Day 13 of the 21 Day Consciousness Cleanse is one of my favorites.  It's about the power of being in the present and living in the moment.  Years ago if you asked me about living in the present I would have given you a blank look.  I didn't know how to live in the present but I also didn't have someone opening my mind up to doing so.  I have many to thank for introducing me to meditation, yoga, and just being still in the moment. 

Debbie Ford explains in her book, 21 Day Consciousness Cleanse, that NOW is all that exists.  "There is no tomorrow or even a yesterday or a later today. Harnessing the power of the present means having your full awareness on the task at hand and merging with the moment."  By experiencing this very moment in time you realize that it's unlike any other moment you'll experience.  When your in the moment, you focus 100 percent in every detail such as; smell, touch, hear, feeling, and what you see.  There are no thoughts of what you did yesterday, in the last hour, or what you will do in the next hour, it's this very moment that you take in all that surrounds you.  I had a very dear friend, that has since passed on, give me a bumper sticker that reads, "Today is a Gift. That's why they call it the PRESENT."  It's all glittery with an angel on the side.  I use it as a bookmark and cherish this quote.  It reminds me to truly cherish everything around me in the moment and thank the divine for the beautiful present that is provided to me at ANY time.

The grand thing about being in the power of the present is that you don't have to worry about something that happened in the past, no worries about time, or resisting something in your life.  When you become present you are in a state of love. 

Being an Aries, I'm a high strung person and get excited or drawn into others drama.  However, over the years I have learned to let go and use the power of the present to help me get through times when my life felt upside down or when there was drama in the family.  I can remember one Christmas sitting at a dining room table with a room filled with people talking while I listened to Holosync and meditated.   I had nowhere else to just be present, since we were sleeping on a blow up mattress in the same room.  I look forward to my daily "me time" of being in the present.  Sometimes it's in the morning or in the evening but when I don't have this time I feel a little off balance.  I have also learned techniques to ground myself while in an airport, waiting in line, or when there is a situation between other people in a public place.  For instance, my son had to go to jail overnight and was brought out in cuffs.  I had to use breathing techniques and the power of the present to get through the event.  If I had not learned these practices I'm certain they would have taken me out on a stretcher.  No kidding, when my daughter was about 7 she fell off the monkey bars during recess.  She had to have stitches along her jawline but they ended up putting me on the table because I passed out when I saw the needle going in her face.  As a parent we tend to own a child's pain but it's AMAZING when you can separate yourself and not own their pain.  You can do this by learning to live in the present, your present, the one gift that is gifted to you by being here on earth.

One of my favorite spots is my front porch where we have a water feature with goldfish.  (You can see it below.)  I also love to work in the yard with the plants, I know your probably grunting at this, but I really love connecting to nature.  I love listening to the birds, watching the butterflies, the lizards that sneak out to gobble up an ant, and yes, those annoying frogs that keep me awake when a storm has rolled through.  (Check out my nature album on Facebook.)






Here are a couple of suggestions from Debbie Ford's book, 21 Day Consciousness Cleanse:

• Take a shower and become present to all that is going on in and around your body. Notice your skin, your heartbeat, your breath, and the feel of the water.
• Write a letter to yourself.  If you were completely present to the sacred vessel and vehicle of your body, how would you care for it?  What would you want to say to it?  What love and gratitude would you want to express?
• When your on the phone or talking to someone, truly listen to them, hear the beauty in their voice, and the quality of the sound.  Listen to them, even if they are complaining.  (But this does not mean you own their story.) Tune into the sensations.
• Connect with nature by going outside and ground yourself to earth.  Tune into the sounds around you and the smell.

My intention: To breathe in the beautiful energy that surrounds me now, right here, in this moment.

Love Potion for Day 12
1 cup of water
1/2 banana
1/2 apple
1/2 cup of rice milk

Kandi Phillips
www.AwakenYourSpace.com
www.LiveYourIntention.com
www.KandiPhillips.com