Self-empowerment and living in the present moment  are things I am deeply passionate about. In fact, one of my favorite courses to teach is built around that concept of self-empowerement and is called “Empowered You”.

When I see people who are living a life of integrity, authenticity and self-empowerment, I want to share! My close friend Rachael McGrath has had the most amazing year. She has quite literally manifested the life of her dreams. She did this by being committed to staying in the present moment. Her story is so extraordinary I asked her to share with you! If you like this post, please share it! Feel free to leave comments below if you find her story moves and inspires you. And here she is, Rachael McGrath on the Power of the Present Moment.

The Power of the Present Moment 

Have you ever wondered what “be in the now” or “stay in the present moment” really means? We hear these phrases quite often, but it wasn’t until my life took a complete turn that I really understood how potent that idea is to our well-being.

About a year ago, I made the decision to leave a very full life in Idaho to take a job that would move me back to Northern California. I had been thinking about returning to my home territory off and on for a couple of years and I was finally ready. I received a great job opportunity so I hit the road! After five weeks in California, I lost my job, was diagnosed with a very rare autoimmune disease, and as I had no insurance, started going through savings pretty quickly. I had left my beloved Boise community , was new to an area, and really sick. I felt alone, terrified and devastated. It was a moment in time where I wanted to be anywhere but in my own skin. Yet I knew, deep down, it was crucial for me to be exactly where I was in that moment and not abandon myself in the process as I had many times in the past.

This was a pivotal moment. I decided to take a couple months off and concentrate on my health. I focused on my yoga practice, dove deeper into meditation, and spent hours in nature every day. I gave myself, my body, and my heart the attention it was screaming for. I gave myself the gift of presence and began the journey of establishing a new relationship with myself.

Through this process it became painfully clear how neglected and disconnected I was. I began to realize that I had lived my life being attached to what others needed, wanted, and expected of me. In order to feel safe, loved, and significant,  I’d allowed my identity and worth to be completely dependent on pleasing others.

As I continued to explore and nurture myself, I realized that the most important thing we can give ourselves, and where the root of healing begins, is our attention in the present moment—no matter how challenging, scary, or painful. This wasn’t easy. As I dropped deeper into my body and awareness huge amounts of discomfort, anxiety, and fear arose. But I stayed, I breathed, I let go. I was taking the first steps in becoming whole. I noticed that when I stayed present in this way, I allowed the moment to alchemize into something other than fear. I allowed the power of presence to heal me.

Things started to shift. My health slowly improved, I received an amazing job opportunity and I began to thrive. But most importantly, I learned how to be and stay with myself in good times and bad.

So how do we do this? Where do we start? How do we cultivate and practice generating our own significance that is about our own true nature from within?

We start where we are. We get to know ourselves. We connect with our breath. We listen and allow this space to inform us. We nurture and practice meeting every moment, no matter how uncomfortable, with our attention and love. We forgive ourselves. We cultivate understanding for maybe not being able to support ourselves in healthy ways in the past. We get to know ourselves beyond what we habitually reach for in order to cope. We become aware how we distract ourselves. We commit to something that brings us closer to that relationship with ourselves in order to support, encourage, and nourish our being as a whole. We get curious about who we are outside of the conditioned story through which we have lived and survived. We understand that in doing so we are rewriting our story and creating space for what’s wholesome and true.

And we take it one present moment at a time.

~Rachael McGrath

Support to stay in the present moment

Thank you, Rachael!! I love you and am so grateful for you sharing your story with all of us.

Staying present can help with overwhelm, depression and anxiety. Being in the present moment can help us make better decisions more easily. The Empowered You course focuses on healing past wounds so we can stay present in our daily lives. Enrollment is open for the fall session. You can get more information here.