For the past few days I have been focusing on the NOW. I make it a point to now look around me & inwardly (or outwardly, as the case may be) express appreciation & gratitude for something. I’m working on doing this on a regular basis.
My guides have always told me to “think in the NOW.” Focus on the present moment, enjoy what’s going on around me, and forget about the past. I have suffered from bad knees since the age of 9 when I fell on the ice and injured my left knee. My guides have told me all pain is based in emotion and that pain in the knees (they included hips, ankles & feet, as well) was caused by dwelling on past hurts or fearing movement forward in life. They have told me that by focusing on the NOW that I can leave my knee pain in the past where it belongs.
Well, a lot of you know how this is. Your guides tell you something, but your ego-mind gets in the way and right away you start thinking, “yeah, right! I’ve been to 9 specialists over the years, none of them could help me so why in the world would something that sounds so simple work?”
That’s how I felt so I basically ignored the message they’ve been sending me for years now. Then the other day in an email from a Facebook friend, she told me the same thing.
My brain is very print/image oriented. I’m an artist and a writer so for me images and words carry tremendous importance and can have a huge impact on me. Celeste told me that all pain has an emotional basis and if I could identify the emotion or past trauma and release it, that would help my knees.
I sat there and just stared at her email thinking, “wow, that’s just what my guides have been telling me all these years!” Seeing what they have been telling me in print and sent from another person really drove the point home with me.
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| Photo Credit: Ruth Ibbotson, 2011 |
So, now everyday when I get up I start the date with a thought about NOW and what I am grateful for. Today it was being grateful for our nice, comfy king-size bed. Yesterday I started the day being grateful for indoor plumbing – something I had until now always taken for granted. I figured why not express gratitude for something you use several times a day and have done so your entire life since being out of diapers, right?
Throughout the day I now make an effort to look around and express gratitude for something. When you do this it helps to anchor you in the NOW. If you’re busy looking around yourself expressing gratitude for various people, situations, events, and things you are not dwelling on the past in that moment. Make it a habit and that leaves less time to dwell.
Right now I cast my gaze to the left here and am thinking, “I’m grateful to Gloria Jean for having created such a gorgeous tarot deck, The Infinite Visions.”
It’s that easy, and the more you do it the easier and more frequent it gets. Also, when we express gratitude for the nice things we have in our lives we attract more good things to us. So it’s really a win-win situation.
I think this method is working because since starting this my knees feel really good. The other day did I get a twinge of pain & it was in the left knee, which hasn't bothered me in years. I had just gotten back from the grocery store & I thought, "man, I hate grocery shopping!" Then *** TWINGE! *** So then I changed the thought to, "I appreciate having a grocery store so close to my house so that I don't have to hunt or gather our food!" Then the twinge stopped!
Is that awesome, or what???
Focus on the NOW. Be grateful for what you have, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem to you, and in time you will make this a regular habit and things from your past will move further and further away from you in time and also in thought. This is what I’ll be doing and I’ll keep you all updated on how I’m doing.
I’ve begun a NOW journal. In it I endeavor to list at least 3 things a day for which I am grateful. Today, being the 4 of July my list reads:
- I’m grateful for being born in America & I’m grateful to all of our courageous servicemen/woman who have fought (and are still fighting) bravely for our country. (OK, that's 2 things for which I'm grateful)
- I’m grateful for my daughter’s laughter, which always makes my heart sing.
- I’m grateful for my Subaru Forester, which I really love because it’s so comfy and dependable.
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| I'm grateful for my cat, Dickens who loves Lisa Hunt's Celtic Dragon Tarot as much as I do! |
It’s not hard to come up with a daily list of three things for which you’re grateful. I ask that you all join me in this and as I keep you all updated I hope you’ll share your comments about your own experiences below in the comments section.
Until next time I wish you & yours many blessings while living in the NOW,
Nefer Khepri
I'm with you Nefer! As you know, I have a chronic illness that has only recently reared it's ugly head enough to be caught for what it is. Oddly enough, I've felt more grateful since becoming acutely aware of it than I was prior. Everyday I'm grateful to my body for fighting so hard, and everyday I'm grateful for the relative peace in my friends & families lives (among many other things). Since I started seeing all there is to appreciate, I feel less stress about logical uncertainties. I am also very grateful to my power animals, who have been taking a lot of care to guide me through my days, and to Ayden pup, who never leaves my side. SO much to experience & learn from this day forward :).
ReplyDeleteSteph, thank you for sharing this as I know it will help others. I totally agree that once you see what there is to appreciate & you begin to express your appreciation, stress levels decrease. I wish I had known this when my parents were so ill. It would have helped me a great deal. Australian Shepherds are highly intuitive. Mine used to know just before I'd get sick. She'd come up & put her head on my knee while looking up at me with sad puppy dog eyes. A few hours later or the next morning I'd end up sick, so it doesn't surprise me that Ayden pup is staying by your side. My dog did the same thing. They are such a fantastic breed.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteSennaya, thank you for visiting my blog :)
ReplyDelete