What It Means To Be Present

“The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness.” (Abraham Maslow)

Mental health is a major concern in our modern society today. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older, or 18.1% of the population every year. Did you know that depression is predicted to be the leading cause of disease burden by 2030? In fact, it’s already the leading cause in women worldwide. When including depressive-related deaths due to suicide and stroke, depression has the third highest global disease burden.

Now, there are forms of treatment resistant depression that exist and those individuals should seek out as many solutions as possible.

My focus in this context is the mind and how that relates to the present moment. Most people live the majority of their lives either thinking about the past or worrying about the future. This is a major part of why depression, anxiety and other mental issues are on an explosive rise.

What does it mean to be in the present moment?

Firstly, the present moment is the only thing that we have. It may seem like the past and future exist but in reality, they are just creations of the mind. We live in the constant presence of the present moment.

To be in the present moment means a few things:

1. It includes total awareness of thoughts, feelings, fantasies, etc. — To be aware in the present moment is to non-judgmentally observe how the mind and ego works.
2. It includes a deep embodiment with the senses — To be in the present moment means to become deeply intimate with your senses. To see without the thought of seeing, to feel without the thought of feeling, to hear without the thought of hearing and to smell without the thought of smelling. It is a raw form of sensory experience.
3. It includes the silencing of the mind — Because being in the present moment is a skill, it requires a lot of training to get to this point. To silence the mind of chatter is to effortlessly observe the world around you without the narrative of the ego in the background. It is a meta-awareness that is entrenched within a flow state.