The practice of presence
I have been studying the works of Kabir Helminski, a contemporary Sufi mystic. His book, "Living Presence, has had a profound effect on me, and has profoundly impacted my own personal journey of transformation. The Sufi descriptions of the fundamental aspects of the Self as defined and utilized through Shaikh Helminski's teachings have been quite instructive.
It applies to me, quite pointedly, and I believe in varied ways and from varied points of view, to all of us.
What I believe I pursued for the first 45 years of my life, was a constructed, fearful and compulsive self, driven by ego and my own sense of "I, me and mine". I have become accepting of this the more I have grown in "The Work" of transformation.
What the process has involved in my own sense of awareness and awakening is to become fully cognizant to what is contained within my Essential Self, where my own true, un-constructed soul emanates. This is where "Spirit" is manifest.
This is described as "heart" by Helminski who describes the heart's capacities and abilities as follows:
"We have subtle subconscious faculties we are not using. Beyond the limited analytical intellect is a vast realm of mind that includes psychic and extrasensory abilities; intuition; wisdom; a sense of unity; aesthetic, qualitative and creative faculties; and image forming and symbolic capacities. Though these faculties are many, we give them a single name with some justification, for they are operating best when they are in concert. They comprise a mind, moreover, in spontaneous connection to the Cosmic Mind. This total mind we call "heart".
Following is a diagram of the polarities of the false and essential self:
A basic premise to the teaching is that the Conscious Mind is largely identified with the False self, which is the product of the natural inputs of fear and selfishness that we all acquire as we grow and develop as humans.
What has profoundly impacted my transformational work is that I have the choice and capacity to dis-identify with this self through the regular practice of "presence", or "mindfulness"(as my Buddhist teachers would say).
This is a meditative practice, or in other words, it is the the development of a habit, not an opinion or a belief. It can be grasped and valued as it is practiced and learned it through experience. This practice is facilitated through periods of silence and stillness, where the infusion of awareness, and the perception of the unique and soul feeding elements of the essential self are made known to one's consciousness.
Through this practice, I have experienced and am continually learning the sense of unity and wholeness as is taught by Christ.
Let me assure you that I am not "there", yet. It is a process or journey. But the practice I speak of yields peace and contentment, like unto none I had ever experienced before I began the practice. Like the Psalmist quietly reminds us, speaking the word of the Spirit:
"Be still, and know that I Am God. Be still, and know that I Am."
He is within you, and one must practice silence and presence, to become fully aware and awake to his quiet abiding...thus being gradually transformed.
It applies to me, quite pointedly, and I believe in varied ways and from varied points of view, to all of us.
What I believe I pursued for the first 45 years of my life, was a constructed, fearful and compulsive self, driven by ego and my own sense of "I, me and mine". I have become accepting of this the more I have grown in "The Work" of transformation.
What the process has involved in my own sense of awareness and awakening is to become fully cognizant to what is contained within my Essential Self, where my own true, un-constructed soul emanates. This is where "Spirit" is manifest.
This is described as "heart" by Helminski who describes the heart's capacities and abilities as follows:
"We have subtle subconscious faculties we are not using. Beyond the limited analytical intellect is a vast realm of mind that includes psychic and extrasensory abilities; intuition; wisdom; a sense of unity; aesthetic, qualitative and creative faculties; and image forming and symbolic capacities. Though these faculties are many, we give them a single name with some justification, for they are operating best when they are in concert. They comprise a mind, moreover, in spontaneous connection to the Cosmic Mind. This total mind we call "heart".
Following is a diagram of the polarities of the false and essential self:
A basic premise to the teaching is that the Conscious Mind is largely identified with the False self, which is the product of the natural inputs of fear and selfishness that we all acquire as we grow and develop as humans.
What has profoundly impacted my transformational work is that I have the choice and capacity to dis-identify with this self through the regular practice of "presence", or "mindfulness"(as my Buddhist teachers would say).
This is a meditative practice, or in other words, it is the the development of a habit, not an opinion or a belief. It can be grasped and valued as it is practiced and learned it through experience. This practice is facilitated through periods of silence and stillness, where the infusion of awareness, and the perception of the unique and soul feeding elements of the essential self are made known to one's consciousness.
Through this practice, I have experienced and am continually learning the sense of unity and wholeness as is taught by Christ.
Let me assure you that I am not "there", yet. It is a process or journey. But the practice I speak of yields peace and contentment, like unto none I had ever experienced before I began the practice. Like the Psalmist quietly reminds us, speaking the word of the Spirit:
"Be still, and know that I Am God. Be still, and know that I Am."
He is within you, and one must practice silence and presence, to become fully aware and awake to his quiet abiding...thus being gradually transformed.
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