The “City of Separation” isn’t just an ancient metaphor—it’s the algorithmic trance we live in. This reflection from Practicing Living Presence explores how consumer culture, hustle mindsets, and digital distraction mirror the lowest level of the soul in the Sufi tradition. Presence begins when we see clearly what keeps us asleep.
Mic drop. While vaguely aware of much of this, put together in a cogent presentation and fully accessible leaves no room for "light impact." Whoa. Reflection required after reading this (at least for me).
That’s the hope. That the pieces already rattling around in us finally find each other and start humming in the same key. No need for heavy-handed conclusions. Just the kind of reflection that softens the walls a bit.
Thank you for reading it with open eyes and heart.
Ah, but the newsfeed hath charms to inspire sometimes! When you find a human who is writing from depth and connection, especially. Thank you, my dear. This just gave me the last number for a combination lock I've been struggling with for a while. The knowing I'm getting is to gut check my mission, make sure I'm not fulfilling the dream of someone I used to be, and neglecting the needs of the person I have become. But I love my "jobs." The difference is presence, not doing but being, listening, observing, feeling. Allowing the world to unfold in the shape of my truest desires and deepest destiny. Beautiful. Thank you, thank you.
If the mud is honest, it’s already holier than most pulpits. Some days, dragging ourselves is the practice. Other days, just not sinking deeper is enough. And when the time is right, the next step rises to meet us.
A very clear reflection on soul-level recognition, where remorse is the crucible to discover change. Allowing the self to stir deep within. Very helpful insight...
Excellent discussion and articulation of our current society's malaise. The insights you present parallel the key Buddhist recognition of our "suffering/unease" which is pervasive in Western countries (and increasingly in Asian ones in as well) but most people are not cognizant of it.
Thank you, Universal Monk. Yes, the City of Separation has WiFi now and it's exporting spiritual disconnection globally, one dopamine hit at a time. Buddhism calls it dukkha, Jesus called it being lost in the world, and Facebook calls it "suggested content." Whatever the name, waking up from it is the real revolution.
« The self of compulsion doesn’t disappear just because we meditate or go on retreat. It resurfaces. It reasserts itself. But with time, and practice, we begin to recognize its voice. »
I soooooo relate to this! Old habits and ways of being in this world die hard.
Thank you for this read; I needed the reminder today! 🙏🏻❤️
Oh yes, Sharon. That self doesn’t go quietly. It shapeshifts. It whispers in our own voice. But with enough stillness, we start to catch it mid-performance and say, “Ah… you again.”
Glad it landed. You’re not alone in the wrestling.
I so appreciate your guidance in the journey to…what should I call it that doesn’t smack of slogans often overused by society? When I practiced Nichren Buddhism, I would call it “enlightenment”. I still think that’s a good word for this journey. Enlightenment in that the path of truly knowing the true self is just that…illuminating who we are when we can see the whole.
Loved reading this, thank you. I teach a form of mindful dance called Movement Medicine. And I love the work which is really about being in the body, befriending the body. But the aspect of marketing and attracting students, which currently is through social media, is so mixed up in the “surface” self. I end up avoiding it all together. Because I struggle to find a way to do it from authenticity, being myself, and not trying to compete/ be comparable with all the pretty websites and Instagram stories out there. Anyway, I appreciate this piece you wrote and will keep it close as I navigate this. And life in general :D. Take care!
Remorse is holy because it remembers. Not in the punishing way of guilt, but in the re-membering way. It stitches the soul back together after we’ve scattered it chasing false gods.
It says, this isn’t working. Not because I’m bad. But because I’m waking up.
Sophia, that reads like it swam straight out of some place between exile and arrival. The kind of song you hum to yourself when you’ve already burned the old maps and are learning to breathe in a different element. I hear both the ache of shedding and the defiance of creating anyway.
There's a song in the Walk the Moon album /Talking is Hard/, called "Aquaman" (one of my favorite heroes as a kid, though I'm not sure it has more than a superficial resemblance :D), that may be drawing from a similar well; here are some excerpts that I found resonating:
"The real-life love
Is under the mirror of the surface
So cut my cord
I wanna know how deep we can take it"...
"Just keep holding on, holding on to me
Under, under the troubled surface of the sea"...
"Just when you think you're all adult swim
That's precisely when somebody shows you to the ocean"...
"Head first, into the water
And so it hits me -- I guess we could breathe all along"...
The chorus:
"So here we go
Head first, and no regrets
And no rules -- we can stay as long as we want
Slow-dancing in the darkness
And all I know is I wanna be here with you from now on"
It could be interpreted as a regular pop romance song with some metaphors, or it could be way more philosophical; I've seen it analyzed that way, too. :)
(and at the risk of seeming really shallow in a conversation about how much we're too plugged in these days, here's a video with the lyrics [it is actually a quite pretty song!]:
I love the group Walk the Moon, but they've bowed out of the "whole scene" for awhile, maybe indefinitely; I think they're trying to find themselves, too. :))
Mic drop. While vaguely aware of much of this, put together in a cogent presentation and fully accessible leaves no room for "light impact." Whoa. Reflection required after reading this (at least for me).
That’s the hope. That the pieces already rattling around in us finally find each other and start humming in the same key. No need for heavy-handed conclusions. Just the kind of reflection that softens the walls a bit.
Thank you for reading it with open eyes and heart.
Ah, but the newsfeed hath charms to inspire sometimes! When you find a human who is writing from depth and connection, especially. Thank you, my dear. This just gave me the last number for a combination lock I've been struggling with for a while. The knowing I'm getting is to gut check my mission, make sure I'm not fulfilling the dream of someone I used to be, and neglecting the needs of the person I have become. But I love my "jobs." The difference is presence, not doing but being, listening, observing, feeling. Allowing the world to unfold in the shape of my truest desires and deepest destiny. Beautiful. Thank you, thank you.
Alma, that image of the combination lock is everything. Sometimes it really is just one line that clicks something open.
Gut-checking the mission... that’s the real work. Not chasing who we used to be, but honoring who we've become.
You said it best—presence, not doing. That’s how we slip out of the City of Separation.
This is a rare thing: a mirror that doesn’t flatter, but reflects truth with tenderness.
This essay names the ache, the one we’ve been taught to optimize away.
And it dares to say: don’t fix it.
Stay.
Elham, you just wrote the benediction I didn’t know the post needed.
"A mirror that doesn’t flatter"—yes. That’s the kind that tells the truth and leaves your dignity intact.
You saw what I was aiming for: not another sermon about healing-as-progress, but a pause. A holy sit-down in the ache we keep trying to edit out.
Thank you for staying. For reading like a mystic. For hearing the stillness between the lines.
Thank you for making a home out of ache, and letting those of us who feel too much know we're not alone for it.
“This remorse is not a problem. It is the beginning of the path. “
Yes, but can we drag ourselves out of the mud to take a step, and then another?
If the mud is honest, it’s already holier than most pulpits. Some days, dragging ourselves is the practice. Other days, just not sinking deeper is enough. And when the time is right, the next step rises to meet us.
No shame in resting between them.
Loved this. Mud can be healing. Elephants certainly think so.
A very clear reflection on soul-level recognition, where remorse is the crucible to discover change. Allowing the self to stir deep within. Very helpful insight...
Thank you 🙏👍
Thank you, VedicSoul.
You named it—remorse as crucible, recognition as the spark. In a world full of noise, that kind of soul-stirring is rare and needed.
Grateful for your reflection.
🙏🙏
Excellent discussion and articulation of our current society's malaise. The insights you present parallel the key Buddhist recognition of our "suffering/unease" which is pervasive in Western countries (and increasingly in Asian ones in as well) but most people are not cognizant of it.
Thank you, Universal Monk. Yes, the City of Separation has WiFi now and it's exporting spiritual disconnection globally, one dopamine hit at a time. Buddhism calls it dukkha, Jesus called it being lost in the world, and Facebook calls it "suggested content." Whatever the name, waking up from it is the real revolution.
Medicine. I thank you. <3
« The self of compulsion doesn’t disappear just because we meditate or go on retreat. It resurfaces. It reasserts itself. But with time, and practice, we begin to recognize its voice. »
I soooooo relate to this! Old habits and ways of being in this world die hard.
Thank you for this read; I needed the reminder today! 🙏🏻❤️
Oh yes, Sharon. That self doesn’t go quietly. It shapeshifts. It whispers in our own voice. But with enough stillness, we start to catch it mid-performance and say, “Ah… you again.”
Glad it landed. You’re not alone in the wrestling.
I so appreciate your guidance in the journey to…what should I call it that doesn’t smack of slogans often overused by society? When I practiced Nichren Buddhism, I would call it “enlightenment”. I still think that’s a good word for this journey. Enlightenment in that the path of truly knowing the true self is just that…illuminating who we are when we can see the whole.
Teryl, you’re already pointing at it.
Enlightenment as illumination. Not escape. Not polish. Just seeing the whole.
Nichiren knew a chant could break illusion. Not noise—remembrance.
The true self doesn’t need building. Just uncovering.
You have expressed this so well, as always. It is a matter of uncovering our true self. Thank you!
Loved reading this, thank you. I teach a form of mindful dance called Movement Medicine. And I love the work which is really about being in the body, befriending the body. But the aspect of marketing and attracting students, which currently is through social media, is so mixed up in the “surface” self. I end up avoiding it all together. Because I struggle to find a way to do it from authenticity, being myself, and not trying to compete/ be comparable with all the pretty websites and Instagram stories out there. Anyway, I appreciate this piece you wrote and will keep it close as I navigate this. And life in general :D. Take care!
Trying to offer sacred work in a space built for spectacle is spiritual whiplash. The feed wants surface. You’re practicing depth.
Movement Medicine sounds like holy rebellion. Embodied truth in a system that rewards polish and posing.
Keep showing up as you are. The ones meant to find you aren’t scrolling for perfection—they’re aching for presence.
Thank you! Words I needed to hear. Not perfection, but presence. <3
Similar to "when the student is ready, the teacher arrives"? When your students need what you're practicing, they will come. :)
Remource is the beginning of the path....yes. Not shame or guilt, which is different, but a turning away from what no longer works.
Dawn, yes. You just slipped a key into the lock.
Remorse is holy because it remembers. Not in the punishing way of guilt, but in the re-membering way. It stitches the soul back together after we’ve scattered it chasing false gods.
It says, this isn’t working. Not because I’m bad. But because I’m waking up.
Shame paralyzes. Remorse moves. Quietly. Honestly. Toward love.
‘mic drop’ 😂
love itttt
A song called Mark.
‘Fortune is a pariah,
and then I”ll leave
Into deeper Oceans
- not even a graze
I played it safe
what a waste.
All in working order
zipped up nice.
Time to get established.
Furnish my ….
And then I”ll
leave
I will deeply
Breathe
✨
Say this part is played!
I am not
come
here to be stained.
I am come to
Create.
Into your Heart Fire 🐋
Say I am allowed
to swim with You
right now
Sophia, that reads like it swam straight out of some place between exile and arrival. The kind of song you hum to yourself when you’ve already burned the old maps and are learning to breathe in a different element. I hear both the ache of shedding and the defiance of creating anyway.
Yes all of this.
Learning to breathe in a new element , this if what it is would be wonderful.
The clear reflection back is a gift . Thankyou It is beauty.
There's a song in the Walk the Moon album /Talking is Hard/, called "Aquaman" (one of my favorite heroes as a kid, though I'm not sure it has more than a superficial resemblance :D), that may be drawing from a similar well; here are some excerpts that I found resonating:
"The real-life love
Is under the mirror of the surface
So cut my cord
I wanna know how deep we can take it"...
"Just keep holding on, holding on to me
Under, under the troubled surface of the sea"...
"Just when you think you're all adult swim
That's precisely when somebody shows you to the ocean"...
"Head first, into the water
And so it hits me -- I guess we could breathe all along"...
The chorus:
"So here we go
Head first, and no regrets
And no rules -- we can stay as long as we want
Slow-dancing in the darkness
And all I know is I wanna be here with you from now on"
It could be interpreted as a regular pop romance song with some metaphors, or it could be way more philosophical; I've seen it analyzed that way, too. :)
(and at the risk of seeming really shallow in a conversation about how much we're too plugged in these days, here's a video with the lyrics [it is actually a quite pretty song!]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRVgptW7bYg&list=RDVRVgptW7bYg&start_radio=1
I love the group Walk the Moon, but they've bowed out of the "whole scene" for awhile, maybe indefinitely; I think they're trying to find themselves, too. :))