Stop and Take a Deep Breath…

It’s incredible how much of our lives we spend looking forward to the future and hoping that the present moment will pass as quickly as possible. ‘…I just want to get to the end of the day so I can relax…I'll be able to unwind at the weekend…the holidays will be here soon...’

There’s nothing wrong with having things to look forward to in our lives, but the extent to which our perceptions of the future can take over from our lives in the present, sometimes reaches unhealthy proportions.

Often the reason why we are struggling to get through the present moment is because we are feeling stressed. One of the main reasons for our feeling of stress, however, is that our minds are overloaded.

And what do we overload our minds with? We overload our minds with thoughts - thoughts of what has happened in the recent past and of what might happen in the future. Under these conditions we function less effectively.

By thinking about the future, however appealing that may be, we are not necessarily doing anything to diminish the pressure we are under. On the contrary, we are probably increasing that pressure by making the present moment less and less appealing - more and more somewhere we don’t want to be.

We often put stress down to the business of our lives, or in other words to external events. Obviously we can ‘de-clutter’ our lives and take steps to organise ourselves in ways which will reduce stress.

Reducing Stress

But one of the best ways of reducing stress is actually to reduce the number of thoughts looping round in our heads. Stress is not created so much by events as by the way we see those events and respond to them.

Bringing ourselves more fully into the present means becoming more aware of our immediate situation, of our body and of the world around us. This is a more sensory form of experience which is not reliant upon thought. It helps us to feel more calm and relaxed.

Focusing on the Present

Wishing we were somewhere else adds another layer of thought. But by focusing on the present moment and bringing ourselves more fully into the present we can diminish the number of thoughts and see things in a clearer way.

That is why we feel relaxed on holiday. Because we take more pleasure in the world around us and in our present situation. We gain clarity of mind and perspective.

Our Breathing

An excellent way of bringing ourselves more fully into the moment is by focusing on our breathing, that most essential of bodily functions. This is a long recognised fact which is central to the Buddhist practice of meditation. It is also an important part of the therapeutic process associated with hypnosis.

Becoming aware our breathing has an amazingly calming effect. So if you haven’t tried it before, rather than me attempting to convince you with my thoughts, have a go yourself…now…