An AMAZING IDEA!

[Dannyboy1]

It just came to me while I was reading the preparing for death thread! Please, tell me what you think of this or brainstorm off of this. I really think this is a unique idea. Okay, here it is:

Set your alarm on your phone periodically throughout the day with an appointment that says, "Wake Up! Are you in the now?" Wouldn't that be a great way to condition yourself to be in the moment??!!

[Tuumble]

I guess Dannyboy you will have to try and report back.

It may be that after a while it will become an irritation rather than a wake up call especially if it occurs regularly. Would it be at the same times every day or random? Would it productive to keep resetting the alarm? What about the effect on those around you? It would be on silent, right?

As I said, give it a go and see how it helps you.

[Dannyboy1]

Originally Posted by Tuumble

I guess Dannyboy you will have to try and report back.

It may be that after a while it will become an irritation rather than a wake up call especially if it occurs regularly. Would it be at the same times every day or random? Would it productive to keep resetting the alarm? What about the effect on those around you? It would be on silent, right?

As I said, give it a go and see how it helps you.

I think it should be as pleasant as possible and easy to stop, of course. I wonder if it could be a song? It could also be a unobtrusive pop up on your computer that opens, then closes by itself... Any other ideas? What would make this reminder idea better?

[Angela]

My watch has sand in it that shakes down and reveals the time, which is always "Now." I was thinking of getting a tiny little "NOW" tattoo on my wrist, but if someone looked at it upside down they would think it was always Monday.

[Dannyboy1]

Originally Posted by Angela

My watch has sand in it that shakes down and reveals the time, which is always "Now." I was thinking of getting a tiny little "NOW" tattoo on my wrist, but if someone looked at it upside down they would think it was always Monday.

I like the idea of a tattoo, but I might get used to it and forget it's there, which is why I like the alarm idea. To shake me out of my thinking... Remind me to exist... experience...

[SunnKali]

Motivaider Personal Achievement Tool

There's a product called the Motivaider that is meant for frequent reminders during the day. I've thought about getting one to remind me to take breaks while working on the computer, stretch, unslouch, repeat an affirmation ...

There's some similar products at Amazon also.

Amazon.com: motivaider

[Rockchick26]

Originally Posted by Angela

My watch has sand in it that shakes down and reveals the time, which is always "Now." I was thinking of getting a tiny little "NOW" tattoo on my wrist, but if someone looked at it upside down they would think it was always Monday.

lmao!!! Ohhhh that was too funny! I want a tattoo kinda like that too,maybe not with the word "now" but with some picture or phrase to remind me to stay aware and present. That watch sounds cool!

[Rockchick26]

I thought of this the other day too,something that could remind me to stay present. I really like the tattoo idea,because i look at my tattooes a lot,in fact they are my reality check when i practice for lucid dreaming. In my dreams,my tattooes are gone,so i always check for them to do the reality test. Yeahhhhh i think i'll create my own "stay in the now" type of tattoo...thanks for the ideas!

[Angela]

Originally Posted by Rockchick26

Yeahhhhh i think i'll create my own "stay in the now" type of tattoo...thanks for the ideas!

How about a tiny little picture of a nicely wrapped gift? Get it?

[Valeria]

I have a tattoo of the tibetan letter A to remind me to remain awake, even during "sleep."

[hkalchemy]

I did this many years ago with my watch. Every time it bleeped I was reminded to wake up. Not sure it worked very well.

[Jarrod]

Originally Posted by Dannyboy1

It just came to me while I was reading the preparing for death thread! Please, tell me what you think of this or brainstorm off of this. I really think this is a unique idea. Okay, here it is:

Set your alarm on your phone periodically throughout the day with an appointment that says, "Wake Up! Are you in the now?" Wouldn't that be a great way to condition yourself to be in the moment??!!

When I was first learning to be aware 24/7 I had specific actions that I used as reminders, such as walking through doorways, starting classes, turning pages, visiting different websites.

More helpful then these was whenever I would walk my sole purpose was to remain aware the whole time. The thing with trying to learn to be in the moment is that you have to try and do it all the time, or you will just be drawn out of it all the time.

[theknightwhosaysni-NI]

Originally Posted by Dannyboy1

Set your alarm on your phone periodically throughout the day with an appointment that says, "Wake Up! Are you in the now?" Wouldn't that be a great way to condition yourself to be in the moment??!!

I've tryed that for a day about a month ago. I set my phone to "repeat alarm" and it would ring every 10 minutes. Then I would remember to live in the now.
It was a good exercise, I felt more conscious than usually when I did that.

Sometimes I didn't leave the "now" for the whole 10 minutes interval.

I didn't get annoyed by the ring every 10 mn. It was a cool experiment. However I didn't feel like doing it more than one day. If you do it for like 30 days you might get some more long term effects...Or get angry after your phone

[carenkh]

I think that's a great idea. At Plum Village, Thich Nhat Hanh's monastery, every time the phone rings, residents are reminded to take a breath and get present.

Originally Posted by Angela

I was thinking of getting a tiny little "NOW" tattoo on my wrist, but if someone looked at it upside down they would think it was always Monday.

That's so funny. A friend just came to visit, and she had gotten a tattoo to decorate her stretch marks. Another friend of hers had just gotten a word in Hebrew as a tattoo... I can't remember the phrase now, but it was something like "all is sacred". She started with those letters, and put a flaming lotus around those. It was very, very beautiful. Then she told me she showed it to a rabbi, and he said it didn't really say what she thought it said. He said - "It's just random. It says, like, KFC." She and I just roared over that. I mean - it's just SO her. She is one of the most spiritually aware people I know, she's just shiny in that way, and a very powerful healer. But she's also very down to earth, and loves to live in her body and will occasionally drink, smoke cigarettes, etc. She doesn't eat KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken fast food), but if she did, she would do it with gusto. She loves herself and her life so much - she's experiencing the full catastrophe! As Zorba said. She loves to play with people's judgments about what being spiritual means. What? She smokes? But she's so... spiritual. LOLOL What a beautiful soul. Fully alive.

Later, the rabbi said that in Kabbalah, the Hebrew symbols have different meanings, so it may mean what her friend told her in Kabbalah, but he didn't know for sure. She doesn't really care.

I used to have a bumper sticker that said, "Peace is possible". Hmm - I just realized I wouldn't have that now, because I've come to know that Peace IS. I guess I'd get it and cut off the "possible". Anyway - every time I saw that bumper sticker, I would take a breath and get centered.

I'm thinking I could now use every time my youngest son farts as a reminder. He does it so frequently and joyfully, I'd constantly be in the moment!

[MrJaredJames]

Hey,

I like the idea. I have actually put reminders in my phone to do something similar, but not exactly that. The problem I have faced is that when the reminder sounds off, I'm either not next to the phone or the task is too big that I won't feel like doing it some of the time.

I think the fact that it is a small task (becoming present) can make it easier to do. however, I don't think having reminders every hour or even every other hour will be much help, because you may quickly get irritated by it.

What you could do and what I have done is take a shoelace or get another piece of jewelery and wrap it around your wrist. Have it symbolize "Now" and when you look at it, you will be reminded to become present. This way, you can use it throughout the day and use it whenever you look at it.

Also, if you have a nervous habit, like cracking knuckles or biting your fingernails, you can create an anchor for being present when you do that. Anchoring is an NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) Technique. Here's the basic idea.

1. Become present in the moment.
2. Do your nervous habit. (bite fingernail, etc.)
3. Stop the habit and then think about anything to distract you from your presence. (Ask yourself what time it is for example)
4. Repeat steps 1-3 five or six times.

At the end of the sixth time, your brain will be more accustomed to becoming present in the moment when you participate in your nervous habit. So you can now use your habit for a beneficial experience.

This is a real basic way to learn how to use an anchor. You can go to NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) Techniques - Anchoring to learn how to do it in a little more detail.

Enjoy!

[maxdof]

Originally Posted by Dannyboy1

It just came to me while I was reading the preparing for death thread! Please, tell me what you think of this or brainstorm off of this. I really think this is a unique idea. Okay, here it is:

Set your alarm on your phone periodically throughout the day with an appointment that says, "Wake Up! Are you in the now?" Wouldn't that be a great way to condition yourself to be in the moment??!!

Hello,

I think the idea is great. Though I think the questions should be wisely chosen. I would chose the one of the Step 5 (Integrity in the Moment of Choice) of Habit 3 (Put First Things First) of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People of Stephen Covey:
- what does life wait for me now?
- what is the best action I could do now?
among others...

The advice is to bring up to your mind those questions at the moment of choice. At the little second where instead of reacting automatically to what just happened, you pause, you ask the question, and you acti accrodingly to your values (habit 2: Begin With the End in Mind) and the principle.

It is a nice trick to help you increase the gap between the stiumus and your answer (Habit 1: Be Proactive) and to become principle-centered.

Cheers,

Max

[The David]

I had one of those reality check programs that people use for lucid dreaming. I wanted to reprogram it to say clever things unrelated to lucid dreaming, but I ended up losing it in my massive mess of digital clutter. Yes, I'm well aware of what that says of my effectiveness level. :P

[dannielo]

Originally Posted by Dannyboy1

Set your alarm on your phone periodically throughout the day with an appointment that says, "Wake Up! Are you in the now?" Wouldn't that be a great way to condition yourself to be in the moment??!!

Not sure, that's a distraction and any distraction will rob you of attention from whatever you were doing in the moment. Maye you were being productive?

Also, in time you'll probably come to hate that phone.