The Power of Present

The Power of Present

In a workshop I recently attended, Prof. Jacob Raju posed a very interesting question to us.

“When you think of the past, the feelings you go through, might be joy, sorrow, regret, remorse, anger, frustration or hatred. And when you think of the future, you might feel secure, insecure, anxious, worried, afraid or pensive. But,” he said, “can you tell me what the emotions of the present are?”

We tried to answer, but inevitably, every emotion we came up with could be attributed to a near or distant past or future related emotion. He then explained. “Any negative emotions you go through, happen when you are living in the past or the future. When you stay in the present, you become relaxed, fully alert, and perform better”

What a magnificient statement. And how true. I guess meditation is also just that – living in the present, which is why many insist we should meditate frequently – so that we spend atleast SOME moments per day, living in the present.

And it is this living in the present which is so pleasureable, so blissful, that makes people run after various things in life. Take a man who loves bungee jumping, for example. During that free fall, all the senses are numbed, and he can think of nothing but the fall – his moments in the present. Which is why he finds it so pleasureable. The same goes for all adventure lovers.

But, people who tend to live in the future will find such things abhorrent, since they would constantly worry about what might go wrong in the next few moments, whether they would die or injure themselves. They are happier watching a horror show on television – something that has all their senses in the present, and leaves them no room for thoughts of anything else.

Then there are workaholics, who don’t think of anything else while they work, which is why they think work must be bliss. Others like to eat. When one smells, views and tastes great food, it involves all the senses in the present, and for some amount of time, the mind has no room for any other thoughts. Bliss again.

Unfortunately, all of us turn towards our favourite activity to keep us in the present for a few lucky moments, many never realising that it wasn’t about the activity at all. It was always about staying in the present. So why not start staying the present consciously, without having to depend on any activity? Wouldn’t that be so much better, quicker path to happiness?

So how does one stay in the present?
What does one do, when one is plagued by the sorrow of the past or the anxiety of the future? The solution, again from Prof. Jacob Raju, is simple. Our mind has the capacity to multitask between 5 to 9 tasks simultaneously. That is why when we sit to meditate, we are concentrating on one thing, and at the same time thinking about breakfasts or boyfriends. The problem is, we aren’t concentrating on enough things.

When you find your mind multi-tasking to think about painful moments, focus. Watch your surroundings carefully, keeping your eyes busy. And then, start focussing on the sounds around you – while making sure you concentrate on what you’re seeing too. And then start observing your breath. All at the same time. Watch, listen, observe. Relax. And then close your eyes and concentrate on the top of your head. And let the feeling sink… in…

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