How Present Are You?

How many of your answers are prefabricated? It's useful to take stock of them and set them to the side so you can experience more free will and presence. Find out more in this mini podcast from John Morgan.

Grasshopper Notes are the writings from America's Best Known Hypnotherapist John Morgan. His podcasts contain his most responded to essays and blog posts from the past two decades. 

Find the written versions of these podcasts on John's website: https://grasshoppernotes.com​​ 

"The Grasshopper" the part of you that whispers pearls of wisdom that  seem to pop into your mind from out of the blue. John's essays and blog posts are his interpretations of these "Nips of Nectar." Others have labeled his writings as timeless wisdom. 

Most of the John's writings revolve around self improvement and self help. They address topics like:

• Mindfulness
• Peace of mind
• Creativity
• How to stay in the present moment
• Spirituality
• Behavior improvement

And stories that transform you to a wider sense of awareness that presents more options. And isn't that what we all want, more options? 

John uploads these podcasts on a regular basis. So check back often to hear these podcasts heard around the world. Who wants to be the next person to change? 

Make sure to order a copy of John's new book: WISDOM OF THE GRASSHOPPER – 21 Days to Creativity. These mini-meditations take you inside where all your creative resources live. And you'll come out not only refreshed but recommitted to creating your future. 

It's only $16.95 and available at BLURB.COM at the link below. https://www.blurb.com/b/10239673-wisd...

Also, download John's FREE book INTER RUPTION: The Magic Key To Lasting Change. It's available at John's website  https://GrasshopperNotes.com

Transcript

How Present Are You?

How many stock answers do you carry around in your tote bag?

We've all got 'em and bring them out so often that others can finish our sentences with them. There is a need for stock answers in our world. For example they work well with specific questions like, “Do you have a parrot?” Either you do or you don’t, or you have a cockatoo. The answer is right there in stock.

What about other questions though?

How often do you parcel out a pat answer?

Since we are creatures of patterns, the answer is quite often. There's two immediate difficulties I see with our normal way of answering.

1. We are not present with the questioner.
2. We may miss a treasure waiting to be discovered.

Think about the last time someone asked you a question to which you supplied a ready-made answer. It was a classic stimulus/response interaction which doesn’t provide any depth to the communication. It’s like a robot answered the question for you and you weren’t present. You didn’t give the questioner access to you – only to your gatekeeper.

When you become present with a questioner, you open the door to a deeper communication because that presence can be felt by others well past the superficial level of most interactions. Presence provides a fuller experience for all involved.

Secondly, when you become present, you swim in a deeper ocean. You go well past getting your feet wet and collecting a few shells. You get on your scuba gear and plumb the immeasurable depths. This is where the pirate booty exists.

So how do we become present with a questioner?

First, recognize you are about to give a prefabricated answer.

Second, just sit with the question for a moment and allow other choices to bubble up to the surface.

Other answers are there, you just need to create some space for them to pop in. Creating the space means interrupting your stock answer and just sitting with the question for a moment or two longer. You will notice different answers presenting themselves, offering you a choice. That's really exercising your free will that too often gets bypassed by you not being present.

After exploring the other possibilities, you may find that your off the shelf answer is the most appropriate. Even so, you have done two wonderful things by taking the time to be present.

1. You were part of a deeper connection with another human being.
2. You exercised your free will which is a rare occurrence in a stimulus/response world.

You may want to test this out in some low risk situations at first, like at the drive up window at McDonalds. “Do you want fries with that?” will now take on a whole new meaning for you.

Once you get some practice with being present, you can expand your new found skill to other areas of your life.

Exercising presence is an invigorating experience because you'll discover that your interactions now have more life to them. 

All the best,

John