This is a teaching on presence in daily life.
How do we practice presence?
You probably notice that the wandering mind in which we are lost in thought really prevents us to fully appreciate this life that we each have.
Mentally we're in one place while physically we're in another.
We're unawakened and as when this happens to us we miss out on the opportunity to savor this gift of awareness.
So it's useful for us to check in with the present moment from time to time to appreciate and savor this gift of consciousness,
To calm and ground ourselves when we're aroused,
And to regain a sense of perspective and freedom.
To be present while living one's life is called being still while still moving.
We can start with routine tasks such as bathing,
Cooking a meal,
Doing household chores,
Or even driving to work.
You might also want to use a vibrating wrist reminder or perhaps an alarm on your cell phone.
You can set the alarm to vibrate or ring out periodically throughout the day to prompt you to wake up.
Being present to the experience of life living through us triggers appreciation.
Attending in daily life lets us savor life's experiences whether it be a beautiful sunset or a tuna sandwich.
When we attend to the now it stops the unconscious tendency of the mind to restlessly jump into the next moment.
For the practice of daily presence,
Practice the following.
First,
Tune into the breath.
It is there 17,
000 to 30,
000 times a day for you to note.
Breathing deeply will trigger calm and relaxation if you're stressed or tense.
Second,
Repeatedly ask yourself over and over throughout the day,
What is this?
What is this experience?
Note sights and sounds and sensations.
Note your feelings,
Your thoughts,
Your urges,
Any mental images that arise,
Your beliefs,
Actions,
And reactions.
Just notice moment by moment.
This creates the liberating experience of stillness in motion.
When you ask,
What is this?
You see the experience rather than be the experience.
This disentanglement from experience can be very freeing and liberating.
Third,
Practice looking and listening closely and carefully as if for the very first time or perhaps the very last time.
Try to see and hear everything freshly and deeply.
Look and listen so carefully so that thought is suppressed for a moment.
Fourth,
When you do things such as eating for example,
Just eat.
Do one thing at a time.
Pay careful attention to the taste,
Smells,
And textures of your food for example.
Be like a curious scientist researching the experience of eating.
Again,
As in all things,
You are repeatedly asking yourself,
What is this?
Fifth,
When you talk to someone,
Look at them observantly and listen fully to what they are saying.
Pay close attention to them.
Sixth,
As you apply this practice of attending,
Apply it to as many of your waking moments as possible.
As much as you can,
Be present to what you are doing and to all things wholeheartedly.
