Just for Today: The Practice of Living

When I think about living in the moment, I remember my Reiki training. In every class I teach, I share the Reiki principles. Each principle begins with the same phrase, Just for today. Students are invited to live from those principles in each moment of everyday. Just for today is a reminder to be mindfully present wherever, whenever, and however you find yourself.

Although it may not be called mindfulness, many traditions invite us to focus on the moment. We are advised to be aware of opportunities that flit in and out of our consciousness. I have heard mindfulness referred to as “focusing your awareness on the Sacred.” What happens when you focus on the moment? I believe we discover that this moment is all we have. 

Our life is comprised of rolling moments one seamlessly flowing into the next. Unaware, we lose focus on our hopes, our dreams. We miss nuances of opportunity. Instead of responding, we react. But, all is not lost. In the next moment, we can regain awareness. Then, mindfully, we reset our intent by focusing on that moment and those moments that roll from it into the next.

Developing a rhythm of moving from one moment into the next takes practice. For me, there are three types of practice:

• Practice is formal. You may meditate, walk, practice tai chi or yoga. These activities empower you to focus your attention in the moment as you connect with the world around you. This practice occurs at regular times throughout your day

• Practice is informal. These are check-in moments. Perhaps you are feeling frustrated or something just doesn’t feel right. You may be distracted. You take a break — focus on your breathing, go for a quick walk, play a game of solitaire. These activities serve as a disconnect from what is distractive and pulls you from the moment. They mindfully reconnect you to present moment. 

• Practice is spontaneous. These are those moments when the extraordinary catches your attention and you mindfully engage it. You hear the laughter of a child and fully engage the joy. You notice the beauty of the sunset and breathe into it. Living in the moment, your senses come alive. You feel the sacred found only in that moment. The resulting energetic boost gives you the power to stay in the here and now for increasingly longer periods of time. 

Using those three powerful words, just for today, decide what actions edge you closer to your hopes, your dreams. Then take those steps knowing that you have the power to realize exactly what you need. That realization happens only in the present moment. 

Vanessa F. Hurst, ms, is an Intuitive-Coach-Catalyst, who uses mindfulness practices and intuition tools to create strategies for personal and relationship transformation. She is a professional speaker & author who weaves inner wisdom into all she touches. Her books are available @ www.wildefyrpress.com. Contact Vanessa for life coaching, intuitive consultations, keynotes, and programs.

Website / LinkedIn Profile / Facebook / Twitter: @fyrserpent / ©2020

The Storm is Fierce, Breathe Deeply

You never know when the unexpected with shower you with whatever you need. Life is about listening to the shadowy storms and responding in the bright sunshine.

The world is this scary, uncertain place that shines so brightly with the power of possibility. But, life is hard and sometimes we edge so deeply into the shadows, we forget who we are and the power that simmer deep inside of us. Instead of facing the storm, we wait for it to abate never realizing that the storms are always present.

We can grope in the shadows shrinking from any thunder while hoping to find the latch that releases us from our dark or we can breath deeply into the storm’s fierceness. With our breath we connect to our fears that form a seemingly insurmountable barrier to igniting the power of possibility. When we move between the barrier and those possibilities; sometimes we realize the possible, other times we retreat further into the shadows. 

So, what can we do? I propose turning that little spaces of darkness into a places of learning, places of respite, places of coming home to the real inside our self no matter how messy, how imperfectly perfect we find our self in those moments. Within that space we can be who we are. We can separate the authentic from the illusion. In doing so, we live in the freshness present after the storm.

How do you do this? Begin by acknowledging where you find yourself in the moment. Recognize that there can be no shame in the darkness when there is most surely no shame in the light. Both the dark and the light are needed to grow — each provides sustenance for the evolution into your truth. If you believe nothing else, believe that. 

Next, use your greatest life tool — your breath — to anchor and center yourself. Breathe deeply into those part of yourself that seem to be hopelessly frozen by some nameless emotion. Even if you believe that nothing will release them begin a wordless conversation with your fear, your angst, whatever you find hiding in the shadows. Listen to the reason, the root, that birthed the emotion. Respond to what you find at the root.

The next part is scary. Okay, maybe scarier then what you’ve just done. Befriend the fear, the angst. Ask yourself what small act you can do to turn the force of your feelings into the power of transformative action. Remember, a journey begins with a single step, so does your movement from the shadows into the light. 

Then act. Just do it without judgments or defenses. In your action you ignite the spark of your light. Listen to its guidance for your spark illuminates the message from all your senses. As your spark burns brightly, you gain a clear picture of where you find yourself.

In time, the dark you find yourself in comes less scary. It becomes a place to face your fears, gain respite, and rejoin the world with actions that a echo the power of your authentic being.  

Vanessa F. Hurst, ms, is an Intuitive, Coach, Catalyst, who uses mindfulness practices and intuition tools to create strategies for personal and relationship transformation. She is a professional speaker & author who weaves inner wisdom into all she touches. Her books are available @ www.wildefyrpress.com. Contact Vanessa  (vanessa@intentandaction.com) for life coaching, intuitive consultations, keynotes, and programs.

Website / LinkedIn Profile / Facebook / 

Twitter: @fyrserpent / ©2020