how to be aware in an unaware world

Tag: past

Past
“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”
– George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair aka George Orwell (his pen name) does something very few writers do: present a strong message of consequence with prose and wit.
It is so true that those that control the present also control the future. Look at the corporations and governments in power today. They are deeply rooted in the past.
Losing grip on the present means losing grip on the future, no matter how tight a grip you had on the past.
Having seen WWII first hand, Eric knew the devastating effects of control and power by displaying it in his writing, mixing fanaticism with dystopia.
Though this quote was most likely intended to display criticism, it can also be a motivational message: to live presently, in the only little piece of existence we can control.
And yet, even in the present we can be distracted by internal noises, opinions, over thinking, rumination, and perception bias.
It is our inner critic that is responsible for our mindlessness, “you’re not good enough” or “you need that to be happier” or “you’ve gotta look more like that person” or “you have to do more to be successful”.
These are thoughts embedded in a consumerist society, whose members are countless comparing themselves with each other.
They are also indeed thoughts embedded in a past self or unrealized future, one consumed with a “better” version of oneself: “I used to look much skinnier.” or “I have to work harder to make more money in the future.”
Let go of the need for anything other than what you already have and you create space to be everything you’ve always wanted.
The illusion of necessity is strong in a consumerist society; it tells us that in order to be truly happy we have to have something, someone, or be some place.
Beyond the basic necessities met, our happiness doesn’t exist in things. To quote Joshua Fields Milburn off the top of my head, “Love people and use things, because the opposite never works.”
Want happiness? It’s already here.
Want peace? It’s already inside.
Want joy? It’s already reflected.
Want success? It’s already achieved.
Want money, status, power, and possession? It’s not worth it.
Think about the things in your life that are in your control, and those that are out of your control. Reflect on that list.
For me it’s:
1. My health – to workout each day, eat whole foods, sleep well, laugh with friends and family, etc.
2. My perspective – to see the glass more than halfway full, see the goodness in humanity, lift others up, accept other’s differences, etc.
3. My work – to pour into something I believe (like writing), be a team player, grind when possible, rest when necessary, etc.
4. My inner child – to love and nourish him, praise and encourage him, affirm the goodness in him, etc.
5. My inner peace – to pause each day, feel the present, reflect on the past, plan for the future, glimpse into eternity, etc.
In an effort to drastically improve this blog, and kick off a new era for the Mindfulness & website, I’ll be redesigning the site, adding podcast episodes for each post, meditations, reflection of the day, photo of the week, and much more.
Some Fancy Links:
August 10, 2025
Presence
Last June I went to one of the most incredible music festivals known by many in the electronic music scene, surrounded by the shade and beauty of Michagen’s pine and spruce trees: Electric Forest.
A month before the festival, over fifty thousand other attendees and I received a welcome package: wristband, stickers, a sunglasses pouch, and a message printed on a card so eloquent, so needed, that it stopped me dead in my tracks.
This message was from a voice that some artists at Electric Forest, like INZO and LSDream, use in their music to add an extra layer of meaning to the whole shebang. Alan Watts reminds us here, at a poignant time in history, to ditch distractions and remember the presence:
“We are living in a culture entirely hypnotized by the illusion of time, in which the so-called present moment is felt as nothing but an infinitesimal hairline between an all-powerfully causative past and an absorbingly important future. We have no present. Our consciousness is almost completely preoccupied with memory and expectation. We do not realize that there never was, is, nor will be any other experience than the present experience. We are therefore out of touch with reality.”
What I love most about this quote is the direct reminder that any time we overthink about the past or the future, we waste that time not living in the present.
The present moment, as Alan describes, is the opposite of thinking in the past or the future, it is simply the direct, undiluted seconds passing by right now.
Undiluted in a real-world context means not watching TV while eating dinner, not looking at your phone while holding a conversation, and yes, not dwelling on the past or planning for the future while preparing for bed.
The undiluted presence will seem boring at first, but only because we are accustomed to filling every moment with something. In time, the presence of nothing will be a place of comfort and gratitude in itself. In a previous post, I wrote about the surprising benefits of doing nothing: Mindfulness & Nothing
Do not confuse overthinking with constructive thinking either, because some thinking is good. Constructive thinking helps us learn from our mistakes, taste the sweetness of a good memory or bitterness of a bad one, plan for the future, prepare for rainy days, and feel the excitement of an experience yet to come.
But Alan Watts is not saying that we shouldn’t plan for our future, he is saying not to live in our future. If “living” is defined as a present state of mind and in the present filled with overthinking about the future, then we are “living” as Alan describes, in a space hypnotized by the illusion of time.
We are all naturally inclined to overthink the past or the future, I find myself planning a lot in the future, spending a considerable amount of time on Plan A, B, and sometimes C. This is constructive thinking in the beginning but then overflows into overplanning, a place much similar to reminiscing of “better” times in the past.
The illusion of time includes these spaces: a future better than the present moment (when it sucks), and a past better than the present (when it sucks). There is no difference between the two spaces, only that they are not real.
Only the present moment (especially when it sucks) is reality, and this space is constantly challenged by our overthinking minds.
How do we live with presence and mindfulness? It takes a great deal of discipline at first, which then turns into a daily practice, which then turns into a state of flow.
If you have the availability, take your shoes off and find a patch of Mother Earth to stand on before going through these simple grounding steps:
Step 1: Close your eyes, cutting off your most distracting sense of vision.
Step 2: Feel the subtle weight of gravity, grounding you not only to your feet on the ground but also to this moment.
Step 3: Stay in this place of grounding for as long as you can. Feel the senses activate, hearing, feeling, smelling, tasting even.
Step 4: When it feels right, lower the hands to the ground, bend the knees, and touch your forehead to the ground, thankful for the perfect amount of gravity, stable ground, and the ever presence of this moment in time.
Thank you so much for joining me and my accompanying thoughts in this post on presence. If you find any value in my work and would like to support me, please share this post with your friends and family. You can also support me by buying me a coffee. Thanks so much in advance!
October 18, 2024
Worry
“I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been.”
– Wayne Gretzky
I found this quote in an investing and trading ebook. It was used in reference to a long-term approach in the stock market. The author’s guidance was to invest where the market will be, not where it has been.
It is also an equally great metaphor for life. The past is behind us, unable to be modified or relived, but the future is where possibility and opportunity lie.
(So I just realized this quote is much more about regret than worry, but I got carried away and reflected on worry instead, so I’ll post about regret next).
Reflection
Granted, the past provides much that can help us in the present (if we are aware of those past mistakes and learning opportunities).
Then there is the greatly significant difference between planning for the future and worrying about the future.
Worry may disguise itself as planning, but it couldn’t be any different.
Planning brings you back to the present after completion. Worrying leaves you in the future, contemplating endless possibilities.
Worry is an unfortunate side effect of the pursuit. Will it end up okay? Will I be successful? Will I be able to survive? Will they like me? And on and on.
It is actually a quite natural and albeit sometimes helpful emotion (when worried about a loved one, showing a deep connection and concern).
But I would argue that the majority of worry (like 90%) is really unhelpful and even destructive.
This is where mindfulness steps in and teaches us to step back from all kinds of thinking (worry or otherwise) and simply observe the present mind.
It takes a lot of practice (day after day for months) to truly realize the power of mindfulness throughout the day.
Meditation is not a practice with a completion, it is a transformation for a lifetime.
How does mindfulness help with worry in our ever-changing lives? I’m so glad you asked!
Worry enters the mind, say the worry about whether you will get a job or not in preparation for an interview, and you begin to spend a considerable amount of time thinking about that job.
Now, some of that worry is constructive (like the 10% when noticing the worry itself meaning you care a lot about the job and should take it seriously).
And the rest of that worry can be let go of: “Oh yeah, I’m worrying right now about this job way too much and I choose to let that worry go and move on to what I’m doing right now.”
Like I said, this sounds so easy on paper, but without devoted practice to noticing thought (worry) and letting it go, we cannot achieve this effect so easily, we will succumb to the thinking (worrying) and add a lot of unnecessary stress to our lives.
Encouragement
I encourage us to find the worries throughout the day today and simply begin to note them (in a tiny, cute notepad or on our bubbly, colorful notes app).
Literally. Jot down someplace all that worries you right now in your life, and again when you begin to worry in the future.
And when planning our complicated lives, look to the past for guidance, look to the present when we’ve got caught chasing the past or future, and look at the future for possibility and hope!
Thanks
Thank you again for worrying about me (lol just kidding, there is no need to worry about me!) But, thank you for your attention reading this post, it is a rare gift these days.
As always, feel free to leave a comment or share this post, let me know if you enjoy the posts. You can also Buy Me a Coffee if you are inclined to do so. Thank you in advance!
Links
November 9, 2023