Hello friends,
Today's mini awakening practice is about being rooted in presence and is inspired by the meditation teacher Adyashanti.
We all have what you might call an energetic body or the subtle body and the more present we are,
The more we feel this subtle sense of aliveness.
If you become truly present right now,
Very still,
Not straining or making an effort,
Just relaxing with your breath,
Opening your senses,
Relaxing into a more spacious sense of being,
You will feel a subtle sense of presence.
And if you don't feel anything right now,
No worries,
This isn't about straining or effort,
It's just about opening and relaxing.
Relaxing.
The practice of presence has been around for thousands of years in many traditions,
Christianity,
Islam,
Buddhism,
Hinduism to name a few.
So,
Practicing presence can open up energetic pathways in your subtle body through which consciousness can flow,
Can find embodiment.
The nice thing about presence is that it's always available.
It's quiet but you can attune to it anytime.
Even dropping down into a single breath,
Riding the wave of the breath,
Can drop you down into that quiet sense of presence.
And just like learning an instrument or a sport,
The more we practice,
The more we can tune into presence at will.
At first it takes a little intention and then it becomes natural.
Sometimes you might feel like you can't find it because you're lost in your mind or your emotions are stirred up,
But you can tune into presence at any time,
Even in the midst of those storms.
There is the quiet eye of the hurricane that you can sense into.
Regardless of how you feel,
You can open up an energetic pathway in the subtle body through which awakened awareness and consciousness and the experience of being can present themselves and be embodied in your humanity.
And that is the joy of being here in these bodies.
So the invitation here is throughout the day,
Many times,
Whenever you have an undistracted moment,
Tune into presence in whatever way is most helpful for you.
It could be a single breath.
It could be looking out a window at the movement of a tree branch or a tuning to the sound of a bird.
These things can help you feel presence in the subtle body,
Not trying to grasp it,
Not trying to make it more,
Just noticing the presence of presence,
Which is always there.
And the more you check in with it,
The more your awareness of presence will grow and feed you.
Like most things in life,
It grows with attention.
It's a very simple practice.
That's the beauty of it.
It's also a very pleasant practice.
There's no strain to this practice.
Presence feels good.
It grounds you inside your body and it grounds you into your humanity.
So take a moment here and now and throughout the day ahead to enjoy,
To take a sip of this presence.
Allow it to bring a smile to your face.
Allow it to sustain you.
Be well,
My friend.
