Help
Sign In
exercise
December 2008 
An exercise
David
Have you ever had a longing to be with someone you love? Your significant other, your family, or friends? I think it’s safe to say that we’ve all been there a time or two (or 3 thousand). I had an experience recently that really got me thinking about a new spin (to me at least) on the present. I was dancing with Beth at my place and was having an amazing time. I started to imagine that it was many years later and I was remembering this moment from that point in time. It brought such a profound feeling of presence and gratitude to this moment that I started to cry [tears of joy]. I felt so lucky to be experiencing that moment in such a profound way.
I told her what I was thinking and we had a great conversation about it. Here’s a brief summary of what we came up with:
Deepen into the moment by projecting yourself into the future and remembering back to this moment. Which can help one experience the now more fully and taste the longing for the moment in that very moment.
I know this is a very simple exercise and it is ultimately just adding thought to an experience of the moment… but it has been powerful for me. I felt so alive, so present. I can’t really even express what I felt. We’ve done it a few times since then and it has had similar affects each time. Give it a try!
This concept also sparked another thought in me. Have you ever been ill or in a bad mood or something? Have you ever wished that you could be anywhere but where you are one time or another, feeling healthy, happy, and peaceful? Again, I think that we’ve all felt this before as well. It’s easy to want to feel better when we are sick or tired, etc.. But how often do we remember those wishes when we are actually back to “normal”? I was talking to Jessica recently and we started talking about this concept. It instantly gave me a tremendous amount of gratitude for that moment, a moment where I was with great friends, feeling healthy, and having a good time. I try to practice this often these days. I imagine that I could be ill, or in traffic, or worse… It really helps me to be grateful for the stuff I take for granted on a daily basis. What more could I ask for? I am healthy, happy, and alive!!!!
For me, it really boils down to living in this present moment. It’s all I have so I might as well enjoy it no matter where I am or what I’m doing (even when I'm crawling along the 10 in bumper to bumper). It’s funny what a couple of tweaks in perspective can do.
In deep gratitude for this life!
Access: Public
Ooh. Brilliant, Dave. Thank you so much for this! I'll definitely be rejoicing in, and passing on, the thought.
Dude! That is profound Bro! Nice going…I really like that one. I can TOTALLY see how it works! I am 'sick' right now and am going to re-read that and try it. I feel better already!!! YEAH! Hey, that was pretty smart suff dude…is Beth helping? haha. NICE! Love you (both)!
Thanks guys! I'm glad you enjoyed this. I'm having a lot of fun with it.
I was eating lunch with Brian today and thought about all of those times I was in the back-country eating old bread, dried beans, and trail mix just wishing that I could have a “real” meal [knowing that it would be days from now]. Craving even the most basic of dishes. I actually had the feeling that I was there. It literally turned my lunch into one of the best meals I've had in a long time. Yum!
Life is good!
These are really great exercises, Dave. Thanks so much for sharing. I'm definitely going to try them on myself tonight and share them with my clients as well. Hugs & happy new year - Nancy
I love you Dave. What can I say. I definitely appreciate having you in my life. I appreciate reading this blog - right now - and feeling so fortunate to know you.
I wrote this after thinking about what Dave said and sent it to him…I thought I'd share it here too… “I have a little cold right now and have been imagining myself ahead to next weekend up on top of Tamarack peak taking off my ski skins and breathing in the crisp cold air before I step in and carve it up. While I'm up there I am looking out over the clear blue of lake Tahoe thinking to myself “man, on Monday I was feeling king of sick and now look! I am on top of this hill, stoked out about life and loving it!!” and then I realize that I am smiling and laughing and can't really remember that I don't feel good and being stoked!
You could really take this freaking DEEP, I mean way out…from something easy like I am kind of unhappy with work to something crazy like psychologically life changing! People could really get into it…the beauty of it is that it kind of dovetails in with the power of now in a way I can't explain but makes sense. We're purposefully thinking about the future, USING our minds, unlocking a way to enjoy the NOW more presently and fully. Could that be right? It works…for just about anything…I gotta keep on trying this out!!
Nice one DAVE!
It's amazing, that experience you described was so powerful for me as well that reading your words brought tears to my eyes again!
On one of the occasions that David and I did this practice together in the glow of the firelight, I imagined myself as an old woman. From that perspective, I “remembered” the earnest, soulful eyes and soft loving gaze of my beautiful young beloved and experienced a profound sense of longing for that moment - in that very moment. Rarely has my heart been so open to the present. Sharing together such a sweet moment of deep presence and pure being-ness was truly a moment of grace.
Yeah Beth, it is wierd actually - trying to be in the moment, think of this concept, put it into action and then soak into it and get that SUPER PRESENCE out of it. That was a great example you gave…it is a blessing it seems to really enjoy the moment that much…now, if someone could help explain how to slow time down, that would REALLY cap this bottle!
David~
Deepen into the moment by projecting yourself into the future and remembering back to this moment. Which can help one experience the now more fully and taste the longing for the moment in that very moment.
Yes! Now that you mention it…I have done that with my children (while rocking Jessi as a baby, while hearing Jemma's 1st word and seeing Jemma's 1st step, etc.) and occassionally, with my students while walking around my classroom. And, yes, it brought me more fully, powerfully, into the present. I remember thinking, “This is the gift (the “present”) of the moment. Thank you!”
And especially, thank you, David, for the reminder!
~Lori
So here's how it went for me.
I just started with the simple task of reading your blog and I shot forward and felt that I had some sort of dealings with you and I was secure in my business and personal life as a result of simply reading your idea and using it. Then suddenly I shot backward to the Beach Zaangha in August where I met you and your GENUINE presence was with me. I could feel the same sort of energy I got off you that day. I dig your REALITY, Dave.
This is such a simple, pure, powerful (like the man) practice and I got to experience the past, present, and future with you in it. Very cool, thanks.
NOW and Always…that's what IS.
Dang, I like that one…maybe I'll put that in the quotes section - what an ego, huh?
Peace
Hey David great blog
Back in may of 2006, I was in South Africa. At one point I was experiencing a really difficult moment. I was “alone” no friends, family or any one that I could completely trust. I was in cape town and didn't know what to do. I had to make a decision.
Then I begun to imagine myself 10 years from that moment. I imagine myself talking to a friend and telling him how that precise moment 10 years ago in that specific couch was the turning pint of my life. I could bail and go home and do nothing more or I could be and do what I was intended to do and be great and do the best damn film I could ever make. After making my decision I immediately knew that moment was going to be the point of my life were I changed everything. I went and told the whole story to m friend 10 years from now.
After that I felt so good and was such an amazing experience that that single moment help me from that point on to finish what I started.
Very power-full exercise, you just made me go there again by reading your post :) Thanks !!!
And for whoever reads this post I highly recommend you to try it !!!
Cheers
O,
That is beautiful Dave. Thank you. I copied a bit and shared with some close friends and family.
Peees!
G
What amazing stories! AMAZING!
Thank you all for sharing. I've got chills running up and down!
Wow! Wow. This is truly living with the end in mind. I've always asked myself, “If I was on my deathbed, would this matter to me?” But this exercise puts a whole new depth to that. Thank you so much for sharing!
I have those moments all of the time, ever since I was a kid—feeling the presence of the moment, usually a blissful moment, and sometimes sad, and then looking into the future and back and feeling what it would feel like when I was older and remembering my childhood. It always made me sad, realizing how fleeting time is at such a young age, how impermanent and precious.
Thanks for acknowledging that technique formally, I never really thought of it as a formal exercise, just a strange thing to be aware of.
Hey David - That's great! Thanks for sharing this profound experience with us.. and making it practical as an exercise. Wonderful! :)
It reminds me of the old Sufi practice of “remembering and recollecting” wherein you make a conscious effort to store in your memory the feeling and other aspects of significant moments you experience and then recall them later when you want to be closer to the experience again. What you describe can be very useful because, by recalling the moment, you can pick up where you left off rather than building up to that point from the beginning each time. It makes growth easier to build upon. And, at the very least, it helps to bring you into your present being. Good stuff!
Anyway, thanks so much for sharing your experience. We all benefit from it! :)
Hi David! Just ran across this post, of course serendipitously, like most visits to Zaadz. I know exactly what you are talking about. A few months ago I experience a serious issue with my back which rendered me unable to move for awhile, and moving very cautiously for awhile longer. Now, when I find myself doing something that I couldn't do a few months ago, I remember what that was like and feel a PROFOUND sense of gratitude and bliss for how things are working now, “normally.” It is heavenly <sigh> – thank you for describing it so beautifully. MC
Dave, This is briliant. Awesome visual examples and I love the comments.