The Power of Now! Why it is Crucial to Live in the Moment.

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Do you ever really “Live In the Moment” or are you always thinking about the past or dreading the future? 

One of the most powerful concepts that I’ve been working on is, living in the “now”.  If this phrase sounds familiar,  it may be because you have read the book by Eckhart Tolle - titled “THE POWER OF NOW”.  And if you haven’t … put it on your list,  it is a good one! 

There are so many fantastic nuggets about life and really great thought-provoking information that I've taken from this book and applied to my own life, that I wanted to share some of those key elements with you!  

If you haven’t read this book,  I would describe it as a spiritual self-help guide to help you discover your true being, release your pain and find deeper inner peace. And who doesn't want that?

One of the main topics of the book is that when we are in the “present”, (which is our now) we are responding to the world around us from a deep consciousness, flow, and ease. And that is such a great place to be responding from!

When we are responding from this place, it means we are actually enjoying our lives and by enjoying our lives... we can better fulfill our outer and inner purpose!

At the core, we are just pure beings of love and joy and peace yet most of us are struggling and we are in immense pain because we have wrongly identified with our mind and our false sense of self! 

We wrongly assume that we ARE our thoughts but… we are actually anything but that.

So let's dig in… 

The mind is SUCH a powerful tool (especially when used properly)! The problem is,  most of us don't consciously use our minds and have never really been taught to. Instead, we live our lives controlled by our minds which are plagued with constant noise and chaos and this inner voice that is running amuck. 

So let’s play a game to illustrate this point… 

I want you to make a list of “who” you are.  Take 15 seconds and jot this down. 

Alright… So I bet your list consists of your job title, relationship status, parental responsibilities, maybe your possessions, education, religion, or social status?

But what you don't realize is that most of these things you “ identify with” are just collections of identifications in your mind that are pulled from external sources.

They aren't who you are…

They aren’t actually you… 

They aren’t going to follow you past this life. 

That list is actually your ego… who you think you are! 

This is why it is crucial to acknowledge that YOU and YOUR THOUGHTS are two separate entities that are just entangled inside of you. 

Have you really ever stopped to think about that concept? Do you know that inner voice, the running dialogue that's just kind of always there?  The voice that's telling you things are good or bad? That your day/life is going well or going… really bad?

Those are the thoughts, that’s your ego talking to you. Because they're so intertwined most people think that's just who they are!  Since your ego isn’t actually your true self, it can only exist by drawing on external sources.

That's why when I asked you to list off who you were, your ego was reaching for all those things because that is who it identifies itself with - the titles, the money, the success, the things.

So one thing to realize is that the ego feeds on the past or who you think you are based on past experiences, memories, etc. and it feeds on the future or who you think you want to be based on beliefs and perceptions.

Which all are also drawn from external influences!

So as long as you're identifying with ego, it will remain your biggest obstacle to becoming the true you. 

Let's look at divorce for example, a lot of people that I work with come to me and they wear divorce as a badge of shame, disappointment or disgrace. 

And I say, okay so you're divorced. So am I but you can’t let that define you.  That isn’t “who” you are!  Was that something that happened in your life? Yes…  Your job is to continue on and become “you” and not “divorced you”. 

Because you are so much more than that one singular event… that decision… that “title” that your ego is telling you that you are. 

And just like most of us are controlled by the EGO.. Most of us are also controlled by our next topic… which is TIME. 

Time is a concept created by the human mind to help us function and everyday life. Time is useful for scheduling meetings, making a dinner reservation, booking appointments, and knowing what time your flight is taking off. Time is also there to help us learn from the past and set goals for the future 

But if you really think about it, time is actually just an illusion.  Time at this moment simply now. It's not 3:45 p.m. or 7:02 a.m., It's just now.  Everything that has ever happened or has ever been created happened in the now.  It is the only moment we ever truly have - yet most are trapped in this illusion of time.

We spend the bulk of our energy reminiscing about the past, wishing for a better future and in the process, we are absent in the NOW! The only real moment that we have, we are throwing it away because we're just so busy looking back or looking ahead instead of looking right here.  

When in reality, this is all we’ve got. 

When you apply this to life… we are creating pain when we unconsciously resist what it is either by judging it or feeling negative about it.

When you think about it,  the past is nothing more than “present moments that have already gone by” and the future is “the present moments waiting to happen”, so living in any other moment than the present is actually useless.

Ok let’s apply this to divorce,  which usually causes a lot of pain and that's something that I work with people everyday to address. Pain is nothing more than resisting all the things you cannot change. Be honest - do you really have the power to go back and change something you've done or something that's happened in the past? NO!

And thinking about those things probably going to make you really angry.  

So if you think about your divorce, someone who has done you wrong (PERHAPS YOUR EX) or think about something really crappy that's happened to you, you're probably going to get mad which in turn is going to make you act irrational! Causing you (you guessed it) more PAIN.

So how do you get rid of the pain? 

People ask me this all the time…

 Here’s the 1st way the book suggests:  constantly ask yourself what will my next thought be? 

And this tactic is based on physics called Quantum Zeno. The theory that you can freeze any system in its current state by constantly observing it. So by doing this… you are creating enough space between the thoughts for you to realize that you're in autopilot. Which most of time - you are. Freezing the thought, having that space to realize you're just thinking the same thing over and over - whether that's the past or the future - is going to allow you to interrupt your mind and separate yourself from the mind and the negative, judgy or non-productive thought! 

The second way is to give yourself some grace and stop judging your thoughts and urges. 

This method is meant to help you listen to your body and learn to accept that the constant nagging thoughts in her head about what you should or should not be doing. 

So the next time you do wake up late on a Saturday and miss your brunch date with a friend… 

Go ahead and listen to the voice that says:

“Wow, you could have done better!”

“You're such a loser for waking up late!”

 But don't act on it.

Instead notice it, see it, accept that it's there, but don't give in to its advice.

These two tools will help you separate your body from your “always on my mind”.  This will allow less pain in your life because you will resist the things you cannot change a lot less. 

if you can just accept your present situation - as if you had chosen it then take action from there, 

you are taking your power back! You can be present and act with present moment awareness and really learn to direct your focus fully in the present moment. 

You are going to find more joy and peace and love in your life and most importantly if you can learn to stop looking back at your past and dragging your pain into your present or stop worrying about the future and dragging things that don't even exist yet into your present that's where the real healing and growing and understanding lives! 

Just remember …  life is not always easy, this stuff is not easy.  And I wish we were taught a lot more of this stuff as children. Because you grow up, you get a job, you get in a relationship, 

Let’s say you get divorced (most of you listening are probably divorced) and you don't know how to handle it. You don't know how to put the pieces back together.  

That's what I have devoted my life's mission to helping others realize that they are powerful, that they can make a change in their life and they can live the most beautiful life ever after divorce!

Just because something has occurred in your life in the past doesn't mean that YOUR NOW can't be absolutely beautiful and wonderful and better than before! 

For more information on mindset, divorce recovery and becoming your very best self you can access my Freebies Library HERE or find me on TikTok, Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook. To listen to listen to this blog post as a podcast click here.

To purchase the book “The Power of Now” by Eckart Tolle - Click here!