Hello All,
I begin with prayer.
I’m feeling gratitude today. Things are challenging, but at the same time I feel resourced, confident, determined, and joyous in my awareness of my relationship with God, my family, and the world.
My daughter is dealing with one of life’s difficult challenges and I was able to be there for her as she needed me to be. It feels wonderful to have the love and skills and resources to be able to be there for her and anyone that God guides me to.
One of the skills that makes it easier to be there for someone as they need us to be as opposed to our own agenda getting in the way, is presence.
Presence is being centered in yourself and aware of the space around you. It’s our natural state when we are in the present moment and unafraid. When we are present, it is easier to hear how God is guiding us and what God is saying to us.
When we are not present, we are in a sense, outside of ourselves. People who talk so much that it’s hard to get a word in edge-wise, or tend to frequently bump into things, or say the wrong things at the wrong time are a few examples of people that are not likely to be present. And if we are not present, we cannot be aware. That doesn’t mean that once we learn to be present that we are at all times. It’s like anything else, it takes practice. I still have times when I’m not aware or not as aware as other times. But not nearly like I used to be as early as in 2000.
Awareness is what allows us to feel truly alive. Otherwise, without awareness we are reactive to our surroundings and situations instead of being an active participant in our lives. With awareness we learn how we have more control in our lives than we previously have thought and God’s Graces become more evident in our lives.
Presence is about the awareness of being. In other words, presence is about being aware of ourselves and that includes our thoughts, feelings, and actions. The awareness from the Power of Presence empowers us to be the spirit that God created us to be instead of blindly having knee jerk reactions to the things that happen to us in life. God wants us to be present because He wants us to hear His guidance. How much easier would life be for us if we have the awareness of how God is guiding us? I can tell you that from personal experience, not only does it make life easier, but it also makes life more joyous, more gracious, more peaceful, and more open to love.
When I was 6, I had a pet shark. I loved that shark. The shark may have been dead, and he was my pet for only a day before the smell began to get strong that my parents got rid of him. But that shark made me feel special. I don’t remember much except that I dragged him by the tail everywhere I went and that I was filled with a sense of joy and strong sense of connection. It was a fulfilling experience. (I don’t remember the kind of shark but it was about 4 to 6 feet long.)
I was present with that experience. I may not have had the awareness to articulate presence back then. (I don’t think it was even part of cultural vocabulary back then.) But the presence that I had with that shark made me feel connected in a way that it filled me and I can use it as a resource to this day.
About a year ago I was closing up the back of my car after taking my dog for a walk and I was in a state of presence. I was calm and open and had a wide sense of awareness ( about the size of an average room). As I was finishing up, because I was open and had a wide sense of awareness, I sensed a presence that came up suddenly and startled me on the inside. I calmly and quickly turned to see what I was sensing and it was a man going to his car nearby. He happened to have a quiet walk that I did not hear him, but because I was present, I sensed him. That sensing is the Holy Spirit communicating.
How can we “hear” the Holy Spirit if we are wrapped up in our own thoughts or perceptions or drama? It’s akin to when we listen to someone speak. If we are present, we may not know what they are going to say, but we do hear them. I may not know what the Holy Spirit is going to communicate, but if I’m open to God’s messages, then I will hear them, however He communicates them.
I used to have noticeable control issues, although I only recognized it since I’ve learned presence and have healed myself of much of them. I’ve used my skills and training in Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy and worked on my solar plexus, which is the center for control issues (for the most part). As I was holding myself in awareness and presence, I allowed myself to settle deeply and opened myself to God. I asked for His help in my healing process with my control issues. As I settled deeper into stillness (Psalm 46:10), I allowed myself to be the observer and waited. After a while a new awareness, an epiphany, came through. It is one of my favorites. Surrendering to God is not about relinquishing power. It’s about letting the power of God flow through you.
While I may still have some control issues, it is no longer an issue. It is no longer baggage. When that awareness came, I had a huge physiological and emotional release from my solar plexus. My faith, trust, and sense of empowerment soared and has been growing since. The stronger I am, the more I’m able to be there for others. The same goes for you and anyone. Pain expressed comes from pain felt within. The more healed we are, the stronger and more compassionate we are. Blueprints for being able to be there for others in need.
There is training that allows for the practice of presence to be made stronger and at different levels of awareness. But the basics that one can start with and grow from are simple. The basics are also beginning steps to enter meditation. Greater details on how to learn presence will have to be on another post, but the basics begin with breath. Sitting comfortably, become aware of your breath. Close your eyes and allow yourself to watch your breath. Observe it as it goes into your body and out of your body. Just be with it for anywhere from several breaths to several minutes. This helps to calm the system and thus makes it easier for one to become aware.
And awareness is the next step to letting ourselves open to God’s Love in our lives. After all, all any of us truly want is love, even if we don’t know that’s what we want. Love is our spirit’s DNA. And we can’t know it if we are not aware of it. And becoming aware of it starts with asking our Lord and Savior to teach us presence, to fill us with love, and to guide us to learn as we need to know Him.
Blessings,
Irene
Tags: being aware, breath, God's guidance, listening to God, presence
