Anytime Anywhere Meditation – Your Window to the Present

Calm-in-the-Storm

Over these past few weeks we’ve been exploring our inner dialogue, and how to recognize the voices of the Inner Critic, Inner Leader, and Accomplice Saboteurs. (If you missed the past blog posts, you can read them all here.)

Hopefully, you’ve been able to tune in and recognize some of these voices in your own inner dialogue. Awareness is the first step towards managing these voices—which is what I want to talk about today.

You might be thinking, “Manage them? Is that even possible?”

Keep reading, and judge for yourself!

Being Present in the Moment: Mindfulness

First off, you’ll never have total control over your inner dialogue. 

So please don’t feel discouraged! Our minds have a habit of thinking thoughts we wish they wouldn’t. It’s just how minds work.

But, when we can recognize our inner voices for what they are, we gain some objectivity. “My Inner Critic is riled up today” is a far more helpful thought than, “I suck and I will always be a failure.”

The thing is, it takes practice and patience to dial up this awareness. And that’s where presence comes in.

Most of us spend very little time truly living in the present moment. We live in the past, ruminating about the ‘if onlys’ and ‘should haves’. Or we live in the future, worrying over what might happen.

But becoming aware of RIGHT NOW gives us a window into what’s happening in our busy, busy minds. When we bring our awareness to the present, sometimes there’s a bit of magic that happens. In that present-moment awareness, we might experience quiet, calm, and peace…peace that can settle all the inner voices for just a moment. 

And in that moment of peace, the Inner Leader often steps into the spotlight. 

Bringing Forward the Inner Leader: Anytime Anywhere Meditation

Small moments of awareness are like a window into your inner dialogue. You see, the Inner Critic and Accomplice Saboteurs are sneaky. We’ve lived with them for so long that we often don’t notice them in the moment. 

But when we instill moments of awareness into our day, we might just catch one of those pesky saboteurs in action.

The question is, how? How do we instill more and longer moments of awareness into our day?

You might not like the answer: meditation.

Now, I know what you’re thinking… “I’ve tried meditation and it didn’t work for me.” Or perhaps, “I’m way too busy to add meditation to my schedule.” Fair. I’ve had both of these thoughts before. 

The practice I’m suggesting does not require you to sit on a pillow and meditate for 20 minutes twice a day (though that is a powerful habit if you’re up for it).

Instead, I encourage you to try “Anytime Anywhere Meditation”. This phrase comes from Mingyur Rinpoche, a renowned Tibetan meditation teacher.

His philosophy is that every moment in life can be meditation…because meditation is simply a presence and awareness of what’s happening right now. 

Meditation is actually a very simple exercise in resting in the natural state of your present mind, and allowing yourself to be simply and clearly present to whatever thoughts, sensations, or emotions occur.” — Mingyur Rinpoche, The Joy of Living

But wait…isn’t that mindfulness?

Yes! Under this definition meditation and mindfulness are synonymous. And you practice them every time you bring your awareness back to the present.

Putting It Into Practice

Practicing “Anytime Anywhere Meditation” is a way of weaving mindfulness into your life rather than partitioning it off into a separate box. 

In my leadership development programs, I teach a version of this I call “Pause Practices” where we take a moment to connect with our physical experience in the present moment. 

Some examples of Pause Practices include:

  • Noticing the sensations in your hands or feet
  • Exploring what you can hear up close, far away, and in between
  • Mindfully experiencing the taste and texture of food
  • Noticing the visual experience of whatever’s in your line of sight
  • Simply breathing with intention and awareness.

Starting with the physical experience often makes it easier to then access our mental experience.

I encourage clients to weave these Pause Practices into their everyday lives, taking 10 seconds to a few minutes several times a day to ground themselves in their present experience. And when we apply the practice consistently, our inner dialogue begins to shift. The change may be subtle at first. It all begins with awareness. 

What would “Anytime Anywhere Meditation” look like in your life? How can you access more moments of presence and awareness? How can you open that window to your own inner dialogue?

I can’t wait to hear what you do with this!