alice amber | The Agile Guide to Awareness
The Life of a Single Day: Restart
Chapter 1:
Why Not Live in the "Now"?
Each day we wake up, and life continues — in happiness, in sorrow, or somewhere in between. Along the way, we realize there isn’t enough time for everything we wanted to do. Some things remain undone. So… we push them to another day. But that day is already filled with plans!
And so we go to sleep, postponing life until tomorrow — because we need to rest from it… from life itself.
And so we go to sleep, postponing life until tomorrow — because we need to rest from it… from life itself.
And the Wheel of Samsara — the Wheel of Time — keeps turning,
circling, as we run with it… to nowhere.
“All paths are the same: they lead nowhere... But one has heart, the other doesn’t.
One makes for a joyful journey; as long as you follow it, you are one with it. The other will make you curse your life. One makes you strong; the other weakens you.”
— Carlos Castaneda, The Teachings of Don Juan
One makes for a joyful journey; as long as you follow it, you are one with it. The other will make you curse your life. One makes you strong; the other weakens you.”
— Carlos Castaneda, The Teachings of Don Juan
What if we don’t have those upcoming days
to postpone things to?
It’s a rhetorical question.
to postpone things to?
It’s a rhetorical question.
And let’s not go to extremes, like the suggestion in some teachings: “Live this day as if it were your last.” Because that doesn’t make much sense while we’re still inside the Wheel.
And because one of the most powerful gifts a human being has is our ability to intend ourselves forward — toward the “future”… and somehow magically arrive in that intended future.
And because one of the most powerful gifts a human being has is our ability to intend ourselves forward — toward the “future”… and somehow magically arrive in that intended future.
So why is it that we, as human beings with the Power
to Intend Ourselves Forward, sometimes or often struggle
to manifest our plans, ideas, and dreams with ease?
This is the practical question worth exploring...
to Intend Ourselves Forward, sometimes or often struggle
to manifest our plans, ideas, and dreams with ease?
This is the practical question worth exploring...
Often this happens because our focus of perception and our ability to intend ourselves forward dissolve, causing us to lose concentration and power — and eventually shifting our attention to another ‘important’ aspect of life.
Each day passes as if we’re RESTARTING our lives again and again — not identically, never 100% the same, but remarkably similar. Our daily routine repeats itself even when the day brings some bright moments and new experiences.
Thus, we find ourselves at work, with our family, in relationships, at the sofa, in procrastination, or perhaps in depression, endlessly chasing happiness. For each of us, the energy of the Wheel of Time, the weight of daily suffering, and the unbearability of existence flow differently. Yet the “solution” often looks the same: we oversleep, overeat, lose ourselves in empty social interactions, being lonely by doing many things...
Constant tension, emotional or/and physical pain become the norm in most of our daily life experiences, and we tend to ignore it until it becomes too much to bear.
Each day passes as if we’re RESTARTING our lives again and again — not identically, never 100% the same, but remarkably similar. Our daily routine repeats itself even when the day brings some bright moments and new experiences.
Thus, we find ourselves at work, with our family, in relationships, at the sofa, in procrastination, or perhaps in depression, endlessly chasing happiness. For each of us, the energy of the Wheel of Time, the weight of daily suffering, and the unbearability of existence flow differently. Yet the “solution” often looks the same: we oversleep, overeat, lose ourselves in empty social interactions, being lonely by doing many things...
Constant tension, emotional or/and physical pain become the norm in most of our daily life experiences, and we tend to ignore it until it becomes too much to bear.
Ancient traditions, modern medicine, and holistic healers worldwide assert that a healthy being should not have pain — yet, it persists. In summary:
The presence of tension or pain indicates an imbalance in one’s health and inner coherence. Rather than ignoring it, we must address and resolve it.
That’s why planning to be joyful and healthy in this life situation of constant tension is quite difficult. We end up postponing many important things — our smiles, hugs, laughter, joy, meaningful meetups, even the chance to watch a sunset.
We need to acknowledge that carving out daily moments of inner calm — and allowing ourselves to be amazed, surprised, and inspired — is the most important practice on the path out of the Wheel.
By Restarting your life each day — bringing...
- presence,
- attention,
- kindness,
- discipline,
- spontaneity,
- and fullness
And I’m talking only about Restarting a Day, because most of us have no idea where we spend our nights by "simply" sleeping, and certainly being not “here.” So let this be a side branch of our discussion: nighttime dreaming. We’ll explore that in another chapter later.
“So what about our daytime life?”
The idea is simple — YOU HAVE ONLY ONE DAY OF LIFE, AND IT'S TODAY.
You don’t have yesterday anymore, and tomorrow hasn’t happened yet, because “yesterday” and “tomorrow” are just merely convenient models for describing time in its simplest, linear form.
The idea is simple — YOU HAVE ONLY ONE DAY OF LIFE, AND IT'S TODAY.
You don’t have yesterday anymore, and tomorrow hasn’t happened yet, because “yesterday” and “tomorrow” are just merely convenient models for describing time in its simplest, linear form.
There is only One Day of Life,
and that day is Today.
and that day is Today.
“Why not live in the Now?” one may ask.
Because it’s obviously too brief to function effectively in social life. Whether we like it or not, we are social animals living in a world of human beings with its rules and agreements that keep us from living in the Now.
I would say, “Now is not for now right now.” 😊
Living in the Now is possible… however, this chapter isn’t about that.
Let’s focus on the experience of a Single Day at the beginning to make this awareness training available. When you’re ready, of course, you can move on to living in the "Now and Here" completely. And maybe that can be one of the goals of all this.
Because it’s obviously too brief to function effectively in social life. Whether we like it or not, we are social animals living in a world of human beings with its rules and agreements that keep us from living in the Now.
I would say, “Now is not for now right now.” 😊
Living in the Now is possible… however, this chapter isn’t about that.
Let’s focus on the experience of a Single Day at the beginning to make this awareness training available. When you’re ready, of course, you can move on to living in the "Now and Here" completely. And maybe that can be one of the goals of all this.
Why is it so difficult to plan and
live your own life the way you really want?
live your own life the way you really want?
Let's do some math here... What if this life is 80 years long — or even 90, 100, or 150 years?
80 years is about 29,000 days.
Is it really so hard to plan and live those 29,000 days in a way that feels good, meaningful, and pleasant each day?
It seems so! Because it’s hard to truly intend and live even a Single Day the way you really want to. So planning and living 29,000 days like that feels even more difficult — maybe even impossible. It’s hard to maintain that kind of focus for so long, especially knowing that the invisible force of Death also plays a part in this “game” of each Day Restarting.
So the idea is simple...
You have only
One Day = This Day = Today
Planning and living just One Single Day feels much easier and more realistic than trying to manage thousands of days in a row — especially when those days may never even come.
Only one day!
What a relief one might feel from this simple idea, from this single shift in perception!
And at the same time, how much frustration it can bring — not having security in tomorrow, in the future...
“What about long-term plans?” you might ask.
Don’t worry about that question right now.
Just make yourself a cup of tea, enjoy this moment, and jump into the exercise below.
Exercise of Awareness - 1
And right now, I invite you to try the first exercise of awareness — something you can experience Today.
Please go through the five simple perception sets below.
It will take just 7–10 minutes. You may do this exercise as many times during the day as you like.
Let's get it started!
Please go through the five simple perception sets below.
It will take just 7–10 minutes. You may do this exercise as many times during the day as you like.
Let's get it started!
- #1 Space
- Look around and notice where you are...
- How did you end up here, in this very place? What came before this moment?
- Did you plan to be here — or did it just happen on its own?
Take your time... - #2 Physical Sensations
- How do you feel right now — being here in this place?
- Do you have any pain or tension in your physical body?
- Do you feel comfortable right now?
Take your time...
You may take notes on what feels tense or painful (“My List of Pain”) - #3 EmotionsTry not to go too deep into your emotions right now — just noticing them, so you can stay focused and continue with the exercise.
- What do you feel on an emotional level?
- What are those feelings about? Try to identify them...
- Where did they come from?
- Are these feelings truly yours, or did they come from someone else around you?
- #4 Breathing
- And you may start noticing your breathing — what’s happening with it right now? Just observe…
Take your time... - #5 Your Plans
- Do you have any plans for later today — for the next moment of your day?
- With what exact feeling are you looking at your next step?
- Do you want to do it?
- And is there something specific you've already planned for today that you really don’t want to do?
- What is it — and why?
Take your time...
Start creating a list of things you don’t want to do today. We’ll work on it!
(“My Don’t-Want-To-Do List”)
We’ll stop here for now… May your day be beautiful!
To explore more exercises and guidance
for Restarting Your Day
Join Our Weekly Experiential Group
Every Thursday at 11:00 AM (Mexico City time)
My name is Alice Amber, and I am a Full Transformational Holistic Mentor, Initiator, and Trainer. I lead this online group, specializing in Integrative Coaching and guiding awareness through both individual and group consciousness-expanding work.
Learn more about Private Sessions with me
Fresh chapters are coming!
Exercise of Awareness #1
Chapter 2
Is coming...
© 2025 Alice Amber | Full Transformational Holistic Mentor, Initiator and Trainer
© 2025 Alice Amber | Full Transformational Holistic Mentor, Initiator and Trainer
