Practicing Present Moment

Original photo by Lori Landau do not reproduce without permission

 You know the old question, "do you dream in color or in black and white?" My dreams are filled with not only with every color you can imagine, they're stuffed full of details, like an old drawer that you've crammed so  many odds and ends into that it no longer closes.

This morning, I was woke up with half my mind still traveling my dream, the other half racing ahead, anticipating the day to come. Before my eyes even opened, I was simultaneously diving into an undulating pink sea of glitter and tiny seed beads, an intricately embellished ocean that somehow washed people's spirit serene, and rushing into thoughts about how my afternoon might play out.

It's no wonder that I didn't want to get out of bed. Even in my sleep, I was neither here nor there. (And based on the dream I was having, I would have preferred being there). Luckily, the rest of my family was up and out early (yes, I know it's lucky I got to sleep in, too). But best of all, I have years of practicing yoga and meditation under my belt, something that has given me practical tactics to cope with an unsettled mind.

With Leonard Cohen's music playing, and yoga mat rolled out so that I could face the mountains and changeable sky, I did about 45 minutes of yoga, a good long meditation and some pranayama (breathing practice).  In spite of setting a soothing scene, it was difficult to get into it. This morning, I came to my mat with a mind as cluttered as the water in my dream, only in real life, it was rippling with the flotsam and jetsam of anxiety.  Once I was sitting in meditation I had to work not to chase my thoughts into the future or retrieve it from the past. But I've learned how to catch myself from being carried along indefinitely by unruly thoughts. When I realized what was happening, I employed some of the things I've learned about how to deal with a crowded mind.

Immediately, I pictured the words: Present Moment. Then I brought my attention to what was actually occurring right at that moment, by focusing on the different aspects of the senses, naming what it was that I felt as I went along. For example, I noticed that the breeze coming through the windows felt cool on my skin, so I focused on that sensation for several breaths until I felt more centered. I continued practicing that, sense by sense, until I had covered all the bases: sense of sight, sound, feeling, smell and hearing. By the time I was done, I felt integrated, with body, mind and spirit united together. My second awakening of the morning found me firmly in present moment, at 11 a.m. on a cool, rainy, breezy, gray Saturday, listening to Leonard Cohen and the occasional sound of car engines, smelling the lingering aroma of coffee in the autumn-tinged air.

My experience this morning reminded me that my mind is fickle. It's default position it to be all over the place. If I'm not vigilant, I can spend all day and night with my mind in an entirely different place than my body. This gap is what causes so much of my stress and anxiety, and like most other people, it can significantly affect my mood and my actions.

This plays out not only in life, but in my level of creative productivity. Left unaddressed, I can easily waste an entire day not "doing" my creative practice. But by practicing yoga and (for me, especially: meditation) I also become more efficient in my creative output.

I know I'm not the only one. It's human nature to be incredibly distracted by worries. Today on Conscious Creativity, we will be focusing on the nature of anxiety, and how it affects your daily creative life. What holds you back from being fully "you?" How hard is it for you to be in present moment?  Do you live in a fog of worry about the future? Or do you scroll back over the past, endlessly reviewing things that already happened? How does anxiety affect your own ability to create? Feel free to share the things that snag your mind and keep it rooted in the past or fearing the future. Share your tips and your practice and your creations. Let's all meet in Present Moment, and help each other become more creative for it.