Staying in the Present
November 19th, 2007, by Shelley Riutta
One of the things to be mindful of is the voice in your head. This is the voice that is filtering what is happening to you and making a commentary on it. It always amazes me how much we are filtering our own experience through the lens of past experiences. When we are doing this we are truly not in the present responding to what is happening NOW. To address this see if you can track your thoughts and see when they shift into a direction that is taking you out of the present and into the past. It could be a phrase you say to yourself like “Oh here we go again—this person is treating me this way–this happened to me before and something bad is going to happen–I need to protect myself.”
This thought is moving you out of the present and into the past—you are feeling the old feelings of the past and projecting them onto the current situation–then you are responding to this with protective behavior. A friend of mine calls this a “past attack” -which is a fitting description. You are not being in the present when you are doing this.
Instead you can say to yourself “This reminds me of the past—and I am feeling those old feelings—but it is not happening now–I am in a different situation and I will stay open to see clearly what is happening.” The more you stay in the present–the more you can respond to the present in a healthy, clear way.
Practice watching your thoughts and see if you can keep them focused on the present.
Hi, I'm Shelley Riutta MSE, LPC a Holistic Psychotherapist in private practice. I specialize in helping people connect with their Authentic selves--and from this create a life that is in alignment with their Life Purpose and filled with Joy. I offer transformational individual counseling, presentations, groups and Workshops. You can get my Free Workbook "What Do You REALLY Want: Finding Purpose and Passion in Your Life" here or contact me at 920-265-2627.
