# thoughts on 'Living in the Present' **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 26, 2007, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-living-in-the-present/431313 "2007-12-26T20:50:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2008, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-living-in-the-present/431313/41 "2008-01-01T16:26:05Z")
[QUOTE=lekatt] I am grateful, pity is a negative emotion, quite useless. [/QUOTE] And yet, you have expressed it in these threads on several occasions as a back-handed way to insult other posters. * * * **EVERYONE** : This thread was not posted to take shots at **lekatt** ’s beliefs. If **lekatt** (or anyone) posts a belief that is clearly not true and not relevant, then simply ignore it and let that statement die without comment. If someone posts a claim of facts that seem strange or express an idea that seems illogical, you may challenge it. If someone posts a personal belief, leave it alone or take it to the Pit rather than hijacking this thread with personal attacks. [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![lekatt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lekatt/32/7269_2.png) [@lekatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lekatt)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2008, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-living-in-the-present/431313/42 "2008-01-01T19:36:51Z")
Thoughts of living in the moment. I don’t intend to be offensive to anyone. That is not my goal. I just live in a different world perspective than most of you do. The task of living in the now is important, I found a quote, not scientific, I don’t know how living in the moment can be scientific, it is a spiritual principle that is very beneficial. > [@](#): > > How do we regain that sense of newness that will expand our minds and awaken us from the dream? We do it with intent. That is, we must exercise the full power of our human will to become mindful of every action that we undertake. We must constantly remind ourselves to pay close attention to our actions-to relish the sensation of chewing and tasting our food, for example, to feel our hands on the steering wheel and revel in the synchronistic movements of changing gears. Even the simplest gesture-smiling, shaking hands, looking at our watches-must be undertaken with the mind fully focused on the task if we are to awaken to our own existence in the now. This is no mean feat. The habit of living in the past and/or jumping into the future inside our own heads is a difficult one to break. Once we have allowed the consciousness to fall into a state of disuse, it requires a good deal of effort to regain its focus, but the will becomes stronger the more it is utilized, and if we persevere, the rewards will be well worth the effort as our consciousness expands. [http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/new\_age\_perspectives/59787](http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/new_age_perspectives/59787) Yes, it comes from a new age site, nothing wrong with the new age, or religion, or spirituality. This world needs its religions, it is the religious folk that do most of the charity that is done in this world. They feed and clothe the poor, provide health care and teach those who can’t do it for themselves. In my city we have four shelters for the homeless. The homeless people can go there for a warm bed and food. They are all run by religious organizations. They do it because they want to, and I think it is very good. There is more to this world than what science can detect, a lot more. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-living-in-the-present/431313.md?page=2)