Week 3: The Power of Being Present
“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child—our own two eyes. All is a miracle.”
Thich Nhat Hanh
Pleasant events are pleasant when we bring presence and mindful awareness to them. We miss many of our pleasant moments when we are not paying attention.
Paradoxical possibilities – we can find pleasant moments during events that are not obviously pleasurable.
Life Practice:
Alternate practicing lying down yoga with the body scan every other day (at least 6x per week)
Experiment with sitting meditation for 15 minutes per day. Each session you will choose a specific ‘anchor’ that is available to you and rest your awareness with available sensations in that anchor. When you notice your mind has wandered, firmly bring attention back to your anchor.
Become aware of ordinary moments during the day, capturing with awareness what is happening in the body, the mind and the emotional field. Also become aware of automatic pilot moments. Once you bring attention to them, do they stay automatic? What shifts? Are there particular experiences (fatigue, overwhelm) or circumstances (certain people, certain environments) where being on autopilot occurs more frequently? Without needing to change anything, bring curiosity to it all.
Fill out one entry per day in the Unpleasant Events Calendar. What is considered unpleasant in the culture of you and what makes it so?