We live in one moment, now. The past is over, it no longer exists, and the future hasn’t happened yet. Which leaves us with this one moment we are in right now. This is one-mindfulness, being present here and now, present to our lives, and actions.

It’s easy for us to get caught up in the past and the future, and lose focus on the now. We may think about past events, things we did or didn’t do, things other people did. We may wish our pasts were different, or that we could go back to a particular time. And we may think about the future and what that could bring, often in a negative way. During all of these thoughts, we are not focusing on the here and now.

Trying to be in the moment while thinking of our pasts and our futures is really too much for one person to bear in a single moment.

One-mindfulness means doing one thing at a time, in the here and now. It’s focusing attention on one activity, and being fully present. As we discussed earlier in the module, multi-tasking is inefficient, the key is to learn to be in one activity or moment at a time.

The core skills of mindfulness as whole are skills we can apply in the moment, to help us avoid distress or reckless reactions. The times when we use these skills may be difficult or emotional situations. This is why we practice them daily, so that when we need them in the moment, we can call upon them.

Being present in the moment allows us to be aware of our current experience, including our emotions and sensations, thoughts and actions. While present, we need to actively focus on what we experiencing. This involves letting go of the past (which is over) or the future (which hasn’t happened yet).