Do you think the practice of Being in the NOW is good for stress relief?

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   Sushma Webberposted 10 years ago

   Do you think the practice of Being in the NOW is good for stress relief?
   
   Mindfulness meditation or the book 'The Power of Now' by Eckhart Tolle has made the Being in the NOW a popular idea. I would like to know if there are people out there who practice it regularly for gaining stress relief or for general well-being. I have been practicing it and have found that it has been very helpful.
   
   

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   Ericdierkerposted 10 years ago

   I have been hard at practicing it now for nearly a decade. I figure I spend a good 25% of a day in the now. Some will claim more but I assume they live monastic lives or are less than truthful. Here is the rub. Sometimes being in the now means we are anticipating. Driving is a good example. So it is all wonderful to be in the now but if you forget to pack your lunch for the future you will be hungry at lunch. If you do not practice futball during the week getting ready for the game on Saturday you will not be ready to be in that moment.
   To really be in the moment all thoughts of past and future must vanish. This can be done with practice. And it is a beautiful place. However if it is an escape it can be harmful. And if it is done uncaringly it can cause angst in others. Chronic lateness can even result.
   So the funny irony is that being in the moment requires planning and setting of parameters -- which requires that we be out of the moment. Or can we be in the moment of the planning and preparation for being in the moment.
   We should all practice being in the moment and remember that it is not perfection that we are after but progress.
   Children need us to be in the moment with them and we need it for us.

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      Sushma Webberposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      When I asked about being in the moment, it was not about neglecting whatever needs to be done. If we paid attention and took time to plan ahead all the while being present to the task at hand, we can also avoid being unpunctual.

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   Ruby H Roseposted 10 years ago

   Having not read the book, I am responding more to meditation practice as a whole helping us to participate in our day to day lives more aware.  Then yes.  I do believe being in the now, letting go of the past, not worrying about the future, is a wonderful state of mind.  When I take the time to try my best to still my mind, ha, next to impossible for me, yet the trying, does help.   The sitting still and focusing on what I am listening to, the meditation, or writing the journal thoughts after the meditation.
   If nothing else, it does help me choose one thought, one idea, one direction to go in for that day.   Helps me focus and relax, which relieves stress, so yes, yes.

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      Sushma Webberposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I guess any meditative practice is about being in the present and recognizing where you are. One can focus the mind to a preferred idea or object, that is one way to make it still instead of jumping from one idea to another.

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   edhanposted 10 years ago

   Sorry, I have not read the book. But I practice meditation and it has been helpful in relaxing my mind and body after a stressful day of work. It calm my body and soul where I can feel total relaxation.

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      Sushma Webberposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks Edhan, for your comment. Good idea to do meditation after a long stressful day.

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   lone77starposted 10 years ago

   There is a position which is not in "the now," but superior to it.
   
   "Now" is the "continuous" product of all past vectors of action, effect and intent. "Now" is so "old hat." It's passe.
   
   The better position is just above "now" -- in the discontinuous position of create. This is pure cause -- the one-sided "coin" of creation -- "at-one" with Source.
   
   There is value in accepting "now" and being grateful for it. This prevents "now" from placing us at effect (below the "now"). But even efforting within the "now" to cause effects is still part of the "machine" of physical reality -- a cog in the continuity-based commensurability that is fed by all of the past.
   
   One key method for rising about the continuity-based "now" is through humility (giving up the ego which blinds us), and by actively demonstrating love and generosity.

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      Sushma Webberposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Well said. The ultimate goal would be to live in the eternal, however the first step would be get out the cycle of being either present in the past or in the future in our minds and focus on the moment which is NOW.

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