🙏♥️ This is a priceless teaching. I have spent a lot of time in counseling learning some of these concepts.
I have CPTSD (although I have far fewer triggered episodes) plus some OCD 🤣to put it mildly. My counselor helped me understand that I was often a victim, not so much from the horrible past experiences but from my own mind. She helped me understand I have lots of choices. I can actually choose what I think about and dwell on.
It may sound like a no brainer to some but it never occurred to me that I didn’t HAVE to obsess on, not just my past, but ANYTHING. 😌
Easy to say but hard to do at least at first. Baby steps slowly helped me began to build a new life.
You often mention, VMB, paying attention to breathing. I know it sounds like a small thing but that is one of my best tools. Anytime I become aware I am holding my breath (which can send me into angst, physical stress, etc) I have learned to stop and take a step back and assess why.
I can decide/choose to make a different choice about what I am doing, how I’m doing it, why I’m doing it. At first it was admittedly hard but I slowly addressed one thing at a time.
A good for instance for me is how I handle the news. I avoid watching any news on TV. Because I have no control of what will come next, pictures, context, opinions and thoughts that infiltrate my mind and can trigger my PTSD in an instant. So I have chosen other ways to be attune to what is happening in the world and in my community. My choice has been to find sources I can read instead, that endeavor to give the “what, where, when, why and how” approach, avoiding sensationalizing and pushing personal opinions. Admittedly not easy to find these days 😌. But as I read I can stop at anytime, decide if I need to know or read anymore. As well as any avoiding visuals as needed.
I can’t control what is happening out there but I can control how much I let in and how it affects me. Just this one thing has improved my quality of life immensely.
We are all so different and have so many varied circumstances and experiences and needs. What upsets me may not bother another in the least. My knee jerk reactions will definitely be different than others. But it really is possible to choose what we focus on. I’ve come a long way and I know the journey of living in Presence isn’t about a destination but about experiencing new things, new joy, new ways to let go of anger, resentment, fear and angst and embrace the beauty of just being now and here. I give myself permission to dwell on the wonderful things all around me.
Living near a park I can listen to children laughing, playing, and talking RATHER than being inside my head reliving difficult things, worrying about any and everything and for me especially, considering “shoulds” that culturally and religiously come from every direction.
Anyway, just affirming your teaching and suggestions with all my heart. I’m hoping others will share their thoughts and experiences of what living in Presence means, looks like and feels for them. And what kinds of refocusing helps them. 🙏😌
I’m reminded of the tale of two wolves living inside each person. They fight, one is anger- the other is peace. Which wins? The one you feed, of course.
Recently I've returned to two practices that I hadn't even noticed had slipped away -- tai chi and shamanic journeying. Both were gifts from my mentors early in my deconstructing. With the world on fire and healthy growth across social media, I had let the "noise" of the phone and messages seep into sacred spaces that helped reset me. This writing felt like a semi-colon, where we write the rest of the story for noticing where we place our mind. Thank you for affirming my reset.
Mind is the field of thoughts and impressions where attention usually becomes identified. Voluntary attention frees awareness from that identification so presence can appear.
Thank you for your answer. I'm on a sort of “Mind Quest” right now, trying to kythe what “Mind” is without getting too left-brained/analytical about it. In part, the foundation for this is Paul's letter to the Roman's, wherein he says “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind”. The Greek word for “mind” used in this text is “nous”. I'm seeking to find the depths of that. I don't believe that “mind” just exists in the brain. I least I hope so. Your work on Presence has helped.
There is so much truth in this that I would bet you psychically penetrated my mind & read it so you could write this. Glad you didn’t (i think), not for my sake but for yours. There’s a saying in AA circles, “your mind is a dangerous playground - stay out of it if you want to stay sober”. A lot of truth in that.
Literally minutes after I started to read it, i once again started searching for my “Living Presence” book. I took it to Ohio a few weeks ago & while certain that my brother, who i stayed with, would’ve let me know if i left it, every suitcase search came up with nothing (for a past flite attendant for almost 2 decades, losing something in your suitcase is embarrassing & humiliating (ego much?)). I swear i looked several times, came up with nothing, but guess what I just found? “Living Presence”, tucked in some obscure small pocket I’d forgotten about. So thank you (or Magdalene, she’s great at finding things for me lol) or whoever - just glad to have it back.
“The Economy of Distraction” again is an exact description of how my ADHD mind has behaved my entire life until recently, when these truths said “Hi! I can help!”
I’m reading “Living Presence” at a snail’s pace - sometimes I’ll read a book nonstop, then go back & read it more slowly but too many times I never make it back to the reading it more slowly part. So now I take my time & don’t rush so it can really soak in.
Appreciate you throwing another life preserver our way (or at least my way, I needn’t speak for others) with “The Energy of Attention”. Itz a gem.
Now I have to go finish organizing my taxes for my tax guy. Betting it won’t take as long & won’t cuss as much or throw anything. 😌
Wonderful articulation, and it has a mystical warmth. Across traditions the insight feels familiar: attention shapes the depths of our inner life. What we repeatedly attend to does not merely occupy the mind, it begins to form it.
Your image of the garden captures this with great clarity. In Vedanta, we call the witness sakshi (the witness), that which sees without becoming entangled. Your "recollection" points to the same teaching.
🙏♥️ This is a priceless teaching. I have spent a lot of time in counseling learning some of these concepts.
I have CPTSD (although I have far fewer triggered episodes) plus some OCD 🤣to put it mildly. My counselor helped me understand that I was often a victim, not so much from the horrible past experiences but from my own mind. She helped me understand I have lots of choices. I can actually choose what I think about and dwell on.
It may sound like a no brainer to some but it never occurred to me that I didn’t HAVE to obsess on, not just my past, but ANYTHING. 😌
Easy to say but hard to do at least at first. Baby steps slowly helped me began to build a new life.
You often mention, VMB, paying attention to breathing. I know it sounds like a small thing but that is one of my best tools. Anytime I become aware I am holding my breath (which can send me into angst, physical stress, etc) I have learned to stop and take a step back and assess why.
I can decide/choose to make a different choice about what I am doing, how I’m doing it, why I’m doing it. At first it was admittedly hard but I slowly addressed one thing at a time.
A good for instance for me is how I handle the news. I avoid watching any news on TV. Because I have no control of what will come next, pictures, context, opinions and thoughts that infiltrate my mind and can trigger my PTSD in an instant. So I have chosen other ways to be attune to what is happening in the world and in my community. My choice has been to find sources I can read instead, that endeavor to give the “what, where, when, why and how” approach, avoiding sensationalizing and pushing personal opinions. Admittedly not easy to find these days 😌. But as I read I can stop at anytime, decide if I need to know or read anymore. As well as any avoiding visuals as needed.
I can’t control what is happening out there but I can control how much I let in and how it affects me. Just this one thing has improved my quality of life immensely.
We are all so different and have so many varied circumstances and experiences and needs. What upsets me may not bother another in the least. My knee jerk reactions will definitely be different than others. But it really is possible to choose what we focus on. I’ve come a long way and I know the journey of living in Presence isn’t about a destination but about experiencing new things, new joy, new ways to let go of anger, resentment, fear and angst and embrace the beauty of just being now and here. I give myself permission to dwell on the wonderful things all around me.
Living near a park I can listen to children laughing, playing, and talking RATHER than being inside my head reliving difficult things, worrying about any and everything and for me especially, considering “shoulds” that culturally and religiously come from every direction.
Anyway, just affirming your teaching and suggestions with all my heart. I’m hoping others will share their thoughts and experiences of what living in Presence means, looks like and feels for them. And what kinds of refocusing helps them. 🙏😌
I’m reminded of the tale of two wolves living inside each person. They fight, one is anger- the other is peace. Which wins? The one you feed, of course.
Thanx for reminding me of that, Kim - one of my favorites that i too often forget 🫶
My pleasure.
Recently I've returned to two practices that I hadn't even noticed had slipped away -- tai chi and shamanic journeying. Both were gifts from my mentors early in my deconstructing. With the world on fire and healthy growth across social media, I had let the "noise" of the phone and messages seep into sacred spaces that helped reset me. This writing felt like a semi-colon, where we write the rest of the story for noticing where we place our mind. Thank you for affirming my reset.
I needed this reminder today. Thank you! ❤️
I like the metaphor of gardening. Where we direct our attention is like watering what we want to grow. Thank you for sharing these wise words.
Question: How do you define/describe "Mind"?
Mind is the field of thoughts and impressions where attention usually becomes identified. Voluntary attention frees awareness from that identification so presence can appear.
Thank you for your answer. I'm on a sort of “Mind Quest” right now, trying to kythe what “Mind” is without getting too left-brained/analytical about it. In part, the foundation for this is Paul's letter to the Roman's, wherein he says “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind”. The Greek word for “mind” used in this text is “nous”. I'm seeking to find the depths of that. I don't believe that “mind” just exists in the brain. I least I hope so. Your work on Presence has helped.
Suggest allowing your heart and soul to shape your mind.
There is so much truth in this that I would bet you psychically penetrated my mind & read it so you could write this. Glad you didn’t (i think), not for my sake but for yours. There’s a saying in AA circles, “your mind is a dangerous playground - stay out of it if you want to stay sober”. A lot of truth in that.
Literally minutes after I started to read it, i once again started searching for my “Living Presence” book. I took it to Ohio a few weeks ago & while certain that my brother, who i stayed with, would’ve let me know if i left it, every suitcase search came up with nothing (for a past flite attendant for almost 2 decades, losing something in your suitcase is embarrassing & humiliating (ego much?)). I swear i looked several times, came up with nothing, but guess what I just found? “Living Presence”, tucked in some obscure small pocket I’d forgotten about. So thank you (or Magdalene, she’s great at finding things for me lol) or whoever - just glad to have it back.
“The Economy of Distraction” again is an exact description of how my ADHD mind has behaved my entire life until recently, when these truths said “Hi! I can help!”
I’m reading “Living Presence” at a snail’s pace - sometimes I’ll read a book nonstop, then go back & read it more slowly but too many times I never make it back to the reading it more slowly part. So now I take my time & don’t rush so it can really soak in.
Appreciate you throwing another life preserver our way (or at least my way, I needn’t speak for others) with “The Energy of Attention”. Itz a gem.
Now I have to go finish organizing my taxes for my tax guy. Betting it won’t take as long & won’t cuss as much or throw anything. 😌
Wonderful articulation, and it has a mystical warmth. Across traditions the insight feels familiar: attention shapes the depths of our inner life. What we repeatedly attend to does not merely occupy the mind, it begins to form it.
Your image of the garden captures this with great clarity. In Vedanta, we call the witness sakshi (the witness), that which sees without becoming entangled. Your "recollection" points to the same teaching.
Thank you for this.
🙏🙏