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INTRODUCTION Presence
THE PRACTICE OF PRESENCE invites us to a conscious relationship with God. Faith, righteous action, ethics, and social justice are all founded upon a state in which the human being remembers God. Yet, the capacity to remember God is related to the ability to be awake, to be here. To act with intention (niyah), with reflection (tafakkur), with self-vigilance (taqwa), and with beneficence (ihsan) presumes a state of conscious presence. This theme runs through all the great spiritual traditions. It goes by many names—awakening, recollection, mindfulness, remembering, zhikr—and by no name at all. This awakened state of consciousness opens us to awe and wonder. It adds further dimensions to being in this world.
We find this state in all traditions wherever we find true reverence, an awareness of the sacred, but in Islam all of life is made sacred. So many of the practices of Islam can be understood as ways requiring and developing presence: performing ablutions (wudu), offering the ritual prayer (salaah), the courtesy (adab) of our relationships. For the purposes of our reflections we shall call it presence.
Presence signifies the quality of consciously being here. It is the activation of a higher level of awareness that allows all our other human functions—such as thought, feeling, and action—to be known, developed, and harmonized. Presence is the way in which we occupy space, as well as how we flow and move. It shapes our self-image and emotional tone. It determines the degree of our alertness, openness, and warmth. Presence decides whether we leak and scatter our energy or embody and direct it.
I HAVE BEEN SPEAKING OF PRESENCE as a human attribute, with the understanding that it is the presence of God reflected through the human being. We can learn to activate this presence at will. Once activated, it can be found both within and without. Because we find it extending beyond the boundaries of what we thought was ourselves, we are freed from separation, from duality. We could then speak of being in this presence.
My own experience has proven to me that the practice of presence is an essential means to live a fully human life here and now and to know those qualities that are described as “spiritual.”
Through knowledge, practice, and understanding, this presence can be awakened. Eventually, we will not be without it—whether in speaking or moving, whether in thinking or feeling.
Presence is the point of intersection between the world of the senses and the world of the Spirit. May we never cease to discover its beauty and power.
CHAPTER ONE The City of Separation
If your experience still comes from the well of your own subconscious, by your own inner faculties—as long as a trace of you remains in you—you have not attained your purpose. Know that there is a knowledge and a certainty that comes through Spirit alone. Spirit plus nothing: That is your highest destiny.”
AI Summary
Living Presence by Kabir Edmund Helminski presents key insights from the contemplative tradition. The 10 passages above capture the essential teachings.
Core Themes:
- [To be expanded]
Key Passages: Highlights 1, 3, and 10 are particularly representative.
This entry was generated from Readwise highlights. Expand with additional context as appropriate.