Did You Know Change Can Happen Only In The Moment?

This blog is another variation of one of the previous blogs—I cannot get enough of this concept. It is really simple—the only place where change can happen is NOW. By NOW, I do not mean this day, this situation, what story your mind is spinning right now, how it is raining right now, or the movie you are watching. What I mean by NOW - this instant as you read this blog, as my hands type the keyboard - it is internal. NOW is all about you - physical sensations, mental chatter. If we want to take it a level deeper, it is the awareness of the story in your mind, the rain drizzling on your face and the emotions that the movie you are watching brings up in you.

Simply put, NOW is awareness—plain, simple awareness. It is the subtle difference between saying I am angry and saying there is anger in me. It is the difference between reacting to an unpleasant situation and observing the need to react. In the moments when you become the scientist observing yourself as an experiment, the world changes because it is not personal anymore. You are not taking things personally.

Now that we know what NOW we are talking about let’s discuss why change can happen only in the NOW. Because the past is history and the future is a mystery, today is called the present, and NOW is the key to opening the present. (Side note: I am so happy I got a quote from Kung Fu Panda in this blog.) To illustrate what this means, let’s look at a couple of examples.

So, I ran ten miles - today was one of those days when running was not as seamless. After the seventh or eighth mile, I kept pausing and had a stitch in my side. I resorted to breathing as a last resort, so I focused on breathing, and the pain from the stitch would subside - and as my mind chatter would take over, the pain would come back. So, it was a constant bringing back to the breath awareness. This change from ‘Oh my god! I am on the seventh mile, and pain has started to feel the breath on my upper lips, which can happen in the NOW, in that second only. I can think about it now, but an actual change in the habit pattern of my mind happened at that moment. That is why you strike the iron when it is hot.

Another example, as some of you know, is that the stakeholder groups I face off with at work are a tad on the difficult side. So, I had a couple of meetings this week where they said something that triggered me. At that moment, I felt my reaction as a little spark arising in my body and taking me over. And I wrote in my journal that I am reacting right now, so breathe. And I focused on breathing while noticing the resistance. This is a big step for me - as previously, I would have matched their level of unconsciousness by joining them. I am learning surrender and acceptance now. The analogy that came to mind was that I am at level 2 and hit an obstacle; I lose energy, but I have enough stores to keep going instead of being sent to square one. (Another reference to my levelling up blog)

In Vipassana meditation, they talk about how these moments are priceless- however tiny they may be - because we have applied a small break in the speeding car. We are making the tiniest change in our mind pattern - and you can do that only when it is NOW. You can prep for it before and read about it before, but practice is the best teacher. So, in some ways, I am grateful to the brutal last mile and prickly stakeholders for giving me opportunities to improve. The next step for me might be feeling gratitude while it is happening - that sounds scary, but never say never.

It is easy to confuse the story in our heads at these times with the NOW and accept it. For example, I am running and feeling very tired, and the story in my head now is, ‘See, you cannot run this mile—how will you ever run a half marathon?’ Accepting that story is not being in the NOW. Being in the NOW means noticing that these thoughts are passing through your mind right now. And sometimes, it is difficult to notice the thoughts. That’s where breath and sensations in the body come in handy.

Happy breathing and good luck to us in making fundamental changes in the now. Are you ready for the now?