Hi,
This is John Starmer.
I appreciate your joining me for this past-future present meditation.
I use this process as a way to clear my mind before starting a focused mindfulness meditation.
It involves considering and addressing the thoughts from the recent past or future that come to mind and temporarily parking them to clear the way for being able to truly focus on the present moment.
Now,
I do implement the common practice of letting thoughts go with no further consideration during a focused meditation.
I view this process as a way to take a few minutes and put away the toys that are obviously lying on the floor rather than leaving them alone and knowing I'll likely stumble over them later that night in the dark.
The process was in part inspired by the psychological tendency that we all have for unfinished tasks to bubble up onto the surface and they'll do that over and over again.
If you've come across David Allen's Getting Things Done productivity method,
This may ring a bell.
Allen explicitly addresses the issue of what he calls open loops unfinished tasks by identifying a logical next step to get it checked off and thus out of our head.
There's also an element of Stoic philosophy and the idea that it's important to know and address the things that you have control over and letting go of those things that you don't have control over.
This means addressing the rumblings that might otherwise all too easily rise to the surface during a meditation.
The process is simple and intentionally short.
You'll take a minute to think about anything that's likely to come back to you from the previous day.
That's the past.
You can go further back if you'd like but I generally review the things that come top of mind.
Typically these things will be something with strong emotions tied to them,
Good or bad.
In either case when they come up think about what you can do about them.
If there is something you can do about it think about what the next logical action is and then having done this put it aside.
You can certainly do this just mentally or if you like pick up your journal and write a word or two about it that anchor that idea and that next action to the page.
In either case tell yourself good this is resolved for now I don't need to think about it at least not for the next few minutes while I'm meditating.
If you come up with something you can't do anything about this is an awesome time to acknowledge this and just let it go.
Another minute is then applied to the process for future events good or bad.
Think of the logical next step not all the things that need to happen but just what you can and should do next and then again write it down if you'd like or just mentally check it off.
If something comes to you that you don't have any control over again do your best just say let it go at least for the next few minutes while you're you're focusing on the present.
Finally having cleaned up your mental space picked up those toys you can get focused on the part of your meditation that is really trying to be here now and present.
In this phase you're trying to focus on the practice however you do it.
So let's run through the whole process one time we're gonna start with three deep breaths just to get calmed down and centered and then we'll visit anything that might bubble up from the past or visit anything that might come to us from the future and then we'll go ahead and spend some time with the present.
Okay let's start with our three breaths let's go ahead and inhale and exhale go ahead again and inhale and exhale.
Let's do one more inhale and exhale.
Alright now for the next minute you can keep your eyes open you can close your eyes but just think about what happened over the last day.
Does anything make you terribly excited make you a little bit stressed out?
Go ahead and think about that and again if you can't do anything about it at least for the next few minutes set it aside.
If there is something you can do about it think about what the next step should be and just check that off again you can write it down in the journal if you like.
Now we've dealt with the past at least for the purpose of this meditation now let's go ahead and think about the future what's coming up in the next day or so that might have you stressed out or excited good or bad doesn't matter let's think about it if there's something you can't do about it think of what it is check it off again if you can't do anything about it the universe will deal with it so just let it go.
Okay so we've taken care of the past we've taken care of the future now let's go ahead and really try and focus on the present now during the next few minutes what we're gonna do is really focus on our breathing and nothing else so now if something intrudes on you some sort of a thought we're just gonna let it go we're not gonna worry about it we're not gonna try and address it we're just gonna acknowledge it you might even want to say thank you for coming up and just let it go and return to focusing on your breath and I'll play a little chime sound when the time is up.
You you you you you you thank you for joining me on this short journey into mindfulness I hope the process you just experienced was helpful and may the rest of your day or night be amazing
