The Point of Presence
There is a good chance that if you have opened this email or blog post, you are interested in this topic.
If you are still reading, you have invested in the Power of Presence as a long-term antidote to the busy and distracted life that we all contend with daily.
If you have made it this far, thank yourself for staying focused on the task at hand, for not flipping through Instagram or Facebook, closing the browser, turning on the TV, scheduling an appt., playing digital solitaire or any other illusory method, as a means to the busy life we are so accustomed to, a means to no end.
We are drowning in information while starving for wisdom ~EO Wilson.
Begging for your Busyness
In a world that begs for your busyness, we often turn a blind eye to what is right before us. What lies within us, right here and now, is where you can show up exactly as you are, ready for what will come your way. We live distracted, seesawing between what has happened (the past) and what will happen (the future), we desire and want things, and people, and stuff and trips and shows and things that create an illusion within our mind that by having those things we will be more “___________”
Pain and Suffering arise through desire or craving, and to be free of pain, we need to cut the bonds of desire ~Buddha.
We are constantly searching for this picture of the future or this memory of the past that we live in a space created by the limits and controls of our mind. The Point of Presence is you have the power to pivot and choose right now. It seems so simple, but the mind does not feed the present moment, it is fed by your unsuppressed, commitment to now consciousness.
Transcending the Distractions of the Mind
Eckhart Tolle, the author of The Power of Now, reminds us that you are not your mind or the voice in your head. It is often not relevant to the situation you are facing. You attempt to see the present moment through the eyes of the past and end up with a distorted view of everything in your world. Freedom from your mind starts by observing the voice in your head.
3 Ideas to Focus on
- Pay attention to patterns on repeat
- Refrain from judgment
- Become a witness
Witness your Presence
Becoming a warm witness is, in my opinion, witnessing with a kind heart and an open mind to what is happening within. Don’t abandon who you are in search of peace in the present moment. The present moment is, there is no search. When you search for something outside of you, you will inevitably come up short; we aren’t something beyond what we are now. Awareness of the present moment is the key that can unlock the gifts within now and initiates and invites your path to surrender.
Conditions of your Presence
The terms of our conditions require us to stand with a force that is happening within us, yet honor, and notice the present moment. When was the last time you saw the raindrop, the uneven ground, the birds chirping, the wind in your hair? It’s almost as if what is happening to us helps us arrive at the present moment if we notice. We don’t often notice; we are too focused on what is happening within us that we miss the opportunity right now. When we can be with where we are, we swallow the infinite possibilities not created by our minds.
When we are present, and when we arrive at a moment unconditioned by what the world tells us to be present for, we arrive unencumbered by our thoughts.
How can I arrive with Presence for every interaction that I have?
-you slow down.
You show up by slowing down. A pivotal paradox in the quest for more Presence. When observation of the world around you speed up your judgment and internal narrative, taking you far, far away to a place of daydreams, slowing down brings you back into your body and allows the witness within to save you a seat at the table.
Be Here Now ~ Ram Dass.
Being vs Doing-present moment
On a recent hiking adventure to the desert southwest, I felt myself “trying” to be present. I was focused on having a specific experience, knowing it would soon be a memory. I spent most of the time caught up in this back and forth mental strain of “gosh this is so wonderful” to “oh, no, it is going to be over soon”. As soon as I recognized this, I was no longer present, and able to capture the essence of being present. The present is often tricky, every moment sandwiched between the past and the future, just waiting for you to come alive. Spiral into the past, and your mind expects an outcome. Anticipate the future, and your mind creates illusions of what could be. Presence requires us to be, not do. Presence calls forth the compassion of who you are and where you’re at right now.
Who am I to where I am right now?
Presence, like a camera lens, opens hearts, opening up and letting in the beauty and the hardness and the gratitude and sadness and the fear and the injustice, as you allow. It is easy to keep the lens closed as we travel through life, not willing or ready to swallow the pain and sadness of the human condition. When we can arrive open and ready to take in whatever lies within us, it can create a balm for your heart, a band-aid for a wound, and we learn to lean into all that comes forth. When we allow the heart joys and the heartaches to weave a web within our heart by not shutting people out but letting people in, we create the conditions for Presence.
Try this:
Have you ever tried rubbing your belly and patting your head at the same time? Notice the focused attention you must bring to this activity. It is intentional and within. That same Presence pardons you from stubbing your toe, running a red light, or hitting your head. While it takes brainpower to perform these activities, they are no different than the Presence you can continually bring to your space, conscious, willing, and ready.
How can I look at my life as an inspiration to live in the present moment?
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better ~ Albert Einstein.
Nature-presence’s teacher
Nature is a timeless teacher. Have you ever paused to watch the flow of a river? It asks no permission about letting go and flowing. The river doesn’t stop to contemplate whether it’s going to move and flow, or whether it is going to stay stagnant and stuck. The river faces obstacles and flows effortlessly around them. Steadfast, with a quiet strength, it moves. If you watch the river, chronological time seems to stop, and embedded at the moment is a slow hum and a rhythm that ensconces you in the melody of now. The gravity of the river carves edges along the shoreline, creating new paths forward, like Presence’s path, inward toward your heart. Check out this guided meditation about anchoring into your true nature, through Insight Timer.
Don’t look for peace. Don’t look for any other state than the one you are in now; otherwise, you will set up inner conflict and unconscious resistance. Forgive yourself for not being peace. The moment you completely accept your non-peace, your non-peace becomes transmuted into peace. Anything you accept fully will get you there will take you into peace. This is the miracle of surrender. ― Eckhart Tolle
Great post! I too feel like being present and in each moment allows me to notice and enjoy the magic that surrounds us every day.