Start living in the now: the simple steps to mindful living

"I don't have time to be 'present', I have important problems to think about." Sound familiar? Living in the present is such a simple concept, so why is it so hard to achieve? At the base of all philosophical teachings is "being in the now". As the old saying goes, "Be in the now and you'll know how."

Why is this moment so elusive to many of us? Why do we spend the majority of our life locked up in repetitive thinking patterns, churning over past and future thoughts, when we could be sitting peacefully in the moment we are in?

The art of living in the moment is practised in very simple steps, but requires commitment — and a sense of humour to endure the times that we forget. As Helen Keller said, "If we learn to laugh at ourselves we will never run out of material." Approaching the art of living in the moment with this attitude will build a lot of humility — a useful trait should we choose the path of reconditioning the mind to dwell in the present moment.

The pressure to achieve often feels as if we are forced into mental patterns to find order among chaos — but the reality is that the order is already there for you in the moment when you are free of thought. We need our minds for many tasks but incessant thinking plagues our society and doesn't serve us.

Can you turn off your mind? Can you stop thinking for a moment? What about for a few moments? What is it that prevents you from doing this? Do you worry about the future causing anxiety or do you get stuck on past thoughts, what somebody said or did to you, which can build depression?

Don't worry, you're not alone; "stinking thinking" is the biggest addiction in the world and mental-health issues are rising fast because of it. Whether you're a banker, a CEO, a retailer, tradesperson or a professional of some sort, we need to learn to stop the internal chatter and be free of repetitive thoughts so we can find clarity and the natural rhythm of life.

Every moment has a pulse, a beat, a flow to it; we can be in it or we can be in our heads. We can be so present that intuition guides us and we surrender to the power of the universe or we can try to control everything, labelling and judging our world until it makes sense. But at what price? It often comes at the price of our own happiness.

Our ability to pay attention without tension in the moment is the pathway to great peace and power that we all desire. The ancient philosophers called this path the way of mindful living.

Mindful living means being open to the moment, befriending any situation without feeling resistance to it — regardless of what it is — working with it to make it good. That's right, even if the situation is unfavourable, rather than resisting it, we accept it and work with it; this allows us the grace required to work through things with clarity and ease, taking the emotion out of it.

Mindful living involves being aware of your thoughts without judgement and starting to feel a sense of detachment for every negative thought you churn over in your mind. You are not your thoughts nor your emotions; these things can be observed. But you are the observer.

Practise these skills and you will not only feel the weight of the world fall off your shoulders but you'll become more productive, healthier, happier and feel a bright connection to every experience you have — never being bored or finding life dull again.

So how do we begin the process of quieting the mind and working towards living in the present moment? Here are six simple steps:

• 1. Don't identify with your thoughts, observe them but do not base your identity on them. You're not your thoughts (observe).
• 2.Stop complaining about friends, situations, other people or talking about stubborn old negative thinking patterns (equanimity).
• 3.Befriend the present moment regardless of what it is; allow your attitude to be aligned with it (acceptance).
• 4.Stop worrying about the future or entertaining thoughts about the past, keep your thinking in the now (presence).
• 5.Sit still for five to 10 minutes a day and watch your breathing and thoughts. Do nothing else, just be still (mindful meditation).
• 6.Be okay with not knowing; surrendering to the present moment (surrender).

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