One of the things I wrote about in 9 Great Ways to Make Yourself Miserable is how we tend to spend a lot of time in the past or the future. We spend much time thinking about what was and what could have been. And we spend much time projecting into the future and wondering about what may happen.
This way of thinking is indeed a great way to make much of your life a lot more miserable and limited than necessary. The key to solving this problem is of course to live as much as you can in the only moment that you ever really live in and control. This moment right now. The moment that is all there ever was and - probably 
- will be.
There are more advantages to being in the moment besides being able to decrease mindmade suffering. Some of those advantages are:
- Clarity. When you are in the moment you have a much better focus and things flow naturally out of you. This is very useful in conversations, at work, while writing or while on the tennis court.
- Calmness. You feel centred, relaxed and whatever you do you do more easily. Since you are not projecting into a possible future or reflecting on previous experiences there is very little fear holding you back.
- Positivity. Since there is little fear, there are few negative emotions when you are in the present. Instead you move around on positive part of the emotional scale.
Now, that sounds nice and useful.
But how can you step away from the thought loops that whirl back and forth through your memories and fantasies?
How do you actually return to the present moment?
Here are 7 ways. But before we get to them I’d just like to add that this is a skill. You will slip back into involuntarily thinking about the future/past. But the more time and effort you spend connecting with the moment the easier it gets reconnecting with it. And staying there longer.
1. Focus on what’s right in front of you.
Or around you. Or on you. Use your senses. Just look at what’s right in front of you right now. Listen to the sounds around you. Feel the fabric of your clothes and focus on how they feel. For the last three days the dark winter seems to have left us here in Sweden. It’s been clear skies and sunshine all the time. So I have been using the unexpected light and warmth of the sunshine on my skin to reconnect with the moment.
2. Focus on your breathing.
Take a couple of dozen belly breaths and just focus your mind on your inhaling and exhaling. This will align you with the present moment once again. You can learn more about belly breathing in this article.
3. Focus on your inner body.
This is a bit similar to focusing on your breathing. In both examples you focus on what’s inside you rather than the outside. What is the inner body? Well, I guess you could say it is energy inside of your body. How your body feels from the inside.
A practical way to do this just to focus on your hand. To just put your focus there and feel how the hand feels to you and how the energy is flowing through it. Yeah, this suggestion may sound a bit weird to the mind. But if you actually try it a few times you’ll probably find that inner energy within your hand.
4. Pick up the vibe from present people.
If you know someone that is more present than most people then you can pick his/her vibe of presence (just like you can pick up positivity or enthusiasm from people). If you don’t know someone like that I recommend listening to/watching cds/dvds by Eckhart Tolle. His books work too. But cds/dvds are better than books for picking up someone’s vibe since the biggest part of communication is voice tonality and body language.
5. Surrender to the emotion that is already there.
It’s easy to get stuck in a loop of old memories. You may want to move away from them but there is a feeling there that brings them back over and over. So you need to decrease the power that feeling has over you. And you don’t do it by fighting it. You do it by surrendering to it.
The feeling is a loop within your mind that you are feeding with more energy by resisting it. When you accept the feeling then you stop feeding it and it vanishes.
Here’s how you it:
Say yes to the feeling.
Surrender and let it in. Observe the feeling in your mind and body without labelling or judging it. If you let it in – for me the feeling then often seems to physically locate itself to the middle of my chest - and just observe it for maybe a minute or two the feeling just vanishes.
As you can see, this way is similar to ones above. They are all about observing.
6. See things as for the first time.
This one pretty similar to the first way. But it can be useful when you have a hard time just observing your surroundings.
That’s when you can look at things as for the first time. Imagine it like that, take that role. Like someone who has never experienced this before. Like a child or someone who has never been here before. I like this one and I have been doing it from time to time for years (although back then I didn’t really understand why it felts nice when I did it).
Note: These last two ways are certainly not the best ways to reconnect with the moment and I’m not really recommending them. They aren’t that healthy (especially in the long run). But they work to some degree. It’s up to you if you want to try them.
7. Punch your leg.
Try punching your leg. Or pinching your arm. Or have someone else do it. And focus on that sensation to quickly bring yourself back to the moment.
8. Drink a beer or two.
It’s Friday so I thought I’d include this one. This is probably the most common way to connect to the moment (at least over the weekend). You may have said or heard that it’s nice to grab a beer or two after work to “take edge off”. What is this edge? I think it’s the clutter of thoughts that can run around in your mind after a long and busy week at work.
The alcohol quiets down these thoughts (and the decreases the number of thoughts in your mind). And you feel more relaxed. You don’t think about the past or future as much. You just enjoy your beer and the company. You enjoy the moment.
Drinking a couple of beers – or getting really drunk – can remove the past or future from your mind. It can add calmness and positive feelings. However, it throws the clarity out the window.
So besides the health aspects of drinking, this isn’t exactly an ideal way to be in the present moment. Use it at your own risk. Or just try out a few of the more healthy and effective techniques.
What other ways can you use to return to the present moment?
译文:
8种方式 活在当下
在我曾写过的一篇九种生活方式，让自己活得痛苦中，其中的一条就是我们通常会趋向于回想过去或是遥望未来。我们大量的时间都花费在想过去的某事怎样，可能会怎样。同时，还有大量时间都花在计划未来，想象会发生什么。
这样的思考方式真的会让你的人生陷入痛苦，而通常的更受到限制。解决这个问题的关键在于，当然是活在你正处于并且能够控制的阶段。就是现在。这一时刻或许是曾经，或许是将来。
除了能减轻思想上的负担，活在此时此刻还有很多好处，例如：
· 头脑清晰。当你在意这一刻，那么你思想就能更集中，相对的，很多东西就能更自然地流露出来。在对话，工作，写作中，这样是非常有用的，甚至是在打网球的时候也是如此。
· 镇定冷静。你感觉思想集中，轻松，并且不管你做什么都能更轻松地完成。既然你没有计划可能的将来，也没有回想以往的经历，那么没有什么好顾虑的，大可以勇往直前。
· 乐观积极。既然你没有什么好怕的，那么自然，你活在当下，也不会有什么消极的想法。相反地，你总是积极乐观向上。
嗯，现在这个方法听起来不错也很有用。
但是，现在的问题是，你要如何摆脱你总是想着过去，幻想未来这样的念头呢？
如何才能让你真正地回到现在？
这里有七种方法。但是在我开始介绍之前，我想补充说，这是一种技巧。你可能会不自觉地又开始想着过去未来。但是多花时间和精力让自己与现实联系上，那么在偶尔想到过去和未来的时候，能更容易地再次回到现在。并且更久地呆在现在。
1、关注你面前的确实存在的东西。
或是身边的，或者身上的。调动你的感官。只是看看现在在你面前的东西。听听你身边的声音。感觉你衣服的纤维，用心感受摸起来的感觉。在大冬天，过去三天，让我们困在瑞典。这里一直都有晴朗的天空，和太阳。所以我享受着这预料之外的太阳光线和温暖，来让我享受当下。
2、用心体会自己的呼吸。
做几个腹式呼吸，并且专注于吸入和呼出。这会让你和此时此刻再次相连。更多关于腹式呼吸，请
点击这里。
3、关注体内身心。
这和体会呼吸有点相类似。两者皆是要关注体内而非体外。什么是体内呢？恩，我猜你可能会说是身体内的能量。身体由内的感觉。
实际的做法就是将注意力集中到你的手上。集中注意力到双手，感觉手感觉到了什么，能量如何通过双手。是的，这个做法听起来有点奇怪。但若你真的尝试几次，你可能会发现你手中所蕴含的能量。
4、与人产生共鸣。
如果你知道某人相较于其他人更是活在当下，那么你可以与他/她在这方面产生共鸣（如同你从他人身上学习积极或者热情）。如果你不认识这样的人，那么我建议你听听或者看看埃克哈特·托利的CD或者DVD。他的书作也可以。但是CD、DVD比书籍在学习他人上更好，因为交流中最大的部分是语音语调和肢体语言。
5、屈服于现有感情。
我们很容易困于过往的记忆。你可能会想要摆脱它们但是总有种感觉把它们不断地带回来。所以你需要减轻这种控制你的感情。但是并非通过与之抗争，而是向之屈服。
这种情感是你脑中的一个结，你不断耗费精力与之对抗。当你接受这种感觉，那么就会自然不再耗费精力，慢慢地，这情感也会消失。
你要如何做：
肯定这种情感。
向之屈服，让它存在。观察思维和身体的感觉，但不要对其分类加以评判。如果你让这情感存在——对我来说，这感情通常存在于我的胸腔中间——只是观察它一到两分钟，便会自动消失。
如你所看到的，这种方式和前面的都很相似。都是关于观察体会。
6、如同初见看待事物。
这条和第一种方式很相似。但是，当你觉得有点艰难的时候，观察下你的周围，这很有帮助。
这时，看待周围的事物如同初见一般。想象着就是这样，进入感觉。像是某人曾经从未经历过这些一样。像是孩子或有些人从未曾在那里一样。我喜欢这种方式，而且这几年来我一直都在这样做（虽然现在想来，我也不清楚为何我这样做的时候，感觉会很好。）
注意：这最后两条并非是能联系现在的最好方法，我也并不强烈推荐。这两天，从长远看来，并不是那么健康。但是从某种程度来说，也会有效。如果你想尝试的话，这也取决于你。
试图拍打你的双腿。或者捏自己的手臂。然后注意让你能马上回到现实的那种感觉。
8、喝一两杯啤酒。
星期五，所以我想能把这条也写上。这可能是最常见的方法让你联系到现实（至少是在周末）。你可能曾说过，或听过在辛苦工作摆脱烦恼之后，喝个一两杯啤酒，再好不过。什么烦恼呢？我想是在一周劳累的工作之后，在你脑中盘旋的那些零碎想法。
酒精能平静这些想法（也能减少你脑中的想法）。然后你会觉得轻松很多。你不再想着过去或未来。你只是享受你的啤酒和它的陪伴。你享受现在。
喝几杯啤酒——或者真是喝醉了——可以删除你脑中过去和未来。让你更觉得积极和平静。然后，也把清醒扔出窗外。
所以除了考虑到喝酒对健康的影响，这真的不是一个理想方法来连接现实。如果喝了，就要自己承担后果。或者只是尝试一下几个更健康有效的方法。
还有什么能让你回到现实的方法呢？