What’s so great about being Present?
People meditate for many valid reasons, such as to reduce stress, find calm or sleep better. Yet at the core of many meditative practices lies the concept of being Present. All the benefits above can result from this simple quality of mindfulness.
Despite this, people often struggle to understand why being Present matters in itself. Here are five reasons why being Present matters for a healthy mind.
When we are Present:
1. We stop living in our heads
How much time do you spend wrapped up in thoughts, scenarios, what if’s, justifications, mental commentary on who is saying what and why….while in the meantime life in front of you goes unattended.
Thoughts are not facts. They are only thoughts.
Right now, there is something to be seen, heard, smelt, felt, tasted, processed and perhaps acted upon.
When we are present, we are alive to the reality in front of us. Be that the work that needs doing, the colleague that needs support, the discomfort that we keep noticing in our body, or the simple act of really hearing our friend’s laughter. We are saturated in life. From here, we see the world clearly for what it is. Everything else is either projection or reflection, of questionable value.
Right now, there is something to be seen, heard, smelt, felt, tasted, processed and perhaps acted upon.
2. We worry less
When we are engaged in the moment with all its realness, sounds, sights, smells, our immediate feelings and sensations…we are not conjuring up worrying scenarios about the future that might never take place. In fact, most never do.
When we are present, we can keep the future where it is…”not here”…and so any planning and preparation is intelligent, proportionate and calm.
In a present state of mind, we also accept that we will not be able to predict and prepare for every probable future, so we are better able to face the inevitable turns of fate and periods of uncertainty.
3. We know how we're feeling
How often are we getting on with life, getting on with our business, oblivious and perhaps even avoiding how we’re really feeling? How often do we push away difficult emotions, to only honour the ones that are more pleasant?
When we are present, we are aware of our emotional climate day to day, moment to moment. We are aware of the changes, the surface feelings, the underlying currents, and the emotions in between.
When we are present to our emotions, we understand ourselves better, honour their signals, and navigate life authentically.
4. We relate better
We see the person in front of us for who they are, now. We’re not filtering our gaze with what we’ve heard about them from others, or thinking about what to say next even as we’re pretending to listen to what they say.
We hear, we feel and we take in all that they are saying, doing, being, here and now.
When we are present, we choose to meet others where they are.
When we are present, we choose to meet others where they are.
5. We hear our gut instinct
Did you know that the gut has a brain? Those butterflies we feel when we’re nervous, the feeling in the “pit” of our stomach when we sense danger, they are real signals that the gut is sending us, fully equipped with its own neural network. Our gut instinct is our in-built advisor for which step to take next.
When we are present, we are aware of how our body feels. We notice sensations. We hear the body’s signals. We heed our gut instinct.
When we are wrapped up with thoughts, memories and projections in our head, when we’re on autopilot, when we’re not stopping to take in the present moment, we don’t notice our body, and we lose our survival advantage in listening to our gut instinct.
Photo credits: V2osk (Eye), Tengyart (Eggs)
