Mindfulness and Living With Vision

As humans with stories that we tell that become our existence, not only do we become those stories, but we use them as a way to define moments lived solely in the future. The future becomes a continuation of the stories and not a place lived in love, a place lacking a Vision or mission. The future is then the ever-present reality of that place we are always striving for in the past.

While it is mindful to imagine a future filled with things, as it is the human condition to have goals, there is a danger here. Goals are not Vision, but are merely subsets thereof. It is in the bible that the words are penned, “Where there is no vision, the people perish” but here is the distinction.

As creatures of expansion, as has been given to us by our creator and is the way of the universe, we sometimes mistake Goals for Vision. You can have a goal to make a certain amount of money, but that is just a thing, a tangible object that defines your pursuit.

But Vision is completely different; the definition, besides the obvious of someone seeing, is:

1. Unusual competence in discernment or perception; intelligent foresight: a leader of vision.
2. The manner in which one sees or conceives of something.
3. A mental image produced by the imagination.
4. The mystical experience of seeing as if with the eyes the supernatural or a supernatural being.

You see, Vision carries an extra dynamic and has all of the component of mindfulness built into it. Vision is that process of not just seeing some thing to be obtained, but really a larger-than-yourself experience to better the human condition.

Vision carries the very presence of living completely in the Present Moment because, quite frankly, when you think in a supernatural realm, you intrinsically know that there is only this Now Moment to achieve Vision. It seems like a dichotomy, two especially mutually exclusive or contradictory concepts, that cannot possibly work together.

How can having a Vision to change the world NOT be totally future based?

For the simple reason that when you release the ego and go outside yourself, there is only a passion that must live in this Present Moment alone. You have only this Present Moment alone to be the person of change, the person of Vision. You must first be that vision for yourself, and then it becomes the driving force for living life.

In the concept of a theatrical experience, Goals would be like opening a show, Opening Night, while the vision would be to change the way the very experience of theatre is perceived to the people you serve. You introduce art and beauty to a world that maybe had limited, if any, exposure prior to this point.

That is Vision. To raise the experience of the beauty of art to another level that transcends the Opening Night experience. The Vision then becomes a mission to impact the human condition.

Remember as you create goals, that it is really about having a Vision for who you are as a person of quality. Be more than merely goals. Become the Vision and lose your ego to the greater good. Then you will truly experience beauty in living, a true love for life.

Let me know your thoughts below, get on the newsletter list HERE, and share with your friends, for the more people we have living successfully in this Now Moment and discussing the value of doing so, the higher we lift all others around us.

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DA Southern is a Strategic Personal Development Coach, teaching the spirit of living in Now Moments with the principles he experienced during over 35 years as an actor and director in live theatre. DA coaches his clients to rid life of limiting beliefs that have kept them from achieving miracles in all areas of their life by embracing Mindfulness of the Present Moment with a renewed Vision for life. Contact DA Southern for coaching @ directyourownlife@gmail.com

Mindfulness In The Present Moment

There is a way of living that really encompasses all truth of living now, living in the present moment. Really, to sum it up in a word, it is Mindfulness.

So, while everyone seems to know intrinsically what the words is, lets get the official definition of mindfulness.

Definition of Mindfulness:

Mindfulness refers to being completely in touch with and aware of the present moment, as well as taking a non-evaluative and non-judgmental approach to your inner experience. For example, a mindful approach to one's inner experience is simply viewing "thoughts as thoughts" as opposed to evaluating certain thoughts as positive or negative.

So there you have it. But an interesting side note says that while the word seems to have a Spiritual dimension, as the term comes from Eastern spiritual and religious traditions such as Zen Buddhism, there are mental health professionals that are beginning to recognize that mindfulness can have many benefits for people suffering from difficulties such as anxiety and depression.

I believe the most dynamic aspect of mindfulness is indeed the element of “taking a non-evaluative and non-judgmental approach to your inner experience.” This is by far the most interesting aspect as most are unable to shut the judgment factor down as if the ego is not going to allow you to, even for a moment, be as one with your environment.

Let me tell you what judgement does. It’s pervasiveness of the soul rids you of truly being at one with the present moment. it stops you from allowing those individuals who you may not ordinarily allow within your sphere to associate with you. it robs you of inner peace and keeps you from recognizing true joy. Judgement of yourself, and of others, stops you from growing and developing a relationship with the universe that lifts, not only you, higher, but others as well.

In a well documented study by Dr. David Hawkins who talked about the levels of consciousness, it was discovered that just one person developing an elevated sense of self, would lift many, many others in the very wake of that enlightened state.

I am confident that you have certainly seen it in action in your own life, when noticing a room where there seems to be a general attitude of gloom and a dynamic soul enters the area. Do you notice that the room’s essence increases? It is as if one enlightened soul can bring the entire room up. That, in its essence, is the dynamic of a good leader; Someone who can inspire the masses.

As a director in live theatre, I have had the occasion of having guest actors or directors involved in a production and it is as if the same local actors that had been involved in a previous productions, all of a sudden acted at a different level. It was as if the professional elevated them by their mere presence - and they did!

Look at mindfulness as that exact same emotion. It lifts you to a higher level and because you have been lifted, others will experience a similar emotion, many times without realizing it.

Practice mindfulness
Embrace mindfulness
Be mindfulness

And live in the Present Moment, the Now Moments of your existence, as a traveler of love, for here is where all of the future lies waiting.

In the next in the series, we will look at ways you can become mindful as it is not as easy as one may believe it to be.

Let me know your thoughts below, get on the newsletter list HERE, and share with your friends, for the more people we have living successfully in this Now Moment and discussing the value of doing so, the higher we lift all others around us.

*******

DA Southern is a Now Moment coach, teaching the spirit of living in Now Moments with the principles he experienced during over 35 years as an actor and director in live theatre. DA coaches his clients to rid life of limiting beliefs that have kept them from achieving miracles in all areas of their life by embracing the beauty of this Now Moment with a renewed passion for life. Contact DA Southern for coaching @ directyourownlife@gmail.com