Repetition vs. Repetition

A major reason the we are not in the present moment is because of repetitive habits of letting the mind wander here and there. Repetition is The act or process or an instance of repeating or being repeated.

Have you tried to stay in the present moment? You might wonder what does that mean? Think about it.

• Have you attempted to watch and be fully conscious of everything that you do right now without other thoughts of the past or the future? Like right now you are reading this.
• Are you fully present?
• Are you the type of person who cuts off the other person in a conversation? Do you fully listen to what they are saying, or were you thinking about what to say in response to them before they were finished?
• Are you repeatedly unconscious of your everyday actions like how you sit, breathe, carry your posture?

Let's say for example you are washing the dishes. Are you fully present with the dishes? Are you looking at the dishes, noticing if they are getting clean, feeling the water and the soap . Or are you going through the motions of washing but your mind is someplace else? This process happens through repetition. Or maybe you are at the gym working out on the treadmill. Are you looking at a tv screen, reading a magazine, or listening to your ipod? Are you fully alert on that machine looking at your pace, how you are breathing or noticing your heart rate?

'Yogas citta vritti nirodhah ' sutra 1.2 defines yoga as when one has restrained or stilled the fluctuations of the mind. It is interesting to note that even doing this process of practicing yoga, whether the physical postures, concentration, meditation or chanting requires repetition.

Getting back to being present in the moment, it is paradoxical that repetition can be viewed as a practice to change the unconscious repetition that happens on daily basis. Repetition can be viewed as positive or negative depending on the circumstances. Of course we do need the repetition process for walking, exercising the body, breathing, keeping our hearts beating. But aside from those functions, which repetition are you doing or what repetition is doing you? What type of pattern is being created in your life? What kind of vibration is emanating from you?