What it means to be ‘in the moment’

“All is contained in the divine breath, like the day in the morning dawn,” wrote Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi, mystic, poet, and philosopher of the 12th century.

There is truth in poetry. There is no other time for you except this moment. This breath is priceless. It is your very life. As Mohandas Gandhi said, “We are only custodians of our own breath.” The moment now is the breath now. All is contained in the divine breath, just as the day is contained in the morning dawn.

Being in the moment means being quite aware of what is going on right here and now in your own life. Often, your experience does not have this quality of awareness or mindfulness.

When you have your body, mind, and spirit all in harmony and focused on the task at hand, you are most effective and most centered, because you are in tune with your entire being. Balance thus happens in the being, not in the becoming. Ultimately, balance happens in the present.

The destination is in the journey. The process is just as important as the result. If you adhere to a good process, you can expect good results. The process and the principles drive Life Balance and harmony. When you cease to apply principles or pay little attention to process, imbalance creeps in. Concentrate on every step of the activity. Be the very best you can be. Do one thing at a time. When you are able to do your best at each moment, and when you learn to laugh at your mistakes, you experience balance. You remain creative despite your shortcomings. You maintain your high ideals and vision without forsaking your total focus on what is in front of you. You avoid rigidity and remain fluid.

When you are in the present, you find the sacred in the ordinary. You restore your body’s need for oxygen and clear your mind from distractions. Grasp each moment with two hands and treasure it. Paint your day with joy and happiness and meet your challenges with enthusiasm and vigour.

“Each minute of this day I grasp with both hands and fondle with love, for its value is beyond price,” wrote Og Mandino in The Greatest Salesman in the World. “Today is my last day, so it will be my greatest monument of balance.”

When you’re in the moment, you open up your reservoir of intuitive faculties. Some of the greatest scientific discoveries were made when their discoverers were relaxing in silence, in tune with themselves and nature.

At such moments, as English poet William Blake so beautifully put it, you’re able “to see a world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wild flower, hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour.”

The insight that led to Sir Isaac Newton’s law of gravity came while the scientist was alone in the quiet countryside, where he had gone in 1665 to escape an outbreak of the plague. Newton observed an apple falling from a tree in his orchard and made the connection between the earth’s attraction toward the apple and its attraction toward the orbiting moon. From this grew the concept of the universe that guided Albert Einstein and later physicists in their understanding of the universe.

The inner peace translates into outer peace. Spontaneity and poise come when you stay in touch with what is happening around you. Stillness allows you to participate fully in the present. Then your thoughts, words, and actions become aligned, leading to harmony and balance. You are able to think on your feet and make the best decisions. You feel the higher energy levels of the environment and can experience the connections between you and everything else. In that moment of knowing, you see that oneness exists.

(This article is an extract from “Life Balance the Sufi Way” by Azim Jamal and Dr Nido Qubein)