Hi, this is Monique Rhodes. Welcome to the In Your Right Mind Podcast, where we're learning how to be happier by working with our minds.
If you'd like to know more about what I teach, come to iintendtobehappy.com. I’d love to help you begin your journey toward a happier, more peaceful life.
The Noise of Modern Life
Life today is full.
Full of meetings.
Full of demands.
Full of noise.
We’re constantly moving—from one task to another, one role to another. One minute you're a mother. Then a worker. Then a friend.
It all blurs.
And our minds?
They race—like a street packed with cars, thoughts honking for our attention.
We're Never Really Here
The truth is, so much of our suffering isn’t caused by what’s happening.
It’s caused by our absence.
We’re rarely here—fully, truly here.
We’re rushing into the future or dragging the past behind us.
But the past is filtered and fragmented. It’s not even real anymore.
And in all this movement, we miss the richness and relief of now.
The Gentle Art of Coming Back
One of the most life-changing things we can do is learn to come back.
Back to the present.
Not with big gestures.
Just gently, again and again.
That’s what presence is.
It’s not about stillness or perfection.
It’s about choosing to be here—with your breath, your body, your emotions—just as they are.
Interrupting the Pattern
When we pause, even for a moment, we break the cycle of reactivity.
We create space.
And in that space, something beautiful opens up.
We stop reacting from habit and start choosing from awareness.
The Difference Between Reacting and Responding
When I work with couples, I see this often.
They’re stuck in the same patterns.
One says something, the other snaps.
They escalate instead of soften.
They react instead of respond.
Presence changes that.
Small Steps, Big Shifts
You don’t need an hour of stillness to practice presence.
The smallest acts can bring you back:
- Take a deep breath before a difficult conversation.
- Feel your feet on the ground in the middle of a busy day.
- Notice where you’re holding tension in your body.
These aren't escapes.
They are returns.
Returns to yourself.
The Courage to Stay
Meditation teaches you to stay—with yourself, with discomfort, with life.
It’s not zoning out.
It’s self-respect.
It says: even when this is hard, I won’t abandon myself.
And when you make that choice again and again—it becomes your way of being.
A Quiet Rebellion
The world wants you to fix, numb, escape.
But presence?
It’s a rebellion.
A soft one.
It says: I won’t let the noise outside drown out the truth inside me.
Presence Changes Everything
No, presence won’t solve every problem.
But it will change your relationship to those problems.
And that changes everything.
Because when you're present:
- You stop acting out the past.
- You stop anxiously scripting the future.
- You respond to what is—with clarity, kindness, and wisdom.
That’s where peace begins.
Not out there.
Right here.
I hope this has been helpful.
As always, be kind.
Take care.
Go gently in the world.
