Just breathe

Living in the moment sounds like such a blase expression sometimes I think; envisioning that in order to achieve some state of higher consciousness that I must sit cross legged on some bamboo type floor covering dressed in white flowy type clothes and do the mantra "hmmmming"....but in reality the practice I have found is truly very simple....

Below is an excerpt from an article I found on experiencing the art of living in a state of mindfulness....

A friend was walking in the desert when he found the telephone to God. The setting was Burning Man, an electronic arts and music festival for which 50,000 people descend on Black Rock City, Nevada, for eight days of "radical self-expression"—dancing, socializing, meditating, and debauchery.

A phone booth in the middle of the desert with a sign that said "Talk to God" was a surreal sight even at Burning Man. The idea was that you picked up the phone, and God—or someone claiming to be God—would be at the other end to ease your pain.

So when God came on the line asking how he could help, my friend was ready. "How can I live more in the moment?" he asked. Too often, he felt, the beautiful moments of his life were drowned out by a cacophony of self-consciousness and anxiety. What could he do to hush the buzzing of his mind?

"Breathe," replied a soothing male voice.

My friend flinched at the tired new-age mantra, then reminded himself to keep an open mind. When God talks, you listen.

"Whenever you feel anxious about your future or your past, just breathe," continued God. "Try it with me a few times right now. Breathe in... breathe out." And despite himself, my friend began to relax....

While it takes practice to be able to live in a state of mindful awareness and experience the "now" moment, this is the best way that I have found to move out of the shadow of the past and allow the future to be just that - the future - instead of allowing it to consume my life, my moments, my now.