Then came the object of my focus, “this moment . . . ,” which aimed my attention at the immediate sensory events happening inside and around me right then.
The result was that my awareness instantly popped away from fear- ful imaginations about the future to whatever enjoyable sensations were present at the moment. By filling my mind with words of positive intent, I was able to turn away from the fearful chatter running in the back of my mind and reconnect with ongoing sensory events happening right then inside my body.
You’ll soon discover that, as I de- scribed in the introduction, when- ever you shift your attention back to what’s happening in the present moment, you naturally tune in first to your own breath. This shift is ideal because, as other researchers and I confirmed in perceptual studies we did some years ago at the National Institutes of Health, as soon as you focus on the sensation of air flowing in and out of your nose, all thoughts tend to simply fade away and stop. This instant quieting of the mind in turn generates relief from anxious imaginations and emotions.
And indeed, as I sat there in the doctor’s cubicle, my sensory atten- tion woke up when I said to myself, “I choose to enjoy this moment,” , tuned in to my breathing, and let go
lear choice each new us on negative anxious le or painful sensations, dden memories, or uture imaginations.”
of upsetting memories and forebod- ings that’d been grabbing at me. As I took a good breath of air, I spontane- ously stretched a little and woke up good feelings in my body. Just then, the doctor came in, took a look at my lump, and told me that the growth was totally benign. There was in reality nothing to worry about.
No More Torture Chambers If we’re honest with ourselves, most of us will admit we tend to run torture chambers inside our own minds. We spend part of our lives tormenting our- selves with worries about the future — fearful imaginings and forebodings that almost never become reality. Think back over your life and consider the vast number of times you’ve wor- ried yourself sick about some poten- tially negative financial, health, or relationship situation that never came to pass — or if it did, it generated much less emotional suffering than all your worrying did. Several of the Focus Phrases you’ll be learning are aimed specifically at giving you the power to regularly short-circuit your habitual anxiety habits. The first Focus Phrase by itself can often do the job, once you prac- tice a bit, by helping you temporarily refocus your attention away from thoughts about the past and future. By returning your attention to the ex- periential present moment, you will be able to relax, tune in to your sensory presence, and more times than not, thoroughly enjoy your here-and-now experience. Most of your waking moments take place in safe and enjoyable situations. Maybe now and then you are forced to deal with real danger and physical suffering, but you’ll find that usually, when you refocus on your present- moment experience, you are indeed free to enjoy the moment rather than suffer.
And you do have a clear choice each new moment: you can focus on nega- tive anxious thoughts, uncomfortable or painful sensations, depressing guilt-ridden memories, or anxiety- provoking future imaginations. Or you can focus on any of the vast assortment of positive sensations, creative flashes, empathic emotions, and uplifting thoughts that make you feel good, confident, open, bright, and yes, happy.
When choosing between anxiety and enjoyment, there’s really no reason to choose anxiety. In fact, when you see clearly that you have the choice, there’s hardly any choice to be made. The same basic logic applies to all other negative mental habits, such as heaping guilt and blame on your head, judging others overmuch, thinking thoughts that make you feel de- pressed or angry or wronged, and so on. You do have the power to choose to quiet such thoughts and shift your attention to the pleasure of the present moment. So, whenever you find yourself feeling bad, remember that you can say yourself: “I choose to enjoy this moment.” And do just that.
JOHN SELBY is the author of more than 20 books including Quiet Your Mind, Seven Masters, One Path, and most recently Expand this Moment. Educated at Princeton, University of California, Berkeley, the Graduate Theological Union, and the Radix Institute, he has worked as a therapist and mindfulness coach for two decades. Visit him online at www.iUplift. com.
Excerpted from the book Expand this Moment © 2011 by John Selby. Printed with permission of New World Li- brary, Novato, CA.
www.newworldlibrary. com or 800-972-6657 ext. 52.
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