Mindfulness Exercise: “Where Are You Now?”
Living in the present moment is a mindfulness skill that can help us tolerate challenging feelings. It may seem crazy, but time traveling is totally possible. We all do it occasionally, without even realizing it! Any time we are thinking about what we have to do tomorrow, what we should’ve done yesterday, or what's happened to us in the past, we’re time traveling. It’s more common than we may think to spend a large portion of each day thinking about times other than the one we are currently in. This can result in us being mentally stuck in the time we’re thinking of, rather than being able to enjoy or find ease in the wonder of the present moment we're truly in.
Maybe while reading this you’ve even started thinking of something else. Did your mind jump to something in the past or something you need to do in the future, or were you actually focused on simply reading the words in the exercise? Time traveling can make us miss important details, forget significant information, and ultimately cause us unnecessary pain. For example, in a conversation with someone, perhaps we anticipate the person we’re speaking with is going to say something that upsets us or makes us angry, and we can start to feel upset without them ever saying anything offensive at all! When we are worrying, emotionally hurting, or anticipating something in another time, we don’t have the emotional clarity to best do what we need in to in this moment today.
Maybe while reading this you’ve even started thinking of something else. Did your mind jump to something in the past or something you need to do in the future, or were you actually focused on simply reading the words in the exercise? Time traveling can make us miss important details, forget significant information, and ultimately cause us unnecessary pain. For example, in a conversation with someone, perhaps we anticipate the person we’re speaking with is going to say something that upsets us or makes us angry, and we can start to feel upset without them ever saying anything offensive at all! When we are worrying, emotionally hurting, or anticipating something in another time, we don’t have the emotional clarity to best do what we need in to in this moment today.
Whenever you feel stressed, it can be helpful to ask the following questions:
If you find yourself caught up in a time that isn’t the present moment, redirect your focus to what’s happening to you now:
- Where am I right now? Am I in a safe place or a place that poses an actual threat?
- Am I time traveling to the past? Am I distressed about something that already happened or am I stressed about something affecting me right now in this moment?
- Am I time traveling to the future? Am I worrying about something that could potentially happen or is there something affecting me right now in the space I’m in?
- Am I in the present? Am I paying attention to what I’m feeling, thinking, and doing right now or are these feelings about another time?
If you find yourself caught up in a time that isn’t the present moment, redirect your focus to what’s happening to you now:
- What are you thinking? Is it a present thought or are you time traveling? Why is this thought relevant to this moment? What needs attention?
- How is your breath? Is your breathing slow and long, or is it shallow and tense? Use your mindful breathing (inhale 1-2-3-4 exhale 1-2-3-4-5 / “I am breathing in” and “I am breathing out”) to help you refocus on the present moment.
- How is your body? Notice the sensations you feel in this moment. Could your thoughts be contributing to any tension or pain? Use cue-controlled relaxation to ease any physical stress.
- How do you feel emotionally? Are you experiencing positive or negative emotions? Are these emotions a result of you time traveling or are they about the present moment? Try to relieve any pain by reassuring yourself that you can provide yourself ease and freedom in this moment, now. You can't change what happened in the past but you always have the power to influence your present emotions, thoughts, and feelings.
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Deepen Your Understanding: Even with physical limitations, we can find freedom in our mind. With mindfulness, we can gain insight from our difficult feelings, then redirect our attention away from the discomfort of the past and future, reorienting our attention to the wonder and beauty in the present moment.
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