Be here now

Experiencing the power of presence is a little like looking at one of those holographic pictures that were popular a few years ago on calendars and posters. It appears two-dimensional, but if you look at it slightly differently, another, three-dimensional picture magically leaps into view. The other picture was right there all along, but until you looked in a particular way, you couldn't see it, even though it was right in front of your eyes.

We are always living in the present moment. But when we wake up to this fact, and actually experience being present, a different, fuller picture of what it means to be truly alive, one that was there all along, leaps into view.

Presence is actually doing what you're doing when you're doing it. Doesn't that sound simple? If you have ever spent any time noticing the workings of your mind, with its incessant chatter, innate distractibility, and frequent trips into the past and future, then you know that being present is not as easy as it sounds.

In order to slow down and experience life with more balance, depth and satisfaction, we need to address both outer and inner dimensions of how we live. The practice of presence addresses internal busyness, the constant stream of mental chatter that can fill even the most spacious times our calendar has to offer. This habit of mental busyness effectively blocks us from the one place where we can experience life fully and deeply: the present moment. It is in the here and now that life really happens; we engage with what matters, open to ourselves and others, and experience joy.

When we are caught up in mental busyness and not present, we stay on the surface of life. In this state, we can certainly get things done, but we tend to feel more restlessness than contentment or joy as we go through the motions of our lives. The practice of presence offers the opportunity to deepen our experience of life and enjoy it more fully moment to moment.

Once there is understanding about the value of practicing presence, the next step is to do just what it says: practice. Since there is no better time to practice than now, take a moment after you read these next words, to shift your attention from reading, to noticing that you are breathing. Feel your body sitting, making contact with whatever you are sitting on, and notice the sensations of breathing. Allow these sensations -- at your nostrils, in your chest, in your abdomen -- to come into the foreground of your awareness. Notice any other body sensations you are aware of as you breathe. Now gently expand your awareness to a sense of your whole body, sitting, breathing, here, now.

Bringing attention to the present moment un-clutters our mind. Awareness of breathing is a very immediate -- and always available -- way to experience this un-cluttering effect. A very simple way to encourage presence is to pause intentionally at the beginning or the end or in the midst of an activity, and pay attention to your breath. Even just a few moments of mindful attention to your breathing can quiet a chattering mind and be surprisingly refreshing. Because most of us have a tendency to get lost in the workings of our minds, bringing attention to what we are receiving through any one or more of the senses -- hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting, touching -- is an effective doorway into the here and now.

You can do it!

The holiday season is a perfect time to practice presence. Mindful attention can help decrease the tendency for the spirit of the season to get buried in busyness. Being present in the moment can increase the joy that is so elusive as we rush around feeling trapped by the tyranny of our to-do lists.

Here are some suggestions for how to bring more sanity and soul to your experience of the holidays, through practicing presence:

Embrace the value of paying attention. I hope it is clear by now that this practice doesn't just help with inadvertently bumping into doors or spilling egg nog. Paying attention in the present moment invites a deeper, richer quality of life. Henry David Thoreau said, "Only that day dawns to which we are awake." This wisdom, gleaned from Thoreau's solitary retreat on Walden Pond, intimates that the practice of presence is not even just about a better quality of life -- it is at the heart of being truly alive.

Set your intention to be present. Think ahead to some moments over the holidays when you would like to practice presence. Write them down, or just make a mental list. For example, watching someone light the Hanukkah candles, watching someone open a gift, eating slowly and really tasting the special food at a holiday meal, or listening to a favorite piece of music. Setting your intention in this way can help you remember to "show up" in the moment.

Enjoy the moment, any moment. You might discover that there are many moments when you can take a deep breath and bring your full attention to whatever you are doing. In practicing presence, we are not so much addressing what we do, as how we do it. This is about the quality of our life as we move through our days -- not just the special, extraordinary days, but the ordinary ones as well.