20231004 - I Am

We talk a lot about presence. We believe that meditation or yoga or other kinds of practises will make us more present, which they will. But what do we mean by that? What is presence? When we take attendance we ask “Is so-and-so present?”, and we say “yes” because our physical body is in the room. This is one level of presence. A deeper form of presence would be to be present with something or someone. For example we can be present with someone that is sharing something that is important to them. Then we are not talking about our body being in their vicinity. We mean that we are there with all of our senses, listening attentively to them with all of ourselves. If we in such a moment are caught up with our own thinking, we are not as present with the other person. I’m sure you have experienced sharing something important with someone who believes they are listening, but in reality they are busy with their own thoughts about what you are sharing. Probably you have been that person yourself, at least I have many times. Usually we don’t feel heard or seen. It doesn’t feel safe and our heart tends not to let us go deeper. On the other hand, I’m sure you’ve also been in conversations where you find yourself opening up and finding things in yourself that you didn’t even knew were there. Things that you couldn’t access without the presence of the other. One example could be to carry around sadness for some time and not being able to cry until someone is there that you feel safe with. Something about this person made it feel easy for you to go deeper in yourself and your heart opened up to new truths and insights. So there is something about presence that affect us greatly, but what is it? A.H Almaas describes it in Diamond Heart Book Three. "I Am" is the Same Thing as Presence Completeness is the experience of "I am" without mind, without anybody reflecting on it and saying, "I am," without subjectivity. It is just the actual "I am-ness," without the mind conceptualizing it. "I am" is the same thing as Presence, as the "I," as the true identity, except there is no need to conceptualize. Without trying to understand this with your mind (his reading take some time and experience to digest) you can play with that phrase. “I am”. Say it for yourself and tune into the experience of “I am”. Does your experience change? Be open to the subliminal. Listen for the small sensations. And invite some curiosity! If you are interested to read more about presence you will find more here https://www.diamondapproach.org/glossary/refinery_phrases/presence.