Here & Now Exercise

Being present.

“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment.” – Henry David Thoreau

I have often thought that one of the biggest challenges for anyone in their daily life and in particular their spiritual practice is to remain present in every moment. Throughout my own personal spiritual exploration, I have found that I have struggled to pay attention to what is truly happening around me, and have glided in and out of being present in my life. I have looked at different opportunities to practice remaining present, and thought that this might make an interesting writing assignment. At the very least it might prove to be a good writing exercise.  

In the Zen Buddhist tradition, there is a very fine focus on the art of being present. In the process of breaking down old habits, conditioning, practitioners are encouraged (instructed) to pay attention, observe, breathe and meditate. A Zen saying that I have drawn a lot of inspiration from illustrates this skill of being present very well: before enlightenment- chop wood and carry water, after enlightenment – chop wood and carry water. Another great opportunity to observe what it means to be in the moment, for me is to watch children as they are playing (or doing anything really). The spontaneous, unapologetic approach allows for a more authentic and honest approach to living – allows a lot of opportunity to gain personal insight, even if it is ugly and unpleasant to look at. In the vein of writing  as spiritual practice, taking this approach for an exercise might provide some useful insights for the writer.

Follow the Diving Deeper approach:

Sit down to a blank page/ blank screen and write about what you are seeing, feeling, experiencing right at this very moment. It can be a kind of ‘report’ of your senses and emotions or just allow your thoughts to rise up spontaneously and record them. Write for 20 minutes (or for as long as you feel that you would like to write) without editing the work (other than for spelling mistakes/ typos).

The key is to not plan, not put too much thought into the process – to just write and be in the moment, without apologizing or creating a history to explain why you might be feeling a certain way or why you are sensing something, instead, just let it be. See what comes when you allow yourself to remain completely present. When you have finished writing, post what you have written here in the Writing As Spiritual Practice board .

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