Reflections of the Heart: Living in the NOW
By Dawn Solomon, PhD, ATP®
The focus for the January 2010 newsletter is on being present in your NOW. All of your power lives in NOW, in this moment. It is in this moment that you have the opportunity to create change and manifest your desires. To do this you must live in the present. What is manifesting in this moment is simply a reflection of what is in our heart. Love manifests love, just as fear manifests fear. In 2009 while visiting the small island of Dominica, I participated in a river tubing trip. As you weave down the river, rushing water pushes your tube back and forth rapidly. Having no control over the situation you often drop over small rock cliffs. As if that wasn’t daunting enough, the thing that helped to peak my sense of fear was seeing other tubers be flipped out of their tubes and thrown into the large boulders sticking sharply out of the water. I knew that I did not want to focus on my fears, lest I manifest them too quickly into my reality and I become one of the tubers flipping over and painfully smashing into a pointy rock. In searching my panicking mind for a solution I was presented with the information I had just been reading in Wayne Dyer’s book Excuses Begone about practicing the art of being present. And so, I immediately began to focus on the NOW. I did not look down the river and anticipate what pitfalls lay ahead, but rather tried to focus on what I heard in the moment such as the bubbling and rushing sound of the water and the sounds of the jungle as the wind blew through the leaves and the birds chirped, hearing it like music. I focused on the vibrant colors that surrounded me and the beauty of all that was around. When I went over a drop, I would focus on how my stomach physically felt as it left my abdomen, not on the fearful anticipation of what might come next after that feeling. Whenever I became distracted and lost my sense of the present, because someone next to me had flipped over, I re-focused myself on what was going on NOW not when they flipped two seconds ago. The gifts that I received by being present for this extraordinary trip was that I did not flip, I did not get injured, but instead I was able to truly enjoy this unique experience and really appreciate and feel a sense of oneness with my surroundings and nature. It was an amazing adventure that could only be experienced by being in the NOW.
I encourage you to set an intention to experience life in the NOW as you move into 2010. If you find that you are not happy with your NOW, don’t worry it will change in a moment, in fact your NOW changes every moment! Try these simple steps to help you experience the joy of actively living NOW.
Step One: Relax, breathe and shift your vibration by focusing your attention on what you desire to be NOW. It is your attitude and sense of gratitude for all that has been and for all that is NOW that will allow you to shift your reality and open the doors for you to experience even greater moments that are more in line with what you desire.
Step Two: Set your intention to savor each moment and affirm: I accept what is, regardless of my opinion about it.
Step Three: Ground yourself by visualizing roots growing out of your feet and into the earth, anchoring you in the present.
Step Four: When your mind drifts away from the present, bring attention back to the present by stating mentally what you are doing/feeling in that moment. For example: “Eating”, “Feeling warmed by the sun”, “smiling”.
By focusing on the now it is impossible to be anxious or fearful of the future as you are only in the now. Choose an activity or several activities each day and set your intention to remain present for that activity. Remember that by being in the NOW and acknowledging what is, you can then make a choice to accept it and by accepting it. You open the doors to change the reality you are experiencing NOW.
