Founder of The Mindful Moment, Dr. Alexandra Domelle shares how to be fully present in every moment
"Silence is the home of your infinite self. Chaos is the home of your finite self. The moment these two intersect…that is what Life is." - Alexandra Domelle
The festive season brings a unique set of drama, chaos and noise unlike any other time of year. There are holidays to plan, presents to buy, and engagements to keep. There are budgets to balance, meals to organise, and people to please.
The pace of activities accelerates instead of winding down. There is frantic shopping, rushing, and stressing as you stretch yourself out even thinner than the year before, desperately trying to get everything…perfect.
You promise yourself that once all of this is over, you will reward yourself with that large glass of wine, or that slice of cake or, that things will be all right once you are officially on vacation.
Sound familiar?
This is a routine that many families go through every year, a routine that has travelled through generations, a routine that gets bigger and more elaborate with time, expectations, and desire.
The struggle to get everything done is the norm; the under-done turkey and burnt gravy add to the family collection of disaster stories while going overboard with the drinking and eating is almost a rite of passage.
Does it always have to be this way?
For you, the answer may be “yes.” After all, the adrenaline rush and the cocktail of hormones flooding the body simply add to the euphoria.
If you are looking for an alternative, you may choose to go minimalist, doing the bare essentials to get by.
Or, you may begin by promising yourself to “keep it simple” and yet somewhere along the way, things spiral out of control, and you find yourself back in that place of trying to do everything at once. Your body reacts to situations, repeating the old patterns of behaviour that you promised to break.
Is there anything you can do about this?
Yes, there is.
It is not so much about “doing” as it is about “being.”
Being fully present in the moment.
Complete presence requires awareness.
Awareness of your thoughts, your words, and your deeds. Awareness of your mind, your heart, and your soul. Awareness of your breaths, your heartbeat, and your every moment.
And the ability to shift into this awareness, this presence is within you, right here, right now.
So how does it work?
The moment your mind begins to wander, to spread out into a thousand different directions, just pause.
Breathe.
Relax your shoulders.
Feel the air filling your body.
And let go.
Trust.
You are safe.
All is well.
This moment is the only certainty.
Allow.
Allow yourself to receive the gift of self-care.
The gift of love.
The gift of peace.
This is the beginning of awareness. The birth of presence. The be-ing of self.