How to stay in the present moment is a very popular topic in the realms of spirituality and self-help. However, it is often misunderstood.
The present moment is always here. The only thing that keeps you from experiencing it consciously and fully are your thoughts. Thoughts of the past and future are what keep you out of the present moment.
Flow state meditation with the aim of becoming aware of awareness itself can increase your chances to enter a flow state during activities in which you would like to enter a flow state, as well as during other activities that you might not expect a flow state to occur or be of value. Additionally, this type of meditation will make life in between activities have more of a present moment flow to it.
Awareness itself is perhaps an under-appreciated and little-known common denominator of flow states and meditation. Regardless of what happens to the brain within a flow state and meditation, pure present moment awareness is ultimately where you’re going.
In order to better see the value of a strategy for flow state meditation, it is helpful to explore the conditions for a flow state, the brain during a flow state, and the relationship of both to meditation.
In daily life before we learn to meditate, emotions that don’t serve us can be so ubiquitous in our experience that they go unnoticed or assumed to be a required part of life. Stress can be experienced as a constant or a default state. We ride emotional volatility like it is the rightful controller of our behavior and experience, not knowing that it doesn’t have to be. Even more removed is the idea that meditation for emotional healing is possible.
When we start out with meditation, we become aware of how hard it is to control our thoughts and emotions. As the process unfolds, we start to more closely notice the content of our thoughts and how they cause emotions. The growth of our present moment awareness can make emotions that don’t serve us well quite acute and discouraging.
What is an effective meditation strategy – not a plan, schedule or routine, but a high-level strategy that will move you forward?
In order to have a strategy, you need to have a goal. What is your goal with meditation? Common answers are stress reduction and relaxation, focus and centeredness, more energy, better health, creativity, etc.
Present moment awareness meditation is not only effective as a meditation practice, but also as practice during your daily life.
A simple, yet very powerful technique is to ask yourself the question: Am I aware right now?
This may seem like a pretty easy question to answer, and the mind might respond with “of course I’m aware right now.” However, you can take this question to a deeper level and it can have great use for you in meditation and daily life toward becoming aware of awareness itself.
The fear of rejection is a challenging fear to deal with because it is so engrained in the social aspect of human nature. It requires a wholesale change in perspective. However, there is great value and freedom in overcoming it. With some self-honesty and persistence, you can use the following process to learn how to overcome the fear of rejection. Read More
Most creative processes are aimed at helping to bring about ideas or solutions in a relatively short time window. We often need an idea or solution quickly, and a process to help make that happen can be of value. However, short-term approaches don’t always deliver when needed.
Even though a given creative process is intended to accommodate a relatively immediate need, this can inherently exclude the time or focus the process requires to let the idea or solution fully unfold. There is most certainly room for improvement.
Lasting inner peace, boundless potential, and true self-realization can be discovered through a critical common denominator, or core reality, that underlies the most effective self-help approaches, psychological methods, spirituality, and scientific exploration related to human well-being.
It is often inapparent, not communicated directly, and in many cases not even known to those offering education around their respective subject areas.
It is always with you, yet seemingly hidden. Simple, yet misunderstood.
First, I will tell you what it is. Then, I will tell you why it’s not so easy to realize, yet so powerful when you do. Lastly, I will tell you how to align your life with it so that you will know how to find inner peace and reach your full potential. Read More
The question “why is meditation so hard” is an extremely common one. The answer is often the same: meditation is difficult at first for everyone because you can’t stop unwanted thoughts and emotions from distracting the peace or other goals you initially expect from meditation. However, the answer and solution go much deeper than this. This post will simplify the answer and solution to the question “why can’t I meditate”. Read More