(First published 9/5/2010)
The arrival of my baby girl in February reminded me of how precious life is. This new born has come into this world so pure and vulnerable, yet already able to teach us so many things.
Babies and young children are our teachers as much as we are their teachers. One of the most important teachings in yoga and Buddhism is the importance of being in the present moment.
And having a baby, and a young child, is very good at bringing us back into the present, not only do we do this because we must watch over them and play with them, but also because they are in the present moment and if we are to engage with them we also must be present in that moment – not distracted thinking about work while looking into the eyes of our child.
A baby’s consciousness is very present. It is responding to every second and adjusting to it. One moment it’s a cry, the next it could be a smile. They move on, they forget what has happened and move to the next moment.
We, as adults can learn a lot from this. Our yoga practice helps us to be in the present moment, but we find it difficult, our minds leap from future and back into the past many times in one day, or even one minute.
And it is this fluctuating mind that keeps away from feeling balanced, it obscures a clarity we seek, it simply distracts us from what we seek – stillness, peace, enlightenment; whatever word describes the perfect state we seek.
And it’s fun to forget our troubles – our work or the dishes in the sink – while we play with our child. It’s a great antidote to life’s pressure and stress… just to go into a child’s world for a while.
But before those of you who do not have a child think this is no good to you, or that this message says you must find a child to bring you into the present moment, this teaching about the present moment is a quality we can all attain with or without a child, because we are that child too.
There are several references in spiritual texts throughout the world that refer to these higher states of consciousness being found by adopting a child-like curiosity.
When a child sees something for the first time its attention is whole, it focuses on the object with the intensity of someone who is both fascinated and seeking to understand what the object is – the child-like curiosity described above.
As the fascination and focus on the object deepens, the person becomes absorbed in the present moment and in the object, which leads to a merging of the person and the object, without separation. That is when everything else is forgotten.
We can cultivate this ability to be present by using a child-like curiosity to things, when for example, being present when we practice yoga asanas, pranayama and meditation. By approaching the practice with this child-like curiosity we can deepen our understanding of the postures and exercises, and also get deeper into postures – because being present brings the awareness and clarity we need to improve our yoga practice.
This can extend beyond the yoga mat. For example, a walk in nature, along a path we have been down numerous times can sometimes mean we day dream at the same time. Try switching to a child-like curiosity, to look at the trees, the plants and animals as if they are all new to us. See how much more we see if we simply become fully present.
And in a way these experiences are new: if we consider the view that every second that arrives is new – it has not happened before. Therefore, the walk you are on is the first time, as each second you move along the path you are in new territory, that moment had not existed before. When you walked there yesterday that was another moment, another time, another experience. This is another reason to watch every moment with clarity and presence.
