Living in the here and now

The here and now means the present moment. It is not the past and it is not the future. It is only the moment and the moment is all there is. We all experience our moments at the same time but because of the unique way each of us filter reality and process information, each moment is a completely separate incident to everyone else’s. This is good, this means that you control your moment.

You are in control!

So we can then say that if you can control your moment then you can control your life; your outcome; your destiny.

So how do you take control of the here and now?

To do this we need to take a look at how we filter our reality and from there, how we process the information we receive.

The way our mind filters work is always positive. Our brains are computers with over 6 million thoughts per day but their basic function is as a survival tool. They constantly strive to compute positive results to keep us alive. Our mind filters are the tool they use to select the information they need from our reality by filtering out the bad stuff and allowing through the good stuff. The good information that is allowed through is then processed to produce a positive outlook so we will continue living.

So what of depression, stress, anxiety and grief?

As we see, our filters are the first thing that information from our reality comes up against when it enters our mind. From there, the good stuff is processed while the bad stuff is rejected. We learn what is good and bad from our upbringing, our basic instincts and what we see in the world, society and religion. We develop a sense of right and wrong; a moral code by which we live; a set of rules by which we judge life, the world and ourselves.

When the external circumstances in our lives become all (or a high percentage) negative, for example when we are being abused or traumatised by extreme forces such as war, terror or a horrendous accident pr by debt or rape and so on, our filters reject everything they are seeing in order to protect us because our survival instinct tells us that we need positives, not negatives.

So with our mind filters rejecting so much negative reality, they become confused and reject all reality. This means that they also reject any positives that may be trying to break through. When we do not receive positive thoughts, our brains just keep re-circulating our old thoughts so our mind has no fresh positive thoughts to process to keep them producing positive outlooks.(This is living in the past because our filters are not allowing any new thoughts through to us). Eventually then, our brains just shut down and we give up.

We cannot live in the future because it has not happened yet. We can dream and wish but we cannot foresee our future reality.

So to live in the future is folly because it is all just guess work and non existent and to live in the past is to dwell in negatives. The only safe place to be is the present moment, the here and now.

To affect our mind filters we need to recognise our perceptions (how do we view our reality?). It is in our perception of reality that we choose what is good or bad. To some, nudity of any kind is bad while to others it is something to be celebrated.

There are thousands of comparisons such as sexually where one partner in a relationship feels it is ok to flirt with other people while the other feels it one of life’s greatest sins, or financially where one person feels it is important to spend all your money and live as though every day were your last while the other constantly frets about the future and hoards money as though it were going to escape at any moment.

So in these comparisons we can see that where one person finds excitement, another will find anxiety. Excitement and anxiety from the same situation. This is the power of perception.

Now, we can look at the make up of our perceptions and analyse them to see where we can make changes but first we must accept that we need to change. You cannot change that which you do not acknowledge. It is in this that we find the key to success; the key to living in the here and now.