We are blessed with the evolutionary inheritance of the 3 pounds of matter that sits within our skulls, that allows us to do everything from solving the most difficult problems, to accomplishing great achievements.   Within our brains lies the hardware that controls every breath, every movement and every thought.  Our brains are particularly adept at thinking, and when that comes in the service of solving external challenges, it serves us very well.  When I need to figure out how to get to a new destination, how to develop a business plan, or how to assemble a piece of furniture, my brain offers me just the tools I need to accomplish the task at hand.  The problem comes in when we can’t turn our brains “off”, when we can’t escape our thought stream, when we are trying to solve something that can’t be solved, or trying to control something with our thinking that is out of our control.  Often I have caught myself ruminating about something in the past that I can do nothing about or, more often, worrying about something in the future that is out of my hands and may never even occur.  Our thinking can be much more subtle as well, pulling us away from our lives.  Consider the parent at the playground thinking about all of the things they have to do in the next day, completely missing the joys of their child engaged in play; or the person going for a walk and getting lost in thought and worry, missing the natural beauty that they are literally passing by.

It turns out that these experiences are far more common than not.  It is much harder to be present in the moment than to be lost in day-dreaming, mind wandering, and thoughts of the past or future.  In fact, the default setting of the brain is constantly engaged in these sorts of mental activities.  (In neuroscience, the interacting regions of the brain that are involved in this kind of thinking are referred to as the default mode network).  It often takes conscious awareness and choice to step out of this mode of thinking and into “being” in the present.

There are, however, times that most of us have experienced on occasion, when we are in a state of “flow”, “being in the zone”, or pure presence – where it feels like time stops, when we are completely absorbed in what is happening, when we are not striving to “do” anything but are fully engaged in what is happening here and now, in an open and receptive way.  Pause for a minute and see if you can recall what some of these moments are for you in your life.  Perhaps it is when you are playing with a child, standing at the top of a mountain, fishing, painting, going for a run, or being with someone that you love.

I can recall vividly many moments of being in flow or a complete state of presence.  Oddly, some of the most intense moments of presence for me have come during rather challenging times.  As one example, I recall being in a state of complete presence when I was doing a charity bike ride in the most torrential rains and cold winds, biking 75 miles in these extreme conditions and fighting hypothermia while somehow feeling completely calm, focused and engaged in the moment to moment experience.  Then there are more ordinary examples such as being absorbed in folding laundry, or swimming laps, or cooking a dinner.

But the truth is that there are more times than not when I catch myself not being present and need to redirect my focus back to the here and now, and plenty of times when I find doing so downright difficult.

It turns out that this kind of presence, which most of us only experience few and far between, can be cultivated.  Mindfulness practice allows us to learn to be present in THIS moment, without judging what our experience is; without attaching a story to it; without needing to change what is happening, without our minds getting pulled away into future or past.  When we learn to be present in this way, there are immense benefits to our health, both physical and mental (which go well beyond the scope of this short blog, but can be easily found in recent research on mindfulness).

In order to get a “taste” of what it feels like to be fully present it can be helpful to call up an experience, as suggested above, when you felt completely focused in what was happening in that moment.  If you can think of such an example, take a moment to imagine it as if it is happening now and notice how your body feels in such a state.  While this kind of pure presence, or being “in the zone” may be hard to replicate, we can begin to create small moments in our daily life when we can become more present.  As we practice this, it is natural for our minds to start wandering, but the practice becomes gently guiding our minds back to the here and now, much like you might train a puppy who is wandering off.  Here are a few suggestions for getting started:

1.     Begin by focusing on your breathing, for a few minutes at a time.  Close your eyes as you bring your awareness to your breathing, and see if you can follow each breath as it comes in and as it goes out.  When your mind begins to wander (which it will), gently guide it back to the breath coming in and the breath coming out.  Redirect your mind, over and over, with gentle encouragement, to your breathing as your mind begins to pull you away.  Notice both the simplicity of this exercise, and the difficulty in it.

2.     Pick a sense (hearing, taste, vision, touch).  Spend a few minutes immersing yourself  fully in a sensory experience (notice the feel of a piece of clay in your hands; take the time to notice every visual detail of an object in front of you; eat a piece of food so slowly that you savor every bit of it with each chewing motion; etc.).  Spend 3-5 minutes doing this.  As your mind wanders (which it will), gently guide it back to become fully present with the sensory experience at hand.

3.     Engage in an activity that you love, that brings you pleasure.  As you do, notice how it feels in your body to be engaged in such an activity.  Notice where the focus of your attention is.  Notice what it feels like to have nothing to do but what you are doing right now.  As any thoughts come into your mind, gently acknowledge them and let them go as you redirect your focus of attention to what is in front of you.  See if you can “lose yourself” in this activity, if even just for a minute or two.

4.     Start with small increments of 30 seconds, a minute, or several minutes.  As you go through your day make it a conscious choice to bring your awareness to whatever you are doing (feel the sensation of water against your body in the shower; make it a point of truly listening when someone approaches you and starts to talk; notice the feel of the ground beneath your feet as you walk from the parking lot to work).  Know that all of these small moments add up and help to teach your mind to be more focused in the moment.

5.     Break things down into small, manageable pieces.  Rather than trying to be present with “my whole vacation,” set an intention to be present with my family at the restaurant; instead of trying to be present with this 45 minutes walk I am on, set an intention to be present and take in all of your surroundings as you walk from here to that far tree over there.

Remember, our life is really just a series of moments.  See if you can fully inhabit this one, right here and now.