With the beginning of December, we usher in the theme of living love through the practice of presence in our worship services, in these daily reflections, and in all the other areas of shared community life at UUCG.
The theme itself is the invitation to all of us. How do I practice presence? And that question invites another: what do we mean by practicing presence?
Perhaps it helps to consider some human experiences that are not examples of presence or that might even be considered the opposite of presence.
Fear
Worry
Anxiety
Guilt
Shame
Regret
The first three, fear, worry and anxiety, describe states of mind and body we find ourselves in when we are focused negatively on some future event. We all know these feelings, these states of being, and we know how they keep us from being here, now, in the present moment.
The second three, guilt, shame and regret, describe states of mind and body we find ourselves in when we are focused negatively on some past event. These feelings and states of being–when they take us over–also prevent us from being in the present moment.
And, both groups of experiences are miserable! There are several ways of practicing spirituality which show us how to move out of these miserable states and into the place of peace. They are practices of being present, here, now.
Over the next four weeks, members of our community will be sharing here their reflections on living love through the practice of presence. I leave you with this simple practice. Wherever you find yourself today, pause and find something around you to look at or a sound around you to listen to. Bring all of yourself to that thing you are seeing or hearing. Silently breathe into your heart, and breathe out to the think you are observing. Do this for a few rotations of the breath, and notice what changes in you.
~Bob Patrick
