Embodying Spirit

Some strategies we use to NOT be present (in a nutshell)

Posted on February 18, 2016 Updated on February 18, 2016

It’s so easy to NOT be present .  The culture we live in does not support being in the moment with consciousness.   In fact, most of us grew up learning how not to give our attention to what is actually occurring.

As promised, here are a handful of strategies we use to NOT be present.   These distract us from stuff like hurt, anger, hatred and envy but also from happiness, delight, joy, love, support and aliveness.

There are many more strategies than those listed below and each of us adds our own nuances to all of them.

Keeping busy so that we don’t have a chance to stop and pay attention to what we are experiencing in the here and now.

Anxiety, worry and fear are compelling enough to keep our minds safely occupied from below-the-surface discomforts such as feeling hurt.

Planning keeps our minds busy with ideas meant to encourage us to do something and be somewhere else rather than right here right now. It is possible to plan and stay connected to ourselves but we usually disconnect.

Self-righteousness – We get defensive in order to protect an ideology that helps us to feel strong and not in touch with our underlying vulnerability.

Focusing on other people’s needs and wants so that we don’t have to feel the vulnerability and discomfort of having our own.

Being judgmental keeps us at a safe distance from any underlying sense of being unworthy or less-than.  It props us up so that we can momentarily feel like we’re better, in some way,  than someone else.