A bit more on Presence

PRESENCE
So, I think that the rational mind is an amazing tool and I for one would not want to be without it, although at times I wish my brain was bigger.... or smaller even? :)
But, as I said, I think I am using it a bit too much a lot of the time (some of it consciously and some of it unconsciously). Its become a bit of an addiction for most of us - certainly for myself!
I described how I think that dwelling on the past or future is often a huge waste of time and the cause of great suffering. Now that's not to say that thinking on the past or future doesn't have its uses but how do we figure out when its useful?
Well, for me, I think that it is fine to think about past stuff if I am figuring out some kind of lesson. Otherwise its more or less a waste of time and Id be better off experiencing the present.
Same goes for the future. If I'm thinking about stuff that I need to do in the immediate future then that's fine, but if I'm projecting out further into the future or just spinning my wheels day dreaming then its probably wasted effort. I make an exception to this when the present is rather unpleasant (like its night time in a dingy hotel room with mosquitoes and a flashing neon sign outside and a club next door...) then its OK to day dream or project plans into the future, so long as I don't get attached to them :)

Now, Ive seen a few people who appear to be quite in the present and are just doing what feels right at the time, and this is admirable. The problem I see with this most of the time is that these same people have abandoned the Awareness aspect of things and they are totally in their own little world and are oblivious to what is going on around them and how they are (often times) being quite an obstruction to other people moving about their lives. To me this seems very disrespectful to others and is not at all admirable. It is also a product of not caring about their impact on other people... more on that later.

And what to do while you are here in the present?.... Well, just look around in wonderment and appreciate things. This sounds a bit strange to most people Id guess but when you do it there really is a lot to just take in and enjoy. This is particularly true in any kind of natural setting like gardens and parks or especially the wilderness.
Id guess that most of my friends are outdoors enthusiasts and really enjoy the wilderness. And a very large percentage of you also really enjoy what would be called "Adventure Sports" like back-country skiing, mountain biking, rock climbing, and mountaineering.
And the reason that you all like doing those things is because when you are engaged in doing them, you are actively practicing PRESENCE!...

Its true... when you are flat out trying to keep your balance on the mountain bike as you try to stay on "the skinnys", or you are clinging to a cliff face for dear life, or cranking hard in the powder to get that next turn in so that you miss that tree etc... your "mind" is pretty much switched off and you are just "doing". Your senses are wide open to whats going on and you are processing only the stuff that needs to be processed "right now" ... and its a real rush. This is the presence of DOING, but it can be brought home to "mundane" life while you are walking around or just sitting there too. This is the presence of BEING and it can be just about as rewarding (more so given that it can be a more or less permanent condition and requires no special equipment weather or location) and certainly frees you from obsessive thinking (which is half the point).

Its actually easy to achieve... All you have to do when you catch yourself thinking too much is to decide that you don't want to do that and decide to "pay attention" - Just look at stuff around you. Look hard and carefully - you will find that your mind switches off when you are looking hard, but if you ease up, the mind switches back on immediately and that inner commentary starts up again.

That's the trick with this one, sustaining it!
Detecting that the inner commentary is running and that its being non-productive... Then you need to switch over to presence mode and look/listen/feel stuff :))