NOW is the time, NOW is the best time of your life
BE-ing in the present…how can it BE?
Ihave spent the past year learning how to become mindful about living in the here and now. Trying to become more conscious, more alive, more PRESENT and to have a deeper sense of well-being, calmness and stillness.🙌🏻 I’ve read numerous books and listened to some incredible podcasts on this fascinating topic. I want to share with you my biggest takeaway. You will only be able to find the JOY OF BEING when you realize how to let go of your EGO.✨ This is important for two reasons: unless you know how the ego works, it is hard to recognize and it will trick you, taking you over like an imposter PRETENDING to be you. The second reason is that if you want to fight against the ego and try to shut it down, it is vital to recognize and become aware of the state of consciousness within you.
Let’s first look at Merriam-Webster’s definition of being: the quality or state of having existence, conscious existence, the totality of existing things. Now let’s look at the definition of ego: the part of the mind that mediates a person’s self-image or self-importance; it is responsible for a sense of personal identity; the idea or opinion that you have of yourself.
Understanding the core functions of the ego will help us to awaken and bring about inner peace. Most of us are never fully present in the NOW, because unconsciously we believe that the next moment must be more significant than this one. The reality is that our attention is very easily drawn away from the present. We often worry about what happened yesterday, what’s happening tomorrow, what should I make for dinner, did I leave the oven on…the ego is a bundle of emotions cluttering our minds with continual thoughts.
What makes the ego tick? The ‘voice in our head’ -- the incessant stream of compulsive and involuntary thinking and the boat load of emotions that accompany it. ➡️ THIS IS THE EGOIC MIND. This is unconsciousness, a sense of self, the ‘I’ in every thought, memory, opinion, viewpoint, emotion, reaction, and interpretation. A bunch of memories you identify with as ‘me and my story’ — it is the hub for personal identification including possessions, external appearances, resentments, habitual roles, as well as collective identifications such as religion, race, nationality, and political affiliations.
The ego thrives on dysfunction. It has several cunning ways of strengthening itself. One of its counterparts is COMPLAINING….applying negative mental labels to people, either to their face or when you speak about them to others, this is the egos pattern. When you are in the grip of the ego, it is habitual, unconscious. Name-calling, reactionary behavior, defensiveness, bragging, and resentment all go hand and hand.
Whatever behavior the ego manifests, the motivating force is always the same: the need to be special, to be in control, to stand out, to get attention, to gain power. It uses people and situations to manipulate and get what it wants. The funny thing is even when it succeeds, it is never satisfied, it yearns for more.
Ihave learned that the central emotion that dominates all the activity of the ego is FEAR. The fear of death, of being a nobody, of not living up to others expectations, feeling inferior, and the list goes on and on and on…..it tries to cover up this fear temporarily with materialistic things, fake relationships, drama, inflated sense of self, and gossip. Name dropping is also a fabulous way of the ego gaining a superior identity in the eyes of others.
What I have found is the decision to make the present moment into your friend is THE END OF THE EGO. The ego can never be in alignment with the present moment, its function will ignore, resist, or shrug off the NOW. So gaining an awareness of the ego and the present moment will help us to tame our ego. I have listed what I believe are several Confetti 🎉🎉techniques on how to live in the now and let go of our ego (L’eggo my Eggo😂…I mean Ego). Here we go:
Appreciate the simple things. 🔹🔺🔸 Think about what brings you a sense of stillness, space and peace. For me, I love walks. I love hearing the sounds and sights of nature. I love seeing a young mom strolling her baby. I love all the dogs I meet along the way. I love a clear blue sky.
Be aware of being quiet. 🔺🔹🔸 During my days, I try to be aware of little, small, quite moments. This involves a high degree of stillness and alertness and actually being conscious of being conscious (what? that sounds so repetitive 😉). I’m sure there are breathing techniques that I could learn but being aware of my breathing, feeling the air moving in and out of my body, is very helpful.
Find your inner purpose. 🔸🔺🔹 This came to me through months of awareness, gradually breaking free from a routine work environment. I had to discover what no longer worked in order for me to find what was compatible with my inner purpose. This has brought about new opportunities, creativity, and more diversity in my friendships.
Embrace your consciousness. 🔺🔹🔸 It sounds so simple but it is so difficult for me. Trying to silence my mind of past and future thoughts requires so much focus and alertness. What I have noticed is that what happens to me is much less important than how I respond to what just happened to me. This is how we can choose to respond consciously. BAM…this is where we can set ourself free and live through the present moment and have access to the power of NOW.
Read Eckhart Tolle’s book- A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose. 🔺🔸🔹 A dear friend gave me this book for my birthday and I savored every chapter. I would love to encourage you to read his book. It is a great resource on learning how to eliminate negative behaviors and live a more fulfilling life.
