How To Stay Connected to the Present Moment
If you feel stuck, depressed, or lost… this is dedicated to you.
I, myself, tend to get lost every so often nowadays. I found my footing a while ago and then randomly I’ll stumble, fall, and scrape my knees and hands. I’ll look into them thinking to myself “not again, how could this happen yet again” but really, it happens to us all. It is one of the stepping stones of humanity. Without falling you cannot get back up again and realize your mistake.
What mistake is that? you might ask.
The mistake of disconnecting from ourselves, God, and ultimately, the present moment.
It is all connected. You can’t be in connection to yourself and God truly if you are not connected to right now.
How can you gain the wisdom the world and your inner essence has to offer you if you can’t see it because you are not here?
The feeling of being here, right now, in this present moment, is the only work you’ll ever have to do. Life is an eternal present moment. The best work you will ever do is to do this moment in the best way you can. All you have to is your greatest. In order to do that, you need to be here— grounded in right now.
The truth of the matter is that being connected to the present moment is what takes you to everything you want in the future. Everything you are imagining will happen as long as you are in the present moment, doing the things that excite you, and creating in every moment the things you want to see for yourself.
How do you connect with the present moment?
Connecting with the present moment is simple, yet challenging to sustain. There will be moments where you fall, like me.
The easiest way to connect with the present moment is through your God-given senses. Whichever ones you have, use those that are the most heightened.
Use your taste by slowly cooking your favorite meal and taking your time savoring each bite.
Use your smell by lighting a candle, boiling cinnamon, or arranging beautiful flowers in your home.
Use your touch by getting a soft blanket, fuzzy socks, or petting a dog/cat.
Use your hearing by putting on your favorite music or listening to the natural sounds around you.
Use your sight by looking deeply into the frame of your current reality, feel free to make it as pretty as you can for yourself.
What to do when you disconnect with the present moment?
You will inevitably disconnect from this moment. A bill reminder that stresses you will come through or alternatively a trip somewhere fun will be coming up exciting you senseless! Either way, your attention, your highest commodity, will be set on the future (or the past) and you will get out of the present moment.
It is totally okay to disconnect to the present moment. We need to think about the future to set ourselves up and orient ourselves in our past. We need to think about the past to learn the lessons and understand what we like and dislike, as well as what we want to experience more of.
My recommendation is not to do it for longer than you have to. Come right back to the present moment. Set your plan and carry on. Learn your lessons and keep moving on to the next thing. Do not stay stuck in a place that does not actually exist.
To a certain level you can even wait for the present moment to show you what it needs to show you when it comes to preparations you need to make or lessons you need to learn. It is not mandatory to disconnect— this currently reality, for most of us, is not set up to stay connected to the present moment at all times (but that is a different discussion we can have here, link soon).
When you do disconnect, all you have to do is acknowledge what happened and go back to the rituals you have set up for yourself to come back into the present moment.
Rituals for you to foster connection to the now, to yourself, and to God.
Rituals can be as simple or as complicated as you’d like to make them. For me, rituals connect me to myself and to God through the present moment.
Rituals are a series of things you do in order as offering to an intention, a deity, or even to yourself.
When you set up a ritual make sure it is something that works for you to do on a routine whether that is on a daily, weekly, biweekly (with the moon cycles), or monthly basis.
The ritual is meant for you to slow down and intentionally be here with yourself and God. When you create your rituals, have the intention to be present and to connect in mind.
Some rituals for you to start:
A coffee/matcha ceremony in the mornings.
A 5min+ meditation in the evenings before sleep.
A run, yoga/pilates session, or sport session after work.
Arts and crafts session in the evenings.
A writing or journaling space before or after sleep.
A prayer or tea ceremony before meals.
A nature walk daily or for the moon cycles of your choosing.
These are just some ideas. But the rituals you pick are up to you and your ideal lifestyle. Create as you see fit. Make time for it as much as possible and you will see the difference in how you feel when you tap into the present moment through awareness and grounding.
What is connecting or being in the present moment?
Being in the present moment is all about grounding and being in flow. It is about feeling the energy surge from you into life. When we are thinking about the past or future, we are stuck— no energy is moving. When we are thinking about right now and simply harmonizing with what is, we tap into the real magic life has to offer.
If you want to feel good in your life and get to where you want to go, there is nowhere to be but here.
I love when Ram Dass says there is nothing for us to do but be here right now, I deeply recommend his book!
Image Via Book: Ram Dass - Be Here Now
If you have anything else to do but be here, you are lying to yourself. Don’t let the mind sway you into creating false scenarios for you to worry about that are not here.
The magic is here. Create that connection to yourself, to God, and to this beautiful moment so you can truly enjoy life.