It is January 5th, 2016. It seems nearly impossible that another year has come and gone but it’s not mine to argue with the calendar. My goal, this year, will be the same as in the past: To stay present and fully enjoy each moment of every day. When I am successful at this endeavor, each day seems to move at a nice easy pace and, in truth, I am very seldom the least bit conscious of the passing of time.

So, how do I work to accomplish this? There are two simple things I strive to incorporate into every day:

In as much as is humanly possible I remain fully present in this current “now.” Understanding that the human mind is always either considering the future or dwelling on the past, I constantly re-direct my attention to the task at hand. If I am driving, to the best of my ability, I only drive. I keep my hands on the wheel, my eyes on the road, and my thoughts on the possible actions of the drivers who share the road with me.

Of course, this is not easy, because at every opportunity the mind will do what the mind does and it will be “off to the races” thinking about my destination or about my point of departure. I choose to experience this as if it were a game. It is not really “me” against my “mind,” but it kind of feels this way. The minute I notice my mind building stories about the past, the future, or something I am observing, I bring it back to whatever I am doing. This can be a constant challenge, particularly if one has not spent years practicing to create a quiet mind. But, it is doable. Like every other habitual behavior, it is merely a matter of practice, practice, practice.

A part of my daily work is to spend time in meditation. By this, I mean that I spend at least thirty minutes every day watching the way my mind works. I sit with the intention of being quiet and I re-emphasize this intention every time my mind sends up a thought for my consideration.Sometimes people ask me about my meditation practice. The most common question is “What is the best way to meditate?” My answer is always the same, “However you are most comfortable.” I have read dozens of books which insist that meditation must be done the way the author proposes. I have also had people tell me that you cannot meditate the way I choose to do it. None of this matters to the mind.

What matters is that you set aside time, with the intention of being quiet, and then you refuse to invest in any thoughts that arise. You can be walking, you can sit in a straight-back chair with your feet firmly planted on the floor and with your back straight. You can be quiet in the practice of Yoga, walking, or running. It does not matter, as long as your physical safety or the safety of others is not at risk. I do not advise practicing meditation while driving your car or while operating dangerous machinery, although the practice of meditation “at other times” can significantly improve your ability to pay attention to either of these experiences.

I have known people who are successful at meditating in their beds. I typically am not able to do this unless I sit up, because I tend to fall asleep. That is not to say that lying down is a bad way to meditate. In fact, one of my favorite ways, to be quiet, is to lie in the supine position (flat on my back with my face up) but I need to do this on the floor, instead of the comfortable bed.

Meditation helps one learn to have a quieter mind in their daily walk through life. I highly recommend it. In-fact, there is nothing I think is more important to one’s spiritual development. Having a quiet mind is so beneficial, it requires an essay of its own, just to list the many benefits. Staying in the now is very difficult for one who has not spent time training their minds to be more peaceful. Our minds are very skilled at making associations to things in our past. So, when we see something, it automatically triggers some type of reaction. The untrained mind can get caught up in these reactions and left unchecked, a whole day can pass with little to no time spent present to the actual task at hand. This is why time, sometimes, passes so quickly that we feel overwhelmed.

I urge you to invest in yourself and find a way to train your mind to be quieter. It can seem like a lot of work, because, quite frankly, it is a lifelong pursuit, but the key is just to allow a little time each day and fully commit to this daily ‘honoring’ of yourself. Once you have your first breakthrough, where you actually have an instant of complete silence, you will be hooked for life. You will soon crave your time in the silence and will feel that no day is complete without this self-investment.

It truly does slow time when you are able to be fully present in each new moment. I am not suggesting that the days will not roll through at a speed which seems to increase with each passing year, but I do promise that you will have more memorable moments in each of these hyper-speed-like days.

For this New Year, try to spend some time in the quiet each and every day, and practice being fully present in whatever task is at hand. If after attempting this for one month you think you are wasting your time, go back to your old way of being. My intuition and experience tell me that if you really invest in yourself, in this manner, you will be forever changed, and that change will be for the better, in my humble opinion.

This year’s version of the holidays are upon us, with Thanksgiving only two weeks away. This is a very busy time, for me, as many of my household projects must be completed before filling our home with family and guests. As such, it is highly unlikely I will have much time to devote to sharing here. I did want, however, to offer a couple of quick suggestions for embracing the next seven weeks, until we begin the year 2016.

1) Let the past live in the past. Take each day as a brand new event. If you have history with anyone you encounter during the holidays, suspend that memory and look at these individual with brand new eyes. Don’t bring up the past, do not judge them based on things which happened in the past, and take this opportunity to demonstrate your ability to simply be the greatest expression of Love you are capable of being.

2) Just walk away. When others insist on re-living the events of the past, you have the option of simply bowing-out. Say, “This year I am choosing to merely be here. I am not interested in dwelling in the past.” In this way you set the example and free yourself of all the painful memories which, in many cases, means suffering. If that group of individuals refuse to follow your lead, move on to other people with higher levels of consciousness; people who respect your insistence to stay present in this NOW. If you cannot find anyone wise enough to join you, spend the holidays by yourself. Be a leader, this year, not a follower, not someone governed by habitual behavior. Yes, your ego may want you to engage in the same old behavior which haunts your memories of holiday’s past, but you are making a different choice this year. You will, eventually, see the wisdom of honoring your commitment.

As I wrote here the holidays offer us a unique time to heal our old familial relationships. These relationships often offer us the opportunities for some of our most profound growth. I am a big believer in using every opportunity the Universe places before me for my growth, my evolution. I recommend you honor your self by making the same promise to your soul.

Have fun this holiday season. I truly believe that if you adopt these two easy steps, you may have your best holidays yet.

Unless I magically free up some time between now and the New Year, I expect this will be my last post of 2015. It is possible that I could find myself compelled to share something before then, but I leave that up to Spirit. If things go as I foresee them, accept my wishes for your best holiday’s yet and my promise to return to writing with a renewed vigor on January 2nd, 2016.

I love and appreciate each of you who take the time to visit here and to read my words. I am very grateful for each of you who take a moment to post these writings on one of your social networking sites. You help me to attract readership, which, I hope, helps the planet to grow and evolve closer to becoming the Greatest Expressions of Love we are all capable of becoming. I thank you in advance for this kind gesture.

However you choose to celebrate the many holidays, I offer you Peace and consider you my friend, a term I do not take or use lightly. Much Love to each of you.

 
You, beloved, fill me,
As nothing else can.
You transform my loneliness
Into solitude.
You incite my longing
To be an open vessel,
For your Life-giving essence
To flow in and through me
To show up
In my actions, my words,
My thoughts.

Oh, how painful it is
When my mind forgets
Your loving embrace
Experienced in silence.
Oh, how this “Me”
Fights for survival.
How my “I Am” dreams
Of being needed, wanted, desired,
When I have once again
Forgotten the Truth;
The Truth that
I can never walk alone,
No matter what
I think.

Who is this I
Who thinks;
Who thinks he is flesh,
Bones and fluids,
Who thinks “he”
Is a him, different than
A she or a her.
He who notices
The apparent space
Between two forms
And deduces that
Separateness is what is Real,
Who focuses on differences,
Instead of similarities;
Who seeks pleasure for the
Form, he thinks he is.

Fill me beloved
So that I may never forget
To see with my heart
And not through my eyes,
My ears, my touch.
Fill me like the wind
Fills a tree,
Like the sun
Feeds a leaf,
Like a wave
Completes the shore,
Full till is no me
To remember or forget,
To imagine
A past or future,
To dream, or hope
Or find anything, missing.

Fill me
Like new wine
In an old skin,
So there is no I
Which remains
But only
Truth,
Wholeness,
Oneness,
Allness
Nothing left to say
Nothing left to do
Just unchanging THAT;
Nothing, yet everything
Paradox consumed
In beingness;
Soul expanded
Chains released
Boundaries erased
Borders forgotten;
Beauty lived, breathed,
Integrated, owned,
And celebrated
Now and forever;
For they are one and the same,
Infinity in every instant
Time forgotten with form.

Gratitude is all that remains
With no “me” to be grateful,
Just Love,
Undefineable,
Unexplainable,
Unimagined,
Simple ISness,
BEingness,
AMness.
 
© Elliott Teters 2015