Right Here, Right Now

This retreat was calling to me today. As I have posted earlier this week, we are getting ready for Bec's 3 month visit from his case worker and we are doing small things around the house that have turned out to be a late summer/fall cleaning. Everyday we are snowballing our efforts. On Monday, we had the carpets cleaned. By today, we were putting in new flooring in our bathroom and hallway, and working on getting our second bathroom in working order. All for a meeting that is scheduled for next week!

Step 1: Entering into Retreat: Sit comfortably in an upright position, with back support if you need. Allow your eyes to close gently. Use the first three minutes to begin to pay attention to the flow of your breathing. Feel the temperature of the air as it enters and exits your nostrils.
Step 2: For the next five minutes, keep your attention focused on right here, right now. If your mind begins to drift, gently return your focus to your breathing.
Step 3: Now intentionally begin to play with leaving the here and now. For the next ten minutes, consciously think of something in the distant past so you can fully experience the shift from the present to another time. Stay for a moment in that memory, and then come back to the present. Notice what it feels like to arrive again in the moment. Travel back and forth between the here and now and the distant past, the recent past, the distant future, and the near future. Always return to the present.
Step 4: Returning to the World For the last two minutes, imagine your day today. Remember you can always return to the present moment for a brief respite when the demands of the past and future are too much.