Enjoy this
Moment By John Selby
I drove into town this morning to see the skin doctor about a curious little growth on my scalp. Here in Hawaii we’re alert to skin cancer because of all the sunlight we indulge in year-round. An acquaintance died a while back because he ignored a skin condition that was indeed melanoma, and so it was natural that I found myself sitting tensely while await- ing the doctor’s verdict. Moreover, my brother went to the doctor six months ago complaining of a head- ache that wouldn’t go away, and he was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer — so of course my mind was caught up in worst-scenario anxieties about the new lump on my head. I’m sure you know this basic life situ- ation, where your future is uncertain and you fixate on your fear-based apprehensions. All sense of joy in the present moment seems to collapse
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when anxious forebodings dominate the mind, messing with your emo- tions, constricting your breathing, and fogging your thoughts.
In one way, I’m lucky when it comes to breaking free from such worrying. After all, I get paid to focus day in and day out on discovering and testing new methods for shifting from feeling bad to feeling good. My life study has been meditation, which is in essence a cognitive process for letting go of fear-based emotional contractions and entering a more fulfilling, com- passionate, creative, and harmonious state of mind. So, when I realized I was making myself suffer while awaiting the doc- tor, I remembered to practice what I preach. I did what I hope you’ll start doing — I brought to mind the first of the twelve Focus Phrases I’m going to
June/July 2011
teach you, and said silently to myself on my next exhale: I choose to enjoy this moment. First I said to myself, “I choose . . . ,” which enabled me to assume control of my own mind.
Then I said “to enjoy . . . ,” which specified where I chose to aim my attention — at enjoyment.
“And you do have a cl moment: you can focu thoughts, uncomfortabl depressing guilt-rid anxiety-provoking fu
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