We were not designed to live in our heads, subjectively relating to life through cognitive metabolism alone. We might think we need to work it all out; to get to the bottom of a problem; or if we think a situation through, we’ll find the answers. Sometimes this is true – indeed when we need to think – to make decisions, to problem solve, to reflect, it’s clearly a brilliant resource to tap. But we can literally live in our thoughts and stories; forward forecasting, past rehearsing, and intra-day narrating, with little time to notice the direct experience of life unfolding.
Our personal narratives are compelling, and so can tease us into distraction. They can engage (even demand) our attention, and potentially keep us trapped in conceptualizing the world around us. Over time, we bury ourselves under accumulative life layers, masks and subjective filters, influencing our ability to see things as they objectively can be. As the author Anaïs Nin reminds us – “We don’t see things as they are. We see them as we are.”
We can make life incredibly personal, and yet it doesn’t have to be. Instead, we can live in the direct experience of reality. We can simply become open, receptive, available, and ready to collaborate with life, in each moment that presents itself.
3 simple hacks to reclaim Presence ….
- Stillness
- How? Simply be still and quiet, find time consistently throughout each day to withdraw within. Aim to avoid any movement in the body. Gentle awareness and focus within.
- Why? Reduces mind clutter, awakens the senses, generates deep awareness.
- Acceptance
- How? Objective awareness. Cultivating a daily practice of observing life, without judgment, accepting how everything just is, how it is.
- Why? Hones gratitude and appreciation, allows in more ease and simplicity.
- Reflection
- How? Audit your thoughts, daily acknowledgement of how much time you are spending living in your head, observe and drop back into presence.
- Why? Ignites curiosity, brings clarity, untangles thought patterns