presence

168 posts

Divine Presence or Life in Servitude?

Are you still searching for enlightenment? Why look for something that you have already? A state of aware presence or lack of presence determines how we experience each moment. The recognition of this act of being is possible for everyone. We can refer to this as a divine state of living. And, presence is a natural state of being. Nevertheless, people still continue to search relentless for something that is every persons’ birthright.

divine

Why do people continue to search? Because many factors of our evolution cast us into servitude. The conditioned mind is merciless when not consciously observed. The internet dictionary offers us this clarification in regard to servitude.

Ser·vi·tude – The state of being a slave or completely subject to someone more powerful.
Synonyms: slavery, enslavement, bondage, subjugation, subjection, domination; historical serfdom
“Born into a life of servitude”
Antonyms: liberty

Furthermore, the dictionary Merriam Webster suggests the following about servitude. A condition in which one lacks liberty, especially to determine one’s course of action or way of life. Continue reading

recognition

The Recognition of Your Beingness

Life is, we are and the universe is. Still, we tend to interpret everything, differently than what it is. But why? There is no need for interpretation, definition, or evaluation. Nor, is it actually possible to explain these mysteries.  So, won’t it be much easier to just experience life and love. Consider this. Focus on the nothingness beyond established details and structures of the mind. Life and love are on the other side of everywhere and nowhere.

recognition

So, practice living live in acceptance and appreciation without the need for thoughts, emotions or things to fulfill you. I assure you that these things will not give you everlasting balance, harmony or bliss. Nevertheless, too often we live strictly from the mind. Thus, the mind restricts consciousness. Self-consciousness overshadowed by the mind inhibits access to universal consciousness. Thus, conscious awareness is a process of recognition. Continue reading

totality

The Totality of Living Life Is Now

You experience the totality of everything is each moment. But, the mind won’t accept this insight. So, you must go beyond conventional thinking.  Here, non-attachment and non-dependency are beneficial. Sages and conscious individuals express again and again the benefits of conscious living within this moment. Eckhart Tolle describes the present moment as all you will ever have. So, is this the totality of life? Don’t answer too quickly. Instead, consciously step outside your mind. Thus, it becomes obvious that, indeed, this moment is everything. 

totality

Buddha once said that Life can only take place in the present moment. You can’t dispute this logic. Everything that is, was or will be, happens now. Thus, the beingness of living is an acknowledgement of presence. The process of thinking cannot accept, nor simply allow the act of being. Hence, the totality of your beingness is incomprehensible to the mind. Continue reading

ball

Are You the Ball or Shell in the game of Life?

The mind and consciousness are similar to a shell game. A recent inspiration prompted me to compare the shell game to living life. Are we the shell or the hidden ball? Ultimately, we are both and neither. So, let’s use this game as a reference as we consider living from a state of conscious awareness. Because, the mind plays a deception game with us each day.

ball

Conscious awareness, and equally a lack of it, influences each and every experience. I can share countless personal examples of how energy from the inner universe manifests into the outer universe. Let’s save that conversation for an upcoming article. So, the mind constantly overshadows object consciousness in unaware individuals. This is comparable to the hidden ball in the shell game. Thus, you are always conscious. But, the mind conceals the potential for active awareness. Yes, the ball freely rolls under the shell. Hence, there is conscious energy.  Nevertheless, the shell limits the space within this state of consciousness. So, the shell (mind) literally engulfs consciousness within a barrier of darkness. Continue reading

allow

Allow Life to Flow and Just Let Go

Count the number of situations for one day that you don’t like. The total number might surprise you. Your boss gives you a task that you do not like. There is a traffic jam on the highway that angers you. You must wait in a line to pay for your groceries. It seems impossible to simply allow and accept. So, the list of things you don’t like goes on and on. Still, from time to time, there is a moment when everything is just right. Then, at least for this brief interval, you are happy. Or, at least this is what the mind tells you.

But, true happiness and satisfaction never really come. Thus, dissatisfaction comes again one minute later. Why? Mainly because you attach yourself to any, and everything. And, you expect and demand. Instead of accept and appreciate. The majority of people do this daily at some level. On the other hand, how would any experience change when you just allow and receive whatever the situation holds?

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Allow and acknowledge the isness of this moment. Trust me when I share with you that this is the simplest act of living life. All discomforts, barriers and suffering fade away. Hence, you discover a calm spaciousness during any thought, feeling or situation. Likewise, spaciousness and stillness are possible in any situation, regardless of the details. This is the feeling of coming home. This dimension is where the true self resides. Let’s reflect on this insight during the remainder of the article. Continue reading

Do You Live in the Suchness of Now?

Have we forgotten how to live? Sound ridicules? This question is not as crazy as you think. Why do we insist on avoiding the suchness of life? We overlook the simplicity that is at the foundation of life and love. Complexity is the name of the game in our world. So, we make the endeavors associated with interpreting and defining life and love our priorities. But, just living and loving have become secondary in our life experiences. We are usually busy doing something or asking questions about everything. Thus, we see the beauty and true significance of being here and now as trivial. This same pattern of misunderstanding is evident in matters of the heart, such as love. We insist on pursuing our love interpretations and expectations, instead of just pure and simple loving.

suchness

The awakening of self-consciousness was wonderful and equally burdening. Mind development overshadowed this awakening. Thus, conditioned behavior became the foundation of our existence through the intervention of the mind. And, many of these patterns still contaminate a modern existence that is relatively simplistic. Consequently, and ultimately, the suchness of life is undeniable. And yet, we usually want life to be anything other than what it is now. Nevertheless, perhaps a conscious evolution is upon us. More and more people are consciously aware.  There is always the suchness (Tathātā, Buddhism) of now. Therefore, living within presence frees us from the concepts of the mind. Not by avoiding the mind. But, rather by accepting thoughts, emotions and situations as temporary. Continue reading

Lao Tzu

Lao Tzu Shows Us the Way and So Can You

Jesus, Buddha, Lao Tzu, and other sages were aware of the possibilities within the field of conscious awareness. The key is to recognize universal knowledge as the essence of being. Thus, you spontaneously live life beyond word, labels and mind details. Yet, you accept mind aspects as a part of the isness of living. However, continual tapping into the spaciousness of presence frees you from mind dominance during any situation. Hence, life is an energy field that pulsates with active consciousness. And, this consciousness is universal. This is a space of oneness that we all share. Furthermore, this is a realm of nothingness from which everything manifests.

Lao Tzu

Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre expresses our existence through the following insight in his book Being and Nothingness.

“At first man is nothing. Only afterward will he be something, and he himself will have made what he will be.”
and
“Man is nothing else but what he makes of himself.”

Truly living, rather than existing, so to speak, is enough without searching for an ultimate label or reason for being. The past nor the future offer no enlightenment of life and living in this moment. So, this is to say, that life is a mystery best to experience as a mystery. The first chapter of the Tao Te Ching (Lao Tzu 604-531 BC) expresses this mystery as the Tao (The Way). Continue reading

peaceful

A Peaceful Easy Feeling Is Your Choice

What is at the top of your list of wishes? Not all, but most people will say that they desire peace and blissfulness every day. Nevertheless, these same individuals then say that a peaceful easy feeling is an impossible dream. Really? Why is harmony and balance difficult to experience? You are the only obstacle that prevents happiness and calmness. I realize that it is difficult to take responsibility for your unhappiness and suffering. It is much easier to point the finger at someone or something. Nevertheless, such unconscious behavior is fuel for a conditioned mind. And, your choice during any situation determines how you live life. 

peaceful

What daily practice can you use to become the active observer of your life experience? Firstly, accept everything. Sound impossible? Okay, the mind has taught you to deny and question almost everything you experience. But, must you behave in such a manner simply because the mind tells you? No, definitely not. Furthermore, acceptance is the easiest step to reaching a peaceful easy feeling in any situation. Trust me, there was a time when I also could not accept many situations. This contaminated my experience of life. Oh my, yes, it was so easy to avoid the responsibility for my state of presence. Everyone and everything were responsible for my uneasiness and anxiety. It seems very surreal in hindsight. Continue reading

Reach Out and Consciously Touch Someone

Does this statement sound impossible? The mind will tell you yes. But, please don’t believe everything the mind tells you. And, never take the mind too seriously. So, can you consciously reach out to someone and unite? Yes, you can. Furthermore, this happens every moment. And, yes consciousness connects you with everything. So, it is obvious that consciousness is not something that is here and then fades away. This reference suggests that consciousness is not similar to a temporary thought or emotion that comes and goes.  Instead, consciousness manifests through your state of active awareness to it. Energy is the basis of this flowing process. This energy is ongoing. And, vibrates beyond the limitations of mind, space and time.

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Therefore, you always share a conscious bond with everything. Similarly, this vibrating dimension is always there, whether you are aware of it or not. Furthermore, your level of aware presence can influence the flow of this energy.  Unite with this energy. And, just let it continue to flow. Acknowledge this flow and the result is an exponential expansion of pure awareness. Thus, you literally reach out and unite with the part of you that is within everything. Continue reading

realize

Realize Your True Potential

Universal life energy vibrates every moment. Let’s cut through the Spiritual jargon’s and simply say energy vibrates.  And, there are many frequencies within this flow. Evolution and conditioning manipulate our observation of life. Thus, people misconstrue everything. Still, we sense these vibrations. And, these pulsations are constant. Also, we realize, at least vaguely, the potential within this energy.  Furthermore, these influence us and we influence the frequencies. But, it is difficult to stay consciously within the flow. This is because the mind still misinterprets or dismisses such conscious sensations. However, there is a beneficial stepping stone to conscious living. Acknowledge that you do not need the mind to live in a state of presence.

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Nonetheless, the mind will forcefully continue to interfere with the unfolding of our life experience. Hence, the mind’s static discharges restrict the expansion of conscious energy. Unawareness to the isness of this moment causes a person to misunderstand the simple, unconditional act of living. Likewise, living in a state of awareness causes a person to readily accept the mind’s version of reality. Correspondingly, thoughts and emotions fuel the mind’s interpretation of life and living. Continue reading