Being Present

Being Present

Soul is in the present, and only when we are also can we connect with soul. Personality must remember the past and have hope for a future. Soul is in the present where the past and future meet and can be synthesized so that choices for action can be consciously made.

Remembrance and expectation can challenge living consciously in the presence of persons, events, things and self. But that is precisely the tension we live in. We need to strive to go beyond personal desires, conditioning and prejudice to whatever degree is possible so that we can experience what is real.

To experience the present authentically as it is we need to be aware of our biases and preconceived ideas. We need to be aware of our expectations and desires.

To live more fully in the present is to achieve a yin state of openness and receptivity. This is a non-egoic, heart-centred willingness to be touched and affected without controlling.

Unless we do this we can only repeat what we previously experienced because we force the present into mental and emotional moulds we created in the past. Our ability to know what is real and our capacity for compassion is therefore very limited.

We cannot, and must not, try to eliminate the past or the future, because we do live in time. We must only be aware of ourselves as we experience it. When we are not so aware we might, for example, act inappropriately and project our anger or frustration onto some person that has nothing to do with why we are angry or frustrated.

When we look to the future from a fresh, soul inspired present, we can be hopeful because we won’t project our pain from the past into the future we are creating. In the present we find beauty and inspiration which open our hearts to the great potentials that lie within awaiting our unfoldment.

Exercises:

1. Think of a significant relationship you have and become aware of how you see that person. Might you be projecting traits and expectations that come from other relationships?

2. Practice being totally receptive, without judgment, to chosen situations in your life, and discover what that feels like and how it affects you.


By Soul Journey