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Valuing Presence
Presence
is not a point of view. It is not a thought
or an emotion. It is not a palpable energy
or an ‘I’.
It is an invisible, independent, and
wordless state of pure consciousness.
This state is so simple and unobtrusive that
we may at first fail to see its significance. We may
even fail to see it at all because presence usually
emerges for just a second or two before it disappears
again—before it is swept away by
imagination.
We are so accustomed to and comfortable with imagination—with
the steady stream of ‘I’s from our four lower
centers—that
wordless presence is a foreign experience. We have
to be taught how to recognize this state, how
to allow it, and most importantly, how to sustain it.
In comparison to the many ‘I’s, presence
appears intangible. It seems to be nothing,
to not exist. And yet the reverse is true. Wordless
presence is the most real thing of all and can become
permanent, whereas the many ‘I’s
are superficial and fleeting. As the ‘I’s
keep displacing each other in a repetitive cycle of
imagination, presence can remain poised in a
state of divided
attention. With conscious awareness, it observes
our ‘I’s and our surroundings without analysis,
comment, or conclusion.
The weakness of presence is that it can at any moment
be mesmerized by and lured into the stream of imagination.
Unless we know about this, and unless we are prepared
in advance with work
‘I’s, presence can stay immersed
in imagination for hours, days, weeks, and even months
at a time—to
the point that we spend virtually all our life in the second
state of consciousness.
The appeal and pull of imagination are incredibly
convincing and strong. To repeatedly break away from
imagination and establish ourselves in wordless presence,
we need great sincerity and determination. Above all,
we need to understand that this simple state is the
hidden meaning and purpose of life on earth—as objective schools have
always taught.
Related
thoughts
The
most personal of all experiences is the
state of divine, prolonged presence.
Robert
Earl Burton
There
is nothing in existence except the divine
presence.
Ibn Arabi
It
does not matter whether you are early
in your life or late; draw close to presence
and you will become better.
Bahauddin
Presence
transcends all imagination.
Ruzbihan Baqli
I
divided my mind, preserving my presence.
I found the beloved in the bridal chamber
of my seclusion.
Al-Farid
Presence
is the work of the alchemist.
Hafiz
Meditate
on how seldom Shiva appears.
Lalla
The
body is a shadow of presence.
Rumi
Take
your place in the presence of the
wordless.
Sanai
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Egyptian statue of Ramses.
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