Find Inner Peace by Living in the Present

For a while I was trying to understand what exactly meant living in the present. I was so involved in my tumultuous amount of thoughts that I had no idea how to separate my present thoughts from those of the past and the future. To me it was like one huge lump of thoughts.

After lots of reading and practicing, I finally understood what living in the present really meant and today I want to share my findings with you.

Currently there are many authors that have written about this very subject, but I still believe that there are many more people out there who still have not come across this information or need a different point of view to understand it. I hope my point of view helps you.

If you are depressed you are living in the past, if you are anxious you are living in the future, if you are at peace you are living in the present ― Lao Tzu

Thoughts through time

Our thoughts are categorized in three time dimensions:

1. Past Time -Forgive and let go

We all have thoughts of memories, experiences and learning, but I’d say most of our thoughts from the past are thoughts of hurt and regret. This is true even more when the energy of those experiences are still within us.

The best way to get your head out of the negative thoughts from the past is to forgive and let go.

How? By understanding that people who hurt others is because they are themselves hurting inside. Imagine a person living in anger, hatred, revenge or jealousy, what do you think you're going to receive from them if that’s all they have to give? The very same hurt they're living inside, right?

So, if someone hurt you in the past, understand that they were hurting inside and unfortunately you were the one person that got in the way just at the right moment when they were ready to snap. 

Sometimes we ourselves are the ones hurting others and ourselves. But if you're reading this I assume you're no longer living in that mode or want to get out of it. If so, keep reading.

So I ask you to understand, forgive and let it go. If you think there will be a benefit, to you and the other person, go ahead and forgive or ask for forgiveness. If not, the intention is what counts and that should be enough for you to feel better and let the past go.

Once you forgive, your emotional energy will improve. Therefore, the more you forgive, the closer you get to happiness and joy.

Forgive those who have injured you - not because they deserve your forgiveness, but because you can never be happy ― Jonathan Lockwood Huie

2. Future Time –Trust and get in the Know

If you are a positive person, most of your thoughts would be about expecting positive outcomes. But if you are neutral to negative person, most of your thoughts will keep you from moving forward in your life. I believe most people have a mix of positive and negative thoughts with a tendency to one end.

The best way to get your head out of the anxious thoughts about the future is to trust and connect with that feeling that lets you Know for sure that everything will be ok.
​
How? Just like you Know that tomorrow you will have a place to live, food to eat, and water to drink, use that same feeling of Knowing to Know that your future is always working out for you. If you cannot feel it, then trust that there is a very powerful energy, Universe, or God, that brought you to where you are now and that it is impossible to just drop you now.

So, when thinking about the future, focus instead on thoughts that will help you move forward to your goals and success in life.

Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God 
― Corrie ten Boom

3. Present Time –Stop the struggle and relax

Thoughts from the present are mostly thoughts that require an observation or a choice. When you are in the present, the inner struggle caused by thinking in past and future thoughts is not present -it’s impossible.

Louise Hay says "your point of power is always in the present". I agree because in the present is when you think, when you do, when you feel.

Everything that is impacted by you in this life is happening now and now and now and now. It’s all about today. Not how you felt yesterday, not how you will feel tomorrow, it is how you feel now... and it all begins with being conscious of your thoughts.

How? Begin by deciding what you are going to think, how you are going to think, and by learning techniques that can calm your mind when the struggle gets intense.

Then relax, not as in do-nothing, but as in feel-good. Stop the struggle, stop the resistance, stop the fight… and relax. Just relax.

When you relax, you stop the inner struggle and you are now in the present; and when you are in the present you are aligned with who you really are; and when you are aligned with who you really are you are happy, joyful and at peace.

---

Right NOW is when you think, when you feel, when you live. Not yesterday, not tomorrow, NOW! -Claudia LeBaron

---

​What do you think you need to do right now to find inner peace… Forgive, Trust or just Relax? Let me know in the comments below.

---

​Other related articles:
Who Do You Think You Are?
Choose Your Thoughts Wisely
Mastering Positive Brainstorming
9 Ways to Calm Your Mind