The Power of Now

Two students working on a structure based Fa Jing


The Power of Now is one of the most fundamentally basic and important mental and spiritual practices that exists.

Most people mentally live in the past or the future which means that they tend not to live in the present as it is right now.

Tai Chi and Tai Chi Chuan practice is designed to help people to learn how to focus on NOW. Of course most beginners focus on the next move in the series while they are practicing which means that the mind is still really focused on the future even though it is only a moment ahead of now.

For the vast majority of people the tendency is for the mind to wander and try to escape reality as it is right here right NOW.

NOW!

How much chatter is there inside your head? You will want to quiet this chatter down when you want to work on strengthening your mind and spirit. As I stated in my post on Tai Chi Standing in Kung Fu we call this chatter Monkey Mind. Monkey mind defeats many people because it stops them from ever gaining real clarity.

One of the training methods that I utilize when working with people live is to listen to their thoughts.

Most people have a bit of unsteadiness and chatter but I have worked with folks where it sounded like someone had several radios on different stations all playing at the same time. The sound on the inside of their head was nearly deafening to me as an outside listener. Scary indeed.

Try the standing practice of “Be Here NOW!” Set a timer for 5 minutes and simply stand there. Do not think about anything else but standing there for the entire 5 minutes. You can pay attention to your body both inside and out but get rid of all the chatter and do not let your mind drift or go anywhere else. Go back and review all of the training I wrote in the first post on Tai Chi Standing.

Moving in the Moment

Now practice doing your Tai Chi form while staying present in this moment.

That means not thinking about the mistake you made a second ago because that second is gone.

It also means that at no point do you think about the next move you are getting ready to perform because that is in the future. See how far you can get in your Tai Chi set being present in the right now! without mentally drifting for even a fraction of a second.

Enjoy each moment as if Now is all that exists.

After you have done this practice take stock of how you feel immediately afterwards. See if this changes a bit over time.

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