Laura, your comment illustrates a couple of really cool things- including staying in the moment and planning for the future. It also illustrates Moderation and Realistic-Humanness (yes, I did just make up that word...).
It can seem a strange idea that we could remain in the moment with ourselves and simultaneously think about or plan for or have feelings about the future. The idea seems somehow contradictory, right?
It's all about where we are grounded, or "primarily positioned" (yeah I made that term up too, and I do get it that's it's nerdy sounding). If we can stay grounded in the present moment we can then think about anything we want to and not get un-present/unconscious/zoned/disconnected from ourselves.
I once gave someone an image she could hold onto as she went into a stressful situation, one in which she figured it'd be hard for her to stay connected to herself.
She'd imagine she was seat-belted into her chair (comfortably and securely seat-belted in). This would remind her to stay firmly grounded in the present, to "stay in her chair," and it would also alert her to times in which she was "drifting" out into the future (because she would "feel" herself squirming to get past and out of the seat belt).
The situation she was going to be in was going to require her to be very sharp and on her toes intellectually, and it was going to require her to think about the future and make quick decisions about the future. The quality of decisions she would make depended upon her ability to stay in the present and not become disconnected from herself (because we all know the more disconnected we are from ourselves the less able we are to know what we feel, what we want, and what's truly in our best interest, right? Right :)
The seat-belt image came about several years ago. As far as I know, she's still using it regularly as a concrete way of gauging how "in the present" or "out of the present" she is.
ok off topic but here we go. what if you were on another planet for like 30 years. some big fire ball hit the planet, and it was destroyed. you were pushed out into space and landed on this planet called earth. a totally cool planet, and a million times better than the one you had been living on. problem is no matter how hard you try, you don't seem to get ahold of the simple things that the other earthlings do. some examples are getting so grouchy and not realizing i had not been getting enough sleep. problem solved when i took a nap. or, going to do something last night, but then started shaking and feeling like i was going to fall over, ate a granola bar, problem solved. so it seems i don't get any of the subtle signals that the other earthlings do. and i do think it is because i am checked out in any form. i couldn't be happier to be here so that doesn't make any sense.
Posted by: Super Egg | July 19, 2010 at 01:35 PM
Super egg...I can so relate to that feeling of being so different...I remember watching my daughter eat a bowl of teriaki chicken and being so surprised that she was enjoying it! I am becoming more aware of my body and the signals it gives...but sometimes those signals cause a feeling of panic and I feel like that is one of the reasons I tuned them out for so long. You will learn...just don't judge yourself harshly for being where you are. I always appreciate your comments!
Posted by: wendy | July 20, 2010 at 10:39 AM
Super Egg, I can relate too.
Posted by: Laura | July 20, 2010 at 11:55 AM