I went down hill skiing for the first time in my life last week.  The first hour I spent in a rigorous lesson, learning to keep my torso bent forward, my feet flat on the skis, how to turn, how to stop, how to mount the chair lift, and how to fall.   I was completely intimidated by the small training hill my instructor started me out on.  But by the end of the lesson I was actually swooshing down the hill, putting just enough pressure on my outside foot so that the ski would turn slightly up hill so I could stop, then I would aim down the hill again and let myself go.

It was exhilarating.  The fresh, cold, MN air filling my lungs and the woosh of the wind in my ears as I swept down that hill. I could feel every muscle in my thighs and calves.  My body was tingling and my belly was pushing its way up to my throat, and my heart was full with a deep satisfaction of having learned something that was way out of my comfort zone.  

It was only two hours later on the ride home that I realized how wholly concentrated I had been on skiing.  There were no other concerns in my mind except my boots, clicked into those skis, my aching shins, my bent knees, my aim, the snow, the hill, not falling, and pure joy of being completely connected to my physical self.

It made me wonder if that’s one of the reasons the hobby is so popular.  There is nothing like that moment of pleasure when I’m with someone who I connect with on every level of my being.  When there is nothing else in the universe except his eyes, his breathing, his hands touching my skin, his body on top of mine, his lips grazing mine.  That moment when I am swept away from time and space but grounded absolutely to the physical sensations that are happening in my body.  The moment where spirit, emotions, and body collide and are completely in synch.  Where my thoughts are on nothing else but what is happening right now.

Are there other moments like this for you?  What are the experiences in life that take your breath away, that allow you to get out of the normal conversations running through your head and focus entirely on the experience of NOW?   What other ways are there to practice this wonderful and healing exercise:  the practice of living in the now…..  How do you find that moment??

For me, there is nothing quite like putting on a back pack, getting my wilderness permit, and going into the forest for several days. The solitude, the beauty, and not seeing another two-legged animal until I come back out. Living in California can make you appreciate being away from people for a spell. There are some wonderful places to see in this country. Age has, of course, taken it's toll, and I can't carry the 40 lb pack that I used to, and I find myself taking the somewhat easier trails now, but the beauty is still out there, and thare is a whole lot of "out there" to be seen and treasured. You don't have to be a survival hiker to enjoy it, but the better shape you're in, the more there is to see.

I break down my experiences into 3 categories:

1. Fun - Volleyball, ping pong
2. Inspirational - Wildlife, moving musical performances
3. Discipline - Tai Chi, playing a musical instrument (guitar).

All of them keep me in the moment.

I've tried downhill skiing though never could get past the fear stage enough to enjoy it.  After a few turns on the bunny hill I tend to wander off looking for a hot tub.  I'm glad you had such a good experience strapping those sticks to your feet and managed to avoid any trees and hard falls.
: )

Breathwork, yoga, hiking, playing with color (it would be a stretch to say that I paint!)... I have a few things that I like to do to come into Now.

It's easy to forget to be present, we have so much pulling us into the future and the past and into the intellectual space that is everywhere else but here.  Being present and embodied in the time and space that we occupy is a challenge and a conscious choice to be made.

Thanks for the reminder!

Painting and Gardening do it for me.
I just love creating with color..

I am happy to hear you had a great time skiiing.
It has been years since Maddy saw a slope.

The downside to living in the south, no mountains well unless you drive north or fly west.

keep on keeping on darling!
smokinhot sexymaddy

What I mean by that is that even if I am doing something less than desirable/enjoyable, I can still enjoy the time by keeping my mind active on other things. (I learned this back when I had mundane service-sector jobs.)  I can be happy doing work around the home if I am listening to a nice seminar or podcast. I do enjoy the feeling of seeing a project come to successful completion, whether a new flower bed, wood-working project, or even an adhoc food creation.

I do also enjoy the more commonly thought of activities as well. Campfires, long beach hikes (an all-natural beach is a short drive away. Talk about being in the ‘Now’ in your ‘altogether’!), coastal kayaking, and evening walks in the snow.

As Hungry stated above, one of my first two thoughts reading your question was "Being immersed in Nature" (and NO, for you perverted folks out there, don't try to look up a provider named Nature with the search function).

Second thought was, "Serious sports concentration".  Certain sporting activities when performed at a high enough level, with enough practice, can produce the type of singular awareness of the moment that you are describing.  Most athletes call it, "Being in the zone."  It is a real phenomenon, and it is extremely satisfying.  Albeit more fleeting as I age

Interestingly enough, it almost never happens for me during sexual interaction.  The planets have to be aligned and I have to be extremely comfortable with my partner.  I would be shocked if the Hobby ever afforded me the complete awareness of the Now.

Of course, if I ever do run across this, I'll then be posting on the Erotic Highway about how I fell in love with a provider

{edited for spelling}

-- Modified on 3/14/2008 12:39:27 PM

I love to be in the here and now while making love.  It's the only way to go.

Other than that, taking hot pans out of the oven or attempting to get my cat off my lap without getting clawed are about the only other two ways to practice.

I do, practice the keyboard Bev gave me last December and that takes a lot of concentration; especially when using the metronome.

gentle breeze and the sound... of flowing water... yea....   Know it sound corny - but "one with nature" sure fits that - and as was said in an old "Shoe" cartoon "going fishing is 'good fishing' - actually catching fish is 'great fishing'!"

What you've described is something that too many people will never know. Nothing like it.

I really enjoyed reading your post.
I just began salsa classes and I really enjoy them, more than I ever imagined I would.  Being a larger lady, I am acutely aware of the judgments others make about me so taking a dance class is uncomfortable, to say the least.  However, I discovered a few things.  First, I’ve always loved to dance but salsa specifically is almost mesmerizing in both a physical and sexual way.  It’s so nice to let your body just sway with the music and your partner’s body.  Second, doing something in a group of beginners is SO much fun and the commonality of being inexperienced is really freeing.  I feel proud that I am going outside of my comfort zone and for that hour, I am not thinking about my bills, my job, my family or where my life is heading- just dancing.

As for the sexual high, I was treated this afternoon to a 3hr appointment full of bliss.  Nothing can be compared to kissing, touching and savoring a good sex partner for hours.  I think that’s why I adore GFE so much.  It is such a turn on to be grabbed, squeezed and kissed when I open the door.  Feeling lips on my neck, finger tips pressing my nipples thru my blouse and feeling a growing hardness pressed against my hips- that is what this is supposed to be.  That tingle, those chills, that rush…it is so enjoyable.  I suppose that’s why I love my regulars so much, they already know just how I like to be touched and I them.  We know each others lives, we like one another and we can just relax and do our best to please each other as much as possible for the time allotted.

XO
Melanie

And then there is me.  I fall somewhere around “X” on that scale. What may be slightly busy or distracting for others, can sometimes feel chaotic and overwhelming to me.

So I *have to* do things that bring me back into ‘now/present/quiet’ or I start to go a little nuts. Cooking, painting., playing music are a few things that are wonderfully ‘simple-minded’—if you will. It’s difficult to think about much else when sipping wine and trying to keep the risotto from sticking.

Meditation. This is usually easier after the wine and the risotto.

Being anywhere near water—the ocean especially, is amazingly grounding.

Sailing on a calm warm night, naked under a full moon is an experience not to be missed as often as possible.

I’ve always found cycling on quiet country roads to be very centering. I think it’s that combination of body movement and controlled rhythmic breathing. It can be trance inducing. And if you get enough road under you, there’s that great endorphin kick too.  

But, it really is hard to beat an erotic massage with a happy ending. Talk about being present in the moment.  And all I have to do is lay there and enjoy myself and remember to breath. What’s better than that?

OK....maybe an erotic massage on a calm warm night, under a full moon on a sailboat followed by some wine and risotto. Then playing music and painting till dawn.

Once I jumped in a stream, in early morning, to fly fish, with the intent to be back to the cabin in time for breakfast. I fished away for awhile until my stomach started to rumble, looked up, and judging be the sun it was mid-afternoon, and I was lost. Boy, did I catch hell from my SO.

-- Modified on 3/14/2008 3:45:24 PM

I find those moments by following my passions. Music, hiking, woodworking, relationships, and snow skiing. The key is exactly what you said- to get so caught up in the moment that the internal dialog shuts up for a while and we sort of fall into the experience of the moment. One of the reasons my former ATF became so important to me was that she was able to create such a perfect environment for this to happen.

As I've gotten better at experiencing this, I've found that many of the things that used to seem so very important now seem trivial and I'm more free to focus on the things that help me experience the sublime mystery of NOW.

-- Modified on 3/14/2008 7:43:21 PM

Taken in Yellowstone in late October 1999.

What comes to mind for me is a time I was with some friends out east of nowhwere in W.Va., on the edge of the "southernmost sub-artic swamp in the North American Continent" - the towns only claim to fame. This is a town where if traffic was really heavy, 2 cars a day would pass on the street in front of the house where we were staying. You get the drift, it was very quiet and serene. It was in the middle on the night. Crystal clear skies. We city-boys were just sitting on this embankment on the side of the main road that runs through the middle of town; getting lost in the great cosmic display above our heads. We could actually SEE all the stars and were able to easily make out the Milky Way spread out from horizon to horizon. Then we noticed this weird sort of humming noise. Took us a couple of minutes to realize we were HEARING the electricity running through the wires above our heads! What a moment...

places to fish... and once was fishing a stream in Yellowstone... Hiked in about 2 miles from the road... was wading... and all of a sudden there was a ruckus... I was in an otter's spot... he was standing on shore just jabbering away... and while I don't speak otter... I knew what he was saying... "get the @3!@#$$!@ otta my spot!"  one with nature...

for me?  A little

CCR ---
Lead Z
Moody Blues...
Who...
Elton John...
Beatles...
Charlie Daniells...
and of course...
Crosby Stills Nash and Young.

Racing my car.  It takes such intense concentration to focus on "staying ahead of the car" and trying to be "in one with the car."   I know that sounds like some Zen B/S, but it's true.  I know my car so well and the car sort of knows me too (the car is probably thinking "you idiot, don't slow down here!).   The sound, the smells the feeling of G forces, positive and negative and even the way I'm completely encased in the seat, harness and HANS.  It's damn near sexual.   When I'm done..I'm really DONE..exhausted.  The mental tiredness is far more than the physical.

I'm certainly not highly skilled but I've been doing it a long time (40 years) and I do it well enough that I get from it the thrill I want.   I'm sure a lot better at that than I am at sex (sadly so)

There are so many different ways to experience that connectedness with in our whole beings.  I could read posts like this all day.  Thank you for sharing these experiences.  I just want to hear more and more.  
I vowed this year that I would force myself to experience life more fully.  My next adventure is going to be Kayak lessons....
but I'm also looking into Tai Chi.  Now I wonder if I should take up fishing..  : )

I started when I was 18 years old in the South Pacific.  Scuba Diving was just another thing to do.  Then I joined the western world and went corporate. Lost track of that woeld.  Glad to say that I rediscovered it in the Caribean last year as I turned 50.