Five Points to ‘Be In The Now.’ . The Five Points come from Amanda Cook. I have paraphrased them and added my own thoughts and examples to the points.

First Point—Know your thoughts, seek not to judge, label or think about them, with ease observe them.

Second Point—Stable yourself in the Now with your breathing. If notice your mind is wandering or anywhere other than the present activity or moment, begin to consciously breathe into the current experience or focus point.

Third Point—You have your five senses to engage you and help you live in the Now, present moment. Become aware of the taste, smell, feeling (touch), texture, hearing (sound). Babies identify and bond with their mother and father by using their five senses. Consider yourself a six year young curious child in a flower and vegetable garden. If you observe a child in a garden, they use their five senses to discover, learn, and even choose instinctively what they need to eat and what flower to give away.

Fourth Point—Have a plan, a “strategy,” and a way to shift from nagging thoughts, negative mind chatter, thoughts, ideas or images. It is easy. You have the power of choice and the energy in your ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ If the thought is relentless, take a pause and write it down. If time then or later, write your feelings, thoughts, and/or problem with the issue. Ask for peace to help you clear and transform/transcend the negative to lightness and positive. I use white light, giving the thought, challenging feeling over to the white light of divine transcendence and purified energy once again.

Visualize yourself power-filled and free established in your Godly nature. I have faith you have or will equip yourself to move from disruptive-negative thoughts to harmonious ones.

Fifth Point—I was grieving the loss of my first Truth teacher and minister. I shared this with the new minister. He responded with a phrase I use as a remedy when needed. He replied: “Things are the way they are.” ‘It is what it is.’

In other words you are OK the way circumstances are in the present moment. My occupation with missing my previous minister blocked me from seeing the gifts and good in the current minister. Plus, I could not do anything about what had occurred except feel and identify with acceptance toward the change.

Mindfulness—is being right here, right now. It is present mind focus. What comes forth in you just saying and thinking of the meaning of mindfulness? Also, mindfulness is associated with our divine nature and indwelling Spirit. Present mind focus along with a holy mind attuned. It is when we give full attention to the current experience and second. Thich Nhat Hanh says: “Happiness is possible in the here and now.”

Furthermore, mindfulness is being attentive to the contents of our mind, our present focus, and knowing we have the mind and heart of Spirit divine, which bring stress free living and feeling care-free in the now, liberated from the past and future. It is being aware of what is going on now, with the understanding there is enough joy in the present and awake moment. Observing our surroundings, tuning into a person’s heart- beat, noticing the expressions of life around us, about us, and of another is enlivening and consciously alert.