Relinquishing The Past And The Future: Be Present

I want to talk a little bit about a practice that is called labeling or noting and what it consists of is when something comes up to our awareness,

We're to note it or to label it.

And so we might be sitting and we might feel something in the knee or in the back or something,

We might say body,

We might even say pain.

And so it brings our awareness directly to it and then something else might come up,

We might feel a pleasantness in the body because the temperature or something like that.

And so that feeling might be labeled as a feeling or pleasantness or we might even label the temperature itself or the coolness or the heat or something like this.

A thought might come up and we can label it thinking.

A thought of the past might come up and we might label it thinking of the past or thinking of the future,

Something like this.

We might think of an order of like a teaching or something that we've learned.

We might think of thinking or again thinking or contemplating,

Like contemplating a meaning of a teaching or something like that.

It can go on and on and generally what it kind of ends up being is a looking contest kind of.

It does for me personally,

Like I'm constantly looking for the next thing to come up.

And inevitably the things come up slower and slower when you're looking.

It's like the cat waiting for the mouse to come out of the mouse hole and you keep waiting and waiting and waiting and it doesn't appear.

And as soon as you draw your attention away from it,

The mouse comes out and it's like,

Oh,

There it is.

And it's like that with the mind.

It's like trying to think of our next thought.

If we think,

What is my next thought?

What is my next thought?

It feels like it doesn't come sometimes,

Like it doesn't come up.

And so to me,

The labeling and the noting just got too busy,

Too cognitive for myself.

And so in the past,

What I've done is simplify it.

And I'd kind of like to have people try this tonight if you can,

Simplify this technique or this practice.

And it's very simple.

The premise is we really note when we're in the present moment,

We're in the stillness.

Thought comes up,

For example.

Most likely we can label it almost always as a thought from the past or a thought from the future or something from the present moment.

Even simplifying it more,

If there's a thought from the past that comes up,

Let's say I think I'm meditating and a thought from something that I did yesterday comes up.

Obviously,

That's a thought of the past.

I might even just label that as something like P from the past,

Just the letter P.

And if I'm planning on fixing something or something I might be doing tomorrow,

Like a schedule or something I'm looking forward to,

For example,

Obviously that's a thought based on the future.

And so to even simplify it,

This is just in my mind anyway,

I'll just kind of see that as F,

Like the letter F.

I don't even say the whole word future.

Somebody could say that's a future-based thought.

But for me I would just say it as F and then come back and then come back to the breath.

And then when we come back to the breath,

That's actually the present moment or what I would consider stillness,

Because the mind isn't going to the past or to the future.

So we can be resting in meditation and an idea will come up.

That idea most likely is something based on the future.

I have an idea how to fix something or how to create something,

Future-based.

And we notice that as the future,

And that's fine,

And we just go,

Okay,

I'm meditating now so I want to come back to this stillness.

We're sitting resting in that stillness and we hear a sound and all of a sudden the mind takes off back into,

Well,

I used to have a truck that sounded like that or something,

Thought based on the past.

And that's fine.

There's nothing wrong with the past or the future except it's just mind-made activity,

Things that we're creating.

And we come back into this presence.

It's really a practice in mindfulness to see where the mind goes.

So we're just looking at three different areas,

Past,

Future,

And then this presence or this stillness.

And the reason I say stillness is because I'm kind of shortening it with these letters,

Like past.

There's already a P there,

So the presence would also have a P.

So I'm just labeling it as stillness and reminding myself to rest in this stillness.

And that's the practice.

I think you'll find that after a while you'll really,

Really tune into the moments of presence or the stillness.

You'll really notice that when you're in that,

In the pocket,

So to speak.

And when we can do that in meditation,

Then we're much more apt to do that in our everyday activities.

We get upset about something and we'll see right away that's labeled something based on the past.

Sometimes we might come up with something that switches from the past so fast into the future that it just seems to skim right over this presence.

So let's say we're thinking about something that happened yesterday.

Then we just remembered that,

Oh,

We didn't complete that.

We're going to have to finish this up tomorrow or tonight or something.

So it goes from the past to the future.

But then that's fine as long as we notice that,

That that's what is happening.

And again,

There's nothing wrong with the past or the future.

It's just that we are setting the intention to be in this present moment while we're meditating.

And so this time is real precious for us to be in this present moment because it's very healing for us.

We normally don't do it throughout the day.

And so we really owe it to ourselves to be in that presence and to see ourselves for who we are,

Who we truly are,

Behind,

Beyond the excess of thoughts.

It's kind of a training ground for us.

We're training the mind to recognize the stillness that is our birthright.

And in that stillness we'll find that we feel very complete,

Very naturally complete.

I think if you've never done this before,

I think you'll learn a lot about yourself.

And just kind of keep track of maybe where the mind is.

And just pretend like Mindfulness Monthly magazine is going to interview you about your meditation and you're going to have to explain how your meditation went based on the past and the future and all this kind of thing.

The craziest thing comes up in our mind.

A lot of times we don't even notice it.

You might be all of a sudden sitting in meditation and realize that we're afraid of death,

For example.

That's definitely a future-based thought,

Activity.

All of this is created by the mind.

And so what it points out to us is that all the problems that we really have are created by the mind.

Because in this presence,

Sometimes it's just a really thin slice of this presence,

But when we're in that,

We're fine.

We are complete in every way.

The difference between the everyday lay people and the saints and sages is that the saints and sages can rest in that for long periods of time.

And so for that reason,

They're not worried about reaching enlightenment.

They're not worried about not reaching enlightenment or being enlightened or anything like that because they are just resting in that presence.

They're not seeking anything,

Not looking for anything.

Some people's definition of enlightenment or being complete all the time is that they're no longer seeking to be enlightened.

They're no longer playing that game,

So to speak.

Make yourself comfortable,

Please.

With the eyes closed,

Bring your attention to the body.

The body is the vehicle that got us here.

It's the body that is now relaxing,

Hopefully.

That feels relaxed,

Comfortable.

And generally when we think of the body and tune into the body and use the body as a tool,

We are in that presence.

That's why I often start meditations with the body.

Also ask people to bring their attention to the breath,

Which is a part of the body.

And so all of this can be used as a tool to come into this presence and this stillness.

If we use the breath,

For example,

We can find a spot in the body where we feel the breath as it moves in and out.

We can do a lot of different things with the breath to bring us into this presence,

But this is just one example.

So anything that allows us to come into this present moment.

And again,

The easiest thing to use is some aspect of the body.

Even if we feel a pain in the body,

We're being very present.

But when the mind starts thinking,

This pain isn't going to work out this weekend,

I have different plans and all of a sudden we're thrusted into the future or we're thinking about how that pain might have happened,

What caused it.

Chances are we might be thinking about what happened in the past.

For the most part,

This is very normal thinking,

A very normal thinking process.

But when we're meditating,

We want to set the intention to set aside as much of that thinking,

That type of thinking as we can and do what I call resting in the present moment.

So we can do an experiment,

If you would follow along with me just a little bit for a few moments and get an idea of how it feels.

Just think about something that you did yesterday,

Something that maybe you enjoyed doing,

Something that you hopefully vividly remember doing,

All the details.

Could be anything.

Maybe talking on the phone or sitting at the desk or exercising or working.

So if you have the ability to visualize,

You can probably see yourself doing this.

And it's all connected to the thinking process.

And so we can actually think about what we did yesterday or any time in the past.

We can either see it or just think about it in terms of remembering that activity,

Not really worrying about the visualization or the imagery,

And experience it just as a thought.

And of course,

We can do this with anything that happened in the past.

And we do this all the time,

All day long,

Without actually labeling it as the past.

Think about something that went wrong yesterday or the day before,

Something that wasn't very pleasant.

And we can actually feel that within the body.

So when we think about something that went wrong,

Something that didn't go right,

Something that was unpleasant or just kind of a negative thing,

The body reacts and the mind doesn't really know that it's happened in the past.

So every time that thought is brought up,

The same energy and the same chemical,

The same chemicals are used within the mind and the body.

The cortisol or adrenaline or whatever is happening as if it actually happened,

Can it actually happen again?

Maybe not to the same extent,

But if this experience is brought up again and again and again like they can,

We can notice difficulties as a result,

Difficulties within the mind and the body.

So we cross over from the past and bring our attention to the future.

Think of something that you would like to accomplish tomorrow,

Something you'd like to get done.

It could be something that you're dreading or something that you're really looking forward to,

It doesn't matter.

It could just be a mundane activity.

And we think about something as simple as brushing our teeth tomorrow morning,

It doesn't cause any stress or tension.

But if we would have a dentist appointment at noon tomorrow,

We would be a little bit more concerned about that,

Knowing,

Particularly if we knew that we had to have a few teeth drilled or something like this.

There would be some anxiety.

And of course the more we thought about that,

The more anxiety there would be.

We can think of something that might be pleasurable that we're going to do tomorrow,

Meeting somebody,

Having a nice meal.

And notice how that feels within the body.

And now after doing these simple exercises,

Bring yourself into the present moment,

Right now.

Use the tool of the breath or whatever your meditation object might be,

And focus on it.

You can even use the sound of my voice,

If you like,

To come into this present moment,

Away from the past,

Away from the future.

Tuning into the body,

Some aspect of the body,

If you like.

And notice how that presence feels,

That stillness.

It should feel different.

It should feel lighter,

More pleasant,

Less concerned.

Everything is fine just the way it is.

Nothing has to change.

Nothing to be looked for,

Sought out,

Or changed,

Or fixed,

Or remembered,

Or forgotten.

Just resting in the present moment.

And when we become sensitive to this,

Then we can notice the mind leaning one way or the other.

And this is the practice,

If you will.

Just simply noticing the past or the future,

Leaning one way or the other.

Could be moments into the past,

Could be years into the past,

Or moments into the future,

Or years into the future.

Just the idea of becoming sensitive to all this,

And noticing and then coming into the present moment.

And knowing that all of it is okay,

All of it is a part of the mind.

No judgment about ourselves or the activity,

No commentary,

No decision making,

Nothing being right or wrong,

Just being very,

Very aware of where the mind is.

Is it in the past?

Is it in the future?

Is it in the present moment,

In the heart of this stillness?

What is it?

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If your attention is not on the breath,

Bring it back to the breath.

Take a little deeper than normal inhalation.

Bring some energy into the body.

Then slowly exhale this air.

And then take another deeper than normal inhalation.

Breathing in some alertness,

Some aliveness.

Inhaling.

And then another deeper than normal inhalation of air.

Just hold that for a moment and then slowly let it out.

Thank you all.