How To Live in The Here and Now

We can learn from the past, design a wonderful future but we must find ways for how to live in the here and now.

I Remember When . . .

It’s easy to look back at the past and remember the good, bad and indifferent aspects of our experience. But no matter how wonderful any experience might have been, there is no going back. Nothing about those past experiences can be changed. Nostalgia has no place in the future although happy thoughts can bring temporary respite to present challenges.

Closed For Business

At least that is how a visitor from space might perceive planet earth right now with it’s “lock-downs” and “social-distancing”. But human beings are never closed for business, not really. Whatever the conditions on the outside, the human experience continues and as much as we might tell ourselves otherwise, we can choose positive and productive experiences in the here and now.

Waiting For The Future

Who knows what the future will bring? Indeed, we can plan for it to an extent and take steps to reach our goals. Social-distancing, although unpalatable, is designed to stop the spread of the virus and protect the vulnerable but we don’t really know what or when the end point will be. The future has no substance right now.

Grounding In The Present Moment

Let’s think simple science for a few moments. One of the reasons for grounding electrical currents is that it protects people and appliances from surges in electricity. If an electrical system is grounded, excess electricity will go into the earth, rather than burning everything connected to the system if there is a power surge.

Similarly, if humans are not grounded, extremes of emotion brought on by life-events can lead to system overload, even burn-out in extreme circumstances. The signs are easy to spot when life is simple and things are just cruising along but when we ignore the simple signs or when the going gets tough and we can no longer see them because of a storm of emotions, we might find ourselves wishing we were in a happier past or brighter future.

The signs that indicate that you may be ungrounded are often recognized and attributed to sources outside our control. The children being difficult, working too many hours, inability to focus due to hunger, headaches, frustration due to lock down and social distancing. . . All are signs that are easy to miss or to shrug off as something else. Yet, they are hardly something else if they affect the way we respond to and see our worlds.

Simple Grounding Exercises

Imagine how you feel after you’ve been on holiday or have just participated in any “getting away from it all” event. You feel lighter and good about things in your world. The problem is, we can’t dash away on holiday every time life throws a challenge. Yet there are simple exercises that can clear a path to positive solutions even when we are advised to stay home and distant from other people. All you need is a quiet space where you can relax undisturbed for a few minutes. With practice, simply closing your eyes for two minutes can bring you back to a calm present moment and help you to discover the solutions you need.

Sit In A Comfortable Place

Whatever is good for you although I don’t recommend laying down for this until you can go into the exercise and see it through automatically. Thoughts will drift through your mind as you practice these exercises. Don’t try to stop them, instead, be kind and send them away until later. Imagine blowing them away into a corner of your mind.

Stage One

1. Close your eyes, feet flat on the ground, no legs or arms crossed.
2. Take a breathe in through your nose for 3-seconds. Hold for 3-seconds. Breathe out through your mouth for 3-seconds. If you feel comfortable extending the time of breaths do so but never to a point that is challenging.
3. Repeat this simple exercise for at least 5-minutes.

Stage Two

1. Follow stage one for two-minutes or until you begin to feel relaxed.
2. Once you feel relaxed, imagine as you breathe in that you are drawing air through the soles of your feet from the center of the earth. Allow the breath to rise through your body. Notice it as it travels. Be curious about how it feels.
3. Hold the breathe
4. As you breathe out, imagine the breath moving though your body and out through the bottom of your spine. From there it travels back to the center of the earth via a cord, waterfall, anchor chain . . . you decide.

Stage Three

1. Extend your breathing by imagining each in-breath making its way through your body to the crown of your head. Track the breath as it goes through various parts of your body and follow it as it progresses back through the bottom of your spine into the earth.

Gratitude

Each time you finish these exercises, give gratitude for how you feel. No need to fuss, just a simple thank you to the universe will suffice.

Benefits

Grounding can help to neutralize free radicals. Free radicals are produced through inflammation, infection, cell damage, trauma, stress, and toxic environments.

Grounding Improves Sleep, Pain Management, and challenges Stress.

Grounding assaults Inflammation and improves Immunity.

Daily practice makes a difference and raises our vibration. It’s wonderful to observe how the effects of that positively infect others too. In addition to our own improved well-being, consider that every life is a teaching tool to others. We are examples to the people close to us and grounding is a great way to share the love.

Tools That Help

Relating to these there are plenty of tools that can help with your Personal Growth and Development whether you feel challenged or not. If you would like a free 20-minute coaching session on some of these, please leave your contact details in the comments and you will receive a prompt response.

Toolbox

There are many ways to effectively explore and advance your Personal Development in any area of life that matters to you. A box of tools to challenge the boundaries and move forward toward realizing success is extremely beneficial.

If you feel that you may benefit from help in any area with more than a 20-minute consult, please leave your contact details in the comments section below and you will be contacted by your preferred method. Please understand that your contact details will never be published, and your privacy is assured.

More Information

If you would like to know more about ExGro Services and Events, please click over to the Education For Life menu item.

Comments and Questions

Leave yours below. Your thoughts or questions may well ignite a positive spark in other readers thinking. You will always receive a prompt response to your questions and there is no such thing as a bad question; only the one that was never asked.

Namasté

I bow to the place in you that is love, light, and joy

Peace & Light

Steve Costello is a British Community & Youth Studies and Psychology honors graduate with over 30-years theoretical and practical experience in the Personal Development public and private sectors. He founded ExGro in 2018 with business partner, friend and clinical psychologist, Leo Faerberg.