Wednesday Pause
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Returning to the Present, and the Structures of Our Experience

Returning to the Present, and the Structures of Our Experience

Wednesday Pause

JoyOver
August 30, 2023

Hey friend,

Our soul work theme this month was all about presence:

Presence in the journey that accompanies us through life.
Presence in the ordinary, average, and simple moments.
Presence in the radical amazement of paying attention.
And presence in the recollection of looking back on significant life memories.

But the Enneagram Institute also teaches how presence can never become habitual.

We will never find formulas and techniques that allow us to be present all the time. “Such an automatic method of being present would be a contradiction—a way of being awake while we were actually ‘asleep.’”

Instead, the Enneagram Institute wisely teaches that a “real, lasting solution lies in … coming back to the present moment with ever-deepening awareness.” [1]

Father Richard Rohr also teaches, “We’ve got to choose God here, in this moment, and whatever happens, happens. It seems that simply allowing ourselves to be here, to recognize the sacrament and the grace of the present moment, is enough to allow God’s loving gaze to happen. What we are doing in the allowing is returning the gaze.”

It’s all about returning to the present moment and finding God in real time.

When a difficult situation unfolds at work, return.
When a relationship interaction takes a sharp turn south, return.
When you’re caught up in your head, or your heart is stuck looping in emotions, return to the here and now.

As poet John O’Donohue says:

“The structures of our experience are the windows into the divine. When we are true to the call of experience, we are true to God.” [2]

____________

The prompts in today’s newsletter invite you for one more week into the practice of presence. As you explore the thoughts and prompts below, consider this:

“You become happy by contact with reality. That’s what brings happiness, a moment-by-moment contact with reality. That’s where you’ll find God; that’s where you’ll find happiness.”

—With Joy

^[1]^Source^{: The Enneagram Institute,}^{Understanding the Enneagram}^{, daily newsletter, 2023.}
^[2]^Source^:^{To Bless the Space Between Us}^{, by John O’Donohue, p.xvi.}
^[3]^Source^:^Awareness^{, by Anthony de Mello}

Pause for Thought

“No judgment, no commentary, no attitude: one simply observes, one studies, one watches, without the desire to change what is. Because if you desire to change what is into what you think it should be, you no longer understand.”

—Anthony de Mello

Pause for Practice

Choose an activity that you generally have trouble paying attention to—where you find yourself often reaching for your phone (i.e. standing in line at the grocery store, waiting for an appointment, or wandering around the kitchen while prepping food).

But instead of reaching for your phone, choose this moment to “practice presence” by moving your attention back-and-forth between outward and inward noticings.

For example, notice the color of something surrounding you (outward), then ask yourself what you love most about that particular color (inward). Or, observe a detail you’ve never noticed before (outward), then reflect on why that detail caught your eye (inward).

Remember, your mind will wander, so simply notice what distractions come up and without judgment gently move your attention back to the present moment of this external/internal practice.

The power of practice is about redirecting your attention from what you were attending to, and then returning it back to where you want it.

—Practicing Presence

^Source^:^{Spiritual Disciplines Handbook}^{, by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, p.72.}

Pause for Poetry

Awaken to the mystery of being here and enter the quiet immensity of your own presence.

Have joy and peace in the temple of your senses.

Receive encouragement when new frontiers beckon.

Respond to the call of your gift and the courage to follow its path.

Let the flame of anger free you of all falsity.

May warmth of heart keep your presence aflame.

May anxiety never linger about you.

May your outer dignity mirror an inner dignity of soul.

Take time to celebrate the quiet miracles that seek no attention.

Be consoled in the secret symmetry of your soul.

May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder.

—For Presence

^Source^:^{To Bless the Space Between Us}^{by John O’Donohue, p.42.}

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Click here for previous month’s art offerings

P.S. Practicing presence is a lot like learning to ride a bike. This little girl can teach us adults a thing or two ;).