03/12/2025
TY Judith,
Have you ever walked into a room and forgot why you went there or what you were going to do?
That actually has a name and is called “The Doorway Effect.” It is a known psychological event and it occurs because we change both the physical and mental environments, moving to a different room and thinking about different things. It also highlights the fact that we are so often not fully present in our lives and our minds are on a dozen different things, either past or present.
Want to run an experiment to see how present you are in your day/life? Every time you walk through a door pause and mentally check what you are thinking about at that second. Ask yourself, "was I just thinking about whatever I am doing right this minute, or is my mind off in the past or future?"
Why not use doorways as useful triggers to get present and be—right here—right now? It is actually a fantastic meditation that can be used throughout the day to reduce stress.
It is actually not easy to do, because so often we go about our day and our minds are completely somewhere else thinking about things that are not occurring. The shocking thing is that we are not present for the vast majority of our life. We get trapped in the busyness, tasks, agendas, etc., that it is even difficult to even be aware enough to remember why we walked into a room let alone notice we are walking through a doorway. However, it is when we are truly present and aware of the NOW that we experience and love life.
Today is a perfect day to practice pausing as we walk through each door’s threshold—to take a breath—to be aware—to get fully into the present moment.
