quarter), and hold it at arm’s length. Close one eye, and look at something across the room. Notice how little of the room you see. Now move your hand toward your face, still centered on the object you picked. Notice that you see a lot more of the room. Now drop your hand altogether – still more. If you wanted to see even more, you could turn your head, or look behind you, above you, or below you. All of those things to see are all there, all the time – but what you pay attention to makes all the difference.

So it is with being present. Mindfulness involves expanding our awareness of what else is in the moment. Environment, sensations, emotions, thoughts – these can all be more available to us. On top of that, we can change our perspectives on what we see (like if we stood up and moved around the room) – all this falls under the skill we call mindfulness.

Practice becoming more mindful by anchoring yourself to some aspect of the Now. A common choice is breath – take a comfortable seat, pay attention to your breath, and when your mind wanders, return to noticing your breath. Use this practice to change your relationship with the Now. There is much more going on than we know!