I set reminder alarms on my Versa today to stop and take note of where my thinking is and offer a prayer to remain in the presence of God about every 1.5 hours in the workday morning or three times each day. Remaining in God’s presence requires remaining in the current moment. God cannot be in the past or the future. Hopefully, I will be successful in spending more time in the present. That is the goal.
Already I think I am better at staying in the present when I am swimming. It is a time period I can fall into negativity, regurgitation of past wrongs or fears of what might happen or fantasize about retribution for perceived wrongs done to me. It is a time in my day that I am not required to entertain purposeful thoughts as I am at work; therefore, I often let my mind drift where it will to my detriment. One of Eknath Easwaran’s 8 points is learning to focus my attention purposefully, so I have been engaged in that activity during my swim time and have noted some results.
The plan is to extend the focus in the present to my workday, but with not too heavy a hand. Thus the reminders at 1.5 hours three times a day to stop, note my thoughts and pause to pray for what I want. Don’t you have to ask for what you want in order to get it? It is my hope that I can non-judgmentally notice my thoughts and purposefully change them three times during my workday.