5 steps to Nirvana — here and now

© viktor skurko

How to learn to be present? Here and now? "Chop wood, carry water" — tells us the Zen wisdom. Apparently, to be here and now is when you can't carry water in a time when you need to chop wood. People are not multi-tasking. Most of us can perform only one task in a given time. If we with all my heart and mind has been included in the activities here and now, then life will pass us by.

Clinician and yoga master Michael J. Formica offer us 5 simple steps to bring yourself into the present moment.

Breathe. Breathing is one of the few constants in our lives, we breathe constantly. Feel how the flow of air inside you. You should breathe with your nose, as mouth breathing increases the heart rate and increases anxiety. Breathing through the nose, on the contrary, relaxes. Concentrate on the exhale, recommends us one of the Buddhist traditions of meditation (Theravada). During exhalation, nothing happens, all the excess ceases to exist, you rest. So when you breathe, pay attention to the exhalation.

Ask yourself "What do I do now?" Most likely, you are trying to read. But where your thoughts really are? To what or to whom attached your feelings? What do your arms, legs? If you want to read, just read. We have so many worries: arrange the children in the summer, take care of parents, hate parents, missing loved ones, to call or not to call... no Wonder life in the present eludes us.

Witness. To witness means to observe and understand what is happening to you in each moment. Watch, call it and get yourself out of this, then you will be able to let go of what was past. The mind should not dwell on a single object, otherwise it will be trapped to this object, i.e. trapped in a narrow view of the world, person, event, etc. Our mind must flow like the breath, so we can stay present, to not get stuck in the traps of the past and not to suffer from expectations of the future.

Let everything else go. When you have the consciousness of the witness and it is addressed to the present, let go of what is not present here at the moment. Just stay here. Today the concept of Nirvana is often interpreted as the attainment of Supreme bliss and peace. However, this is only the result of Nirvana. The word translated as "detachment" or "letting go". It is the letting go, the release brings a sense of freedom, peace and bliss. Travel through life light – not take on Board the fact that this is not necessary.

Again breathe. When the world or the thoughts again begin to intervene to snatch you from the current moment back to conscious breathing. Inhale, exhale and let go with the exhalation of the shackles of the past and excitement for the future. The constancy of the conscious breath helps to stay in the present.

The act of being in the present seems to be meditation through action – breath awareness, witnessing, releasing, breathing. This simple circle simple actions can change the quality of your life.

 

An adapted translation of an article by Michael Formica

Source: karpachoff.com/zdes-i-sejjchas-5-shagov-k-nirvane/