Present Moment Awareness - Week #1 of The Awakening Journey
What would today be like if it was the first day of your life, starting with a completely blank canvas? What if you were free from preconceived ideas, stories of the past, or old patterns? Would you feel alive, fearless, and free? Would you be excited to explore your dreams and passions without anxiety about the outcome? Can you imagine all of this is possible, a reality to behold?
Present moment awareness is how you can access all of this. Just like a small child, we too can become so present that we are no longer bound by criticism, fear, and judgment.
Upon reading this article, you will have a clear understanding of how to access and apply present moment awareness. This is a foundational practice that we will carry with us on our 52-week Awakening Journey. I will share with you how to begin and practice present moment awareness that will enable us to awaken ourselves and operate in our world from our highest potential.
What is present moment awareness and how does it benefit us?
Present moment awareness means that we are conscious of what is happening in this very moment. It will enable you to create from life itself by being balanced, aware, and awake.
Imagine you would be able to holster the wisdom of the past, without allowing inhibitions to hold you back, and simultaneously operate from the future. You would be limitless.
Present moment awareness also allows you to be at peace and in symbiosis with others. This allows you to perform to the highest ability in your job, your family, your community, and the world. It means that whatever you want, you can achieve and actualize it.
Whether you desire a better relationship, a higher paying job, healing in your family system, a promotion at work, or a new house. When you align yourself with the present moment and are clear and aware, anything is possible.
The present moment is the key to the door of awakening. So let us unlock the door together.
Facing your own disconnectedness
Our journey to present moment awareness and awakening starts with realizing that something is not right, I like to call it the “a-ha” moment.
Many of us are unconscious, in pain and suffering, and don’t know there is any other way to be. We just think “this is how life” is. We are making choices from struggle or drama and without being able to see that we are creating our own pain.
My own personal story starts exactly there and is connected to my source fracture/racket. A source fracture/racket is a point in our growth and development where an experience happens and in our undeveloped mind, we are unable to process that the experience happened outside of us.
In other words, we internalize it and something in us decides “this means something about me, it means I am XX. For example, I’m not good enough, not lovable, not valuable”.
My own source fracture involved an interaction with a parent at a young age where I was looking for approval with good work achieved and was met with judgment and punishment. I made this experience into “Nothing I ever do is good enough. I am not good enough.” I like to think of this moment as the solidification of my ego. I could feel it locking into place.
To be clear, this is important because it is necessary for humans to evolve. We come here, we create that fracture and we spend the rest of our life looking to resolve this.
Present moment awareness will help you reconnect with your true self, to come back to the one you were before your fracture.
Learn more about Source Fracture here.
How to achieve present moment awareness?
Presence exists on its own. It’s always there. You can’t affect it by “doing” anything. Regardless of where you are: presence is.
Yet, presence can be preempted by the environment and the choices you make. This is where awareness comes into the equation. You can tap into the present through awareness and in doing so tap into the power of the present moment.
I’m sharing this because, again, it is simple. You already “have it”. You are already there. And I know this might sound confusing or heavy. So just breathe and stay with me for a minute.
Being present doesn’t involve figuring this out. You can let go of all that, and open yourself up to accepting what is--right now--at this moment.
Awareness & my own awakening experience
My own awakening experience began in the car. This is ironic because so many people get unconscious in traffic and driving. Anyway, I was hesitant to leave my newborn baby at home & head to my new leadership training, but I was also excited to begin this year-long program with other professional women.
The commute to my class was just under an hour so I decided to listen to an audiobook. I don’t remember much of that drive, only that the hypnotic sound of the voice of Eckhart Tolle as he described “The Power of Now” literally awakened something sleeping within me. Though I was unaware of it, this was the beginning of the re-alignment of my fracture.
What I do remember is when I arrived at the retreat, I exited my vehicle and looked around.
What I saw I will never forget as long as I live: It was the world, exactly as I had always known it to be. Except this world was no longer muted. It was as if a veil had been lifted and I could feel the wind upon every part of my body, the fabric of my clothing rubbing against my skin.
I could hear the wind in the trees and the sounds of insects nearby. I sensed more which cannot quite be described in words, only felt. All of this happened in an instant, simultaneously while I sort of watched myself. Observing.
It was at that very moment that my consciousness awakened and I became aware of being aware. My thoughts ceased and there was only the present moment.
This was the beginning of my awakening journey and where my problems stopped owning me. And I began to take control/responsibility for myself and my impact on the world.
Honestly, so many years after my awakening experience, I’m still having daily “a-ha” moments about how I create my own challenges in order to fully return to this unfractured whole state.
The great thing about awareness is knowing that if I can create my problems and challenges, I can also change them, and so can you!
Present Moment Awareness Exercise
Let’s take a glimpse into what it means to exist outside the prison of our minds and in the present moment. We will do this using something simple and foundational to give you a taste of what I’m talking about.
Let’s begin with one involuntary/voluntary function of the body: breathing.
Step #1 Awareness: Body
Before we begin, one check-in is necessary:
Close your eyes for 10 seconds and mentally scan your body from head to toe.
Take a mental inventory of how you are feeling in your body.
Notice any tension or discomfort you sense.
Notice what commentary is playing in your mind. Become aware of where you are physically and mentally.
Just notice. You don’t have to do anything at all.
Now open your eyes, you are ready to begin.
Step #2 Alignment: Breathing
1. Take a cleansing breath in and out:
Stop.
Close your eyes.
Take a deep breath in.
Now Exhale.
2. I want you to take one long deep inhale. While your lungs expand with the air of your breath, count to 6 if you can.
3. Now to release, exhale the air from your lungs, counting as you push the air out.
Try to make yourself exhale longer than you inhale.
Focus your brain on your counting, free it from anything else. It’s okay if your mind wanders, just bring it back to your breath and the counting.
Take five more breaths and check in after each one to see what comes up for you.
Step #3 Action: Being
After awareness and alignment, just stop for a moment:
Take another mental inventory of your body.
Notice how it feels and where it is Now.
You may notice you are just slightly more relaxed, your physical body less tense. Take a mental snapshot of this feeling to save for later.
Or maybe you aren’t noticing anything. That’s fine too. This is just an initial practice. You wouldn’t expect to run 6 miles the first time you get on the treadmill. Simply notice your disappointment or whatever is coming up and just let it go.
And, most importantly, wherever you are, this is the place to create action from. What happens next, what you want to do, and how you do it matters.
What is the quality of the doing when you have pointed your attention to the being first? We are going to talk more about this later.
Present Moment Awareness - The Takeaway
Our breathing exercise is just one of many things you can do to actively practice being in the moment. It may take a bit of getting used to, but once you get a glimpse of what it feels like and the power it will give you, there is no turning back and you will want more…
You may also have questions and feel the need for support, this is what happened to me as my awakening process continued to unfold. I recall how no one was there for me. I was longing for someone I could connect to, who held my vision and could support me.
And so the work I dedicate myself to today enables me to be that for others. Not just to support as the process unfolds, but also to serve as a catalyst in their development.
I hope this first blog post of our 52-Week Awakening Journey was helpful to you? I would love to receive your comments. To do so please join my Facebook group. A community for people interested in manifesting their future through spiritual awakening and purposeful living.
Next, we will talk about Being in the Now. In the meanwhile remember: the present moment is where your best life happens!
With love and gratitude,
Darla