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Tips on Living in the Moment

"Be here now," said 1960s guru Ram Dass. But for most people, those words of wisdom are much easier said than done. With all the pressures of daily living and all the missteps people carry from their pasts, living in the present seems an insurmountable hurdle. But it isn't. Anyone can help themselves live in the moment and appreciate the benefits of a clearer, happier and more effective life by taking a few steps.

  1. Learn To Let Go

    • Letting go isn't just something you do when a relationship ends or someone dies. Letting go is a constant process of diligently, vigilantly refusing to hold onto anything from the past that you can no longer do anything about. If it's out of your hands, it should be out of your mind, too. One way many people let go of the past is by finding humor in the situation. Laughter exists in the moment, which means while you're laughing, you're nowhere else.

    Appreciate Beauty

    • It's hard to look at a colorful flower or an expansive vista and not be in the moment. The act of appreciating the beauty of something (or someone) in your environment immediately snaps you into the moment. By the same token, if you're looking at an object of beauty and you catch yourself wandering into thoughts of the past or future, you know you're not really looking at the beautiful object at all.

    Meditate

    • Meditation crosses geographic, temporal and cultural divides, precisely because cultures of every place and age recognized the inherent value in sitting still and thinking. Many people eschew meditation because they think they don't know how, but you can't screw up meditation. You can focus on your breathing, intone an "om" or some other sound, visualize your dreams coming true, stare at a candle flame, or simply observe your thoughts passing through your mind like water streaming from a faucet. The point is that you're sitting still, removing yourself even for just five minutes a day from all your worries and pressures.

    Exercise

    • Living outside the moment is an operation of the mind. The body has nothing to do with it. But the body can help get you out of your mind. Physical exercise, especially of the strenuous kind, slams you right into your body, out of your head, where are you're aware of are the physical sensations of an increased heartbeat, body temperature and respiration, and the feelings associated with exerting those muscles.

    Do Something For Someone Else

    • Acts of kindness, random or otherwise, are an easy way to live in the moment because when you're putting your loving, caring attention on another person, you're not thinking about yourself. And it's precisely thinking about ourselves that takes us out of the present moment. That's another reason why doing for others is ultimately doing for ourselves as well.

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