Back from the Future

by Cassandra Hoffman

From the moment I open my eyes in the morning, my mind is roaring and ready to go. I mentally begin organizing each aspect of my day between work, school, and hopefully a little downtime before bed. Throughout the day, my mind is continually fixating on any number of impending tasks, rather than focusing on what I am doing in the moment. While working in the morning, my mind is concentrating on an afternoon meeting. As that meeting begins, my mind is starting to draft the term paper I plan to write later. And when I finally sit down to type up that draft, my mind is attending to tomorrow, the upcoming weekend, next month, next…. well, you get the idea. It’s as though my mind is training for a triathlon, determined to beat me to some invisible finish line that keeps moving further down the road. And while I’m trailing behind, struggling to keep up, I miss so much of what is right in front of me.

The future isn’t always a bad place to be. Our minds have to go there from time to time to prepare and set our sights on goals. But if we stay there for too long, perhaps trying to solve the problems that our minds create, we build up undue anxiety and waste time. It wasn’t until reading Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now that I finally learned some quick and effective ways to bring my mind back from the future and into the present.

The methods taught by Tolle have the capability of bringing the mind into an almost meditative state, with the added benefit that they can be put into practice anytime and anywhere. One such method is to simply direct your attention into the present by concentrating on your senses. Focus deeply on the physical sensations you feel, the sounds you hear, and the images you see. As your attention becomes grounded in the senses, the mind’s needless noise begins to fade into the background, and what you are left with is an ineffable feeling of peace.

Directing my attention into the present is a method I now strive to practice daily. Whenever I notice that my mind has traveled away from the present moment, I stop and bring awareness to my senses. I feel the carpet beneath my feet and the sensations in my fingertips as I type. I hear the birds chirping outside as I gaze at the trees through the window. I simply focus on everything that is happening right in front of me. Doing this relieves the underlying, ever-present stress that my mind engenders when it travels to the future – where it creates problems that don’t exist.

There are still times when I ruminate on a specific stressor and find it challenging to direct my attention into the present. In these difficult moments, another technique Tolle calls “watching the thinker” pulls me out of the depths of my mind. This technique is different from directing your attention into the present via the senses because, instead of focusing on your external environment, you shift your attention inward. You must listen to the voice in your head and refrain from passing judgement. By separating yourself from your mind and its thoughts, you become an impartial observer and you begin to recognize that the story your mind is telling you is imaginary. According to Tolle, doing this activates a higher level of consciousness that can help carry you back into the present.

For example, the other day I was considering whether I am ready to start applying for graduate school in the fall. My mind was running in circles, preoccupied with fears and anxieties, and I became overwhelmed. I attempted many times to direct my attention into the present but failed. Fortunately, I remembered the method of “watching the thinker.” I oriented my focus inward and, without judgement, began to listen to the voice in my head. I became aware not only of the rapid deluge of thoughts, but also of myself separate from those thoughts. This quickly dammed the flood and alleviated the disquietude that pervaded me.

While it is necessary to allow the mind to peer down the road at times, the future is not where we should live. The time we spend there is inversely proportional to the amount of deep, enriching experiences we have in the present. Discovering Tolle’s practices has given me two quick and easy ways to stop the incessant running of my future-bound mind. If you find yourself stuck in the future or struggling to immerse yourself in the present, I highly recommend picking up a copy of Tolle’s book and experiencing The Power of Now for yourself.

Cassandra Hoffman has been a member of the Interactive Measurement Group since fall of 2020. Cassandra is currently pursuing a B.A. in psychology with a minor in neuroscience and plans to graduate in the spring of 2022. After graduation, she hopes to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology with an emphasis on trauma and stressor-related disorders.