Living in the Moment - Here and Now is All We Have

By Robert D. Thomson

In our chaotic modern society, most people spend their entire life in a past that no longer exists or a future that may never be real. Regret, anxiety, and displacement through fantasy are the norm in most cultures at the time of this writing.

The result is rampant stress-related illness and death, a soaring suicide and depression rate, and the widespread feelings of loss and disconnection so many people can relate to. But take heart in knowing that life absolutely does not need to be this way on either the individual or collective levels!

The life experience is an incredible journey, filled with surprise, satisfaction, and expansion on all levels. All one needs to do is become aware of the present moment and sustain this awareness long-term.

When you learn to be still and accept what this moment has to offer, you find peace, clarity, spontaneous joy, and inspiration. These energies are always present, but you can't hear or connect with them over the clamor and chaos of your thought-driven reality.

Answer this question honestly:

Have you ever really solved any perceived problem by fretting over it and worrying constantly? More likely you make things worse when you do this.

Here's another one:

Have you ever successfully traveled backwards in time to alter an embarrassing past event? If so I urge you to contact the nearest scientific research facility immediately and set up an interview!

The truth, of course, is that you have never changed the past by obsessing over it. Wallowing in regret does nothing more than diminish your involvement in the present moment and deteriorate your overall enjoyment of life.

Right now, in this present moment, reality unfolds. We can remember the past and plan for the future, and there's nothing intrinsically wrong with doing so, but we can only live in the now.

At first, this sounds like some sort of work order or resignation to fact. But the opposite is true.

Embracing the present moment is the only way to live a truly exciting, refreshing life. Living in the now connects you with your true self and with the faculties of the higher consciousness.

You'll harness the powers of intuition and consistent inspiration when you immerse yourself in the present. In fact you will likely discover a completely new person within the self you thought you knew.

Being continuously aware of the moment also allows for full engagement in your relationships. Two people cannot fully connect when they are both lost in the world of past and/or future thinking. But when just one individual is clear and grounded in the now the entire relationship can obtain a more genuine quality.

And certainly if you have children in your care you will be doing them a wonderful service by teaching them to honor and live within the present moment. Day dreaming is a positive exercise in moderation, but today's youth are often mesmerized by hours of animated "entertainment" and thus severely disconnected from the real now.

All of humanity's hopes, dreams, and potential victories exist right here, right now, in this moment. Trying to hide our faces from our greatness or seeking to dwell in a state of past/future drama will only detract from our possible enlightenment, individually and as a society.

Right now is exactly what we have to work with. And it is brilliantly more than enough to achieve everything we could possibly desire.

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For more great insights on living in the present moment and finding your own purpose in life, be sure to visit the author's Websites. You'll find a wealth of information on the things that matter most in life. Visit Living in the Moment - Here and Now is All We Have.

How To Have The Perfect Day At Work

By Liz Labrum

My friend who works from home was bemoaning yesterday how her workload is causing massive stress just now. What really upset her though was that despite working to the point of burnout nothing much was getting achieved.

That got me thinking how stress and lots to do go hand in hand. For most of us when we've too much work, our internal critic goes into overtime. Then in retaliation we get 'busy' but not necessarily productive.

This is because mentally we're not designed to be busy all the time. We work far better when we take breaks and allow some mental space for our natural creativity to lend a hand.

Give Yourself a Break
These breaks could be as simple as taking a walk to the other side of the office, or up and down the stairs. You could even hum a bit of a song out loud to snap out of stressful or anxious feelings.

It's a bit like the smoker who goes outside to have a cigarette break. It takes them away from the source of stress and gives their minds processing time to work out what to do next.

It's easy to get sucked into worrying and fretting in your head so that all day you're in a fuzz of anxiety that stops you thinking clearly and wears you out.

In fact working this way switches on your stress response and has you at high alert all day.

How did working life get to be like this for many of us?
The answer lies in all the beliefs we've absent-mindedly absorbed whilst growing up. Some could be from all those TV and Hollywood dramas we watched where the hero always solves all the problems and where everyone lives happily ever after. Others from adults in our lives that we somehow assumed were perfect. Either way it means we subconsciously believe that we must be perfect just like our heroes.

So we're acting on and living in the assumption that we can do it all and keep everything under control. It's like the story of that little boy keeping his finger in the dike hoping that would be enough to keep back the huge flood tide of water. We can all guess how things will end.

Avert this disaster by learning how to tap into the amazing mental abilities you possess. Put simply just give your brain clear instructions of what you want done. You do this by communicating in its language of imagination.

Here's an example. At the end of the day decide on next day's plan of activity. Keep your plan brief and limit it to just four or five things.

Then on the way to work next morning imagine yourself doing them and having got them completed. This will only take minutes but really feel what it's like to do each one and have them completed. Your brain is amazingly creative and when you apply this strategy it's like programming it.

During the day check in with your list of tasks and with your mental imagery of getting that stuff done. Do this especially when you're put off the scent by some interruption. It helps you build a sense of perspective so that you can ride out the rough bits.

Life won't change overnight and you'll still have too much work but what you are doing with these strategies is building resistance. You're changing from your normal stress response to one that's more flexible. Flexibility means choice and choice means you've more control.

From now on, everyday could be a mix of perfect moments around a mad day of demands and irritations.

Train your mind to mark out the perfect moments in your day. It's like setting a compass for a more enjoyable journey.

Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com
(my own article directory)

Liz Labrum of Think-Right Now has helped hundreds of clients be more confident, less stressed, beat burnout, banish fears and bad habits. Her popular e-book Beat the Burnout Blues is a practical step by step guide that has benefited many. Visit www.Think-RightNow.com to download your free report Symptoms of Burnout and How to Recover.