Recently I have rediscovered the physical and emotional grounding I feel from regularly attending a yoga class. In addition to an oasis of calm in a hectic life, this 75 minute class gives me a physical rejuvenation. I walk out of class with new blood and energy rushing through all of the aches and pains which ailed me.
I also really enjoy the personal touch some of the teachers bring to their classes in our local yoga studio. One teacher in particular incorporates an inspirational message into each class, revisiting the topic in different ways throughout the practice.
Last week, she opened the class through discussing a meaningful TED talk. If you have never seen a TED talk, I highly recommend them - but only if you have a lot of time! They are very amazing and often very brilliant and very addictive!
This particular talk emphasizes the importance of living in the moment. Whether undergoing a positive or negative experience, individuals feel a greater sense of joy when they focus on the present moment. Rather than focus on what you did yesterday or a last year this time, you wholly and completely engage in your current activity. Rather than think about your to do list or planning a vacation for next week, you dwell your entire conscience into the moment.
She even discussed in class the example from the TED talk that someone focusing on the present while getting a painful dental procedure can experience a greater level of joy than an individual watching a movie with a friend while thinking about the future or past.
How fascinating. So all I have to do is live in the moment in every moment. Then my levels of happiness will exceed anything I've ever known.
This is a LOT harder than it sounds.
For anyone who has tried any form of daily prayer, you might have experienced the difficulty at maintaining what we call "kavanah", loosely translated as intention or concentration. If I can not stay focused on my words and my intention for ten minutes when I am devoting my entire brain to that purpose, then how could I do so when going about every day tasks?
I have decided to start this process with a few small steps.
When I sit at the table for a meal with the kids, I am WITH them. I am not planning my calendar for the week. I am not reading articles or emails on my phone. I am not chatting with parents or friends. I am eating with them. I am listening to them. When they make a request of me, I look in their eyes and respond.
When we finish the meal, I inevitably often revert to my multi-tasking craze. I jump from discussing last week to planning next month and back again in a matter of seconds.
But for now, during those short meals, at least twice a day (for breakfast and dinner... lunch is a little harder for me to manage right now), I am living in the moment and present in connecting with the kids and myself.
TED Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/matt_killingsworth_want_to_be_happier_stay_in_the_moment#t-78610
love it, let me know how it works for you. I will try to remember too. I would love to have a reminder or something -- an alarm, a sign.... Like I tell my kids "Focus. Focus"
ReplyDeleteThat's a good idea. I've been contemplating putting a message on the welcome screen of my phone... "Turn me off and focus on your kids." I was going to write a whole post about how technology takes away happiness. We'll see when I get to it, but I just realized its connection to this concept. When we are immersed in technology whether via smart phone or the computer, we are traveling far away and not mentally in the moment.
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