Take a moment to reflect upon your past week. Did you experience more doing, or being? For many, the answer is doing. We live in a fast paced, goal driven world, a society of doers.
You might find yourself asking what it actually means to “be.” Being can be described as “resting in experience” as well as “fully present and aware of whatever is here, right now.” Being is a felt sense of an intimate experience with the present moment.
This described state is quite the opposite of doing, which is what you may have an easier sense of describing – completing tasks, getting things done. Doing is absolutely essential in effort to follow your dreams, make a living, and care for yourself and your family.
It is not that one is better than the other. As human beings (get it?) our challenge is to find a balance between the two. Can you think of being and doing working in collaboration together, rather than operating combatively. Experts agree, individuals often get trapped in the doing, trying to reach the destination, without awareness of the journey.
If you are looking to experience more being in your life, begin by reflecting on the following questions:
- Where does your sense of being move to when you are doing well? Not doing well?
- Can you rest increasingly in who you are when you feel supported, when not running on empty?
Writing about being reminds me of my favorite t-shirt slogan, worn by one of my favorite yoga teachers. It read “Don’t just do something, sit there” As you might imagine, the image was that of someone meditating.
Meditation and breath work are two effective strategies for experiencing being. It can be as simple as taking one conscious breath, following the inhale and the exhale all the way through. Practice coming to your breath several times a day to enhance your felt sense of being.