How To Live in the Present and Create for the Future

How to live in the present and create for the future? It may seem like a contradiction but it is not like that, it is not an opposing effort, it is an art.

And it would be a good idea to start practicing it so that we can eventually develop a mastery of this art. Living in the present is living in presence, aware of what is happening in the moment of now, attentive to what is happening outside of you and what is happening inside of you. Be aware of your breathing in this moment, aware of how you feel emotionally, of the thoughts that arise and also of the space between them.

Observe around you and within yourself as an observer, as an impartial observing presence, and in this way you will be able to notice much more information about what is happening, without getting lost in the forms, thoughts or situations happening.

Be the conscious observer, and only interfere or intercede when necessary, when a genuine inspiration comes to say or do something. Otherwise, just stay observing without thinking, just be present, aware.

Now you are in the present.

And what happens when you want to plan for the future? Something that is not happening now but requires using thoughts projected into another time. For example, organize something that you plan for next day. We are going to be aware of using our mind for something specific, and be careful not to get lost in other thoughts that are not relevant, or project emotions like anguish or anxiety about the future. Using effective thinking is holding an anchor of consciousness in the present, and watching yourself plan something for the future. Create the future being conscious of the present.

Observe yourself using thought, reasoning, perhaps you also require memory to remember something, then your thinking is moving. For example, when planning you have to look at a calendar, or contact people, talk about a moment that is not happening yet and that you are creating it.

Do it without losing track of the present moment of now, feeling yourself now, observing yourself now, then you are entering the art of living present and creating in time.

I suggest, help yourself by creating “time blocks”, remember that your primary state is presence and we are practicing inhabiting this state of presence constantly in different situations that can take us out of the present moment. And if you continue to practice holding the state, breathing consciously, and not getting lost in thoughts then you can add a next level of presence and that would be awareness, to observe your thinking functioning, and being effective, focused with intention. Which is different than thoughts taking control of your mind and taking it to the ends of its imagination.

Of course, there are times when you want to use your imagination and let go of control thinking, and that is why I suggest creating those “blocks of time.” An example of a “block” would be: I want to plan a trip, and I am going to spend the next 30 minutes or hour planning for it. Another “block of time” would be, I am going to observe my mind, let all the thoughts arise, and I will do it for 10 minutes. You are aware of your mental activity, present to what may arise, and when those 10 minutes are over you will return to direct your awareness to the state of presence.

Staying presence throughout the day and using mental activity more consciously. If in your life you are constantly creating things for the future, use these “blocks of time” for your activities, and return at least every 50 minutes to present conscious breathing, to take root again in the present moment. This will improve your inspiration and creativity, it will also help you have clarity, better ideas, greater control not only over your thoughts but also over your emotions because you will no longer be controlled by every thought that arises in your mind without control. Like when something happens outside then a train of thoughts and a wave of emotions are triggered, but this does not have to be like this, the more you practice the state of presence, the more quickly you will re-anchor yourself to the present, and conscious breathing is enough.

The mind may think that it is wasting time or that it is in a hurry or that it has to do something, it is common, it has been used to it, hurry is a mental state. And if there are places and situations where life pushes us, rushes us, and in large part it is because the world is not living in presence, it is being driven by almost always unconscious compulsive thoughts and it is easy for it to take us along with everything that It happens and that is why this practice is so important.

It also happens to me that I am constantly balancing being present and also creating and planning and by using blocks of times, spaces where I apply thought and then release it, and again.