Customer Reviews

Present Moment Awareness: A Simple, Step-By-Step Guide to Living in the Now

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This book is classified in the category of "Personal Growth". So, the content is relevant to that topic. It combines some ideas of attending life's activities attentively, being observant of reactions happening in body, mind (emotions) and intellect (thoughts), which the author calls 'Present Moment Awareness'. The author says that by this ability to observe, quality of life will improve. He supports this proposal by saying that we react to the events in our life and world based on how we perceive them, and not necessarily what they truly are. He says that this reactivity based on flawed perception of ours is caused by our 'Negative Core Beliefs' of what we think we are, based on our childhood experiences. He says that by being able to relate our reactivity to the origins of our reactive patterns and the original causes, we will be able to let them go and live a better life.

If what is said above is all that is desired of life by someone, this book may help by convincing through some logic, some examples and some theory to work with.

But, if one's search is for 'TRUTH' of Life, this book is inadequate. 'Present Moment' is different from 'the Present' which is time bound. How can you define 'Present Moment' ? . Is it a day or an hour or a minute or a second or a split-second ? In 'Spiritual' sense, Present Moment Awareness is 'TIMELESSNESS'. This book does not communicate at that level, and instead confuses between 'Present' and 'Present Moment'.

But, for some who does not know any thing other than living an ordinary life, and who is missing joy of living, this book may provide some guidance to center himself/herself to the central theme of living i.e. 'living with ease'. This should be a worthy gift to youngsters and beginning spiritual seekers.

Here are excerpts from the book:

Introduction

Page xiii:

"In learning to live in the present, you discover how to set aside emotional baggage from the past, and worries about the future, in order to appreciate the opportunities you have available to you, right here and right now."

The power of this moment

Page 3:

"Present moment awareness is being aware of what is happening in ourselves and our world instead of being lost in random fears from the past and uncertainties, hopes and expectations for the future. In the absence of those fantasies we have the opportunity to enjoy our day-to-day living."

Page 4:

"When we are present in the moment, we are not thinking about our environment. We are simply experiencing it. The goal is to observe without judgment, analysis, or thought."

The illusion of limitations

Page 31:

"What is vital to recognize is that aside from the laws of Physics, we are only limited by our beliefs. These beliefs, however, can seem as real and insurmountable as the walls of a jail cell."

Page 55:

"Until I paused to question my beliefs about the very nature of who I am and why life should be different for me than anyone else, I was isolated and alone."

Emotional Presence

Page 60:

"What is important to remember is that emotional responses are triggered by our PERCEPTION of a given situation."

Page 71/72:

"All emotions are an inevitable part of our existence that can not and will not be denied. If we are feeling an emotion, then there is a reason for it. We can investigate whether or not that reason is based on reality, but what we can not do is deny that emotion its natural existence. In being present in the moment and allowing emotions to pass through us, we not only reduce their demands on our bodies, but we also gain the opportunity to understand their origin."

Page 86:

"We must always be aware of the fact that our thoughts and perceptions are not necessarily based on reality, even though the resulting physical sensations of emotion are very much real. When we stay in the present moment with what we are feeling in our bodies as the emotions take place, their power is allowed to run its natural course. The river is allowed to pass, instead of the dam being forced to burst."

Reactivity roller coaster

Page 91:

"Inappropriate modeling, as well as painful childhood experiences, have created in most people deeply rooted Negative Core Beliefs - beliefs that they are, to some degree, not good enough. They feel a sense of shame about who they are."
. . . .
"These Negative Core Beliefs are our conscious and unconscious insecurities."

Page 110:

"Negative Core Beliefs are experienced as "feelings" until they are named. They are normally summed up in a single word, such as "worthless", "helpless", "weak", "ugly", "small". Sometimes a Negative Core Belief is preverbal, in that it was made before we could understand our world through words."

Page 115:

"Think of these emotions as raindrops on a car's windshield. If we become absorbed in them, then we can't see where we are going or what we are going to crash into. But, if we take a deep breath and look through them, we still know they are there and that there is also the road ahead."

Good book, but if you've read a lot in this genre, you may be surprised how basic it is. No a-ha's, just practical advice. And there's nothing wrong with that. I just was looking for the same kind of fascinating stuff that I got from Eckhard Tolle's "Power of Now".

It is very difficult to write a book on how to live in the present moment because the very act of "trying" to live in it prevents us from being in it. Therefore, this book is an excellent book that allows us to experience what Toru Sato refers to as, "complete transcendence" but not "completely complete transcendence." Considering this irreconcilable limitation, this wonderful book provides us with extremely important insights and very practical methods to experience states as close to this as possible. This book is definitely worth the price! If you are interested in understanding these states and what all of this means, I strongly suggest, "The Ever-Transcending Spirit" by Toru Sato. It is a terrific book on developmental psychology, human consciousness, spirituality, and evolution! It's the best book I've ever read on this subject!

As a writer and a long time scholar of philosophy, spirituality and religion, I feel compelled to share my thoughts on this particular book.

A friend of mine had been begging me to read it for some time. She wanted to be able to discuss her experiences in practicing what Mr. Duncan had prescribed. I'll admit that I was never really interested. The volume is quite slim, and looked like any other pop-spirituality / pop-self help book. She persisted and so I set aside an evening to read it. That evening of reading turned into a full week of reading and rereading and practicing. I've not been so pleasantly surprised by a book in a very, very long time.

Initially I took the lack of pages to mean a lack of content. Not so! The genius of this work is Mr. Duncan's ability to take large and often complicated psychological and spiritual concepts, bring them together and then make them succinct and easily digestible. As a non-fiction writer, this is one of the hardest things there is to do. Without a doubt he understands what he is writing about, down to his bones, or he could never put in plain words these teachings as he has. Most other authors would have taken four or five times the number of words to attempt to explain exactly the same concepts and ideas.

This is not just a guide for beginners, but for everyone. I see this book as a manual for getting anyone's feet squarely on (or back on) the path of greater self awareness and thus greater present moment awareness. Slipping off of that path is entirely too easy in the midst of all the random teachings and ideas floating around today.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

"Present Moment Awareness" by Shannon Duncan invites you to explore your feelings, attitudes and behaviors at any given moment of your life. It includes some exercises and practices, questions to provide food for thought and a nifty little device called the "Focus Tool", which is sort of like a Zen egg timer that you carry around with you. It goes off at various times during the day giving you an opportunity to be aware of your current state or to do a particular exercise.
Being present and aware is the great key that unlocks your fullest potential. I'd also recommend "Working on yourself Doesn't Work." by Ariel and Shya Kane, a must read book for anyone interested in living in the present. The authors put forth the premise that there is nothing fundamentally wrong with you or anyone else. Trying to fix you, therefore, merely creates a cycle of despair. Their approach suggests that holding yourself up to the warm light of awareness (the noticing of what is without judging or trying to fix or change what you see) is enough to radically transform your life. In both books, it is all about being here. Regardless of what this moment includes, your life will radically transform if you fully experience it and allow it to be exactly as it is.

I loved this book! I've been a big fan of THE POWER OF NOW for quite a while. But, this book was awesome in helping me to learn to actually practice living in the present moment in my everyday, hectic and stressful life.

I highly recommend this book!

Present Moment Awareness is a wonderful book. It is luminous in its simplicity and very clear about what can support you in developing your awareness and increase your ability to live in the moment and act appropriately. I particularly love all the personal stories which account for the difference that awareness makes in a person's life. In this respect I was particularly interested by all the examples of parent/child relationships and how awareness has helped those parents become appropriate and caring and break the cycle of abuse that they themselves had known.

This book also reminds me very much of another luminous and excellent book "Working on Yourself Doesn't Work" by Ariel and Shya Kane and I would encourage the readers who have loved Present Moment Awareness to check it out. It also deals with the magic of awareness and the present moment and has a definite power of transformation. After reading it I started acting more appropriately and effectively and I have seen myself live my life in a much more direct manner and more free of mental chatter and other negative distractions. A must.

This book really delivered on its promise of how to improve my life and existence by being present in the moment. The only fault I have with it is that the wrting style was a bit dry and impersonal. I've been very positively influenced by books I've found here recently which not only educate and lead the reader to enhanced modes of living, but are also very entertaining to read at the same time. For example, Clint Arthur's instructional memoire "9 Free Secrets of New Sensual Power," which I wholeheartedly advise everyone to investigate if they really want an enjoyable read that not only entertains but also Educates on a very personal and essential level! There's also a memoire by a woman called "Wisdom Daddy Taught Me" which serves up a very healthy plateful of knowledge and material to improve the reader's life in addition to being extremely fun to read. All of these books are very highly recommended, but if you want the best of them all, get the one by Clint because it will empower you and thrill you at the same time.

I required students in my high school class to read Present Moment Awareness because of its simplicity and relevance to everyday life. The book provided me with tools to cope with fear, stress, uncertainty, and emotional turbulance and I immediately saw the value for young people. The response was tremendous. One student even asked his mother, who he described as "stressed out", to read the book. He was certain it would help her find the balance he had achieved. I encourage you to not only read the book and practice the exercises for present moment awareness, but also to share this valuable resource to the young people in your life.

This book really creates positive change. If you want sustainable results and wish to see your new awareness create desired behavioral change this is great read , Highly recommended.

PMA has a unique power to distil complex ideas and make them simple and therefore usable. Buy it, you will be glad you did.