We were interviewing gurus from various meditative traditions, to find out what Enlightenment and Spiritual Awakening actually ARE, what the feel like, and how normal people can experience them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One day, after returning to New York, I was sitting on my front porch, editing the documentary videos with a young video editor named Ryan Striffolino. Ryan was a college student who happened to be taking courses on meditation & spirituality at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While editing one of the interviews, Ryan looked up from his laptop, and asked me, \u201cSo, what was the ultimate answer? What are Enlightenment and Awakening all about?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Without looking up from my laptop (and without having \u201cthe answer\u201d fully formulated in my own head by that point), I replied distractedly: \u201cBeing fully present, in each moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I had to stop what I was doing, look up from my laptop, and take a moment to process Ryan\u2019s question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, you don\u2019t NEED to be present\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I paused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026but it feels<\/em> good to be present.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I felt like my answer was technically true, but still\u2026 weak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ryan looked off into the distance, thinking about it, and replied after a few moments with an unenthusiastic, \u201cOh. OK.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And so we turned back to our laptops and went back to work on the videos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While swaying in the hammock with my three-month-old daughter Sky, I was thinking about ideas for improving our business and fixing our financial situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI need to remember to ship the mag to that lady! I need to remember to make instagram reels! I need to fix our Facebook ads! I need to hire someone to help me do all these things! I need to get more money so I can hire people!\u201d All those wonderful thoughts that run through my head on a daily basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But then I remembered:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is supposed to be my Mindfulness of Baby time!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I had recently added \u201cMindfulness of Baby\u201d to my \u201cMorning Practice\u201d checklist, and I wanted to make sure to check it off my list for the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So I looked over at Sky Baby\u2019s sweet little sleeping face. As much as I love to watch her sleep, I\u2019d rather interact with her while she\u2019s awake. So I asked myself\u2026 \u201cShouldn\u2019t I utilize these precious moments to think about the business?\u201d It seemed like a more efficient use of time than staring at a sleeping baby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I laid my head back in the hammock and gazed up into the gently swaying boughs of green and brown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A bird cheeped, and flitted from one branch to another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The sunlight sparkled down, filtered green and gold through the shifting leaves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In that moment the answer came to me, like words whispered in my ear by a loving Universe:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like so many moments before (and surely, many moments yet to come), I had forgotten<\/em> to enjoy being alive \ud83e\udd26\ud83c\udffb\u200d\u2642\ufe0f<\/p>\n\n\n\n I sometimes get caught up in obsessive thinking, worrying, and planning \u2014 for hours, days, or weeks<\/em> at a time \u2014 and completely forget that the point of life is to enjoy being alive<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By dropping the obsessive thoughts for a moment, I\u2019d created the space for Joie De Vivre, the Joy of Life, to shine through\u2026 in just the same way that the golden sunlight shone through when the leaves moved out of the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By being \u201cmindful\u201d of my experience in the present moment, by being \u201cpresent,\u201d I was enjoying being alive.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n But I realized too, in that moment:<\/p>\n\n\n\n They are nice words to describe<\/em> and refer to<\/em> specific states of consciousness, but they are not really designed to induce<\/em> the states to which they refer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That was the problem that created a disconnect between Ryan and the word \u201cpresence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That was the problem that made me wonder whether or not it was worth \u201cpracticing mindfulness\u201d when I could be thinking & planning and figuring out my business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPracticing mindfulness\u201d<\/em> sounds like a chore. It frames \u201cmindfulness\u201d as a \u201cpractice\u201d \u2014 a self-care technique to check off my morning to-do list, to \u201chelp me\u201d and \u201ckeep me grounded\u201d through the rest of my day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEnjoy being alive\u201d<\/em> sounds much more appealing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not a chore. It needs no explanation. It needs no motivation, no discipline, no willpower. There is no questioning its value. There\u2019s no need to ask:<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I think, \u201cOh, right, I forgot to meditate. I should practice mindfulness now\u2026\u201d I drop into my body and push myself into a state of sensory awareness. Yes, it\u2019s a nice grounding practice, but it often comes without a smile. It comes with a sense of duty, or a sense of \u201cThis is good for me, I should do this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But when I think \u201cOh my gawd, I forgot to enjoy being alive \ud83d\ude48\u201d \u2026the mindfulness and presence come rushing in all at once\u2026 along with a laugh and a smile and a sense of joy and relaxation and ease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Be Here Now<\/p>\n\n\n\n Practice Mindfulness<\/p>\n\n\n\n Enjoy Being Alive<\/p>\n\n\n\n They\u2019re really all just different ways of saying the same thing. They all refer to the same states of consciousness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But for me, I\u2019ve found that the words I say to myself to trigger those states<\/em> can make a big difference in the way I experience them, and in my ability to enjoy and maintain them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So at least for me, I\u2019ve crossed the words \u201cPractice Mindfulness\u201d off of my daily to-do list, and replaced them with \u201cEnjoy being alive!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead of trying to use willpower and discipline to force yourself to meditate, be present, and \u201cpractice mindfulness\u201d\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just remember to take some time every day to enjoy being alive<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s well worth it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And you don\u2019t even need me to tell you that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Back in 2017, Jovanna and I traveled through Asia, filming a spiritual-travel documentary series called \u201cPaths Up The Mountain.\u201d We were interviewing gurus from various meditative traditions, to find out what Enlightenment and Spiritual Awakening actually ARE, what the feel like, and how normal people can experience them. One day, after returning to New York, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1606,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[327,16,3,200,328],"class_list":["post-2076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-why-meditate","tag-enjoy-being-alive","tag-meditate","tag-meditation","tag-practice","tag-presence"],"yoast_head":"\nFour years later\u2026<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
In that moment, Ryan\u2019s words echoed in my mind: \u201cWhy do we need to be present again?\u201d<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Enjoy being alive.<\/em><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
The words \u201cmindfulness\u201d and \u201cpresence\u201d are not actually the most helpful of words.<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhy do we need to enjoy being alive<\/em> again?\u201d<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s also a lot easier to remain in the state of \u201cenjoying being alive\u201d than it is to \u201ckeep practicing mindfulness\u201d or \u201cstay in the present moment.\u201d<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
If you sometimes struggle with the motivation and willpower to \u201cmeditate\u201d or \u201cpractice mindfulness\u201d or \u201cbe present\u201d \u2026 try this experiment with me.<\/h1>\n\n\n\n