Be...In this Present Moment

June 2024: Adopt a lifestyle of living in the present this summer...Why...?

Photo by Azmarina Tanzir on Unsplash

Being Present

When was the last time you noticed your breath?

Invite yourself to pause here and, if you like, soften your gaze (or close your eyes), and just take a few breaths and see what you notice.

And just like that…you were present!

Being present can happen with a quick adjustment in mindset…one quick moment when you say to yourself…

let me pause, right now
soften my eyes
notice my inhale
notice my exhale
repeat, repeat, repeat
bringing the wandering mind
back to the breath
noticing what I notice
as I sit, quietly breathing

---

Time with Loved Ones

“Why adopt a lifestyle of living in the present now, in June?” you ask.

Well, we’ve entered the summer months, and many of us are now spending more time with all of our little and lovely, favorite people.

Now is a time when it becomes easier to allow screens and daydreams and different sorts of busy, lazy habits to distract us from quiet, focused, sweet moments of truly being present with our children and loved ones.

Reminder:

These days may seem long at times, but they are days we will never get back.

When one day ends
it is replaced with a memory,
not an extension of that time
or an opportunity for a re-do.

This is one of 18 summers you will have with your children.

This is one of a finite number of seasons you will have with your favorite people on earth.

• Be present.

• Look into their eyes when you both talk.

• Listen.

• Give hugs.

• Love intently, intensely.

• Enjoy deeply.

---

Practices

Pause…Smell the Roses

To be present…to schedule in the practice of being present…begin the daily routines and good, life-sustaining habits that will allow you to adopt this lifestyle of presence.

As you begin each morning (or before you go to sleep each night)…

Plan to…

• have a daily activity you’ll do on your own and/or with your family, device-free

• take a few minutes to sit and breathe, meditate, pray, read something spiritual or mentally and intellectually stimulating, supportive

• take a walk with family or friends

• smell the roses, savor the sweet treats, linger in the moonlight

• smile from the heart

A Poetic Meditation

The afternoon heat has been getting to me, and without the new habit of a swim built into the days yet…my skin is dry, irritated, and craving the cleansing water.

As I was reading a very moving email on my phone, the sky opened up and blessed us with one of those glorious Florida afternoon rains.

Here’s what happened next…

Find yourself in a comfortable, cozy, resting position…in a safe, quiet, and still environment for this 3.5 minute meditation.

You may like to have something to write with and on for this meditation practice.

Instead of staring at the the phone,
I chose to pause, to

watch, listen
to the rain
as it comes
grateful for
its sound

these early summer
days, my skin
feels like it’s
being scorched
when I go
outside at noon

the washing machine
is running as
raindrops splatter
dancing joyfully
on the patio, and
flashes of light
reach across the sky

waiting thoughtfully
in this quiet
stillness
I remember God
and prayer
and breath

and pausing
I offer my thanks
to the cleansing rain

(for now I can more easily
clean the bird’s nesting scraps
and their one lost, broken egg
from the patio floor)

And that is one example of what can come from choosing to pause and be present in any given moment.

Journaling Prompts

• Ask yourself…When was the last time I looked into a loved one’s eyes during a meaningful conversation? What did we discuss? What were their facial expressions? What did their Soul say to me through their eyes?

• Pause and take 3-7 nice, gentle, slow breaths. Notice what the environment around you is like. Write down the thoughts and awarenesses of this moment quickly, without editing. What did you learn?

---

Final thoughts…

Like I touched on earlier, it’s been summer in Florida several weeks now…spring passed us by ages ago (if it even arrived at all, I cannot remember).

Luckily, as I write to you in this moment, we have only three days left in the school year, then we can spend our hot days swimming…in pools, lakes, the ocean, at local resorts…allowing the presence of our bodies in cleansing water to heal us from the business of the school year and wash upon us the magic it holds for us as we float and move and enjoy.

With fun and lots of sweet future memories in the works…let’s pause for a moment and…

Let’s pledge, to each other and to ourselves, that during these hot, long summer days we will not just be with our children, our loved ones…

I pledge…
I will be present with
my children and loved ones today.

And if you’d like, think about how very different these two pledges, commitments really are:

• “I will be with my children.”

• “I will be present with my children.”

See you again soon…with the monthly Intention Series on, you guessed it…

I am present.

Sending you lots of summer loving, ice cream scoops, and sun-kissed cheeks!

xoxo

---

Get in touch! Schedule a 30 minute call!

I invite you to get in touch if you’d like to share your thoughts or learn how to adopt a lifestyle of living in the present through your own personalized yoga, meditation, and tarot practices. They consistently work for me and I’m confident you can find the very same practices equally as effective!

As a Substack subscriber you have access to discounts on private and group Yoga, Meditation, and “Looking” Sessions (more on “looking” here and here), as well as Essential Oil samples and wholesale pricing!

Book a complimentary, 30-minute 1:1 consult call to learn more…

Know someone who would benefit from the ideas, insights, and practices shared here?

---

Order dōTERRA Essential Oils…quick, easy, & with a 25% off discount!

---

---