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.

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Unhooking What Catches You

We all have triggers — seemingly inconsequential  thoughts, words, and actions that send us into tailspins of reaction. How do we stop our self from getting caught in the whirling madness? And, once caught, how de we extricate our self from the barbed hooks of shenpa (what catches us)? 

Not too long ago I found myself in a situation that really had me caught. No matter how I twisted or turned, I found the hook of shenpa embedded deeper and deeper into my being. Yet, I could not seem to stop twisting and turning. Mindfulness techniques worked for a little while — after a bit the angst resurfaced. Reaction edged closer and closer. 

During some quiet time I remembered reading an article about a person who had spent a year living as if that year was the last year of their life. Then I remembered the five Reiki principles. Each one begins with “just for today.” Combining the two created a hybrid approach to my shenpa causing reaction dilemma. I decided to enter any potentially reactionary situation with the thought that “this time is the last time I will experience (fill in the blank).” 

What did I discover? The aggravations and irritations did not magically disappear. They were just as profound as before. What changed was my relationship to them. When I felt the trigger simmering, I answered the question “how would you respond if this is the last time you experience (fill in the blank)?” My want to react diminished. I have to say that it was easier to let something go with that mindset. There were fewer places that the grappling hooks of shenpa could dig in. 

What was really different about my experience was my awareness in the moment. I was able to focus on the impermanence of what was happening. In this circumstance — the one that I developed the hybrid approach for —  I realized that I had been cleaning up after others. Frankly that was neither my responsibility nor the compassionate action. I was enabling “bad behavior” to continue and then getting upset that nothing changed. 

If you are asking, “how can I focus on more response and less reacting,” here are my suggestions:

• Set you intent to respond instead of react
• Consciously breathe into the moment
• Be aware of the symptoms of reaction (physical, mental, emotional)
• Acknowledge what catches you
• Let go of what has you caught
• Breathe into the moment

It takes awareness and practice to notice and let go of the shenpa that catches you. Don’t give up if you are caught more than you are freed. It is all about being in the moment and living your best life.  

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. 

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Twitter: @fyrserpent / ©2020