One of the practices in Primal Tao (Tao of Nature) training is working on our daily attitude towards ourselves, our surroundings, and towards others.
We call it the practice of KAN – Kindness, Appreciation and Now.
Frequently, we do not realise how much of our perception of the world comes from our own thinking and acting in this world.
We do not realise that everything we think, say and do has as much of an impact on others as it does on our own selves.
Therefore, when we treat others with Kindness, automatically we create an inner and outer environment ripe with opportunities for joy, happiness, gratitude, compassion etc. It simply makes us feel good about ourselves and the world around us. Anyone who’s ever done a small favour to another human being, knows that feeling and its wonderful consequences.
There are reasons to believe that we used to experience it much more frequently and it is only the modern pace of life and the stress that it creates that seem to cause the disappearance of this great habit.
The cultivation of Appreciation is another delightful strategy of influencing our own mood and changing the mood of others. Just like there are always many challenges that our life comes with, there are also wonderful things that we can and should remember to be grateful for. No matter how small, it is of the utmost importance to acknowledge to ourselves all our little achievements, accomplishments of others, the daily comforts, relationships and opportunities that we are blessed with. Understanding and feeling thankful for the “good” things in our life is one of the most powerful tools to find peace and contentment with what is.
When practiced regularly it creates an effortless ability to find simple enjoyment and pleasure of living in whatever circumstances we happen to live in.
When we remember to focus more on the present moment, when we manage to stop thinking for a second about what happened yesterday and what will happen tomorrow – this very moment is the only time when we experience life as it is. This is the only time when we have a chance to fully enjoy our body, our mind and our surroundings because usually, most of the time we are “somewhere else” – not here and now.
Many physical and mental activities that cause unusual focus of attention (like extreme sports or engagement in creating art) can be very addictive because the feeling of being present and fully alive is second to none.
Practicing Now helps us to create a habit of remembering to concentrate on this moment and using it as well as we can.
Both Kindness and Appreciation tend to require a measure of being present Now and using them together gives the most significant results.
