A Practical Presence Practice

This short track teaches you how to be present in any moment. Being present helps deflect stress and suffering that are caused by ruminating on the past or worrying about the future. It's an important, yet sometimes difficult thing to be present. This simple exercise gives you something you can try any time, and practicing this technique will help you become more present more often, with ease.

Transcript

We often live life on autopilot,

Absorbed in our mental chatter as our bodies mechanically go through our routines.

And this prevents us from being fully engaged and finding flow in our lives.

Today,

We'll practice inserting mindfulness into everyday activities by taking on the role of an observer.

Rather than narrating and analyzing as you do things,

You'll simply notice yourself in action with open curiosity.

You can try this technique with a simple activity like washing dishes or brushing your teeth so you can get a sense of it.

And what you do is,

As you begin,

You take a centering breath and you maintain awareness of the sensations and the motions of the activity itself,

Rather than getting caught up thinking about other things.

If thoughts arise about other tasks or judgments about doing what you're doing the right way,

Just gently return your attention to just observing yourself doing the activity.

You don't need to assess your performance,

Just witness yourself going through the motions with presence.

Try being the observer of your life as you wash your hands.

I mean,

You're doing that anyway,

Right?

You watch one hand wash the other?

So,

The next time you wash your hands,

Though,

Really watch it happening rather than thinking about something else while your hands wash each other.

Notice everything about the experience.

Notice how the water feels.

Notice how the soap feels.

Notice how rubbing your hands under the water feels.

Without talking about it in your head,

Just observing it.

This is how to train your mind to help you be the observer in your life.

I hope that it's helpful and thank you so much for listening.

Reviews

Excellent! Willl check out more of your work. thank you 🙏🏽

I love the idea of being an observer! I will definitely try this!