Why I Have Constantly Failed to Live in the Present Moment?
And what choice established me in the now
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Living in the Present Moment: Why I Got It Completely Wrong (And Most People Do Too)
What if everything you believed about “living in the present moment” was misguided… even though it was shared with the best of intentions?
I was taught this too—the familiar idea that “living in the present moment” means focusing all my attention on what’s happening around me—on people, tasks, goals, or simple pleasures—keeping my focus mostly directed outward.
However, later I began to realize that keeping my attention outward wasn’t true presence at all. And every time I struggled to stay present—especially during challenging moments—it wasn’t because I was failing. It was because I was chasing the wrong kind of presence altogether.
The Right Way of Living In The Present Moment
Living in the present moment is about first anchoring your attention completely within yourself. Authentic living in the present moment is the awareness and feeling-realization of the inner Being. When you become aware of Being, The Being becomes aware of itself. When Being becomes conscious of itself - that's Presence, and only then you will be able to establish yourself in the present moment without swinging in the past and the future
What does it mean?
During the day, whenever you notice you've been caught up in the outer world, take one conscious breath. Then, gently shift at least 50% of your attention inward—into your inner body, preferably around the center of your chest, where your “power source” lies, like Iron Man’s core. Let the remaining 50% stay on your tasks and conversations. With continuous practice, you may find this inner focus naturally growing to 80% or more.
The Spiritual Heart = Inner Being
According to Ramana Maharshi, our spiritual heart is positioned slightly to the right side of the chest. Unlike the physical heart, it serves as the center of spiritual experience.
The spiritual heart is the source of life itself, and one can only be aware of its real nature by being it. It’s the essence of the whole universe.
Avoid trying to find the spiritual heart by focusing on the right side of your chest. Anatomically, it is NOT physically located in your body. The spiritual heart embodies Beingness and awareness, existing everywhere. If you wish to connect with your spiritual heart—your inner Being—keep eighty percent of your attention inward, in your inner chest, while performing your daily tasks.
From Effort to Effortlessness
A profound shift occurs within us when we bring back our attention inward, away from the ceaseless noise of the external world. Like an iceberg, where 80% remains submerged in the ocean's depths, we, too, must keep most of our awareness within. This simple yet powerful practice transforms our experience of life.
By resting our attention within the inner body—the chest, the abdomen, hands, legs, or even the breath—we step into a space beyond thought, where true intelligence flows effortlessly.
The mind, conditioned to seek fulfillment in the outer world, resists this stillness when we turn our minds inward because it thrives on distraction, overthinking, and constant engagement.
Yet, the greatest realization is that life functions effortlessly when we surrender the mind inward to our inner Being.
As we anchor ourselves in presence, we move from compulsive thought to intuitive knowing. This is the shift from personal will to divine will, from effortful doing to effortless Being.
In this state, we become non-doers, and God—the silent intelligence that animates all things—becomes the doer of our lives.
Consider a majestic tree standing firm in the fiercest storm. Its resilience does not come from its branches or leaves but from the depth of its roots, drawing strength from the earth.
Likewise, our stability amidst life’s fluctuations depends on how deeply we are anchored in the inner stillness of our Being.
The Common Misconception That Keeps You Stuck
The world teaches us that “living in the present moment” means engaging fully in outer situations—paying close attention to people, tasks, and the pleasures of life.
The truth is that living in the present moment involves first anchoring your attention within yourself and then acting outward from the abundance of your inner Being.
Why doesn't our mind allow us to root in our Being?
Because the cunning mind distorts spiritual truths to serve itself.
At its core, the mind operates from a constant sense of lack.
It longs to fill that inner void through three things
Money,
Relationships, and
Recognition.
These three desires fuel the mind’s constant striving.
So, when great teachers like Buddha taught that the present moment is all we have, the mind panicked because it thrives on thinking about the past and the future; without that, it feels threatened.
That’s why the mind cleverly bends the truth for its own advantage
Now, it tells you: “Yes, stay present. But stay present by focusing intensely on outer goals—on acquiring, achieving, and relishing worldly pleasures.”
It still calls this “presence,” but because of the outward focus, you can't recognize that silent power people call God inside yourself.
The Hidden Agenda of the Egoic Mind
So the mind only focuses on what’s outside: the next task, the next achievement, the next moment of accumulation. Because the mind keeps you deluded by temporary fulfillment whenever you accomplish something, this external focus seems to be satisfying.
True presence doesn’t arise from a mind obsessed with control.
It doesn’t come from being fully absorbed in your to-do list or compulsively chasing the next success outwardly. That’s just ego—dressed in spiritual clothing.
The mind’s core dysfunction is its sense of incompleteness. And this dysfunction remains untouched, even when the mind appears “present.”
As long as your attention remains outward—even in a focused way—your inner restlessness will persist.
And you’ll ask yourself why you still feel anxious, why you keep swinging between fears and worries despite all your spiritual effort.
My Own Struggle with This Truth
How I Wasted Years Chasing the Wrong Kind of Presence
After my awakening in August 2008, I thought I understood what presence meant. I had tasted something real—something eternal.
But then I lost it.
And in that loss, I spent years trying to recreate the experience. I read every book I could find. I searched for enlightened teachers. I tried different meditations, hoping one of them would give me back the light I had briefly seen.
But all of it failed—spectacularly.
Not because the teachings were wrong. But because I was still searching outside. I had mistaken the map for the territory.
Only when suffering broke me open again did I understand:
What I had been looking for was already here, within me.
It wasn’t in the next insight or technique. It was in the stillness that had never left me.
Now, the very path I stumbled through—the very confusion that once felt unbearable—is what allows me to guide others. My suffering became your clarity.
And this outer purpose—to walk with you through the fog of early awakening—is the most sacred work of my life.
A Timeless Story That Reveals the Truth
Ramana Maharshi’s Teaching on Meditation & Presence
Let me share a story—one that speaks more clearly than any explanation.
A young boy once visited Ramana Maharshi, the great Indian sage, and asked,
"What is meditation?"
His parents had brushed off the question, telling him he’d understand it later in life. But Ramana saw his sincerity.
Smiling, Ramana invited the boy to sit beside him.
He asked a devotee to serve the boy a dosa, a simple Indian meal.
Ramana then gave him simple instructions:
"When I say ‘hmm’ the first time, begin eating—slowly and consciously. When I say ‘hmm’ again, you must stop, leaving nothing on your plate. But as you eat, keep your attention on me as well. Do both at once."
The boy agreed.
He started eating mindfully, savoring every bite. Yet all the while, his deeper attention remained fixed on Ramana, watching for the second signal.
Finally, the second “hmm” came, and the boy finished his meal.
Then Ramana asked, "Where was your attention—on me or on the dosa?"
The boy replied honestly, "On both."
Ramana smiled and said, "Exactly. You were fully engaged with the act of eating, yet your attention stayed anchored in me. That is meditation."
His message was simple, yet profound:
Live your daily life—eat, work, engage—but always keep your deeper attention anchored in God, in your inner Being.
Simply keep your attention inward.
That is true meditation.
Remember: God does nothing, yet leaves nothing undone.
Birth and death—the two “hmm’s”—will come in their time.
Your only task is to remain rooted in your inner Being while participating in life from a place of inner abundance.
Who am I?— The Greatest Secret of Spirituality
After discovering Ramana Maharshi's teaching, Self-Inquiry: Who Am I?, I realized that the most significant spiritual practice is to turn your mind inward to your inner Being while being active in the world. Once understood, no other practice, scripture, book, or Guru is needed. In resting in Being, you are One with God.
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The common concept of living in the present is all wrong .
It’s only a illusion which we have to have understand it.