Problems of now?

[dingybobstuart]

Hi,
Im having troubles fully grasping the idea of living in the now/present moment.
Im having troubles determining exactly where i should be focusing my mind, the only time i can really do it without my mind wandering is when im doing something (like making a coffee for example) where i can fully immerse myself into it. If im out walking, or on a bus or something, its difficult.
For me to enter a thoughtless state takes alot of concentration and distracts me from my work... how can i enjoy the benefits when i am too focused on trying to maintain this state?
Is this a normal hurdle for most people practicing this?

[Adam]

I use meditation techniques, personally... Usually visual meditation. It just takes about 5 minutes of practice each day, but it does take a few months to get results...

Here's something that I've recently written on learning how to meditate:

I do have a word of warning, though. When I set out to learn how to meditate, I was very impatient. Please don’t make the same mistake that I made. Meditation is a skill that takes months to learn and a lifetime to master. I’m going to present you with a few easy steps, but take a month to work on each of these steps, rather than trying to master them all in a weekend.

The first step is to learn how to visualize objects. Close your eyes and hold a mental picture of a very simple object, such as a ball or a block. Imagine the object using all of your senses, including how it feels, smells, tastes, looks, and even how it sounds. (For objects that don’t naturally make noise, ask how it would sound if you dropped it on the floor.) Is its texture smooth or rough? Does it feel like wood, plastic, rubber, or glass, or some entirely different material? Hold that mental image in your mind for as long as possible, with all of your senses, until you can’t concentrate on it any more. Don’t be discouraged if you can only hold the simple object in your mind for a few seconds. For this first month, just work on being able to hold the image in your mind for as long as possible, up to about five minutes.

The second step is to expand your visualization. Think of more complex objects, such as leaves, feathers, and keyboards. Imagine as much detail as you can, such as the veins of the leaves and feathers, and the texture of the keys, and how some keys are smoother than others, and still other keys have their letters rubbed off. During this month, concentrate on expanding the detail of the objects, while maintaining the length of the visualization.

The third step is to multiply your visualizations. Think of many objects. While thinking of a leaf, add a feather. Make them interact, touching each other, pulling at each other, etc. Add a keyboard to the scene, then another complex object, until you can not add any more. During this, maintain the level of detail and the length of the visualization. By the end of this month, eight fully detailed objects in a scene for five minutes is very good progress.

The fourth step is to enter the visualization. The great thing about meditation is that you can see yourself from a first person perspective and third person perspective at the same time. While maintaining the number of objects, level of detail, and length of the visualization, take this month to practice interacting with the objects using your representation inside the meditation.

After this, you should be skilled enough to do any visualization meditation with proficiency. You can go ahead and relax the level of detail, because you will be working with far more objects than just the eight that most people can handle at full detail, but keep up the practice, so that your skills stay sharp. Perhaps for your first full meditation, you could invite your subconscious to take a human form and you can have a conversation.

[Angela]

How to Stay in the Present Moment

1. Inhabit the body. Sense the aliveness that is in the body. This takes your attention away from thought. The practice of physical movements such as Tai Chi helps. Sensing the body becomes an anchor for staying present in the now. (note from Angela: I usually start with noticing the "aliveness" in my hands.)

2. Make it your practice to welcome this moment, no matter what form it takes. Say yes to whatever is "now". There is only one moment, but different forms of it. The secret is not to resist these forms. Surrendering to the forms that arise takes you to the formless in yourself. You then sense a spaciousness around whatever happens in your life. People, events, situations, objects come and go. Being in the now moment liberates you from form, from the world. With that liberation comes enormous peace.

[dingybobstuart]

I see...
So practicing my focus on things visually in my head will help my ability in focusing my attention elsewhere.

Another quick question...
Why is it so important to not rush this?
I remember when i first started meditating all i knew of was relaxing in bed and concentrating on my breathing. That was all... and to me at that time, it was good and seemed to work (helping with anxiety/depressive thoughts etc).
Naturally i wanted to learn as much as i could to get the most out of it, but maybe went wrong somewhere? (trying too many things?)
Maybe permanently screwed my head up in some way?

Thanks for your reply

Mark

[dingybobstuart]

Originally Posted by Angela

How to Stay in the Present Moment

1. Inhabit the body. Sense the aliveness that is in the body. This takes your attention away from thought. The practice of physical movements such as Tai Chi helps. Sensing the body becomes an anchor for staying present in the now. (note from Angela: I usually start with noticing the "aliveness" in my hands.)

2. Make it your practice to welcome this moment, no matter what form it takes. Say yes to whatever is "now". There is only one moment, but different forms of it. The secret is not to resist these forms. Surrendering to the forms that arise takes you to the formless in yourself. You then sense a spaciousness around whatever happens in your life. People, events, situations, objects come and go. Being in the now moment liberates you from form, from the world. With that liberation comes enormous peace.

Awesome, thanks Angela
That was basically what i needed to hear...

Is it right to say that living in the present is basically accepting what ever is happening and not making judgements?
Or something along those lines?

[Angela]

I would say that when you're being in the present moment, you're not identifying with your thoughts. You notice there's a consciousness that can observe your "self" that's thinking or judging. Then you're free to simply Be, without the noise of your thoughts to distract you.

And I think you're right about accepting the moment -- once you accept what is so, you're free to take your next step with real presence, rather than being all reactive on life's ass.