100 Ways to Celebrate the Present Moment
Introduction & Selected Celebrations
Introduction
You already know how important it is to live in the present moment. Philosophers, sages, poets, and mystics have been making the point for centuries. “Seize the day,” wrote Horace. “You can never step in the same river twice,” proclaimed Heracleitus. “Be here now,” exhorted Ram Dass, inspiring the entire 60s generation in the process.
But what does living in the moment really look like? Feel like? And, most important, how does one actually do it?
The good news is that it’s simple. The bad news is that it’s not always easy. But there’s more good news – the ability to stay in the Now can be easily learned, and strengthened over time like a muscle. Even the briefest moments of presence can quickly lead to more presence. Eventually, living in the moment becomes a natural, effortless way of life.
As the saying goes, “There’s no time like the present.” So let’s begin. Take a breath. Pay attention to the way the air feels as it fills your lungs and expands your belly. Now relax, and let the next breath come on its own. Do you feel just a bit more here? The simple act of breathing attentively can always lead you back to the Now.
Look around the location in which you’re reading. Keep looking without any goal in mind until your eyes land upon something you hadn’t noticed before. Once you’ve found it, go see if it has a smell. If it does, let the smell linger in your nose. If it doesn’t, follow your nose to the closest thing that has a smell.
Tapping into your senses is another quick way to become more fully present. Sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste work just as well. In addition to the external five senses, there is also your ability to sense within, to experience the way your body internally registers pleasure, pain, hunger, fullness, etc. For example, pay attention to what happens when you smile. Notice how your interior sensations shift as a result. Next, close your mouth and hum a note. Follow the vibration of the sound waves as they spread through organs and bones. Let them wake you up.
While awareness of your breath and senses is instrumental in true presence, there’s much more to it than that. Unfortunately, we spend a large part of our lives blocking out what we don’t want to acknowledge and accept. Feelings, difficult situations, troubling aspects of the world at large all these can cause us to shut down, to turn away from what’s actually happening. Whenever this occurs, we lose our connection to the present moment. In the process, we also lose our vitality, our innate joy, and our power to heal and grow.
Most of the time, our disconnection from the present moment is unconscious. We’re gone and don’t know it, or we know we’re gone but don’t know why. That’s where this book comes in. These hundred ways to celebrate the present moment are designed to help you find out when, where, and why you might have shut down, and then to bring you back to life as swiftly and enjoyably as possible.
The best way to approach presence is with a playful spirit. It’s about freedom, after all. So rather than putting How Now on your to-do list, just pick it up from time to time and turn to a random page. Read the page slowly, like a poem, letting the words and practices sink in. Then give yourself some pressure-free time to follow the instructions. Don’t try or push. Instead let the suggested activity slow you down and soften you up until a greater sense of presence seems to permeate your being without any strain whatsoever.
No matter in what order you approach the hundred ways, and no matter how long you take to complete them, their effect will be cumulative. Each of the ways will reinforce the others. At a level deeper than everyday awareness, your being will begin to blossom. You will feel more peace, love, and contentment than you previously thought possible.
This is the gift that the present moment bestows. Always. And it’s yours right now.
Celebration # 2 Inner Smile
Feeling joyful is not necessary for presence, but it’s one of the most powerful ways to induce it. Joy creates an almost instantaneous sense of expansion an inner smile that’s like a warm bath. Some call this warm bath “flow” or “spirit.” No matter the name, experiencing it naturally connects us to ourselves and to everyone and everything around us.
The Practice:
Think about someone or something that you love. This could be a child, a place in nature, or a favorite memory. Whatever you choose, make sure that just reflecting upon it creates an automatic inner smile. Then surrender to that inner smile. Let it light you up. Feel it spread through your body and even beyond it, uniting you joyously with your surroundings.
Celebration #12 Taste Test
The more attention you pay to your body, the more present you automatically become. Physical presence is the gateway to a whole new level of wellness. This is clearest, perhaps, when it comes to food. Most of us select what we eat via a combination of desires and “shoulds.” Rarely do we tap into our bodies’ instant feedback mechanism to identify the right food at the right moment.
The Practice:
For just one day, put your first bite of any food under your tongue and hold it there for twenty seconds before swallowing. Notice any and all sensations that occur in your body. If you feel even just a tad worse than you did before, your body is saying, “No, thank you.”
Celebration # 17 Precious People
No one ever went to the grave wishing to have loved less. In the end, it’s the people in our lives who matter most. Yet often, out of fear or pain, we don’t let them know that. Taking time to do so allows what’s truest in our hearts to be acknowledged and celebrated in the Now.
The Practice:
Who are the most important people in your life? Reflect on this question in a relaxed manner, even if the answers are surprising or seem some inappropriate. Rather than focusing on whom you “should” love, let your heart have the last word.
Then, over the next few weeks, make it a point to communicate to those people exactly how you feel. Do it in a way that’s natural for you, and that they can most easily hear and accept. Is the vulnerability that comes with such revelation easy for you, or does it take a little getting used to?
Celebration #20 Color Scan
If you find yourself out of sorts, lost in turmoil and therefore far removed from the present moment, a quick and effective remedy is always available. Engaging in a rapid-fire activity that requires both sensory awareness and intense concentration can jolt you out of even the most daunting distress.
The Practice:
For thirty seconds, take in all the sights around you. As quickly as possible during that time, name every object you see along with its color , such as “Blue wall, brown chair, yellow grapefruit, red placemat, white door, green countertop, beige rug.” When you’re finished, take a deep breath and notice whether you’re more centered and present. If not, move to a different room and repeat the practice.
Celebration # 32 Communicate with Pure Sound
Human beings like to make things unnecessarily complex. We constantly load meanings and interpretations on top of the raw experience of the Now. Nowhere does this happen more than in relationships. From time to time, limiting our use of words with those we love can help break through what’s become stale, contentious, or stuck.
The Practice:
Choose a friend you trust and who has a playful sense of humor. Find a convenient hour in which you both can agree to communicate with each other using only one-syllable sounds. These sounds include “Mmmmm,” “Ow!” “Grrrrr,” and “Ahhhh.” Avoid one- syllable words that have a specific meaning different from what the actual sounds convey, including for example, “Yes” or “No.”
Let yourself have fun during this hour, noticing particularly how it feels to communicate in such a primal way. Afterward, discuss the hour with your partner and see how much was and wasn’t understood. If you enjoy this practice and want to take it to the next level, do it when something emotional is happening between the two of you.
Celebration # 77 Skip Like a Five Year Old
Your body knows how to play even when you don’t. Just a smidgen of willingness is all it needs to let loose. Often, just a few moments of uninhibited play jog loose what was stuck, bringing creativity, ease, and joy where they previously seemed impossible.
The Practice:
Skip , that’s all there is to it. Whether in public or private, make sure you’ve got ample room in which to get up a good head of steam. Skip your way through the embarrassment, the self-consciousness, and all your self judgments about silliness and wasting time. Skip until you’re out of breath. Skip until you can’t help but feel a bounding sense of glee.