Problems are Memories: How to Become Present
Glen / 
57 Comments / 
February 12th, 2009 / 
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As many of you may know, I’m a big believer that we should all live in the moment and appreciate what we have right now. To me, it’s the only way to fulfilment and lasting happiness. We can gain some form of joy from material possessions and ego boosts, but the emotions we get from those sources are constantly fleeting.
One statement that rings true for me is that ‘there are no problems in the now’, this makes sense both on a logical level and on a mind level (if it doesn’t now, it will soon). A better way to phrase that, and a statement I’ll explore below, is this: Problems are Memories.
Problems are Memories
Not only did my millionaire best friend get me to explore EFT, but he also got me interested in the Sedona Method. A system devised by Hale Dwoskin which promises to improve all areas of your life whether it is relationships, happiness, wealth or abundance. It comes with some great methods for being present and accepting what is. Something Hale said in one of the videos I was watching really hit home with me:
“Problems are Memories”
This is obviously just another way of saying ‘There are no problems in the now’ but I do like the wording. For those of you who are confused, let me explain. Being present means to be in the moment right now, this very second. It’s not worrying about what you are going to eat for dinner later and it’s not staying angry about what someone said to you yesterday, it’s about focusing on what is. And what is…is right now.
Another way to say that is this: there is never a time when it is not now. Whenever you anticipate the future you do that right now, in the present moment. Your anticipation is just an imagination, something you are imagining NOW. Whenever you fear or stress about the past, you do that right now. Everything that happens or has happened in your life happens right now, there is no other time for it to take place.
Being present is all about living for the moment, appreciating and accepting what is right now.
Getting back to the ‘Problems are Memories’ statement, all this means is that any problem you have is just a memory of the past, future and based on how you think something should be. For instance, if you are worrying about the bills piling up, you are doing that based on your memory of this happening. Based on your memory that bills are a bad thing; you aren’t focusing on the present moment. The bills may be piling up, but it doesn’t mean you should spend your time worrying about them, either take action or accept what is.
Or, take another example; say you think it’s a problem that you are overweight. You make it a problem because you don’t accept the present moment and because you THINK that being overweight is a negative thing. In reality it is neutral; it’s only negative because your memories and imagination are interpreting it to be a negative thing. Mostly based on feedback from others and what we are told through comments and judgements. In actuality being overweight just is what it is, nothing more, nothing less.
I understand there is going to be some disagreement here and this may be a hard topic to grasp. For some of you, this concept may be too out of your reality to accept; to others it may create a big shift in your consciousness. Either way, I hope it has shed some light on how our minds work and what living in the moment is all about.
How to Become Present
There have been about five times in the last year where I’ve felt like I can do anything. I’ve been completely conscious but I’ve also felt that I could stand up in front of 20,000 people and do a speech with no anxiety. I’ve felt so happy that I could laugh for hours and it wouldn’t feel forced, just so overpowered with joy. So much so in fact, that no words I can type could give the feeling justice.
Believe it or not, these moments have came, and I’ve felt so good, because I was completely living in the now. All of my senses were in the present moment and no thoughts were going through my mind. I am on a personal ‘mission’ to become more present, more often, but after 18 years of identifying with the voice in my head (my mind), it’s not an easy task.
On that note, I would like to share some ways that you can begin to become more present (in the moment) in your daily life and hopefully you’ll start to sense some of the amazing feelings that I’ve personally experienced.
1) Meditation
Meditation is probably the most common way that people practice to live in the moment around the world. Before I tried meditation, I thought it was a bit of a farce and nothing that would improve my life. After trying it for the first time, I took that back. I guess you could say that time stood still and everything seemed to have realness to it. I didn’t see my laptop (which was sitting next to me) as something I was immersed in, I seen it for what it was: pieces of glass, plastic and metal that had been put together.
I’ve wrote quite a detailed guide on meditation titled ‘The Beginner’s Guide to Meditation‘ that I recommend you check out. To give you a quick guide to meditation, you first need to be in a quiet room with no distractions. Sit, cross legged, with your back straight and make sure you are comfortable. If at any time you feel you need to scratch a part of your body or shuffle around, resist the urge, the feeling will subside.
Now, all you need to do is focus on your breathing. Feel your chest rise and fall, listen to the sound it makes. Feel the surface under you and constantly focus on keeping steady, deep breaths. At first it may be hard to do this for 5 minutes, but with practice you should be able to work that up to 30 or more. When you catch yourself getting lost in thought, simply revert back to focus on your breathing.
2) Focus on All Your Senses
Even when we use our mind to think about the past, our senses react. For example, if we think back to a funny incident we still might laugh to this day, even if it happened years ago. Or, if we think about a scary moment in our lives our heart might begin to beat faster and our breathing becomes shallow. Another good to way to get in the moment is to focus on our senses right now:
- Sight: What can you see right now, what is around you, where are you?
- Smell: What smells are in your environment, where are they coming from?
- Touch: What does the chair your sitting on feel like, is anything or anyone touching you?
- Sound: What sounds are there, can you just listen to the noise without labelling it?
- Taste: Are there any tastes in your mouth from something you ate recently?
Even just focusing on one or two of these can help you connect to the now. This works because you are looking for what is, right here, rather than your senses reacting to things you imagine or perceive.
3) Feel the Aliveness in Your Body
Although this may seem similar to the last point, it’s actually a bit different. For this I want you to sit down, relax, and close your eyes. Without looking or moving, ask yourself ‘How do I know I have a left hand?’. Your body should instantly focus on where your left hand should be and you feel some sense of energy coming from that area. Now, ask yourself ‘How do I know I have a left hand‘ and start to feel the energy from that.
If you carry this on, you should start to be able to feel a strong sense of energy in your hands, your feet, your ears and anywhere else on your body. You may even get to a point where there is a huge rush of energy through your whole body and you shake a little as it’s very powerful. This is presence; this is the joy of being in the moment.
That’s It
Hopefully these techniques are enough to give you a glimpse of what it is like to live in the now. The benefits I’ve experienced from living in the moment include:
- Complete peace – problems are just memories
- Silence – there is no annoying or incessant mind activity when in the moment
- Total happiness – you get to feel an underlying joy, just like when you were a child
- Infinite potential – I get to see that my wildest dreams are not only possible but probable
For those of you already aware of this, I hope I’ve helped continue the awakening of your consciousness. For those of you who are new to this concept, as I always say, don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. If you have any questions about the statement of ‘Problems are Memories‘ then feel free to ask them in the comments. I’ll try my best to get back to you with answers that you can understand logically, although logical solutions aren’t always the best way to grasp a concept – actually try it.
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Nice post Glen. I meditate for 10 minutes but I can’t sit with my legs crossed and I end sitting up straight.
Hey Raymond, thanks again for the comment. There are definitely no rules to having your legs crossed, as long as you can follow out the other steps (focusing on your breathing etc).
How is it working for you? Have you had any amazing experiences from doing so?
So far everything is great. After meditating for 5 minutes I do the EFT tapping while reciting my affirmations.
Excellent news Raymond, thanks for your update.
Thanks Glen for an excellent post.
Don’t worry Raymond if you cannot sit cross legged.You can sit on a chair with your feet on the ground flat.As Glen pointed out if the other points are taken care of the meditation is equally fruitful.I say this because I have been trying different types of meditations for long and I can’t sit with my legs crossed.But I do get all the benefits of meditation.The only point to remember is your spine should be straight and should be unsupported……..It should not touch the back of the chair.Just make a routine and meditate at the same place same time and you will be amazed at the result after a few days.
Thank you for the tips Puspanjali. It’s nice to know that I’m not the only one who’s having trouble with that position. hehehe.
Excellent post Glen. I really like how this aligns with Eckhart Tolle’s teachings too. Events are experiences – when we cling to those experiences after they have happened they can easily become problems. But they seldom are problems ‘in the moment’
Thanks Alex, it was Eckhart’s saying: “there are no problems in the now” which I used in this post.
Hi Glen.
It was a revelation to me the day I realized that all there ever is is right now. But encouraging people to “be in the now,” “live for right now,” is a more complex little challenge, I think.
I’ve quoted those phrases to highlight how tricky the challenge is, for hidden in those phrases, hidden sometimes in the layering of “be in the Now,” “live for the present,” “engage awareness”, for many people, is a… state of being? state of emotion? which could very well be described with the phrases like “ignore your problems”, “live hedonistically.”
I know that’s not necessarily what you are saying. But finding the right language to guide away from “ignore” to “accept” or “do something about it” (accept responsibility for this NOW you are in, accept that you have power to change this NOW) is, I think very complex.
I wonder to what extent we’d effect a more aligning change (meaning, inspire people to align with their own intentions, or with values, community values, etc.,live aware, sensing, feeling, deliberately engaging their power of intention) by staying away from metaphysical/existential-esque language?
Just a point of interest, really, given that you blog about this (and blogs are a word-heavy means of communication). Wish I had more time (my partner would tell me that I do, but I’m choosing to do something else with it)… well, I’m choosing to go to work now, because, though I’m not late NOW, I will be in 51 minutes.
Thanks for writing – I’ve enjoyed much of what you’ve had to say over at Copyblogger too. Cheers!
Great comment Chris, I appreciate the amount of time it must have taken you to write that.
Out of interest, how else would you phrase this ‘topic’. What language would you use?
Thanks
lol – that’s something I think about every day, and maybe one day I’ll sit down and try to articulate in a slow and methodical way. Not sure I’ll ever be successful.
(though perhaps that shouldn’t be the focus of attempting)
So far, my favorite word in english is: “to feel”. Lately, at least in pop. media, “feel” connotes the emotional side of things quite heavily. I have found a lot of calm and… insight? awareness? by trying not to divide the physical sense of “feel” from the emotional.
So asking “what am I feeling?” elicits a very embodied and present (now) experience in awareness. The goal is not to jump to language to describe what I feel so much as to let language come on its own and just watch it, be aware of it, try to play in it, and maintain that sense of “feel” as the ground.
You have written something similar with “Focus on all your senses,” and “feel alive in your body.”
I currently like that kind of language: language and words that actually instigate that presence-filled state, rather than language that describes it or its accompanying mental state. The discussions of “now” vs. “then,” being in the present vs. being in the past, etc., can slide into esoteric debates, or can just turn into internalized injunctions that can cause more problems than they intended (“I should be present right now… shit – I’m in the past! dammit!”).
Perhaps we don’t need to “escape” our past (we don’t need to be in the NOW vs. being in the past) in order to be present and aware and make choices about how our NOW is to be.
Cheers,
Chris
Well said Chris, thanks for your follow-up.
We don’t need to escape it, but to me it becomes irrelevant, at least as a source of pain when we are present. When were are in the Now.
Thanks
Glen
Interesting points chris, but I can’t say i identify with your little debate.
You can’t escape from the past because the past has already left you. The point is to let go of the past.
Memories are nice, but that’s all they are. They serve no real purpose as long as you carry the lessons you learnt from them with you, in your present.
I find the use of descriptive language to explain the state of presence important so that I know i’m on the same page as the author.
I found Chris’s comments very interesting, as I did your reply Glen.
I don’t know if there are ‘right’ words or phrases. All words are at best, ‘pointers’, ‘useful’ tools of communication but they are filled with various flavors of past and future, and we shape who it is that we think we are by the words we choose and because of the meaning we chose to give them.
Have you noticed that when we acknowledge any object including words, we immediately set a ‘distance’ between who it is we think we are and the object? This ‘distance’ creates ‘time’ and time creates the illusion of duality.The way I have found to become present is to drop all labels. No labels… no duality… no ‘time’. Being in the ‘Now’ is being the alert ‘feeler’ of life in the present moment. One can ‘feel’ present all day, but it’s impossible to think it.
Great post. I am pretty interested in meditation, and with the guide I can finally try it.
I know exactly what that feeling is, feeling like you can overcome the world. I have those moments also sometimes, it is just so weird, and so great. I love those moments, and I start to know better how to come to them
Thanks for the post!
Stefan/DSK
TheDutchSchoolKid.blogspot.com
I wish I could hold onto them, but I also know that is the problem. If you TRY to hold onto it then you lose it straight away.
BTW DSK, I’m going to be moving to your country very shortly, I’m super amped!
hi,
it’s just hard to say..”let it be..put the past to bed”..
meditation would be a good star for me
Why, what is holding you back? What do you have to gain from holding on to negativitiy?
When you are doing that…do you know what is going on right NOW?
well, i don’t mean to hide it all away..
Working merely 20 hours a day,i found myself always on a mission to solve problems :p
yes, problems are memories but it will become our best friends is live and will only be known later as ‘experience’
If you are working 20 hours a day, that might be something you need to look at first
Can you rephrase that? Sorry but I’m not sure I understand…
ahh sorry for my bad engerish with a little bit of tipsy :p
“yes, problems are memories but it will become our best friends is live and will only be known later as ‘experience’”
should read as
yes, problems are memories but it will become our nest best ‘friends’ in life and i would rather call them as my ‘experience’
see, the more problems you faced is the more experience you got..
Heeey Glennie!
There’s definitely something to the spiritual part of the world.
Sometimes my emotions get the better of me.
You know…when things get difficult, all you really need is someone to believe in you:)
Enjoy Amsterdam!!!
Be your own belief Dicky. But as you know, I’ll always believe in you as well
I will mate, can’t wait for you to join me over there!
As someone who meditates 20 minutes every morning – I still find the whole “be in the now” concept a little one-dimensional.
For me, it’s making the best choice in the now that is so rewarding.
In other words… I think there is more than simply turning off your thoughts and being in the now. A lot more.
Care to go into more detail Bamboo? I would love to hear your thoughts…
Maybe we’ve experienced different things when ‘in the moment’. My problems disappear, no stress, no worry. I feel connected with the world and I just feel like everything is perfect…like things are meant to be.
Of course, we all have different experiences though.
Your articles are getting better and better Glen.
Breathing works as a gate to present moment for me too. It is great to do these exercises when nobody disturbs but I really enjoy doing this while walking in public. I focus on my breathing first, then I add one sense at a time and I never rush..after some time it all comes together and it is an amazing feeling when you perceive so many things at the same time being in the now.
No doubt that all of these “present moment exercises” have been most valuable practices in my life so far…it just brings the quality of our lives to a whole new level and all we really need for this is our body & mind..
Hey Rudolf, I appreciate the comment.
I LOVE the idea of focusing on breathing, then adding other elements in there. I’ll definitely try that out. I completely agree with you, glad you enjoyed the article
Great post. Your admiration will grow through living an authentic life.
I have never practiced meditation myself, but i will give it a shot after reading this. I have done something that has to do with focusing on my senses. Whenever i go to the beauty salon and they’re washing my head i always concentrate on the feeling of the hands scratching and the water on my hair and i literally float all around because i love it when people caress my head, and when i concentrate like that i enjoy it inmensely. i can assure that when you focus on all your senses(or just one) you feel like a child. And I don’t ever wanna lose that feeling (childish excitement) because kids get excited with the littlest things, and those little things are what make this life worth it.
Hey Rosa, I’m just reading this now and can see you weren’t joking about that head stuff. I’m actually laughing haha.
Let me know how the meditation worked out!
Haha, I had forgotten I wrote this
No, I wasn’t joking, it’s crazy. I already told you how the meditation went…not bad, felt good, then sleepy, then went to bed 
Excellent post Glenn. I admire your being so wise at an early age.
I do look forward to reading your posts.
It’s so wonderful to realize that young people, such as yourself, can indeed teach old dogs, such as myself, new tricks.
Keep it up mate
Nemaste
You’ve just got yourself another subscriber!
The only thing with this is that I could only get in the now when I’m high on weed. Like right now, my fingers are tapping in each key.
hi Glen,
Suppose I have a speech to give and I am rehearsing in my car while driving to the location where I will deliver that speech (because I have not had time to rehearse properly before), how do I “live in the moment” ?
The second “How do I know I have a left hand?” should probably be “How do I know I have a *right* hand?”
one of the best blogs i have ever read
“God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
the courage to change the things I can;
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time; “
So true…thanks for the reminder and the alternaview. There are always so many things in life that seem appropriate to focus on when the reality is exactly what you pointed out…we need to direct our focus to living in the moment.
I remember some of my best moments happened, and I know I was just living in the moment and not thinking. Alot of it has to do with turning your ‘inner’ mind off. cause when you start thinking too much, it causes the situation to be unnatural “)
One way that definitely helps me feel the “aliveness” is to dance. I’ve recently taken up salsa lessons and
a) It’s such a great way to meet people in a fun, flirty atmosphere
b) It makes you feel that life is so good at this very moment!
Many thanks for this and other articles.
I must relate what happened to me yesterday, as it runs parallel with your experience.
I had been really bored, and decided to go to the cinema. I got wrapped up in the film, and really enjoyed it. As the film neared the end, a brilliantly filmed dance sequence mesmerised me. The colours were ablaze, the movement sublime. From then on, the colour resonated with me, and the final scene captivated me.
As I left the cinema, serene in mood, the observation of colours carried over to the night buildings, aglow with vivid blues and purples. These soon faded, leaving a sequence of ordinary buildings. Except that I was looking at all of them in detail and finding everything stunningly calm and beautiful. I am 52 and was effectively transported back to my youth for that 25 minute walk home. There was, as you say, joy perceived in everything, with judgement, and mental chatter and anxiety all totally suspended.
This brought me to tears, and a realisation that much of the Taoist ideas I had read were gradually sinking in. No money could ever ever buy such a feeling. It transcended any ‘bought’ pleasure.
The more I relax into the moment, and accept whatever is there without judgement, the emotion of that judgement is replaced by the emotion of simple beauty. Childish awe.
Hey Glen,
Life is what’s right now. Everything else is a memory or potential reality.
You can’t control and experience what happened and what will happen – only what’s happening. If you want to live life rather than only think about it, then immerse yourself in the present. Enjoy your surroundings: the smells, the weather, the textures. Interact with people around you: smile, talk, kiss, laugh, have sex, hug.
It’s important to reflect – it acts as checkpoints for your life, to confirm you’re on the right path or re-calibrate things so you don’t go too far off of it. But reflecting isn’t the end goal; it’s a process to improve your present. Utilize it for its purpose and get back to maximum living.
Keep living and enjoying the now,
Oleg
Glen, thanks for writing something outside Money article. This is very refreshing indeed. I believe, this article, is the root of all Money, abundance, and wealth in the entirel globe.
The reason why many of us are in need of Money is that: We need it so badly, and therefore send the message to the Universe that we are in Need of Money all the time. And the Creative Intelligent of the Universe sends us more Need of the Money. Always in Need.
But being in the Presence – We are connected to the Source of Energy and Power of lives. As a result, we are no more in Need. All needs are met in the Presence state. Because in the presence, we are everything: healthy, rich, wealthy, millionaire, loving, caring, and everything else. Because the Universal Mind is the sum total of everything GOOD. And when we in the presence, all our Needs are met 100%.
Glen has done excellently in highting this Point that: Problems are only Memory. Period. Nothing to add and nothing to substract from this fact. It is an absolute Truth. Because there is no Problem in the Presence only shortage of idea between where you are now and where you want to go.
Living in the Presence enables me still, to continue coming to this website, if not, I would never be in this website, never. I had some issue with Glen last week and still the issue is not yet resolved. I accept, love and forgive whatever comes my way in Life.
Living in the PRESENCE makes us not think of the past nor the future, it rather makes us centered in the Here and Now. As a result, we accept, love and forgive whatever comes our way so as to keep living in the Presence.
But if we fail to Accept, love, and forgive what comes our way, we shall always find it very and very difficult to LIVE IN THE PRESENCE, no matter how much we try, it will end in vain.
Acceptance, Love and Forgiveness are the prerequsite or requirement in the Living in the PRESENCE. How could anyone ever lives in the Presence when you have not yet Accept, love, and forgive the gift that comes from the Universal Mind. Sad to write this: All gifts do not always come with a smiling face. Never Resist nor Fight anything that comes your way in life.
Remember, to enjoying living in the Presence, the Keywords are: Acceptance, Love, and Forgiveness. It means therefore, you own no One anything except: those three keywords above. Living in the Presence becomes effortless every moment and for the rest of your life. Great Glen, thanks for this article.
Daniel
I wanted to be able to read the articles on this site because it seems interesting and helpful. However when you endorse tosh like EFT, it instantly makes me want to switch off. Sorry.
Hi glen, good read you have here. I followed it from one of your other posts. Very good for people that have too much worrying.
I’d like to point out, though, that numbers 2 and 3 are all forms of number 1. In number 1 you describe the first task of meditating. Focusing on one thing, namely your breath because its the only thing thats ever there all the time. When you can focus on one thing then you can bring in other forms of meditation, like mindfulness, which is an idea found in both number 2 and 3.
Meditation goes beyond watching the breath or thoughts, it is the ability to concentrate and focus those thoughts. Becoming an observer the is just the first step to being able to think without subconciously identifying with the voice in your head (your mind)…and I agree its not so easy.
If you’re going to drink tea…drink tea.
As for me, when my life started getting worse, I got extremely present.