The Power of Now
Posted on April 30, 2012 by Pamela Rudisill CPC, One of Thousands of Relationship Coaches on Noomii.
The power of now is its ability to bring lightness and freedom through mindfulness, or being in the moment.
Sounds ominous, doesn’t it? The Power of Now. But in reality, the power of now is its ability to bring lightness and freedom through mindfulness, or being in the moment. Mindfulness allows us to observe our thoughts instead of just thinking them, giving us the opportunity to choose how to respond to worrisome thoughts.
Let’s apply mindfulness to a real life experience; one with which I am all too familiar.
Anxiety is being in a state of fear or uncertainty about an anticipated event. When feeling anxious, our thoughts are on the future and what might happen, realistic or not. We imagine the worst and begin to expect it. If these thoughts continue or are quite intense, what can happen? You know it: a full-blown panic attack! Some of the physical symptoms anxiety can produce are dizziness, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, fear of losing control and more. Even more damaging are the emotional and behavioral symptoms that can follow. Many sufferers do not seek treatment and are often afraid of what others will think of them should they find out.
Many of us who suffer from anxiety will turn to one common behavior for relief: avoidance. In order to avoid experiencing a panic attack, we will change our habits and stop doing some of the activities we may have once enjoyed. We may even stop spending time with our friends and family, pursuing interests, or developing our careers, all in an effort to avoid potentially anxious feelings.
Instead of taking this path, we can harness the power of now. Feel the anxiety, live with it. Observe your anxious feelings and separate them into the following categories: thoughts, physical sensations, emotions and behavior. Focusing this way can calm the anxious mind.
In their book The Mindful Way through Anxiety: Break Free from Chronic Worry and Reclaim Your Life, Susan M. Orsillo, PhD and Lizabeth Roemer, PhD state:
“Research has shown that it’s not feeling worry that causes anxiety disorders, but having negative responses to these feelings.”Calming our anxious mind creates a space for awareness where we can notice our reactions to the anxiety and bring compassion to any self-judgments that arise. This opens up possibilities and choices for how we will take action and choose to respond. We can learn to let go. We are able to take away anxiety’s power with the power of now.
The mind-body connection is quite powerful and tapping into it when anxious can be extremely beneficial. Where in your body are you feeling tightness or stress? Your stomach? Your shoulders? Guided mindfulness meditation can help you tap into that connection, relieve your symptoms, and release the anxiety.
I will be offering guided mindfulness meditations here at In Sight Life Coaching this spring and I hope you will use them to harness the Power of Now.
