Presence: The Quality Of Consciously Being Here - Kabir
Helminski
A common theme runs through all
the great spiritual traditions. It goes by many names – awakening, recollection,
mindfulness, dhyana, remembrance, zhikr, presence – and by no name at all. This
state of consciousness adds further dimensions to being in this world. Beyond
the narrow band of awareness that has come to be accepted as the conventional
state of consciousness is a faculty that is the master key to unlocking our
latent human potential.
In certain teachings, such as
Buddhism, the practice of mindful presence is the central fact. In Islam
remembrance is the qualifier of all activity. In Christianity we must look to
the experience of its great mystics and to prayer of the heart. But in all
authentic spiritual psychologies this state of consciousness is a fundamental
experience and requirement. For the purposes of our reflection I shall call it
presence.
Presence signifies the quality
of consciously being here. It is the activation of a higher level of awareness
that allows all our other human functions – such as thought, feeling, and action
– to be known, developed, and harmonized. Presence is the way in which we occupy
space, as well as how we flow and move. Presence shapes our self-image and
emotional tone. Presence determines the degree of our alertness, openness, and
warmth. Presence decides whether we leak and scatter our energy or embody and
direct it.
Presence is the human
self-awareness that is the end result of the evolution of life on this planet.
Human presence is not merely quantitatively different from other forms of life;
humanity represents a new form of life, of concentrated spiritual energy
sufficient to produce will. With will, the power of conscious choice, human
beings can formulate intentions, transcend their instincts and desires, educate
themselves, and steward the natural world. Unfortunately, humans can also use
this power to exploit nature and tyrannize other human beings. This potency of
will, which on the one hand can connect us to conscious harmony, can also lead
us in the direction of separation from that same
harmony.
I have been speaking of
presence as a human attribute, with the understanding that it is the presence of
Absolute Being reflected through the human being.[...]. Because we find it
extending beyond the boundaries of what we thought was ourselves, we are freed
from separation, from duality. We can then speak of being in this
presence.
About the Author: Excerpted from Living Presence: A Sufi Way to
Mindfulness and the Essential Self, pp.viii-ix, by Kabir
Helminski.
