This article is intended for those who have experience the amazing feeling of being in the Now as described by Eckhart Tolle but struggle with staying there on a regular basis.

In the past 20 years I have exposed myself to all kinds of self-help and spiritual material. I have read everything from “I’m Ok, You’re Ok” to “Teachings of a Zen Master”. While many of these teachings inspired me and had an impact for a maybe a week or so, there have only been 2 sources that have really had a lasting impact on my life.

One I discovered well over 15 years ago. It was NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) translated through Anthony Robbins. I acknowledge that he can be a bit over the top but the results I have seen through many of the NLP techniques he modified and shared are undeniable. If you want to change your behaviors and conditioned responses to virtually anything, it can be done through these NLP techniques.

In a nutshell NLP is designed to bypass willpower and create automatic changes in oneself. The key here is automation. Most of the other teachings I have exposed myself to required willpower which very often ends up dwindling. Through NLP you rehearse different scenarios in your life and through very specific techniques you change how you feel about them. Through this shift you automatically begin to act differently…no willpower required! NLP addresses the wiring of the mind.

The second teaching that has also had a profound impact on me is The Power of Now shared by Eckhart Tolle. Now I can see where many would find him to be way under the top but his message is clear and the results are, dare I say, magical! Tolle urges us to let go of compulsive thinking which plagues most people and just be present. Tolle’s message is not new at all as it can be found in most religions, some more easily than others. Tolles gift is translating this vital message so clearly and precisely that westerns can grasp what was once thought to be way too esoteric for the average person. The simplicity of Tolles message is to just keep your attention on this moment not on your endless stream of thoughts…from there you will find Nirvana. Tolle addresses the spirit.

Now the biggest challenge I have experience with not thinking and just staying present is that it requires willpower, the solution to which Tolles does not address. I think you might know where I’m going with this. Tolle’s focus on the Spirit is huge but to get there we have to get around the gate keeper which is the mind. Yes, we can will our way around the mind but in my experience consistency becomes compromised. The solution?

Use NLP and automate your way into the NOW!!! I have been using NLP techniques to think less and to keep myself present in a more automated way! I will share with you the most common technique I have been using to help wire my mind and body to move more naturally and effortlessly into the Present moment.

(Disclaimer: I am not a shrink. The steps below have worked wonders for me but I make no promises about any results good or bad. Use these following steps at your own risk)

(The only prerequisite to this is that you have already had at least a glimpse or two of the peace that comes when you are present in this moment…you need a target for your mind. I highly suggest reading Tolle’s The Power of Now.)

Step 1: Get your mind and body to truly understand the pain that is experienced when you compulsively think, judge and worry (i.e. when you are not present). I do this by going over a script of painful scenarios to focus on. For example:

When I am not present…

1. I feel confused
2. Nothing flows in my life
3. I’m tormented by fear, worry and regret.
4. I feel isolated and disconnected.
5. I never find my purpose
6. It makes me a terrible father and husband

This list can be anything that really moves you. The key is that this can not be intellectual you must FEEL, FEEL, FEEL the pain as a consequence of not being present. Create a picture of yourself thinking, worrying, not being present again and again and FEEL the pain. The more pain you can muster the better; I can actually bring myself to tears. This is how you drive your mind and body to automatically move away from the behavior of over thinking and worry. This is essentially what happened to Tolle, he experienced the ultimate pain…not wanting to live with himself any more; when this happen he had radical changes in himself. Take about 5-6 minutes to go over your personalized script and FEEL the pain of not being present.

Step 2: If you did step #1 correctly you should be feeling pretty crappy. If not, don’t bother proceeding; go back to step #1 and FEEL the pain that is created by not being present. If you are feeling bad at this point, excellent! The rewiring has begun! Now you need to change your state back to feeling anywhere from neutral to positive. You can do this by bouncing around, deep breathing and shaking you body. Maybe start making goofy sounds…anything that will bring you to a more positive state. Here we are prepping for step #3 and we can’t start that with negative feelings. Do whatever it takes to bring you to a more positive state. Once you’re there continue…

Step 3: Here we will do the exact opposite of step #1. This time we will FEEL the positive benefits of being present. Once again I cannot stress the importance of FEELING enough. You must FEEL the positive impact of being present, still or whatever word may move you. Here is an example from my list:

When I am present…

1. My life radiates total peace and joy
2. I feel powerful and energized
3. I feel connected to everything and everyone
4. Life is awesome and everything just perfectly flows through me.
5. I’m a great father and husband

Again this list can be full of anything that moves you. Here we are telling the mind and body through FEELING that this is why we need to be present. Take about 5-6 minutes to go over your personalized script and FEEL the joy of being present

Step 4: This step is optional as steps 1-3 should be sufficient with rewiring your mind and body to be present. This step is very powerful and should greatly enhance the results derived from the first 3 steps.

In NLP it is called a Swish Pattern. For this exercise you need to visualize an image that pretty much sums up your experience from step #1 , perhaps a image of yourself at rock bottom because you unable to stay present. This image should have some negative FEELINGS attached to it. Name this image something like “not being present”.

You will also need to visualize an image that sums up step # 3. Maybe this is an image of yourself feeling powerful and phenomenal because you were able to stay present. Name this image something like “being present”. This image should have positive FEELINGS attached to it.

Once you have these 2 images in your head and you are comfortable recreating them at anytime, do as follows: Picture the negative image, it should make you feel a bit bad, remember its name “not being present”. Make this image relatively small. Then have the image created by step #3 smash through the ground, completely shattering the negative image. This positive image should get bigger and bigger until it’s huge. If done correctly, this should have a positive feeling. Some people like saying or thinking the word “Swish” when the positive image destroys the smaller negative image.

In the beginning this may be a bit slow and awkward. Do it slowly at first, the goal is to get comfortable enough that each Swish is done in under a second…that’s the key. Really fast “not present feels bad” Swish “present feels phenomenal”…again and again.

That’s it.

Personally I do steps 1 – 3 for 15 minutes about once every week or so (in the beginning I did this almost every evening).

I do step # 4 about 5-20 times throughout the day…about a second per Swish.

I hope this helps anyone who is struggling with staying present on a consistent basis.

If anyone would like to see other techniques for automating presence and stillness, let me know.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 5th, 2009 at 3:33 pm and is filed under Eckhart Tolle, Mind Body & Spirit, Spirituality. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.