“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Day 16 – The Real “Here and Now”
CENTERING THOUGHT
The fullness of life is here and now.
SANSKRIT MANTRA
Purnam Idam (My true nature is full and complete in itself.)
This mantra opens your awareness to the infinite possibilities of life. Purna indicates the fullness or entirety of creation. It is a fullness that means Nature is inexhaustible no matter how much it gives or creates. This mantra reveals that this fullness of Nature exists within our essence; we are that same wholeness of Being.
Message of the Day
In today’s meditation, we learn that to live in the here and now is our natural state of awareness, but what pulls us out of present-moment awareness is our mind’s resistance to the now, drawing us into the past or the future. With meditation and other practices like conscious breathing or yoga, we become more aware of our mind’s habit of distracting us from the present. This then allows us to become re-centered in present awareness, the here and now.
Journal Questions
- The flow of life can get disturbed by even the most minor things – a small task that takes longer than expected, people who aren’t cooperating, or a single moment of stress that throws your mindset off for the whole day. Write down five things that regularly jangle and frustrate you, even if they seem minor, for example standing in long lines, slow waiters in restaurants, your kids dawdling in the morning, interruptions at work, or unsolicited phone calls.
- Using your answers to Question 2, jot down a few suggestions for what can you do to offset these annoyances and remain in the flow. Some examples include listening to music on your smartphone while waiting in long lines, remembering to take deep breaths and center yourself when feeling impatient, or starting a positive conversation instead of complaining.
- Do you enjoy being present in the here and now? List three things you like about it, such as feeling more focused, more interested, better connected to other people, or more like yourself.
- Reflect further on your experience today.