A life changing experiment.

Originally posted by bringthelight
The way to live a happy, peaceful, suffer-free life is to trust the present moment at all times. Thats it. No matter what your doing, once that voice starts creeping up in your head saying, "should this be happening to me? This just isnt fair! Why is this stuff always happening to me!" All you have to do is trust that you are EXACTLY where you are supposed to be. Unyielding trust, and then comes the MAGIC. What do I mean by magic? Try it and see.
[edit on 14-9-2009 by bringthelight]

You my friend hit the nail right on the head, this is how i have lived my live for a long time...
Altho when people ask me i say that i believe that everything happens for a reason!
Dont get me wrong, i would fight for my life if i had to and i will help those that i hold dear.
But why get worked up about things that you cant do anything about?
I think that if all had this "inner peace" the world would be a better place.

I lived like that for a few years... completely in the Now and on faith. I called it "going with the flow." In the last years, the daily grind has somewhat caught up with me and I often forget and get stressed out over work, my tight schedules, my 6-year-old, etc. But I try to remind myself from time to time what life is really about.

For example, when I fret over not having enough money to pay the bills, I tell myself, "RIGHT NOW, in this moment, I have everything I need." Same with other issues of material safety or whatever comes up. I always end up realizing that RIGHT NOW I'm not in any danger. It's all anticipation of dreadful events, not reality here and now. It sure puts things into perspective... and amazingly, those things I feared rarely materialize. Somehow I'm always being "saved."

Even WHEN "bad" things happen, I tell myself everything happens for a reason and try to figure out the reason why that particular thing happened. Often it boils down to me falling into a mindset where I manifest those things. Sometimes it's a lesson for me to become more mindful/patient/compassionate/humble or any number of things.

Thanks, OP, for reminding me of that big truth again. I remember when I used to live like that every day, small and big miracles would happen naturally and I used to tell people, "This is the ONLY way to live." High time I listen to my own advice and find that inner space again.

Originally posted by sylvie
For example, when I fret over not having enough money to pay the bills, I tell myself, "RIGHT NOW, in this moment, I have everything I need." Same with other issues of material safety or whatever comes up. I always end up realizing that RIGHT NOW I'm not in any danger. It's all anticipation of dreadful events, not reality here and now. It sure puts things into perspective... and amazingly, those things I feared rarely materialize. Somehow I'm always being "saved."

You can tell you have experience in living a mindful life centered in awareness. I had to have this realization as well. Your statement is very true, even if you dont have $10000 in your savings and you are living paycheck to paycheck as I am now, if you can stay focused in the moment, something will always come up for you and save you from he potentially devastating thing you could have wasted your time worrying about.

Thank you for your words!

Hi This is my first post on ATS as I have just joined today, but have been reading for a few weeks now, having come across the site "by accident" and have been thoroughly enjoying reading many of the threads in this section, so thought I would add my experience here.

I decided on a whole new life a couple of years ago as I hated my job, flat etc and gave it all up to focus on what was important for me. Initially it was all great, I returned to uni to do an MSc, came into some money, moved to a better house etc and just carried on living in the present. Even when the course I was doing didn't turn out the way I had hoped with the result that I never began the dissertation after finishing the PgD and have had no clear ideas about what I was going to be doing, other than knowing that I was enjoying the freedom of walking the beach everyday and being at home for my teenage daughter getting in from school (something I had never been able to do in the past) but pressure from friends and family and society in general does cause me a lot of conflict. Obviously the money I had is not infinite and people are always asking "what are you going to do?" "what are your plans for the future?" etc and this causes my to lose the "in the moment" feeling and start to worry, which I feel in turn blocks the benefits of living this way as I then worry about having no money, not being able to pay rent etc and end up being unable to enjoy the present.

So although I totally agree with the concept, it can sometimes be hard to ignore everything going on around you and wonder what suggestions you have as to how to overcome the fear and worry to continue reaping the benefits of living in the present moment?

reply to post by destination now


I struggled with the same concept for a long time. The advice I give comes from personal experience. The ego in you will fight it and say hey buddy this is the real world, stop living in fantasy. But here goes...

Go with what resonates. Its as simple as that. When you begin to practice living in the moment, your intuition opens up and you are able to see and feel the little hints that the universe or your soul gives you. When I say resonates, I mean something that agrees with you on the deepest of levels. Just hearing, seeing, or thinking about it gives you a shot of energy and aliveness.

Have you ever come across something (a job opportunity, new interest, simple idea) that gave you a sensation that you couldn't really describe? I used to get these and say "I cant wait to do this!" But then doubt crept in and my ego would say something like "theres no money in this" or "I havent got the time."

I have recognized that these ideas that give me a burst of energy and inspiration are coming directly from my soul and I follow them. I literally dive right in and it has done amazing things for me. Never let money stop you. Pick something you love and go for it. Even if its on the side while you have to work a "real job" to pay the bills. Your energy and passion will eventually turn that thing you love into a means of living.

If there is a little voice telling you that you cant do this or its not for you, that is the ego trying to keep you from experiencing life as it truly should be. Know this and quiet that voice and really think of the possibilities of what im telling you.

I hope you understand what I mean now by "go with what resonates"

If you still have no idea what im talking about let me know and I will try and explain in more detail.

reply to post by bringthelight

Question for you: Have you heard, read, or seen anything lately that has really caught your attention. Something that when you though about doing it or getting more into it, filled you with energy and excitement? Something that resonated with you on a deep level?

Not unless it's what we've been speaking of here! Because I'm being 100% honest, I feel like a new person! I haven't even been doing this for a week yet and I feel so much better. I can't thank you enough for starting this thread!!! I still have to remind myself a few times a day to snap back into "now", especially at work because my job is rather monotonous and it's easy for my mind to wander, but I am a believer now. It works!!!

Will report back when what you speak of happens!

reply to post by gemineye


Something about mindfulness and meditation resonated with me and I gravitated towards it and like you said, it is transforming. It doesn't take long to get hooked and the good part is, there's no turning back. Life will become more and more peaceful and bewildering at the same time. It grabs you and pulls you in.

Choose what you want in your life but expect nothing.

If living in the present moment is whats giving you the shot of energy and passion, dive in and enjoy!

reply to post by bringthelight



It's amazing that you should talk about what resonates, at last it has been put into words for me! When I was spending time, just doing what I wanted, I had an idea for a new product and a new business, but due to the negativity of others around me, started to have doubts about the validity of these ideas and of course, nothing has come of them. So I think it's time to get back into that feeling of "knowing what is right" and getting back to feeling positive about these ideas is essential to start manifesting them into reality. Thanks! (going to work out how to give stars for you and flags for the thread, as it totally deserves it!)

reply to post by destination now


Im glad it made sense to you! So many times I have heard things and thought I got it but later I will gain a deeper understanding from it being explained another way.

Happy to help, the more the merrier!