Often we are not really present. We think about the past or make plans for the future. There is nothing wrong with digesting what was and thinking of what shall be, as long as both is contained in the present moment, as long as it is linked to the full acceptance of Now, with the consciousness, that the past cannot be changed and the future can’t be controlled.
Also, we are not living presence if we reduce and compare ourselves and try to be someone else in order to be more successful. To have role models and goals may be useful at times, the question remains: do they correspond to my real self and do they help me to manifest it?
Not being present means to withdraw a part of completeness from our union with others. Presence is a bridge to all fellow humans and everything that is. Being present is “contagious”: if we are present, others are likely to join. This creates a kind of synchronicity making things “fall into place”. When that happens, we understand why “non-acting in the state of being present” has been considered to be the highest form of acting.
In the state of being we connect with the origin of creation, home of the “big bang”. With this tie to our inmost source of creativity we find orientation for our individual path. With a clear alignment, confidence and serenity will grow. Meditation is a good way to train “simply being”. It makes us turn to the Here and Now while thoughts, concepts and convictions lose their seeming importance.
If we are fully present we might describe it as feeling “complete”, as being at peace with ourselves and the world, despite all the suffering, injustice and error around. Those are inevitable companions on the path that takes us from the original Divine unity to an existence in a world of polarity and back again to unity.
There are moments that remind us of the grandeur of just being and accepting – moments of letting go, of “forgetting” time and “ourselves”, just as it happens during creative and playful action or on other occasions that give an impression of a higher reality (like experiencing the sublimity of nature, or a blissful encounter). Such surprising moments serve as an encouragement to pursue the path to our original home – unity.
Inspired by these encouragements we discover behind the surface of worldly appearances a spiritual reality of awesome dimension and beauty inciting our deepest desire. Mystics of all religions have called this reality the true home of mankind. Experiencing reality in the state of “simply” being is characterized with paradoxical circumscriptions: being in space yet being boundless, in time and timeless, completely empty and yet abundantly filled – all at the same time.
In this state we overcome confrontational polarity and leave behind constraining thoughts and anxieties. We become ready to accept fellow humans as friends and helpers, even if fate put them in our way to appear as opponents. Living presence dissolves illusion stemming from patterns of feeling victimized by a seemingly hostile world. It also cuts cumbersome attachements to material possession and its short-lived satisfactions.
The power of presence has a fiery nature, destroying everything but truth. Feeling the infinite love of this fire and recognizing its kinship to the flame in our heart, we can invite this fire to burn all blocks and attachments that prevent us from truely being ourselves, from being present.
The fire of presence is a Divine fire of creation. It has the power to destroy and create anew what we surrender to it. With the loving care of many devoted hearts this fire grows. That makes it easier to meet the challenges of contemporary life in a serene and compassionate manner as the heart “comprehends” the miraculous complexity beneath the surface of appearance.
In the state of being we understand growth and decay to be the inevitable parts of an infinite fiery dance renewing creation in every single moment, showing change to be our inmost desire. Being present we truely feel alive, ready to discover new talents and make them work for a fulfilled life.
It is my great pleasure to share the fire of being with more and more fellow humans.