“All problems are illusions of the mind. The mind unconsciously loves problems because they give you an identity of sorts. This is normal and it is insane. Focus your attention on the Now and tell me what problem you have at this moment. I am not getting any answer because it is impossible to have a problem when your attention is fully in the Now. A situation needs to be either dealt with or accepted. Why make it into a problem?” (Eckhart Tolle. Practicing the Power of Now. p.41)

Knowing the potential and the power of living in the present moment, we have a choice: We can express brilliance in the world or continue solving problems. Taking time to experience the simple joys of the present moment makes us aware that we are capable of experiencing authentic joy, trust, and happiness, not simply solving, or making, more problems.

Present Moment

We’ve usually activated our old patterns from the past because we didn’t know we had a choice. We didn’t know thoughts are just thoughts. We didn’t know we could choose which thoughts to pay attention to. We didn’t understand that our feelings follow our thoughts and that they can be a guide to shift us away from thoughts that make us unhappy to thoughts that make us happy.

Humans are creative beings. Regardless of whether we are focused in our thought systems or our natural brilliance, we are creating every minute of every day. When we get lost in our thoughts, we are still creating—we are creating what we have our attention on. Isn’t it interesting that if we focus on how careless, irresponsible, and messy a family member is, that individual’s messy, careless, and irresponsible behavior appears to get bigger? That person may go into someone else’s house and be neat and clean and responsible. However, when he is around us, he lives up to our expectation and the viewpoint from which we see him.

We can create our lives consciously or unconsciously. When we are unconscious, our habits of thinking continue to reappear as we have experienced the world. We keep bringing the past into the present. When we consciously envision who we want to be and what we want to do (our future), we create a new experience of life. Unconsciousness brings frustration, and consciousness brings freedom.

When living from our Brilliance we are proactive, seeing the best in all and understanding that we all are doing the best we can. We are seeing ourselves and others in the moment and not reacting out of our past beliefs. Living in the present allows us to experience the quiet calm that exists in the eye of a hurricane. No matter what is going on around us, we can center in the moment, in our brilliance, to weather the storm.

When we understand that we can live and express our natural brilliance, we are free, free from the past, free from the problems of the past, and free to create a life that comes from our innate wisdom. In this moment, in any moment, we can choose to let the past be the past.

©2007, Back to Brilliance, Excerpt from Activate Your Brilliance

There are tricks to mastering this process. The only real moment is this moment.  Anytime our focus shifts to the past or to the future we have left “real” time. There is a tendency when looking at the past to remember difficult times and then to project more of the same into the future. This is prescription for stress.

Around the holidays we can get caught up in our to-do list with everything we have already done and everything we have yet to accomplish. We can be at a party with family or friends and instead of enjoying the moment we get busy with our mental list, thinking, “If I do just these two things tonite before bed, then I’ll be ahead tomorrow.” At the same time we have missed the joy of shared time and conversation with people we really love.

While practicing staying focused in the now, being vigilant about keeping our attention on this moment, we have discovered many benefits.

• We stay relaxed instead of moving into urgency.
• We get to enjoy each moment for its gifts.
• We trust that each moment will bring with it the knowing of what is most important to attend to.

The more we practice being present the less we identify with the outer trappings of our lives and the more we identify with the true presence of ourselves.

During the holiday season the best present we can give ourselves is to be present to each moment.

There is a whole lot of programming out there about future planning. We learn to set our goals and to plan the steps. We learn to visualize and see the end result. What is often forgotten in this process is that we can’t see the bigger picture at all times. In fact the human mind/brain system can only discern a small portion of all that is available. It’s that 80/20 rule where we are conscious of only 20% of what is.

No matter how much planning we’ve done we can’t get too attached to our plans because there may be steps we couldn’t see that will take us far beyond the outcome we had envisioned.

We also need to remember that it is not our job to determine all of the “how’s” that are necessary to achieve our goals. Trying to figure out everything about how our plans will manifest creates serious stress. We can get so lost in our thoughts that we can’t figure anything out and we lose our way.

The best plan for the future is to engage in the present moment. Our brilliance truly exists only in the moment. When we let go and know that our innate wisdom always looks out for our very best interests, has the bigger picture, knows all the resources we need, and is always streamlining the process we can relax and enjoy the ride. We can expect short cuts and surprising turns that take us to a future that is much more than we had imagined.

Lynne is currently supplementing her income with part time substitute teaching. When she gets a nudge that she should be available for subbing, she looks online to see what is available and then signs in. In the classroom she can enjoy a prep time without worrying about other commitments, knowing she is right where she needs to be.

When Vivian spends a day away from work at a conference, she is able to stay fully present without making phone calls or checking messages, knowing she is just where she needs to be. In the present moment we are all just where we need to be.

There are tricks to mastering this process. The only real moment is this moment. Anytime our focus shifts to the past or to the future we have left real time. We have lost the power of now. There is a tendency when looking at the past to remember difficult times and then to project more of the same into the future. This is a prescription for stress.

While practicing staying focused in the now, being vigilant about keeping our attention on this moment, we have discovered many benefits. We stay relaxed instead of moving into urgency. We get to enjoy each moment for its gifts. We trust that each moment will bring with it the knowing of what is most important to attend to.

The more we practice being present, the less we identify with the outer trappings of our lives. We then identify more with the true presence of ourselves. This is the greatest gift we can give ourselves; this is the greatest gift we can give the world.

There is nothing like a wedding to make you take notice of what is happening in each moment. From the first sight of the bride in her magnificent dress to the dinner and dessert buffets, to the first dance, I found each moment alive with energy and joy. While talking with those I hadn’t seen in some time, and engaging with friends and family of the couple I’d never talked with before, I noticed every little thing around me.

My most memorable and alive moment was when two mothers of my niece’s friends maneuvered my 91-year old Mother onto the dance floor. You need to know that she had never danced a dance in her life. She was laughing so hard that it took a couple of hours for her to literally catch her breath. She has since recovered and we’ll all remember that moment forever.

Since returning to work after the wedding I am continuing to notice what’s around me in the moment. A friend and I ate our DQ delights in a flower garden close to home a few days ago. We were totally taken in by the amazing scents and colors of the blossoms, the industrious bees and inquisitive tiny black flies, and the antics of a bevy of hummingbirds performing mind-bending acrobatic feats, including a mid-air standoff and dive bombing incident. I couldn’t stop watching the action.

Two days ago, I walked around the lake near my office during my lunch break. I had to laugh out loud at the Canadian geese when a small group gathered their friends and honked their way from this lake to another nearby. The geese enjoying the lake just looked up and then continued their in-line meandering. I passed the sign at the Pavilion which acknowledges Energy, Laughter, Earth, Sky and Water. I realized that really noticing what was going on with the earth, sky and water had quickly amped up my energy and laughter.

I enjoy noticing each moment and I am making it into my habit of choice. Life’s complications become simpler and the rush turns into relaxation when I take time to see what’s present in my moments. My mind lets go of anything that isn’t happening NOW, my happiness expands, and I feel fully connected and alive.

I recommend grabbing your friends, dogs, or kids to keep you company on your excursions into the present moments of life; I know you’ll make some unforgettable memories along the way.

When I was teaching writing to high school students in a juvenile correction facility, I liked to give them a handout during the holidays which was titled, “The Present”.  It talked about time as a bank.  “Every morning it credits you with 84,600 seconds. Every night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is yours. There is no going back. There is no drawing against the ‘tomorrow’. You must live in the present on today’s deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness, and success! The clock is running. Make the most of today.”

This handout ended with the words: “Yesterday is history; tomorrow is a mystery; today is a gift; that’s why it’s called the present”

I discovered that natural Brilliance can only be accessed in the present moment. To get our truest ideas, understanding and awareness we must be in the moment. It is this moment that holds the perfection of all that is. We can access it when we slow down our minds, relax, and become present to our own Brilliance.

- Lynne Hoft