Once and a while I wake up with a sense of direction, like a word and that word will inform my spiritual practice for the morning and possibly longer. At the moment the key for me is to just practice it. To not intellectualize about it, or go study it. Even now thoughts of going and grabbing "The Power of Now" are crossing my mind, but I am letting this go and focussing on what is surfacing for me around the practice of being present. Here's what I am observing this morning...

A Stress Reliever

Intensely becoming present immediately stops my thinking and this is helpful as I am already stressing about all the things I have to do today. I will hopefully get to all of the things on my list, but stressing about them won't help.

Add ons to practicing presence...

Psalm 23

I was intensely present as I watched the sunrise over the inlet in my morning prayer spot and this too felt nourishing. The practice of presence in this setting made me think of Psalm 23 (edited)

"You are my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

You make me lie down in green pastures, You lead me beside quiet waters,

You restore my soul. You guide me in paths of righteousness for Your name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, ^[1] I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in your house forever."

As I briefly meditated on this Psalm, I felt restored. I had the thought that all of my ego needs are met by the God of my understanding such as the need for security, approval, and power and that I am okay and accepted just as I am.

Love

From what I understand from the experts who teach about practicing presence (Tolle, Cease), the act of practicing presence itself is an act of love. That said, with a little encouragement from other teachers like the recent reminder from James Finley on his podcast "Turning to the Mystics: A Coaching Session on Centering Prayer my practice sometimes begins with a loving image.

This morning at one point when I was practicing presence, I imagined being hugged by my former spiritual director. This is one of the loving images that I sometimes bring to mind. In my mind, I just rested in his embrace. Doing this is a symbol to me of the God of my understandings unconditional love. In so doing, I had a brief moment of presence and loving intimacy. I have no idea if this is helpful or not, other than, as Finley teaches, it helps me to be grounded in love and I desperately want love to be my foundation.

Quotes (Now I'll grab a couple of books)

“Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have. Make the NOW the primary focus of your life.”
― Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment

“If we are absolutely grounded in the absolute love of God that protects us from nothing even as it sustains us in all things, then we can face all things with courage and tenderness and touch the hurting places in others and in ourselves with love.” — James Finley