The importance of being present

I am convinced that the main key to happiness lies in the ability to center oneself and to become present. It is in the present moment that you can connect to your inner core.

As Joseph Campbell puts it: “The seed of the soul is there, where the inner and outer world meet”.

To me, that is a balance between ‘being’ and ‘doing’. This balance is reached through centering and awareness. It is hard to be aware worrying about the future or dwelling on the past.

A good way for me to center is, first to be aware that I am not present. I find that one indicator is to be aware of how I feel. If there is unease or heaviness, I am most likely ‘lost’ in space. To center, I breath and/or focus on my body.

Here is the space I want to be. Things calm down, seem softer and less noisy. Here I can connect to my core. To the essence of my being that knows what is resonant with me. Doubt fades. Wonder, excitement and awe come in.

Eckhart Tolle recommends an exercise:
Pick up any object. It doesn't matter what it is. Focus and breathe. Now really focus on the object. Look at it from a curious place. Like you never ever seen this. Observe your thoughts.

When I did this exercise, I picked up a pencil. I stared at it and felt really stupid. I sat on the sofa, wondering what people would think if they saw me like this. After a while I was able to focus. I realized what a cool thing a pencil was, that someone invented it, someone made it, it was brought to the US (probably from China), someone packaged it, sold it, it contributed to a salary of many people, it fed people, a tree grew, was felled, there is manual work involved… It did not stop and suddenly I felt ‘in awe’. After that I felt gratitude. And then pure connection to everything.

I believe that presence does that - connect you to what is and helps you to get even deeper.

Try it and tell me about it!