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Daily Question, May 31

How can I improve my capacity to be present?

  • Present Moment

    I can improve my capacity to be present by recognizing all expectations as preplanned resentments.

  • focus on bodily sensations, they bring me back to the here and now. integrating yoga and similar exercises into daily life’s helps creating a habit of being present in my body. and, of course, less internet…

  • Malag

    Spend less time with eyes gazing at a screen. And notice things intentionally, and notice who is noticing.

  • Melissa

    When I find myself and mind wandering away from being present. I take a deep breath and calm myself. I look deeply at where I am physically. Looking at the sky or a tree or flower or person and connect to them with mind, heart and soul ,in one deep breath of commitment to the present. .

  • Lua

    Enjoy the present ( real vision) Think more in what make me Happy, what causes more emotional balance, mental health! Love myself and” mine”!

  • Hot Sauce

    I can improve my capacity to be present by showing self-compassion. Sometimes, I get stuck in a thought-loop that can make it difficult to be present, but I find that if I take some time to be gentle with myself and observe whatever difficult feelings arise without judging them, I take care of myself enough to be present for others, and I also practice compassion for others through compassion with myself.

  • reality

    For most, any and all kinds of meditation works well. I’m too assassinated to do these, yet, I try and sleep; if I succeed it helps me to 🙂 reality

  • Ose

    Prepare a pineapple when intended. Do what is needed. Be aware of the hand reaching out. Be in this all in loving kindness.

  • Ben Salvatore

    I have started each day over the past couple of years doing qigong
    with someone online. It wakes me up and makes me feel good
    in body and spirit and serves as my first meditation of the day.

  • Heather

    I have been practicing meditation through the Headspace app with my husband. It’s been helping us tap into our creativity and give us strategies for dealing with our depression and anxiety, which has really helped us being present for each other. We know more about our triggers and how our disorders manifest. It’s been one of the gifts of this quarantine.

  • Linda

    Being in quarantine forces me to be more present. No schedules to meet, chores to do in a certain timeframe, and no hard and fast goals to meet. It is surprisingly freeing. I have always been looking ahead to see what comes next, and this situation ensures I can’t see what’s coming next!

  • pkr

    Quite frankly I do not want to be present at this time. I am heartsick and in tears over the violence, mayhem, destruction, looting and killing going on all over the US. I am so sad and upset by all of it. The injustices, the hate, when will it end? Where is the Love? It is all too much.

    • Cathy
      I so totally get you pkr. These feelings are overwhelming and you are right- it is all too much. To find a moment of reprieve, I've had to block out most everything in big chunks of time, focusing on one small bit of something. My lemon tree has fragrant flowers right now. I will go outside and stand beside the tree and breathe deeply through my nose, allowing no thoughts to bombard me, concentrating on the fragrance. And then I realize, I am "present" in this very moment with no one and no...

      I so totally get you pkr. These feelings are overwhelming and you are right- it is all too much.
      To find a moment of reprieve, I’ve had to block out most everything in big chunks of time, focusing on one small bit of something.
      My lemon tree has fragrant flowers right now. I will go outside and stand beside the tree and breathe deeply through my nose, allowing no thoughts to bombard me, concentrating on the fragrance.
      And then I realize, I am “present” in this very moment with no one and no thing allowed in. It becomes a moment of Peace.

      Read More
  • Melissa

    Be in the now. Focus on the now. Don’t be doing things that I really don’t need to do. Don’t be doing things that I don’t really want to do unless it is absolutely necessary.

  • amacord

    The longer I experience shelter in place and spending lots of time with my lovable feline companion, I see how wise our 4 footed friends are. They are honest and true and live in this moment. They are blessedly unburdened by what happened last week, last year and they are wise enough to not preview tomorrow. I am going to learn from my dear cat.

  • Ed Schulte

    By….Stop trying to be present.

    “Presence is not an ability it is the natural state of BE-ing-ness. Noetical, timeless, all encompassing grace

    “With fresh eyes”

    is the purpose of next Sunday ….Pentecostal Suday ..

    emphasises the work of the Holy Spirit and the direct experience of the presence of God NOT something found merely through ritual or thinking.

    Yes a Real “INNER-FRESH-EYE” opener

  • Michele

    Improving my capacity to be present usually starts off with a morning cup of coffee. Being a good listener and paying attention to your surroundings helps. Focusing on the here and now. Presently our country is in a hot mess and it is freighting to see the mayhem going on in all the states. Why can’t people protest peacefully?? I do not understand looting and setting fires. Tampa had a gas station set on fire.

  • Cathy

    “Capacity. The ability, capability, or fitness to do something; a legal right, power, or competency to perform some act.”

    I can improve my capacity to be present by limiting the time I spend listening to the news and engaging in social media. Not only do those things consume precious time, but they also seem to generate turmoil in my mind and I’m all over the place!

  • Maeve
    Very often, by paying attention when I am outside. Listening to the birds in my backyard. Seeing the wind move the trees.. This morning I woke up anxious and pre-occupied. Then I noticed that my friend, Lissa, had posted a lovely video of a family of woodcock birds. I called Lissa, and we chatted. This connection and delight, brought me comfort and some ease. Now I am able to be more present, having shared my personal concern weighing on me, as well as talking about the lovely bird video...

    Very often, by paying attention when I am outside. Listening to the birds in my backyard. Seeing the wind move the trees..
    This morning I woke up anxious and pre-occupied. Then I noticed that my friend, Lissa, had posted a lovely video of a family of woodcock birds. I called Lissa, and we chatted. This connection and delight, brought me comfort and some ease.
    Now I am able to be more present, having shared my personal concern weighing on me, as well as talking about the lovely bird video.

    Read More
  • TeriB

    By turning my focus to here and now rather than the what ifs of the future. By paying attention to the moment and finding beauty, goodness, sadness, anger whatever it may be and recognizing it, learning from it and finding the good in it.

  • Howie Geib

    Engagement seems to be the missing element. For when I am engaged in what it is I am up to I am present to it. It could be the act of pondering a question, or making a meal, or completing tasks at work. The wandering mind, day dreaming, multi-tasking, are habits I can leave aside much more than I do.

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