The Power of the Present Moment

"To be at one with life is to be at one with the present moment.” — Eckhart Tolle

I notice in my day to day life that I generate a lot of suffering by either ruminating on the past or worrying about the future.

Trying to bring myself into the present moment is something I'm working on. Practices like mindfulness based meditation, grounding exercises that focus on the five senses, or just trying to pay attention to whatever task I'm doing right now and pushing my to do list for the rest of the day out of my head, all help.

There are a lot of proven benefits to being in the present moment; reducing stress and anxiety, improving emotional regulation, enhancing concentration, helping with depression and boosting resilience to life's challenges to name a few. But even being aware of the benefits, sometimes the present moment can feel like a scary place to be, as it means sitting with whatever thoughts, feelings or physical sensations are currently experienced, which might not always be so pleasant!

Tara Brach speaks about grasping, the tendency to reach for something to change our dissatisfaction with the present moment, and how desiring some form of external fix takes us away from fully appreciating the here and now. By noticing and accepting what 'is' rather than wishing that things were different, a greater sense of peace and ease can be found. She has a great podcast available on Spotify and a YouTube channel if you're interested in hearing more of her take on this.

Eckhart Tolle is another prominent voice on the power of presence-his book The Power of Now is a worldwide best seller and has helped to popularise the importance of living in the present moment. He also has a great YouTube channel where he dives deeper into the subject.

What practices have you encountered in your attempts to live more in the present moment? Have you tried mindful walking, forest bathing, body scans or focusing on the breath? How have you found these have impacted your quality of life? Which authors, podcasts or other sources on the subject would you recommend checking out?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Zoom Info:

Topic: The Power of the Present Moment
Time: Nov 1, 2025 10:00 AM London
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