Greetings wherever you are and welcome back to ActBytes.
We're in the process of briefly exploring the different aspects and components of acting.
And in this installment we'll be considering the present moment.
These videos are for educational purposes only and to give you some understanding of activism.
So that you may,
If you're interested in exploring this further.
Get in touch with an experienced counsellor to continue the work as it applies to you.
What I love about ACT is that it connects so closely to mindfulness practice.
On Insight Timer,
There are many offerings that encourage us to go deeply into ourselves through meditation,
Breath awareness,
Yoga,
Music,
Movement,
And so on.
What is it exactly that attracts us so to this?
What is it about meditation and mindfulness practice that makes it such an important component of our everyday lives?
May I suggest that it is the peace and space that we find within when we stop.
Drop the endless activities.
Step away from the hustle and bustle.
And let the silence deepen,
Bringing forth an expanding presence and awareness.
The experience is one that acts to reassure us that there is more to this brief life than merely a series of wakings and sleepings.
Chasing after one thing and the other.
Continually in a state of apparent forward motion.
But not really knowing where that may take us.
If we look carefully at our existence,
And especially our mental lives,
It soon becomes apparent that we spend most of our lives either in the past or in the future.
Check this for yourself.
It may be,
For instance,
That we are sitting on the train on the way to meet a friend.
Apparently looking out of the window,
Looking at the scenery.
But it doesn't take long before our thinking hooks us into some memories triggered by what our eyes see going past before us.
Or we may begin to think about the last time we saw this particular friend.
And the conversations we had,
The things we did together,
And so on.
To another person observing us,
It appears that we are actively looking out of the window at the passing scenery.
But.
.
.
In our minds,
We are recalling memories.
And not actually seeing what is before us in the present moment at all.
It's as if there's a veil.
Between us and the present moment.
Truth be told,
Nothing holds our attention for long.
Is that true for you too?
In another scenario,
We may be at work,
At our desks,
If we have a desk job,
And planning the next project.
We may be looking at possible costs.
Consider sourcing supplies,
Reading over contracts.
Planning the next steps in the flow of activity.
All these things are connected and vital for the smooth operation of our work.
But again.
Our energies are focused not in the present moment,
But on future possibilities and future problems and future outcomes.
Indeed,
One of the reasons we experience anxiety or imbalance is that we become fearful of possible events that may transpire if we are not prepared enough.
Or if we do not have the necessary steps in place and so on.
There is a rather well-known poem by Shel Silverstein called What If?
In which he pokes fun at our anxieties by listing a stream of what-ifs.
What if the bread doesn't rise?
What if the child cries?
What if I flunk thy test?
What if,
What if,
What if,
And so on.
It is indeed a humorous angle at a very real problem.
And probably quite a good exercise to write a personalized what-if poem for yourself.
Focusing on your own anxieties and fear.
And we all have them for sure.
So what happens then,
When we.
.
.
Consciously let go of past thinking and future thinking.
And dwell in the present moment.
Is it even possible to do that?
Is it possible to be here now?
That's a good question.
And if it is possible.
What's the effect of that?
I have alluded to that briefly already at the beginning of this video.
In yoga practice,
For example.
We could say that yoga is a flow from one asana to the next.
Stretching and challenging the body in different moves.
But has your teacher ever mentioned Drishti to you?
The actual mental intention that works to focus the mind,
The breath and the body together.
Bringing us into the present moment.
So that yoga becomes the spiritual practice it is intended to be.
At the end of asana practice when we lie down briefly in shavasana.
Letting the body relax completely.
Do we drift off into a snoring sleep?
Do we notice that our minds are sharp and clear and present in the here and now?
So you see,
It's an ages old problem.
So it seems.
In our meditation practices,
We are at first introduced to anapana or breath awareness.
With the goal of being mindful of the inhalation of the breath.
And the exhalation.
Whilst maintaining a focus.
Dhrishti again.
On one point just above the upper lip at the entrance to the nostrils here.
This beginning practice is the most difficult thing to manage and really is all that is needed.
We soon notice that it is nearly impossible to focus on the breath for more than two or three breaths before we are off on some thought train.
The monkey mind takes over and over and over until we as the observer act to bring attention back to the breath in the present moment.
Simply.
Take some time now to try that for yourself.
Set a timer for 10 minutes and see what happens.
If you really want to jump into the depths of this present moment practice.
Then join in my live meditations here on Insight Timer.
On Wednesday mornings at 4.
30am Tokyo time.
We sit together for an hour.
Or should I say we struggled together for an hour?
See you there.
