Weekly Soul: Week 19 - Presence
Today's meditation from Weekly Soul: Fifty-two Meditations on Meaningful, Joyful, and Peaceful Living by Dr. Frederic Craigie.
-19-
When we let go of our battles and open our heart to things as they are, then we come to rest in the present moment. This is the beginning and the end of spiritual practice. Only in this moment can we discover that which is timeless. Only here can we find the love that we seek. Love in the past is simply memory, and love in the future is fantasy. Only in the reality of the present can we love, can we awaken, can we find peace and understanding and connection with ourselves and the world.
Jack Kornfield
Thanks substantially to work by Jack
Kornfield, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Sharon Salzberg, and a small number of other
pioneers in this area, the idea of mindfulness—paying attention, in the present
moment, without judgment—has embedded itself in the American consciousness.
A man suffers flashbacks and remorse about
a motor vehicle accident in which his drunk driving killed his best friend. A
woman vacillates about flying out of state for a family wedding, worrying that
she’d be so anxious that she’d “lose it” on the plane. A middle-aged
electrician finds himself distracted at work by the significance of an elevated
blood test, now out at the lab, from a routine physical yesterday. A
Middle-Eastern refugee recounts his odyssey through settlement camps and is
desperately concerned about the whereabouts of his two sons, from whom he had
become separated. A young man takes a job as a flagger and berates himself for
not having made choices that would have given him better opportunities. All of
these people have work to do, but the common theme is that the redress for
their acute distress is to be present.
When we experience emotional distress, our
attention typically goes to a painful past or a fearsome future. We suffer with
thoughts or images arising from what has been. We suffer with fears and
uncertainties of what life might be.
The redress is mindfulness. Bringing our
attention to the present moment. You can’t change the past, and life is lived
in a succession of present moments, not in what may or may not happen down the
road.
The circumstances of life challenges and
suffering are what they are and need attention. The driver needs to find a way
to make peace with being responsible for his friend’s death. The woman needs to
develop a new perspective on the experience of anxiety. The electrician will
need to see what the test result shows, and take it from there. The refugee
spends hours pursuing contacts in searching for his sons. The flagger needs to
train in a new skill.
Mindfulness will not itself alter the
circumstances of these people’s lives. What it does offer, though, is the
possibility of a greater experience of peace and personal focus in the midst of
those circumstances. When your attention
is focused on this present moment, you reclaim control of your life from the
feelings, memories and imaginings that would otherwise hold you in their grasp.
This moment, after all, is the reality of
your life. It is what you have. It is all that you have.
This is your experience right now, whatever thoughts, feelings and images you may have. Can you allow these experiences to be there as you open your heart to this fleeting, irreplaceable, sacred moment?
Reflection
- Think of a time when you have
been troubled and unsettled about your past or your future and when you
found some found some respite in bringing your attention to the present
moment. What was this like for you? Did this perhaps create in you a
little different spirit of energy going forward?
- Experiment with this now. Call
into attention some past suffering—a failing, a wound… or some future
fear. Fill in the details of this past or future experience, and be aware
of the feelings that it prompts. Now, direct your attention to this
present moment. What do you notice?
- In the coming week, pause a few times—especially when you notice your attention drawn to a troubled past or uncertain future—to direct your attention and open your heart to this present moment.
Author
Jack
Kornfield (b. 1945)
has been instrumental in bringing Buddhist mindfulness practices to the West. After
graduating from Dartmouth College, he served in the Peace Corps in the Mekong
River valley in Thailand. He began studies with two Buddhist masters and
trained as a Buddhist monk in in Thailand, Burma, and India. Returning to the
United States, Kornfield was a co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society in
Barre, Massachusetts and, later, the Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre,
California. He holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the Saybrook
Institute. He lectures widely and is the author of over a dozen books on
Buddhist wisdom, mindfulness, and meditation. The quotation comes from
Kornfield’s 1993 book, A Path with Heart:
A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life (Bantam).
Book Description:
Keywords:
meditation; reflection; inspiration; miracles; aliveness; purpose; laughter; joy; presence; mindfulness; activism; acceptance; gratitude; forgiveness; creativity; civility; hope; affirmation; wholeness; well-being; mental health; personal growth; transformation; inner peace; personal reflection; joy; joyful living; inspirational quotes; inspirational commentary
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