Presence: Yoga of the Now specially for the anxious

Till about three years ago I had no clue to what being fully in the present moment meant. Of course I had experienced it many times while listening to music or reading something that absorbed my mind, but being present to every moment was a novelty. It began with Thich Nhat Hanh's visit to Delhi and the two processes we did with the Master in the lawns of IIC and Lodi Garden...

The first was a 10 minute walk with full attention on every movement of the foot and the surroundings.. For a few minutes it was easy to do, then came thoughts and I was gone from the present moment... Pulling my mind back to the present is one heck of a job. All that has happened three years hence is an increase in awareness of my flighty mind. A mind filled with thoughts of the future, full of anxiety... I almost never recognized what an anxiety prone person I am....but if i was really present as I am right now punching in these words, there is no anxiety.... and that is how I got hooked to Present moment awareness.

Recently I stumbled onto The Presence Process, a book by Michael Brown that actually is a 10 week course in Presence. I am in week 2 and the perspective I am getting is quite special:

There is a living Presence within me. Something strong and alive and peaceful. My contact with it is a bit like touching a soap bubble. But in the fraction of a moment, a thought less moment, there is a sense of something and it can be the greatest adventure...

So as I take baby steps in the Presence Process, I invite you to experience the Now... as often as you can... its the richest experience I know!