I don't talk about the Star Wars fiction much. But one of the quotes from the fiction that greatly informs the practice of Jediism is a line from Qui-Gonn Jinn in The Phantom Menace, in which he admonishes his apprentice Obi-Wan to, “Keep your concentration here and now, where it belongs.” This advice resonates through many of the real-world resources I've consumed in my fifteen years on the Jedi Path.
This, for me, was necessary, life-changing advice. I frequently experience anxiety about the future, with which I'm certain some of you can relate. In fact, Qui-Gonn said the quote above in response to Obi-Wan expressing his own anxiety over what is about to happen. Similarly, something I've written about before is my brain’s tendency to hijack my conscience by bringing up moments of embarrassment or shame from my past. So this quote is a reminder to stay grounded in the present moment.
We can lose contact with the present moment in a distinct third manner, with which some of you may also relate. I can drive to work and find myself there with no conscious memory of how I got there. In this, I'm not wrestling with the future or the past, but with my own consciousness, as if I'm driving on autopilot. This is a good opportunity to reconnect with the present moment, though. If you find yourself losing time on your drive to work, try taking a different route. (There's a message there about doing things the same way because you've always done so, but let's save that for another sermon someday.)
But I want to get down to some more practical advice. Take some activity you do daily, or close to daily. I find it helps if it's an activity in which I sometimes find myself losing time, like driving to work with no memory of actually getting there. For me, it's doing the dishes, but choose what works for you.
Before you start your chosen daily activity, set your intention to stay in the present moment. Remember as you go through this to be gentle with yourself; don't beat yourself up if it doesn't work smoothly the first time you try.
Now, while you do what you set out to do, consciously keep your full attention on what you're doing. Use all five senses, more if you feel so moved. To use my example of washing dishes, feel the warmth of the water, smell the scent of the dish soap, hear the sound of scrubbing, etc. If your mind wanders – and it will, because monkey mind gonna monkey mind – gently remind yourself that you're doing dishes right now and you'll catch up on the monkeyphone later.
Try this for an attainable number of days. If you think you can create a new habit of behavior in five days, do it for five. Or fifteen. Try what you think will work for you, and if you find it doesn't work, try a few more days next time.
If you have questions or advice on how to put this into practice, hit me up in the comments or over on the discord.
