Life can feel overwhelming. Some things can be very intense to feel.
There are times when some of us just want to ‘check out’ for a while - basically turn off your brain and sensory systems and disengage from the world and environment around you.
With so much discussion about presence and mindfulness on this forum (and offline in my own interactions with people), I started wondering - do many people choose to be consciously present in their lives constantly, or do they have ‘down time’?
What is some of your experience with presence, and why do you choose the level of presence you do? Are there any limitations to full, constant presence in your life you would prefer to change?
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@galtions There are times when I let my mind wonder & there are times when I’m present. I personally need that balance in my life. Being mindful is definitely my preferred state, but there are definitely times when I need down time.
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I am learning that ‘being present’ takes practice. For whatever reason, mind wants to be occupied with something else other than what is going on right now. Initially it does not even seem to like being present, it feels like restlessness. This is why distraction feels good…even useful and productive distraction (does that even make sense lol).
Our society provides so many ways to distract ourselves, it is not easy to just be. I have to be intentional to not take on so much that it’s just too much, and then I want to check out/need down time. Very challenging to strike a balance.
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It certainly does require practise doesn’t it?
Yes, I understand this. Sometimes the body needs to be occupied in order for the mind to accept or wander, let go or just BE. The good thing I’ve found is that with practise it becomes an easier process and there is less need for distraction. Do you find this also?
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The problem is people abuse ‘downtime’
We are not living life, vast majority of people are in zombie mode all day long. Technology in my opinion has become a disease and will ultimately be the downfall of civilization.
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agree with you 100%
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Yes, I think I’ve gotten to where I am not liking distractions as much as I used to. It has become useless noise and more and more I yearn for peace, which is what presence does for me.
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Over the weekend, I read a very interesting article about another side of mindfulness:
After finishing the article, I realized that in addition to living in the present moment, we also need to be able to reflect on our life, our actions & our experiences.
In the end, it’s all about balance.
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This was my problem some time. Instead of doing truly relaxing I would scroll Instagram for hours, thinking I was just relaxing.
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Yup same here it became a very serious issue for me. Caused me huge amounts of misery which is why I gave up my smartphone…I feel much lighter now
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