Being Present for This Moment

I invite you to take a moment right now and let it all go – the past, the future – all the stories in your head – and simply be present for this moment. See it, feel it, hear it, breathe it. This moment is all that matters because the last moment is gone and the next one isn’t here yet. Take a minute and see if you can be fully here, right now, in this moment.

This moment is your home, the only place where you can have direct contact with life. Most of us, most of the time, are far away from home. But this isn’t cause for despair. In this schoolroom of the heart that is your life, it seems that you need to take this journey into the stories in your head, into trying to do life rather than be life, before you can come back home.

Many of us are now on the journey home, awakening into the phenomenal power of being. Moments here and there of simply recognizing what is showing up in and around you – using your mind to connect with reality rather than always trying to create a reality – are powerful beyond your wildest imagination.

If this calls to you, set aside time every day but don’t get caught in the idea of having to sit quietly for many minutes. Consistency is far more important than quantity. So even five minutes a day can transform your life and if five minutes is too much, go for two minutes but give yourself that gift every day.

For decades, I have set aside time every day to simply open to life. I do it by sitting, closing my eyes and bringing my attention to whatever is arising in that moment, inviting my mind to be curious and attentive. Connecting with my life in this way opens me back into the safety and the clarity of being present for life.

The most important step is the willingness. Your mind may resist for a while, but don’t let that discourage your willingness to be present in this way. Your intention is very powerful, and in the right time it will bring you the gift of pure connection with yourself and with your life.

Once I tasted the joy and clarity of opening to life right here, right now, I also made a commitment to lift myself out of the busyness of life once a year by going to a place where I could be quiet and simply connect with myself again. I have opened this way in Hawaii, in the desert, in a cabin by a sacred cove on Puget Sound, and at a beautiful farmhouse on a peaceful island in the Northwest. Every time I do this, I come back with a quieter mind, a more open heart and a greater trust of myself and of Life.

When I do this, I take along in my heart the skills I have learned throughout my journey of awakening, including: 1) Curiosity – the ability to be fascinated by what is going on right now rather than being completely lost in it or running away from it; 2) Compassion – the ability to bring the spaciousness of my heart to whatever is happening, both inside of myself and outside; 3) Living in Questions – using the kind of questions where I don’t look for the answer to make pure contact with life and to ask for help from the intelligence and wisdom that is always with us.

So, I invite you to cultivate an intention to regularly bring your attention out of the constantly becoming mind and into this moment – right here, right now. And every time you do that, even if it is only for split second, you bring more and more consciousness into your life and your world. A moment may not seem like a lot, but the oceans are made of drops of water.

May we be healed and may we become a part of the healing of our planet.

Stay tuned for the launch date of Mary’s new book, Falling in Love with You.