B E I NG P R E S ENT
Techniques for Trusting the Present Moment The most effective techniques combine what you sense and what you feel in pleasurable ways that retrain your mind, body and brain to trust the present moment rather than be suspicious or afraid of it. Here’s a look at five such techniques: Play: When you feel good you feel strong. Feeling a sense of your own well-being strengthens your ability to have an “I can handle it!” attitude, which lessens fear and improves flexibility. Play means engaging in an activity purely for your own pleasure, enjoyment and recreation. Such activities release mood- enhancing endorphins and, when experienced with others, create a sense of connection, community and trust—all of which makes the present moment more tolerable, bearable and even fun, which creates new neural pathways logging feel-good experiences. Be Conscious: Addictions promote a lack of consciousness, literally and figuratively. They offer escape; a way to dissociate from the real world and exist in a fantasy where problems cease to exist, fears shrink and our ability to manage anything seems to magically enlarge. Alternatively, recovery requires a return to conscious awareness, one that recognizes both the external and internal world. An easy way to develop this skill is to be curious. Ask yourself questions about what you and others experience and your response(s) to it. For example, “What do I think about what just happened?” or “How does he feel about what she just said?” Reflection creates consciousness.
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