Sunday, May 29, 2011

The Body and The Now

We all know it's by far the best thing to stay in the present.  We've heard Eckhard Tolle espouse The Power of Now and agree, yes - we should do it!  The question is ....... how?

I'm a Gemini.  That means that as an air sign not only am I flying high a lot of the time, I'm also up in my head for a great many hours.  Which in turn means that I am NOT in my body.  When I began to ponder this dilemma of how to stay in the now, I realized that it is my body not my mind that is always in the present.  My body is always here right now.  Therefore one of the things that takes me out of my present reality is my tendency to be out of my body and up in my head.

Thoughts occur now but they are rarely OF the now.  My thoughts are usually about what just happened or what might happen next.  Rarely do I think, oh look, there are my feet, planted on the ground right now!  No, no.  I have to have much more lofty thoughts than that.  What was the meaning of that remark that person just made?  Was it about me?  If not why not?  Why weren't they paying attention to what I was saying?  Didn't I do it right?  How can I get them to notice my important messages? etc., etc., etc.

Perhaps Clue Number 1 for staying in the present is to stay firmly centered in my body?  If I focus on my physical self - how does it feel?  What does it need?  Is it hungry?  Is it tired?  Is it cold?  Warm?  Rested?  Sore?  Then I will truly be in now.

But what if my body isn't great right now?  What if it hurts?  What if it's sick?  Well, maybe I'd better do something to help it feel better.  Take care of it.  Now there's a good thought.  Taking care of myself. 

Taking care of myself and in particular my physical body, keeps me in the now!

Of course, there are times when I need to consider the past or make choices for the future, but not all the time.  Focus on the present brings the benefit of self care and that in turn, makes tomorrow possible.

Bringing myself down from the air, down out of my head, and back into my physical body is something I can do when I get far away from the present moment.  There's always some small task of self-care and maintenance I can focus on.  There is a body to be showered, skin to be pampered, teeth to be cleaned, nails to be groomed, hair to be brushed, a thirst to be satisfied.  I look at my cat.  He spends an enormous amount of time grooming himself and he doesn't seem to be bothered about being self-centered!

If this is Clue Number 1, then there must be others.....watch this space!

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