“The future never comes. Life is always now”. – Eckhart Tolle

You may have seen similar quotes like the one above many times. However, this is not merely some airy-fairy spiritual-quote, but a fact of life.

Though being present moment to moment is not easy as I know from my own experience, it is ultimately a choice that we can make since nobody stops us from being present but ourselves.

Living in the present doesn’t mean we need to let go of all thinking or planning. But it means to be rooted in the present moment while we do so.

Adopting it as a way of life offers the solution to much of the problems we face in our daily lives. As Eckart Tolle points out,

“Unease, anxiety, tension, stress, worry—all forms of fear—are caused by too much future, and not enough presence. Guilt, regret, resentment, grievances, sadness, bitterness, and all forms of non-forgiveness are caused by too much past, and not enough presence.”

So how can we live in the present moment? Keep reading to find out how you can do just that.

Slow down

Slowing down the pace in which we perform our activities, can help to bring us into the present moment, as this often requires us to be consciously present. Whereas, when we are hurrying through the things we do, we often tend to do them unconsciously.

How we usually eat our meals is but one example of this. We tend to eat our food rather fast when we do it without being consciously present. Or on other occasions, we may be lost in our thoughts or be on our devices while we are eating. However, simply by consciously slowing down the pace in which we chew our food, we can bring ourselves into the present moment.

Whenever I do this, I appreciate the food more. It makes the flavours more intense, and the food tastes better. I’ve also observed that I feel the need to eat less than usual when I slow down and consciously chew and savour the food.

Being Aware of sensations

Though our mind tends to wander from time to time, our body is always in the present moment. All sensations that we experience are also in the present and never in the past or the future. Hence being aware of the sensations naturally brings us into the “now.”

When you are having a bath, feel the sensations of the water touch touching your body and notice what it feels like. How your feet feel as it touches the ground while you are walking, are some ways in which you can put this into practice in your life.

Paying attention to your environment

Paying attention to the sights, sounds, and the smells in our environment is a great way to put us in touch with the present moment.

Paying close attention to the details of the sights around me helps me to be more present while I am walking outside. Doing this keeps me from being in my head, thinking about the past or future.

Even doing this just for a single day made me notice sights that were in my neighbourhood that were always there, yet never noticed because I was either caught up in my mind or not looking.

Using breath as an anchor

Our breath is a great tool to anchor us into the present moment. Being aware of our belly rising and falling as we breathe can keep us rooted to the moment.

You can bring yourself into the present right now as you are reading these words, by observing the natural rhythm of your breath.

Whenever you catch yourself caught up in unconscious thinking, you can bring your attention back into the present moment by observing your breath.

Meditate

Meditation is all about being paying attention to the moment.

Research has shown that practising meditation rewires our brain and thickens the prefrontal cortex which is associated with awareness, concentration and this can certainly help us to be more present in our daily lives.

The more we meditate the inner chatter of the mind reduces, even as we step out of meditation and engage in our daily lives. Thus fewer are the mental distractions that prevent us from being present in the moment.

Living our lives from moment to moment is not something we can learn overnight. Therefore, make it a point to be easy on yourself.

Therefore, to begin with, it’s easier to select a few tasks during our day where we can practice being present. Perhaps it could be when we are eating, having a bath, brushing our teeth…

When you find your mind wandering, worry not! For every moment is a new opportunity to bring yourself back into the moment