Meditation for Thursday 9th February 2023
Dwelling in the present moment, the heart of our meditation and mindfulness practice usually brings us joy but for some people it can signal pain. For those of us who make meditation an essential part of our lives we know that we ‘go home’ to the present moment.
The present moment brings us joy and peace with each breath.
We nourish ourselves with joy and happiness in the present moment.
We must acknowledge that there are those who feel pain when they dwell in the present moment. Painful emotions can take hold. When this happens we don’t like it so we naturally flee pretending that it’s not there. Not everyone can do this but for those who can this presents an opportunity to confront the pain and to transform it.
Even if the present moment is close to being unbearable, to be in that moment offers a chance for us to change it.
Most of us are afraid to confront pain in case we are overwhelmed by suffering so instead of remaining in the present we go to the future or go to the past to forget. But the past and the future are not real only the present moment is real.
E.g. If I have a grievance with someone that is troubling me I can go over the nature of that grievance and I can also project what it might mean for future relationships with that person. Or I can stay in present moment and live with the pain without entering into a commentary.
So it is also desirable to be in the present moment, even if it is not pleasant.
Often when we embrace pain in the present moment it calms it down. My own experience has been that this is difficult with acute pain but with less severe pain I have had some relief when I have practiced being in the present moment.
The present moment is the only moment we have. It is a moment to be joyful, mindful and awake. When we are too busy, too distracted, too occupied we can and often do miss the beauty of being in the moment.
We are not free when we are distracted by the future and the past.
We are free when we dwell in the moment.
MEDITATION
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