Problems are Memories: How to Become Present

Glen / 55 Comments / February 12th, 2009 / Subscribe via RSS

As many of you may know, I’m a big believer that we should all live in the moment and appreciate what we have right now. To me, it’s the only way to fulfilment and lasting happiness. We can gain some form of joy from material possessions and ego boosts, but the emotions we get from those sources are constantly fleeting.

One statement that rings true for me is that ‘there are no problems in the now’, this makes sense both on a logical level and on a mind level (if it doesn’t now, it will soon). A better way to phrase that, and a statement I’ll explore below, is this: Problems are Memories.

Problems are Memories

Not only did my millionaire best friend get me to explore EFT, but he also got me interested in the Sedona Method. A system devised by Hale Dwoskin which promises to improve all areas of your life whether it is relationships, happiness, wealth or abundance. It comes with some great methods for being present and accepting what is. Something Hale said in one of the videos I was watching really hit home with me:

“Problems are Memories”

This is obviously just another way of saying ‘There are no problems in the now’ but I do like the wording. For those of you who are confused, let me explain. Being present means to be in the moment right now, this very second. It’s not worrying about what you are going to eat for dinner later and it’s not staying angry about what someone said to you yesterday, it’s about focusing on what is. And what is…is right now.

Another way to say that is this: there is never a time when it is not now. Whenever you anticipate the future you do that right now, in the present moment. Your anticipation is just an imagination, something you are imagining NOW. Whenever you fear or stress about the past, you do that right now. Everything that happens or has happened in your life happens right now, there is no other time for it to take place.

Being present is all about living for the moment, appreciating and accepting what is right now.

Getting back to the ‘Problems are Memories’ statement, all this means is that any problem you have is just a memory of the past, future and based on how you think something should be. For instance, if you are worrying about the bills piling up, you are doing that based on your memory of this happening. Based on your memory that bills are a bad thing; you aren’t focusing on the present moment. The bills may be piling up, but it doesn’t mean you should spend your time worrying about them, either take action or accept what is.

Or, take another example; say you think it’s a problem that you are overweight. You make it a problem because you don’t accept the present moment and because you THINK that being overweight is a negative thing. In reality it is neutral; it’s only negative because your memories and imagination are interpreting it to be a negative thing. Mostly based on feedback from others and what we are told through comments and judgements. In actuality being overweight just is what it is, nothing more, nothing less.

I understand there is going to be some disagreement here and this may be a hard topic to grasp. For some of you, this concept may be too out of your reality to accept; to others it may create a big shift in your consciousness. Either way, I hope it has shed some light on how our minds work and what living in the moment is all about.
How to Become Present

There have been about five times in the last year where I’ve felt like I can do anything. I’ve been completely conscious but I’ve also felt that I could stand up in front of 20,000 people and do a speech with no anxiety. I’ve felt so happy that I could laugh for hours and it wouldn’t feel forced, just so overpowered with joy. So much so in fact, that no words I can type could give the feeling justice.

Believe it or not, these moments have came, and I’ve felt so good, because I was completely living in the now. All of my senses were in the present moment and no thoughts were going through my mind. I am on a personal ‘mission’ to become more present, more often, but after 18 years of identifying with the voice in my head (my mind), it’s not an easy task.

On that note, I would like to share some ways that you can begin to become more present (in the moment) in your daily life and hopefully you’ll start to sense some of the amazing feelings that I’ve personally experienced.

1) Meditation

Meditation is probably the most common way that people practice to live in the moment around the world. Before I tried meditation, I thought it was a bit of a farce and nothing that would improve my life. After trying it for the first time, I took that back. I guess you could say that time stood still and everything seemed to have realness to it. I didn’t see my laptop (which was sitting next to me) as something I was immersed in, I seen it for what it was: pieces of glass, plastic and metal that had been put together.

I’ve wrote quite a detailed guide on meditation titled ‘The Beginner’s Guide to Meditation‘ that I recommend you check out. To give you a quick guide to meditation, you first need to be in a quiet room with no distractions. Sit, cross legged, with your back straight and make sure you are comfortable. If at any time you feel you need to scratch a part of your body or shuffle around, resist the urge, the feeling will subside.

Now, all you need to do is focus on your breathing. Feel your chest rise and fall, listen to the sound it makes. Feel the surface under you and constantly focus on keeping steady, deep breaths. At first it may be hard to do this for 5 minutes, but with practice you should be able to work that up to 30 or more. When you catch yourself getting lost in thought, simply revert back to focus on your breathing.

2) Focus on All Your Senses

Even when we use our mind to think about the past, our senses react. For example, if we think back to a funny incident we still might laugh to this day, even if it happened years ago. Or, if we think about a scary moment in our lives our heart might begin to beat faster and our breathing becomes shallow. Another good to way to get in the moment is to focus on our senses right now:

* Sight: What can you see right now, what is around you, where are you?
* Smell: What smells are in your environment, where are they coming from?
* Touch: What does the chair your sitting on feel like, is anything or anyone touching you?
* Sound: What sounds are there, can you just listen to the noise without labelling it?
* Taste: Are there any tastes in your mouth from something you ate recently?

Even just focusing on one or two of these can help you connect to the now. This works because you are looking for what is, right here, rather than your senses reacting to things you imagine or perceive.

3) Feel the Aliveness in Your Body

Although this may seem similar to the last point, it’s actually a bit different. For this I want you to sit down, relax, and close your eyes. Without looking or moving, ask yourself ‘How do I know I have a left hand?’. Your body should instantly focus on where your left hand should be and you feel some sense of energy coming from that area. Now, ask yourself ‘How do I know I have a left hand‘ and start to feel the energy from that.

If you carry this on, you should start to be able to feel a strong sense of energy in your hands, your feet, your ears and anywhere else on your body. You may even get to a point where there is a huge rush of energy through your whole body and you shake a little as it’s very powerful. This is presence; this is the joy of being in the moment.
That’s It

Hopefully these techniques are enough to give you a glimpse of what it is like to live in the now. The benefits I’ve experienced from living in the moment include:

* Complete peace – problems are just memories
* Silence – there is no annoying or incessant mind activity when in the moment
* Total happiness – you get to feel an underlying joy, just like when you were a child
* Infinite potential – I get to see that my wildest dreams are not only possible but probable

For those of you already aware of this, I hope I’ve helped continue the awakening of your consciousness. For those of you who are new to this concept, as I always say, don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. If you have any questions about the statement of ‘Problems are Memories‘ then feel free to ask them in the comments. I’ll try my best to get back to you with answers that you can understand logically, although logical solutions aren’t always the best way to grasp a concept – actually try it.