Day 110 of 365 - Letting Go of Struggle to Live in the Present
The inspiration for today's post is courtesy of a Deepak Chopra meditation I listened to. The mantra for the meditation was "I let go when I rest in silent awareness." Prior to the silent meditation period, where we repeat the mantra in our mind, he gives a teaching for a few minutes.
Chopra explained that we are blocked from our ideal life with regrets and wounds of the past and worries about the future. To be renewed, we need to respond to the present moment. Letting go is hard for the ego-mind because it likes to hold onto expectations. However, our true self, which is always present in the background, knows it is not dependent on those transitory thoughts and feelings. When we know our true self, we naturally let go of our struggles.
When I was thinking about examples of living in the present moment, two things came to mind. Firstly, our little grandson, whose daily antics we are blessed to see via online calendar posts. Secondly, my friends' new dog who has been with them less than two weeks.
We are fortunate to see little video clips of our grandson several times a week. It is a joy to see his spontaneous responses to life. He is always living in the present moment. It is clear that he is delighting in his experience of life. He expresses all his emotions freely and is fully absorbed in whatever has his current attention. He displays bursts of unconstrained joy at little discoveries he has made.
I have just spent five days in the home of friends who are new owners of a 3 year old greyhound, a former racing dog. They are acclimating her to domestic life. She is a sweet and gentle dog, who is learning how to be part of their family. She is also a fine example of living in the present moment. She is very aware of her surroundings, responding to whatever is currently going on. Watching her through the day, you can see her acting on internal stimulations for physical needs like hunger and elimination. She has little bursts of energetic, playful activity with squeak toys. She loves receiving the soothing sensations of petting and being spoken to. And, she rests whenever she feels the need.
Many of us, as adults, have very busy minds, which are frequently focused upon the past or the future, what we have done or not done, what we need to do next. Often, our minds do not slow down enough for us to be aware of the true self in the background, which Chopra speaks about, unless we are forced by life circumstances. When we are stopped in our tracks by a life crisis, then we may finally question why we are living a life of struggle.
Wouldn't it be more ideal to be conscious of that awareness without being in crisis? When we first consider the concept or practice of mindfulness, or present awareness, it can feel very challenging. But, like any new practice we want to develop, it can be done in tiny baby steps. Even just choosing a few minutes a day to be fully present to what is happening inside or outside of us is a good start.
"I let go when I rest in silent awareness." Try it. You just might like how it feels.
Chopra explained that we are blocked from our ideal life with regrets and wounds of the past and worries about the future. To be renewed, we need to respond to the present moment. Letting go is hard for the ego-mind because it likes to hold onto expectations. However, our true self, which is always present in the background, knows it is not dependent on those transitory thoughts and feelings. When we know our true self, we naturally let go of our struggles.
When I was thinking about examples of living in the present moment, two things came to mind. Firstly, our little grandson, whose daily antics we are blessed to see via online calendar posts. Secondly, my friends' new dog who has been with them less than two weeks.
We are fortunate to see little video clips of our grandson several times a week. It is a joy to see his spontaneous responses to life. He is always living in the present moment. It is clear that he is delighting in his experience of life. He expresses all his emotions freely and is fully absorbed in whatever has his current attention. He displays bursts of unconstrained joy at little discoveries he has made.
I have just spent five days in the home of friends who are new owners of a 3 year old greyhound, a former racing dog. They are acclimating her to domestic life. She is a sweet and gentle dog, who is learning how to be part of their family. She is also a fine example of living in the present moment. She is very aware of her surroundings, responding to whatever is currently going on. Watching her through the day, you can see her acting on internal stimulations for physical needs like hunger and elimination. She has little bursts of energetic, playful activity with squeak toys. She loves receiving the soothing sensations of petting and being spoken to. And, she rests whenever she feels the need.
Many of us, as adults, have very busy minds, which are frequently focused upon the past or the future, what we have done or not done, what we need to do next. Often, our minds do not slow down enough for us to be aware of the true self in the background, which Chopra speaks about, unless we are forced by life circumstances. When we are stopped in our tracks by a life crisis, then we may finally question why we are living a life of struggle.
Wouldn't it be more ideal to be conscious of that awareness without being in crisis? When we first consider the concept or practice of mindfulness, or present awareness, it can feel very challenging. But, like any new practice we want to develop, it can be done in tiny baby steps. Even just choosing a few minutes a day to be fully present to what is happening inside or outside of us is a good start.
"I let go when I rest in silent awareness." Try it. You just might like how it feels.
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